Management a process learnt by application

Harshini Perera

Having diversified from the timber industry to hospitality in 1994, Hotel Clarion formerly known as Kelaniya Tourist Hotels, is today a leading hotel situated on the main route from Colombo to Kandy.

The management of the hotel and its staff has driven the hotel to what it is today. It was his commitment and sound management which has driven the hotel to this state today.

Here are the excerpts of the interview with Hotel Clarion Managing Director Danuja Pathirana for this week’s Young Entrepreneurs column.

Q: How did you come up with your enterprise?

A: My father started the Kelaniya Tourist Hotels in 1994 as an A-Grade restaurant. We upgraded the hotel under a BOI project in 1998 and we went for a name change in 2003 as Hotel Clarion. Initially, there were only 12 employees in the hotel and today it has grown to 100.

Hotel Clarion is rated as a three star hotel now. With the influx of tourists to the country, we expect to upgrade the hotel to cater to that demand as well. There is an optimism that tourism will have a favourable future.

Q: As a young entrepreneur what are the challenges you faced?

A: Though we learn about management theories from books, it is totally different when you need to put that into practice. It is therefore an art.

We have to deal with people’s emotions and not from theories mentioned in books. Management is the challenging part I found in the hospitality industry. Management is a development process which can only be learnt by application.

Q: What are the strengths of the company?

A: Our main strength is the quality service we provide.

The quality is generated through the human resources here. We have integrated quality service to our business process. We have set up a training institute as a method of increasing the quality to the service we provide.

Though we targeted a large number of students for the first batch, there were only a limited number of students. We expect to have many students for the second batch.

We will be introducing foreign languages and IT skills for the human resource we produce. The training institute will be located outside the hotel and theory will be taught there.

The students will have their practical training in the hotel.

Q: What is the support you expect from the Government?

A: The Government has integrated many policies for the development of the industry.

The Government has set up training institutes to make avail more human resources for the industry. Sri Lanka can be a tourist destination similar to that of Maldives by catering to the high-end market.

Q: As a young entrepreneur how do you manage your enterprise?

A: It is a multi-faceted industry. Therefore, one needs to have his/her policies set out properly. There should be a set of ethics and standards developed by a manager.

The ethics and standards developed will inspire others to follow the same goal. I believe that nothing is impossible.

Q: How did you supply with capital initially?

A: Since from the early stage of diversification, we have invested a large amount under the BOI project. There will be many developments in the company in the future.

Q: What are the strategies you adopted to enhance employee efficiency?

A: Information Technology was my interest but I finally ended up in hospitality. I developed a passion for the industry and it drives the entire staff.

The employees and I have linked up as a family so it motivates the employees too.

The quality of life they have always matters to us. We need their children to get a good education. Our motto is to treat our employees better and they will treat the customers better.

Q: What is your goal in business?

A: More than the financial gain, need to establish a couple of training institutes in the future.

Hotel Clarion will upgrade the existing training centre and develop them to a fully-fledged University. We will set up hotels in remote areas down south and in the up country in the future to expand our hotel network to other areas as well.

Q: What are your future plans?

A: We have planned many development projects for the hotel. We expect to cater to the segment of health conscious customers.

We have a plan to construct a roof-top badminton court and to upgrade the gym facilities at our hotel. We have still not finalized on the investment we need to have for this. There will be new facilities provided by the hotel such as Salsa dancing and Yoga facilities.

We will be introducing an international cuisine in two newly built outlets in the same premises but in two different places.

Hotel Clarion has been conscious in making this a green hotel by taking many measures to reduce energy consumption. We have introduced energy conservation methods such as LED lights. A waste water treatment plant has been established as another method of saving energy.

We have an organic garden in which we use compost fertilizer for the vegetation. We have not yet been able to use the vegetables for the menu but we will hopefully include them in the menu as there are many tourists concerned of green hotels.

Hotel Clarion has also utilized solar-powered water heaters and lights.

Q: What is the support you get from your family?

A: My father advises me in need and it has always been a great support for my career as well as for the progress of the hotel. My mother has also been encouraging me to my further education and contribution towards the hotel.

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Young Entrepreneurs in a country are the lifeblood of its economy and trend setters. Being the vital part of the economy, they inspire other young entrepreneurs who are trying to break ground. Having understood their role in the economy, the Daily News Business decided to expose them to the readers.

We invite young entrepreneurs in business to send their details to [email protected] or by post to the Business Editor. Suitable applicants will be featured in this column.