New Delhi, July 14, 2022: Keshav Suri is the Executive Director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Group, the Co-Chairman of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), and the Founder of the Keshav Suri Foundation. The Ten News Network recently had the pleasure of interacting with Mr. Suri.
“I think that the last two and half years have been really tragic for the hospitality industry and the travel and tourism industry, it has pushed us back to 2018 or even 2017,” Mr. Suri said regarding the challenges faced by the hospitality and travel and tourism industries during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Having said that, the recovery has been very fast,” he said about the momentum gained by the hospitality industry post-pandemic. “The first quarter has been like a historic quarter for the hospitality industry.” He stated that most hotel chains bounced back and have reached the pre-pandemic numbers and some have even beyond that.
“I must say even for us, our quarter one has been really amazing,” he said. Although, he adds that the pandemic has caused a lot of destruction, “It’ll still take some time to be fully on our feet again.” He described that, factors such as pent-up frustration and revenge-like notion in people to escape the pandemic restraints and the restriction of international travel to be the reasons for the hospitality industry gaining momentum for the first quarter.
“But I must say that I am very proud to be a part of a company that has always focused on domestic tourism,” he said. “I know for a fact that even the next quarter is going to be better. I have been hoping that 2022 is actually a historic year for the hospitality industry,” he said confidently.
Mr. Suri also talked about the new trends and technologies that are introduced into the hospitality industry. “I think it’s the age of content. It’s the age of WIFI and technology,” he said. “The hospitality industry is a little behind in terms of technology but now we know that we cannot escape it,” he stated.
“One of the things we pivoted very quickly to is having a home delivery app, to get our restaurants to be able to home deliver,” he said, referencing the Lalit Hospitality Group adapting to the technological age. “ This is a part of Lalit Food Truck Company,” he said. “Of course, our website has to be dynamic,” he added. “Lot of hotel chains including us are getting into the apps sphere.”
“But let’s not forget that the ethos of hospitality is the human connect,” Mr. Suri remarked. “For me, the warmth of a human namaskar goes much longer than any app or AI or robots,” he said joyfully. “Nothing beats the human connection and the warmth of the Indian hospitality.”
Additionally, Mr. Suri also touched upon the subject of the 5th India International Hospitality Expo, which will be organized from August 3, 2022, to August 6, 2022. “I am so happy these expos are coming back. We need these desperately. India is probably one of the most fascinating countries in the world. Now, with tourism and international tourism opening up, the world needs to know how fascinating we are.”
