Seven Cardinal Sins Committed By a Hotelier.docx

8/22/2019 Seven Cardinal Sins Committed By a Hotelier.docx

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Seven Cardinal Sins Committed By a Hotelier!

Hoteliering is an exciting business with never a dull moment on either side of the

continuum, running from good to bad. Hotels are, truly, a line of business on steroids.

They never sleep, they never take leaves. There are no summer offs or Christmasbreaks; in fact some of the traditional festive times when the entire world seems to shut

down are the peak season time for hotels. War or peace, bad or robust economy,

change in the countrys government, change in the hotel chains ownership or

management hotels never seem to close down. Even under bombings or terror

strike, hotels manage to spring back into action in no time.

With such frenetic activity at play, driven by people of all creed, caste, colour, culture;

hotels become hotbeds of frayed nerves, sharp tempers, low immunity, people short-

circuiting driven maniacally by high expectations and forever-burning fire in the belly to

deliver and over-deliver.Hence, it is but natural that we as hoteliers are prone to committing some of the

Cardinal sins; all in a days work.

These thoughts are meant to guide us back on the track of righteousness and nudge us

into fair play. The little reminder (borrowed from the Bible and Dantes The Divine

Comedy) at the end of each sin is intended to serve as an instant deterrent. Here follow,

in alphabetical order, the seven deadly sins that we can consciously or subconsciously

commit and stand the risk of being accused of:1. Envy

Hotels are a kind of show business. More than a lot of other professions, Hotels urge us

to look closely at our own Image management. Because we represent brands and deal

with a certain profile of guests, it becomes imperative for us to present our best to the

world. We must be kitted out in the finest threads, often branded. We cannot afford to

have a strand of hair out of place. Those limbs that shake all those hands and do all that

walking around must have been neatly attended to. Not just the shoes, even the teeth

should be regularly polished. You get the drift, dont you!

In such an environment, comparisons become easy. So and so is carrying a giant LV

Tote, has acquired the latest iPhone, is driving fancy wheels, has been holidaying in the

most luxurious places, is sporting a Hermes tie our place of work brings in several

opportunities for us to turn into varying shades of green.

Besides the outward disposition, the work culture is such that we are given to one-

upmanship, tussle for position and prominence and deeply embedded sense of

competition inter-teams, intra-departments, with sister hotels, with other chains. And

therein, get the seeds of envy sown in intelligent, hard-working people who, otherwise,

have honorable intentions.


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A colleague gets sent for the WTM in London or ILTM in Cannes, yes Cannes every

time. A certain Guest Relations Manager is allowed to sign off at the unbelievable hour

of 5 PM every day, only because she is proximal to the head honcho. The peers

appraisal is shades better than ours; which means that he or she is up for a higher raise

and a fatter pay packet. The PR Director is the apple of the GMs eyes and seems tohave it somewhat easy. The expatriate colleague, fresh off the boat, received a warmer

orientation and welcoming than you did and his list of perks have stuff that you cannot

even ask the Management for. There are a million occasions in hotels that can turn you

into a green-eyed monster; should you not be watching that mind of yours and not

letting your conscience and good sense to rule over unwanted thoughts and emotions

that steal a passage into the deeper recesses of your head.

The scriptures define envy as wanting to have what someone has, a desire for others

traits, status, abilities or situation; and liken it to jealousy.

Wouldnt it be better if we focused on bettering our own selves by admiring the good inothers, by getting inspired rather than vehemently grudging others of whatever we are

after!

Sharp reminder of divine punishment In HellYou'll be put in freezing water. Dantes

diktat Your eyes will be sewn shut with wire because you have gained sinful

pleasure from seeing others brought low.2. Gluttony

I have seen some hotelier friends go berserk at events internal or external. They will

reach out for the finest single malt, the most expensive cigars; top their plates with

caviar or oysters or whatever else has fancied them as if the world was going to end

tomorrow. I have seen hotel colleagues run massive entertainment bills because it was

all going to be paid for by their official expense accounts. I have seen these very same

people be mindful of their personal finances and how they spend their hard earned

money.

There was this PR predecessor at a certain hotel I worked for, who was known to invite

her husband to almost all her official dinners. This way, not only did her husband get to

network with a great set of contacts; there was also no need for anybody to prepare

dinner at home. How did I find out? Her overdone malpractice became a joke with the

journalist friends, some of whom recounted the story to others and it got onto the spin of

whispers on the informal circuit.

Not just hoteliers, the larger world too, seems to want more of everything more

money, more promotions, more rewards, more fun, more attention, more fame, more

glory, more happiness, more free time, more tripsthe list of wants is endless.

And then, there are the typical three villains we have studied about in our Psychology

classes. We all, from the time we are toddlers, seem to pine for more power, leadership


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and control seat of most of the trouble in the history of mankind. So, we come to work

in the haloed precincts of our marble and metal edifices and splatter around our

gluttonous need to gain more power, be a lot more in control of things than we are hired

for and send out bad energy that spin balls into an overly negative atmosphere at work.

This sense of acute selfishness cuts us off from others and makes others skeptical ofus, creating a feeling of distrust, disharmony and disengagement.

Gluttony stems from complete lack of self-control and can have serious ramifications

when one just must address this self-indulgent state of hunger any which way he can.

The more serious outcomes can be embezzlement, cheating, misappropriating funds

and putting business to sizeable risk.

If we didnt have this innate desire to consume more than what we actually require, not

just life in hotels but life in general and the world at large would be a much better place

and we would not be heading slowly but surely towards our own extinction.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment In Hell You'll be force-fed rats, toads and

snakes. Dantes Diktat Gluttons are forced to lie in a vile slush produced by

ceaseless foul, icy rain.3. Greed

Mentored by envy and fuelled by gluttony, Greed, indeed is, the wounded heel of

Achilles in all of us. We just seem so unstated, regardless of what we achieve and all

that we earn be it praise or profit, rest or riches, material gains or momentary

pleasures.

While a lot of us get slayed by this dragon of greed that raises its ugly head within us, in

some degree or other, I have had one outstanding example in my recent professional

past. The Colleague seemed to have this endless pit of greed which he was enslaved to

and had to fill it by hook or by crook. It was sad to see him want more and more of

everything. He wanted to be the highest earning, even among peers. He would

unabashedly put others in bad light or steal credit so as to let the strobes shine on him.

When we all were given Company cars, he wanted his to be in a different shade and

with a sunroof. From thinnest laptops, latest gizmos to clocking maximum frequent flier

miles, the man was ravenous about everything.

But almost all of us fall prey to this, at some point or another. It could be our greed for

praise and recognition. We may covet that position, regardless of the value we are

capable of bringing to it. We could be avaricious about the troika of pay, promotion,

perquisites. In fact, Company benefits have become a dirty word, just because our

sense of greed overpowers the humaneness and professionalism in us that should,

instead, guide most of our actions.


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Our inclination to feed the excessiveness fuelled by our selfish greed forces us to

disregard our personal and Company values.

The good thing, whether we like it or not, and whether we wish it or not, is that life and

work both teach us that contentment is a far better thing to abide by. Now, it is up to us

whether we want that lesson to be pleasant or harsh.Sharp reminder of divine punishment In HellYou'll be boiled alive in oil. Dantes

Diktat Youll be bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too

much on earthly thoughts.4. Lust

Just because we work in an industry that works through the day and the night does not

mean that we consider it a place where ALL our basic needs be met and desires be

fulfilled.

We lust for money, we lust after power and fame, and we crave carnal pleasures. That

is human natureas weve all come to learn and live. But then, we have also learned to

live within the realm of ethics and virtue that stand tall between being lawful and illegal;

grossly improper in conduct or within propriety.

Hotels present enough opportunities and have several hidden nooks and private spaces

which propel secret rendezvous. Then, the work environment and hours are such that

many love stories can blossom into a walk up to the altar. And that is kind of nice and

fascinating about the industry.

What we have reservations against is one-sided lust or emotion driven by desire to gain

out of it or control someone or harm another or just as a past time when energies

should go into productivity and honest output.

Several office romances have grown up into wedded bliss. Some spouses have

continued working together in the same establishment; others have worked out different

arrangements. But it all has been a wholesome outcome. And that is what is sought. We

must remember that romantic emotion is rational and thought over, while lust is insane,

unbridled and irrational.

I have seen flushed faces staring back from quiet Ballroom stairways. I have unwittingly

caught red-handed passion-stealers on guest floors. Back of the house Duty Managers

Desk, abandoned work stations, under-lit hallways, even unoccupied guest rooms have

been breeding areas for those bitten by the love / lust bug. I have personally warded off

interest from an overly keen boss, a colleague with a glad eye, as also an over-friendly

guest. Lust is not uncommon in hotels; like in a lot of other places.

What is strongly objected to; is when lust at work takes the nasty forms of sexual

harassment and sexual favours for promotions, job security and preferential treatment.

Further a lustful relationship at work is unethical, it is against corporate mission, vision

and goals and clouds good judgement on part of the workers involved. It eats into


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productive time and useful energy that would otherwise be put to decent work. It leads

to gross misuse of office resources. Behaviour such as this puts a blotch on your

reputation and credentials and hinders your growth and development. Lust and similar

inordinate behaviour make you unprofessional and shave off years of hard work gone

into assiduously building up a personal brand.Not just the above mentioned connotation; lust for money, success, power is based on

an unreal, unethical premise that will not serve you in the long run. There are enough

examples of stalwarts and superstars who have fallen into the abyss of shame,

ignominy and anonymity; and they have found it difficult to embark on the scaling up

once again.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment In Hell You'll be smothered, not in kisses, but

in fire and brimstone. Dantes Diktat Youll be forced to walk within flames to purge

yourself of lustful thoughts and feelings. And then blown back and forth by the terrible,

hurricane-like winds of a violent storm (symbolic of your own lack of self-control),without rest.5. Pride

We all our guilty of this; in small doses or big dollops! The organisations we work for are

one of the biggest reasons for creating a sense of false pride in us. The fault lies with us

as the lines between these mega brands we represent and our own selves get blurred

so much so that we think we are the Brand. Custodians, Ambassadors, Representatives

yes; but we are not THE brand in its sense of opulence, luxury, fame and reputation.

Yet, we hear the commonly uttered chant, Dont you know I am so and so from XYZ.

Do we take a minute to reflect on the fact centered on what will become of us if the XYZ

is removed from our calling cards? If we were to view the reality for what it is, we would

be a lot humbler and shorn off affectations.

We are proud about the companies that have hired us, the designations we can boast

about, the flashy lifestyle that those roles have bequeathed on us, the associates and

affiliations the company has brought closer to us. Did you notice, I said about and not

of?

This arrogance, vanity and sense of self-importance is the cause of our undoing. All

sacred writings known to man define Pride as an excessive belief in one's own abilities

that interferes with the individual's recognition of the grace of God. It has been called

the sin from which all others arise.

Pride is the worst sin that destroys all our senses it blinds us from seeing what is

right and fair, it shuts our ears from voices of reason, it disrupts our thinking, it makes us

ravenous for more false adulation and flattery, it steals the kindness and compassion

from our hearts and minds and it makes us utter such awfully damned things about

ourselves that continue to haunt us all along our personal and professional journey.


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Pride makes us paint a distorted, unrealistic image of ourselves as superior workers,

better than the rest. It throws a spanner in our learning process and stunts our mental

growth.

People with Pride as against people who are proud of their work, their skills and their

workplace (and there is a marked distinction between the two) are usually disdainful ofothers, are destructive of the team spirit and are sheer killjoys to work with. They enjoy

bringing in fear psychosis into the environment they dwell in and are parasitic in their

equations, always wanting to gain more out of others unrealistically and

disproportionately be it recognition, rewards, riches. People with arrogant pride step

on others to prop themselves up, are myopic in thinking as they wear blinkers of

pomposity, excel in alienating others, imprison themselves in their constricted castles of

conceit and erode the healthy work environment with their pronounced negative effect.

People afflicted with hubris are so greatly self-centered and have an intense love for the

self that they fail to see beyond themselves. Hence, they fail to acknowledge the gooddeeds and good work of others. The worst sinner is a grossly proud and supercilious

boss as he or she stomps out all good energy and from him flow harmful traits of fear,

flattery, wasteful fawning, falsification and fantasy that is as far removed from reality,

rectitude and efficiency as anything can be.

What is mindboggling is the fact that pride stems from low self-esteem, a complete

disregard of the status quo and outright rejection of others and their sound opinion. It is

said in the Bible, Pride goes before destruction; a haughty spirit before a fall. And

Pride has the propensity to bring about the downfall of the prideful individual and

destruction of the workplace in which such people fester. Dante defined Pride as "love

of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbour." Extrapolate this to the

work environment and see the quantum of venom and viciousness it unleashes.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment In HellYou'll be broken on the wheel. Dantes

Diktat Youll be forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on your backs to

induce feelings of humility.6. Sloth

There was this Banquet Operations Manager in one of the hotels I worked for, who had

created quite the reputation for himself. If the gent was missing from action in the post

lunch hour, we all knew where he would be. Often, the Manager was startled back into

action from his afternoon siesta which he stole in his bunker tucked away in the lockers

and brought back to an urgent meeting in a laughably dishevelled condition which led to

a lot of titters, winks and nudges.

At another hotel, there was this Human Resources Director who became a butt of inside

jokes for the afternoon power naps that he just had to take. I remember getting into his

shoes during the course of a certain Food Festival for promoting which I had to entertain


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my media friends for elaborate lunches and dinners. Getting back to the work station

post these soporific lunches was quite a painful task. But the difference lies in periodic

or situational vs. the habitual; the latter being a point of serious concern.

There are lazy people by nature and bearing and there are people who get slow for a

certain period of time on account of immense work pressure that threatens to keep themon their toes for time that stretches well beyond the witching hour. We know that

operational staff in hotels come under the latter category Rooms, Housekeeping,

Kitchens, F&B our mates from these departments keep the hotel buzzing through the

day and night. Regardless of the shift, feeling not so bright and up and about at all times

is absolutely excusable and cannot be slotted under sloth.

We are talking of those of us who are in the habit of delivering their shoddy,

unproductive best on account of an inherent behavioural pattern of being slow, tardy,

lazy and lackadaisical. We are also talking of those times, when the best of us are hit by

the wave of languid inertia and shameful indolence that eats into our office time, officereserves and supplies, our fecundity, the Companys bottom line, our reputation and

that value that we bring to the table. Sacred books also view Sloth as the failure to

utilize ones talents and gifts.

Sloth conjoined with its close cousin procrastination works towards sending your output

to the outpost of leisure & lethargy and your mind to a suspended state of vacation.

Lazy workers and slackers can easily be accused of theft at the workplace they steal

companys precious time and destroy the days propensity to produce. They are

destroyers they eat into Companys market share and profits by their sheer non -

deliverability. They are seasoned annihilators they kill drive, company morale,

customer trust and satisfaction and above all, their own potential and opportunities.

If we are not slothful workers by nature and inherent personality, then we all our aware

of several ways to shake us off the stupor and supineness. A drink of water, a brisk walk

around the hotel, a quick conversation with another colleague, a little 'me time' of music

or reading, a spot of meditation, a spurt of office calisthenics or stretches all are

known to bring the gush of energy back into us. For those whose CV should have sloth

mentioned somewhere amidst similar other strengths (err weaknesses) must be sent for

mental training, behavioural coaching and must be reprised of the Company mission

and goals. If all this fails, then either they should not be hired or relieved very quickly.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment In Hell You'll be thrown into snake pits.

Dantes Diktat Youll be made to run continuously at top speed.


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7. Wrath

Machines dont talk back to us or argue. Machines dont swear at us. We can kick the

sides of machines should they fail to perform to our expectation. Try that with people

and you put yourself in the dock for being reprimanded, red-marked or thrown out of

your job, depending on the seriousness of your crime.But hotels, being a people business, give us any number of occasions to lose our shirt.

Then these awesome places of work go ahead and give us more reasons, such that we

do not wish to put back on the darned piece of clothing.

The Boss is mean and vicious, the subordinates slimy and snarky and the peers

downright cut throat and caustic reasons more than enough to make us see red and

get vindictive. Other members of the team refuse to see our point of view, our POV is

not even considered or heard at forums, our good ideas are mercilessly squashed. In

the official quagmire, we deal with people who are smarter than us or less endowed

either ways it gets our pulse racing angry that we are not as good or exasperated on

having to deal with the low brows.

The superior rides roughshod over our esteem and endeavours, the associate aims at

snatching away, ever so indiscreetly, the credit due to us; and the junior snakes up to

gain a firm footing on the ladder at our expense. Life at work can be so unfair and it is

our birth right to be angry about it. Right!! But the real deal is; we cannot afford to be

angry. The better rationale is, we should not be angry and should attempt at winning

over the raging sense of wrath into productive channeling; as this negative emotion is

known to harm more and help much less.

With hotels lending a million permutations and combinations to equations and activities,

it is not unusual for them to be wrought with elevated tempers. I have witnessed the

Executive Chef bellowing out in full steam over his Kitchen underlings. One such

colleague showed this aspect of his personality to me and the accompanying TV crew,

all because he was excessively stressed over a big Food Festival, the opening night of

which was not going his way.

I have sat within ear shot of a red-faced General Manager as he threatened to take the

pants off the Director of Materials because the man was not managing to get some

consignments into the hotel on time for a mega launch. Another time, the same General

Manager with the same hot-headedness lost it on the Financial Controller so bad that

we thought he would get up and punch the guy in the face in the Morning Briefing,

with all of us Excom around!

A Managing Director with one of the worlds leading hotel chains recounts an incident

when he worked in the Chefs kitchen as an entrant into the industry. He noted with

disbelief how the enraged Chef would chuck ladles of curry onto the facing wall just to

vent.


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Such heightened drama comes easily to those who have a lot under their hats and

belts. Working in overly stressed condition often brings this downside in our demeanour.

While, in all the examples above, the managers have had sound reason to be irrational

with their temper but it is never a good thing to lose it publicly. In times such as this, no

matter what or who is the trigger, it makes sense to count to ten or hundred and biteyour lip in time.

Sharp reminder of divine punishment In HellYou'll be dismembered alive. Dantes

Diktat The wrathful will fight each other on the surface, and the sullen lie gurgling

beneath the water, withdrawn into a black sulkiness which can find no joy in God or man

or the universe.

The non-believers and agnostics amongst us will, no doubt, be disbelieving about the

punishment in hell blocks. But even the most rational of us will agree that heaven and

hell exist here and now. At the workplace, punishment can take the form of soiled

reputation, defamation, legal suits, blacklisting, losing ones job or position right up torendering oneself completely un-hire-able.

While we all can be accused of being guilty of all or some of these sins to varying

degrees, our effort must be to seek penance by our noble thoughts and wise actions.

We must aim to rise above the bar and attempt to not commit any of these sins, at least

consciously both at work and in life!

Seven Cardinal Sins Committed By a Hotelier.docx

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