Mehrnavaz Avari started her career in 2002 as a Management Trainee and has been associated with the Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. for almost two decades now. Avari is the youngest and the first woman Area Director to run the IHCL operations in the UK. “This is a testament that IHCL/Tata Group celebrates diversity, inclusion and equal opportunity. The IHCL and TATA group are respectful businesses for women to work and grow! Keeping in mind women's empowerment, and with a strong desire to bring many more women into Leadership roles, the IHCL campaign of ‘She remains the Taj’, puts women directly at the forefront of our business not just as our valued customers but by also rewarding leadership roles,” she told the newsweekly. Here’s her exclusive Q&A with Asian Voice, where she talks about being a woman in a leadership role in the Hospitality industry and breaking the glass ceiling.
What does a day in the life of Mehrnavaz Avari look like while working at Taj?
For Hoteliers, no two days are ever the same. Each day begins with meeting my departmental heads and the Executive committee of the Hotel, to help them fair through their various agendas and work towards achieving seamless business Operations. I meet with our hotel guests, many of whom know me from my past two decades of working in the Taj Group. I regularly meet with industry bodies and attend events as in my role every new day brings new challenges and opportunities.
As a woman at the helm of affairs at Taj, how have you attempted to bring in changes and improvements in the current functioning of the hotel?
The IHCL/Taj Hotels have been operating two hotels in London since the 1980s and we are quite fortunate to have these beautiful heritage hotels, located in the most privileged location in the royal quarter, a gem throw away from the majestic Buckingham Palace.
Both hotels have distinct characters and aim to meet the unique needs of different clientele, St James’ Court, A Taj Hotel, focuses on meeting the hospitality needs of business travellers, families, and groups by offering a wide range of rooms/suites to choose from its 329 bedrooms and has banqueting/ conference spaces, and range of smaller meeting rooms for business or social events. While the Taj 51 Buckingham Gate, Suites and Residences are a 5-star ‘suites only’ Hotel with 86 suites offering generous spacious suites equipped with fully loaded kitchen and Butler services.
We have endeavoured to bring “Tajness” as our unique proposition to offer personalised services to our guests to provide unique ‘home away from home’ experiences and hence all our business strategies and operations are aimed towards achieving this.
One of my main areas of focus has been on our employees, as at the IHCL we believe that employees are our core asset and hence people are at the centre of everything we do.
Would like to add that since taking over the helm of operations in London, we have successfully launched ‘Taj The Chambers’ our business private members club then proceeded to launch our new restaurant ‘TH@51’, which is a lively restaurant and bar, serving an amalgamation of world flavours with innovative dishes, while very soon, we are about to launch our brand-new restaurant ‘House of Ming’.
Since Taj is the only prime hotel in Central London for the longest time, with the news of more Indian hotels upcoming in the vicinity, how do your strategy and approach change towards competition at Taj?
We are delighted to hear about new openings and interest of other brands in and around the London Victoria area, as I believe that in Hospitality competitors are only collaborators who will help us all create visibility and grow market share for the Victoria and Westminster areas.
Our strategy includes working closely with all upcoming Hotels to find opportunities to find leverage for each other’s strengths and collaborate as best as possible. An increase in tourist footfall will help in benefitting the Victoria Bid as we work closely with Victoria and Westminster Bid to help in the growth of business opportunities and revenue.
What are some of the main highlights so far during your supervision at Taj that our readers must know, especially from the point of view of a woman’s touch to make a hospitality business flourish?
I believe in a collaborative style of leadership, so I like to engage with my team on a one-on-one basis. I believe in a collaborative leadership style, so I like to engage with my team on a one-on-one basis, as I believe that investing time to guide them helps in project success. While at the same time, I have also encouraged my team to dedicate time in working with the local communities alongside Victoria Bid and engage in CSR activities like local soup kitchens.
One of the main highlights was an invitation from Number 10, Downing Street to address young interns on having a lucrative career path in the Hospitality industry. Another highlight was being given the opportunity to represent IHCL at the ‘UK-India Women in Leadership’ held last year at the India Global Forum in London.
Since my childhood, I have always been artistic and have been naturally inclined towards developing things and hence I was able to help our Executive Chef in designing afternoon tea and special culinary offerings at our restaurants.
Do you think your appointment as the Area Director UK & General Manager has broken the glass ceiling in a traditionally male-dominated industry?
Given my diverse experience across geographies, I have learned to see challenges as opportunities to make a lasting difference for our brand and create the changes that have become the need of the hour. I firmly believe that if you work hard and deliver results, there is no glass ceiling for you to break through – the sky is the limit! I have always believed that age is just a number and that leadership roles should be given based on performance and potential. It is highly gratifying to work for organizations like IHCL and Tata Group that resonate with this philosophy and demonstrate it through action.
Could you tell us some upcoming events and exciting changes at Taj that our readers must know about?
Recently King Charles appealed to the British public to support a project, ‘Butterfly Conservation’ run by a wildlife charity to help in the conservation of butterflies, so this spring as an effort to support this initiative, we have creatively worked around to introduce our new afternoon tea theme. As the new afternoon tea theme is still being fine-tuned, so still is under wraps, and will be revealed only in March. We will also see the most anticipated opening of House of Ming, after decades of success in our Hotel in Delhi, House of Ming will open with the best and most authentic Cantonese and Szechuan Chinese food. The opening of HOM will certainly add a new dimension to our culinary offers.
In the late spring we will also be once again enjoying the Royal events from a privileged location, with the coronation of King Charles III, our hotels will be once again the time to welcome dignitaries, welcome those who want to see the Royal family at the parades and the famous balcony at Buckingham Palace and enjoy the many celebrations taking place in the Royal Quarter. We will of course take this opportunity to celebrate it too.
