The Omnipresence Leader

Neha Chhabra embodies #leadership #hospitality and #teamwork. I used to be a regular in her top floor restaurant at a North Bangalore hotel with my corporate guests where she was the then general manager and the team felt her presence even during the hours when she was not on the floor (she joked, “oh! that’s scary, though” 🤩). She had created an empowered team during her stint with the ordinary property to an exceptional one, in terms of revenue and service standards.

She had moved to a larger property with the international hospitality group in Goa and started winning awards in her category, 27, to be precise. A girl who studied in La Martiniere in Kolkata was fond of Finance and Economics who shuffled St. Stephen’s and LSR with formal hospitality education from IHMCTAN gave one of the finest General Managers to the industry.

I had a couple of meetings in BKC last week and could wedge in a 60-minute conversation with Neha at her new property in Mumbai, the Sofitel Mumbai BKC.

She was a brilliant host as ever, received me at the lobby, we skipped the packed restaurant and settled for an outdoor seating. My signature Americano was served with some tea cakes and soft baked triple chocolate 🍫 cookies 🍪 exactly the way I love them. We discussed #careers for the young students in the industry, the rewards, #Revenue management, the journey of a young leader in that hour and a little stretch of 20 more minutes. Neha is one of those hoteliers who’d give you undivided attention, as if you’re the most important guest in the universe.

She walked me to the hotel lobby, stopped me from booking my usual Uber in the city, and asked her chauffeur to drop me to my next destination.