The Hospitality Storyteller

Interviewed by LYLE MICHAEL

Photographed by FARZANA CONTRACTOR

He hung up his boots last year after 40 years in the F&B industry, albeit not to “retire” but to readdress what to do after 60 and the answer was simple. Impart his worldly wisdom and aid entrepreneurs and professionals in the industry to carry forward their vision. His newly-launched little tome is the perfect example of how he is accomplishing this along with running a consultancy that cares for your future and coaches you in the most effective manner possible. Rattan Keswani is a treasure trove of hospitality know-how and to-dos, having worked with groups such as The Oberoi, Trident, Hilton, Lemon Tree, and a storyteller above all.

As deftly as he narrates his industry journey in his book, Check-In, Never Check-Out, Rattan can tell you his story over a cup of coffee, for hours. A people’s person, that he is for sure. He smiles and begins, “I’ve had a very interesting career, learning on the ground, hands-on. I’ve gone through multiple metamorphoses over the various places I worked at. Each and every tenure taught me something new.” Most significantly, it taught Rattan the importance of valuing the staff that make up the hotel, showed him how to be empathetic and open to them. This is one of the aspects of writing his book, he tells us, to share what he learnt over the years.

A second aspect is that hotels don’t just groom the ones working within but serve as an inspiration to everyone who steps in. People learn from hotels, both the good and the bad lessons. “Every moment is a moment of truth,” states Rattan. “There is an organised chaos in a hotel, and I always say the real applause goes to the people who work within. When I was at what was then the Sheraton Towers in Bombay in ’86, there was a staff strength of 1600! When The Oberoi was added soon after, we went up to 1800 people.” So many people walking those hallowed floors each day, so many stories, so much to learn from them, all Rattan could do was play ‘orchestra conductor’ as the Operations Manager. He recalls his early recognition of the LGBT community in the hotel industry and how staff members were mistreated. Some of them his close friends who could not come out for obvious reasons. And he stands firm in the belief that as a manager or a leader in the industry, one has to operate from a standpoint of national justice and for the rights of every individual that makes up the glorious institutions we patronise.

With the bouquets come the brickbats which brings us to the third aspect of why Rattan wrote his book. People do not want to work in a tiresome and unrewarding industry like hospitality, as goes the perception at large. “But it is the only place you can learn more and grow at every step of your career,” shares Rattan. “Anybody can become anybody they want to. It is a life-learning that you will not find anywhere else.” It teaches you strength and to think on your feet.

For Rattan, he has had many a mentor and an army to support him in his career. There’s PRS Oberoi to whom he owes 80% of his learning and the remaining 20% to his Lemon Tree Hotels tenure. There’s Rajiv Kaul of The Oberoi who served as a mentor to him and who unveiled his book at the launch at the very same hotel he began his Bombay career with. And several others.

And family! Now, that’s the backbone that has kept the man upright and onward every day of his career, Rattan tells us. “My wife and my son and daughter, and my mum, have had to move wherever I moved – it’s been a lot of places – and have had to accommodate along with me, shuffle their lives so often… I wouldn’t be where I am without their support.” We enquire if the family gets to spend enough time together now that he is “retired” and where do they like to travel, if they do. “My son is now in the UK, working in fintech and my daughter is in New York working at The Economist. So, our last trip was when both of them were in New York together at the fag end of COVID.”

For work, however, Rattan has travelled recently to Dubai, The Maldives, Goa and more. Work today involves consulting for F&B professionals, handling refurbishments of hotels and their brands, and serving as an entrepreneurial coach. Book-writing seems to have come about in the midst of it all as an outlet for the joyful conundrum of stories in his mind, gathered over time.

It’s been a long journey and a Herculean rise to the top for Rattan who was last seen in a formal position on Mar 31, 2022, as the Deputy Managing Director of Lemon Tree Hotels & its subsidiary, Carnation Hotels. He takes us through a chronology of his career which came about by chance for the boy who was working towards becoming a CA post his graduation in finance from Punjab University – then in Delhi, where he resides today.

“I never did hotel management,” he throws us a googly. “I got into the Oberoi management programme in ’81 and began my professional career at The Sheraton Towers, followed by Holiday Inn International as Operations Director, then back to Sheraton. Next came The Oberoi New Delhi as Executive Assistant Manager, then abroad to Saudi Arabia at The Oberoi Dammam before Sri Lanka beckoned. The Oberoi Cecil in Shimla gave me the chance to run a hotel from scratch – till ’99 – then on to Bangalore and New Delhi as GM in 2003. Following that was Executive VP of The Oberoi Hotels which included the amalgamation of Trident Hotels and the Hilton brands.” Rattan went on to function as President of Trident Hotels till 2012 before he ended a long love affair with The Oberoi to move to Lemon Tree. And the rest is Rattan Keswani as you see him today… author and consultant with enough time to watch sports which he adores.