Hotelier India

Interview: Puneet Dhawan, Sr. Vice President of Operations – India & South Asia, Accor

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Hospitality is a peoples’ business whether it is about guests or colleagues and making them count will be what success means.

Puneet Dhawan, Sr. Vice President of Operations – India & South Asia, Accor is a hotelier who believes that it is important to stay patient, explore various aspects of running a hotel and the only limiting factor is your imagination. He hopes that people who aspire to be hoteliers never lose sight of the fact that a lot of hard work goes into making things a success in this business.

For someone who started his hospitality career in 1994 with Mandarin Oriental after graduating from University of Massachusetts, he joined Accor in 1998 as Director of Food and Beverage of Century Wanchai, now Novotel Century Hong Kong. Post that, he had successful stints in Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, UAE and proverbially has not looked back and admits his thirst for new adventures continues.

Fairmont Jaipur
Fairmont Jaipur

With guest safety being top priority and cleanliness and hygiene becoming the standard norm, Accor has led from the front. Accor worked on implementing ALLSAFE, the safety and hygiene label across its network of hotels in partnership with Bureau Veritas. All the group’s hotels are required to adhere to these standards which represent some of the most operational protocols in the world of hospitality. This program is implemented at all levels from the food preparation style, the service style, the infrastructure, and décor.

Accor believes that hospitality is a tremendous social elevator and this rings true especially in food and beverage. The COVID-19 crisis has underscored the fragility of the global food system, including the way food is produced, consumed, and wasted. Today, the issue for everyone is identifying best practices to create a healthier world of catering that is more considerate and respectful of resources.

Read the full story that first appeared in Hotelier India’s August 2022 issue here:

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