Shakawath Hossain, CEO of Unique Hotel & Resorts LTD, elaborates on his hospitality journey and his vision for the company.
Congratulations on being reappointed as the CEO of Unique Hotel & Resorts Ltd. How does it feel to be the youngest professional in the industry to be in such a prestigious role?
I am thrilled to be in this position once again. Despite the challenges, I have been able to steer things very smoothly because of the constant support from my team. I am very proud of the fact that I am the youngest professional in such a role in Bangladesh’s hospitality industry, but I know that I have to deliver continuously.
Please tell us about your hospitality journey so far. How has the hospitality industry in Bangladesh changed since you first started?
In addition to my undergraduate and master’s degrees, I have a diploma in hotel management and an MBA and MPhil from Dhaka University in hospitality and tourism. I am now doing my PhD in the same subject. I have also undertaken much training abroad.
My hospitality journey started in 2000 at the Sheraton Hotel, Minto Road. After that, I worked at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel and have been at Westin since its inception. When I started at The Westin Dhaka, I was an associate. I worked my way up, and now I am the CEO. Some roles I had were Front Office Manager, Operational Excellence Manager, Director of Operational Excellence, Director of Rooms, and Resident Manager. I acted as General Manager for three years, and then I was appointed as CEO of Unique Hotel and Resorts in 2019. During the pandemic, I explored another opportunity in another company and rejoined my current position.
The hospitality industry has changed a lot since I first started. At the time, there were no private hotels in the country, but when private and joint-venture hotels like The Westin Dhaka and Regency Hotel opened, employment opportunities grew. People are now studying hospitality management at university, and many are doing well in this sector. There has been a considerable demand for five-star hotels, so hotel owners invested large sums of money as they knew they would be getting returns. Suppliers and ancillary services are also doing well. The industry still has potential and there is a lot left to explore in Bangladesh.
In Bangladesh, most guests are business travellers rather than tourists. How does that affect the way you design your services?
Indeed, most foreign visitors to Bangladesh are not tourists but business people. Thus, we designed our hospitality services to cater to them. We have conducted thorough research to provide business travellers with the best rates and services. For instance, guests staying at a hotel for business want a breakfast that will be served quickly. We provide a breakfast menu in their rooms, from which they can order what they would like and tell us when they would like to eat it, and then it will be ready to serve at that particular time. It is how their day starts. We start preparing for the breakfast service as early as 3 a.m. They also want quick meals for lunch, so we offer a range of executive lunches with quick and delicious meals. We are a customer-centric company that always aims to provide the best customer service.
Since the pandemic disrupted the global hospitality industry, businesses around the world have been evolving to cater to a wider local patron base. How have you been leading the changes in Unique Hotel & Resorts Ltd?
The pandemic was a very challenging time during which we learned a lot. During that time, we started ‘a la minute’ food service, where we served food cooked quickly and immediately instead of a full buffet. Not all the ingredients are available in the domestic market for fine dining, and many of them have to be imported. However, this was not possible during the height of the pandemic, so we had to adapt. During the pandemic, The Westin Dhaka provided home delivery services for food. We didn’t use any food delivery company; our employees delivered the food to our customers’ doorsteps using our company vehicles. We serve safe, healthy, and good-quality food, which people trust in us. Cleanliness and hygiene are top priorities for us. We may face similar challenges in the future, but we will also need to adapt.
What vision do you have for Unique Hotel & Resorts Ltd. five years from now?
The Managing Director of Unique Hotel & Resorts, Md. Noor Ali, is a visionary man who is generating a lot of employment in the country. Everybody does not have an interest in building hotels; you must have a passion for it, which he does. We are grateful to him and his wife, Selina Ali, the company’s Chairperson. Our company is a public limited company, so we have shareholders to whom we pay their dividends. As these shareholders have trusted and invested in us, we must do a good job. In the next few years, Unique Hotel & Resorts is planning on bringing three more hotels in the Gulshan vicinity, along with Cox’s Bazaar and Kuakata. We want all our hotels to be top-class. Our government has been attracting many investors into the country, and these investors need to have accommodation, food services, etc., which we can provide. Foreigners bring USD into our country when they visit, and when they stay at the hotel, they also spend money elsewhere, thus increasing the country’s inflow of foreign currency. As I have mentioned, a lot of employment is generated due to the creation of new hotels, and it is possible to earn well. All of this contributes to the country’s economy. We, Unique Hotel & Resorts, are the leaders in the upcoming hospitality boom in Bangladesh.