Mr. Rajagopal

Venkat Rajagopal

Professor

Pacific International Hotel Management School

Venkatraman Rajagopal known as Venkat is currently a lecturer teaching hospitality and tourism management subjects at Pacific International Hotel Management School in New Plymouth, New Zealand. Venkat holds a degree in Commerce, a Masters in Business Administration and a Masters in International Hospitality Management.

With more than 20 years experience in the hospitality industry, Mr. Rajagopal has worked his way up in all departments of the industry, holding senior management positions such as Director of Finance, Director of Food and Beverage and General Manager. He has worked with city hotels, beach resorts and game parks, in India, Middle East, Africa and New Zealand. Most of the properties have been owned and operated by such well known chains as the Indian Hotels Company Ltd., (which owns and operates Taj and Taj groups of hotels in India and abroad), Intercontinental Hotels, The Kempinski Group, (Leading Hotels of the World), Preferred Group of Hotels, Stamford Plaza and Sheraton to name a few.

Mr. Rajagopal has also been responsible for computerization of front office, food and beverage and interfacing of the same with back office accounts for one of the best beach resorts in Mombasa, Kenya, East Africa. He is very proud to have introduced “expatriate business” as one of the important segments for a city hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mr. Rajagopal has conducted many training sessions and workshops for middle and senior management staff in the hotel industry as part of “Training within Industry”, and has also been guest lecturer at the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in India.

Mr. Rajagopal has chosen to live and work in New Zealand because of the unprecedented growth of the hospitality and tourism sector within the country. In recent times that has resulted in increased opportunities for skilled and qualified personnel.

Mr. Rajagopal can be contacted at 64 9 8350535 or venkatr@pihms.ac.nz

Coming Up In The June Online Hotel Business Review

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Hotel Sustainable Development: Principles and Best Practices
Sustainability is now a daily topic that affects every facet of hotel development and operations. As hotelier Hervé Houdré recently noted "The goal of Sustainable Development is clearly to secure economic development, social equity, and environmental protection. As much as they could work in harmony, these goals sometimes work against each other". In the June Hotel Business Review, some of the industry's most recognized sustainable development experts come together to identify emerging trends and discuss how sustainability is currently affecting the hotel industry. Each author presents the most important aspects of sustainable development of much interest to hotel owners, operators, investors and developers. We include perspectives and case studies on best practices from leading hotel groups and other industry players.
INSIGHTS FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS BY INDUSTRY LEADERS
"300,000 Rooms Complete, 15,700,000 to Go"
By Larry Mogelonsky, President and Founder, LMA Communications
"Destination Earth: A Customized Approach to Sustainability"
By Mark Hickey, Senior Vice President of U.S. Hotel Operations, Destination Hotels
"Why This New Standard is Going to change Hotel Energy Management Forever?"
By Robert Allender, Managing Director, Energy Resources Management
"How Two Major Hotel Companies are Turning Sustainability into Tangible Business Advantage"
By Christopher Wood, Director of Social Responsibility, ASAE Convene Green Alliance
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