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 March Online Hotel Business Review

"Hotel Business Review offers weekly articles for hotel management and operation and discussion on emerging growth markets."
Feature Focus
Hotel Human Resources: The Biggest Challenges
The economic challenges of the past four years have led many hotel companies to re-examine the ways in which they do business and how they deploy talent. In many cases, the work did not go away and fewer people were left to carry on the tasks that had previously been shared among many. As we work our way out of the recession and look forward to a healthier economic environment, there is an understanding that despite recovering business levels, we may never see the return of former staffing levels. This "new norm" of operating with leaner teams has led Human Resources professionals and people managers to look at career development and growth opportunities in a new light. The March Hotel Business Review will take a look at some of the strategies being used by successful hotel brands, and techniques human resource directors are currently exploring.
INSIGHTS FOR INDUSTRY LEADERS BY INDUSTRY LEADERS
"The Four Habits of Highly Effective Human Resources"
By James Bermingham, Vice President, Montage Hotels
"Embassy Suites 'The Circle of Leadership"
By Darci Riesenhuber, Director of Brand Culture, Embassy Suites Hotels
"Applying Consumer Marketing Best Practices to Employee Loyalty"
By Fred Bendana, Executive Director Client Services, Maritz Loyalty & Motivation
"How Incentives are Changing to Keep Existing Staff Motivated?"
By Jim Houran, Partner, HVS Executive Search
PLUS: Mobile Technology - Attracting & Retaining Top Talent - Education - Employee Engagement - Employment Claims & Litigation - Employment Contracts - HR Management.