Meet Senthil Sundram: A master of his trade, a man of passion and a revolutionary

Grabbing the reins in his 20s, Senthil Sundram ventured into the hospitality sector right when it demanded a boost in terms of innovation and expertise. Aided by years of hands-on experience in the hospitality and management sector with numerous internships, projects, training and jobs, Senthil went on to wear many hats including that of a hotel consultant, a venture capitalist, investor and a hotelier. He changed the rules of the game by collaborating with international hotel and restaurant chains in Singapore and the Middle East, apart from those in cities like Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Over the years, he has established over 30 hotels and resorts in tourist destinations like Yercaud, Udumalpet, Valparai, Kochi, Vagamon, Munnar, Thekkady, Mysore and eyeing to wrap entire North & South India. Guided by the principle ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’, Senthil re-imagined the hospitality sector with new concepts and by leveraging technology to ensure that customers are satisfied right from their arrival to departure from the hotel.

Establishing Hospitality Firms - enabling ideas and delivering experiences

Despite his various accomplishments in the hospitality industry, ROMT (Rooms on my Travel) is Senthil’s dream project, where he connects independent hotels and resorts that might not be doing financially well and helps them flourish with cutting-edge business strategies and ideas that are executed by his team. The revamped operations and image help these units deliver customers an exquisite experience.

Senthil’s motto is ‘Be Local, Go Global’ and it has enabled him to carve a niche for himself in a competitive business environment. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Senthil continued to work for the growth of the travel and tourism industry by helping financially unviable units get back on their feet. He has established more than 30 hotels till now and aims to hit the 1,000-mark over the next five years.

Innovation and customers at the forefront

Known for taking the road less travelled, Senthil has received numerous honours and awards throughout his career for his innovative business solutions. Keeping customer satisfaction as a priority, he believes in providing luxurious services to customers, without missing out on minute details and making them feel at home, irrespective of their budget.

Explaining his ideology, Senthil says, “A hotel is a part of hospitality and if a brand manages to offer a home away from home, the chances of a guest returning and recommending your hotel to others are high. We would recommend brands to focus less on paid marketing and more on word-of-mouth, considering the impact of the latter in this industry.”

He believes that changes must come from within the organisation, and should not be limited to the structure of the building. “From menus to signboards to employee benefit programmes to using technology for services, the A-Z of a brand must be meticulously planned and executed,” he adds.

Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Senthil managed to build six new hotels in the span of a few months. He has managed to create brand loyalty and boost awareness about various hospitality firms with his corporate social responsibility initiatives. He believes that the benefits from CSR initiatives can help scale up a brand’s image which will result in expanding the interest for upcoming generations in hospitality.

Motivating Employees:

Senthil Sundram is superlative in bringing out the best in employees, he believes that if every employee of the concerned organisation brings a change to his level of delivery then every organisation can reach more heights. He is also known for helping out aspirants in the hotel management industry find jobs and access new opportunities. If you’re willing to work hard, enthusiastic to learn and grow, Senthil can assure you a job in this field. It’s never too late to try!

If you want to pursue a career or business opportunity in this industry, feel free to get in touch with him in this e-mail ID [email protected].