TravTalk India Online Magazine
KB Kachru, Chairman, Emeritus & Principal Advisor, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, releases his debut book ‘Humility and Agility: The Life of a Hotelier’, which focuses on his hospitality journey. Sharing insights of his illustrious career in the book, he emphasises on the importance of humility and agility in hospitality.
Janice Alyosius
KB Kachru, Chairman, Emeritus & Principal Advisor, South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group, recently unveiled his inaugural book, titled ‘Humility and Agility: The Life of a Hotelier’. Through this book, Kachru reflects on his remarkable journey, offering insights into the world of hospitality, while highlighting the values of humility and agility that have defined his eminent career.
Sharing the motivation for authoring the book, Kachru said, “I went through various phases of my life and felt I must take note of a few things which had happened with me and can be learnings for the generations to come because learning is an experience, and I just wanted to pass them on.”
Within the pages of his book, Kachru aims to ignite a spark of motivation within the hospitality industry. “Many of my colleagues are writing good things about their experiences, I think it will do very well. As leaders of the industry, we all should contribute and share our experiences with people, which will help everybody. You may relate to it now or later, but it will help everybody at some stage of life,” he said.
Emphasising on the impact of G20, Kachru said, “G20 is helping us to position the country better. Travellers are now moving to the lesser-known destinations and understanding what India has to offer. These meetings have strategically showcased lesser-known destinations in India, placing the country on a broader tourism map. So, I think this will help our industry in a big way.”
Kachru highlighted the fact that sustainability is key to the tourism and hospitality industry. “It is very important not only for Radisson, but also for the entire hotel industry. They have recognized that we must do something for Mother Earth, and everybody is contributing, whether it is in terms of using a renewal energy, saying no to single-use plastic. Each brand and hotel is contributing towards it,” he shared.
Radisson Group is setting its sights on growth and have a remarkable number of properties in the pipeline. Highlighting that the brand is expanding horizons, Kachru shared, “We are coming up with hotels everywhere from Dera Bassi to Kerala, we are all over. We want to double our portfolio in next three years. We were lucky to get in roads with Jammu and Kashmir and we are the first international company to go to Jammu and Kashmir. We have set up a hotel in Katra, and now we have 11 hotels in operation and in development. This will make a huge difference in exposing the state. We are also opening our best hotel in Srinagar in next 3-4 months.” Kachru added that the brand intends to harness the road network’s connectivity, focusing on infrastructure development. He emphasized, “Our goal is to build a hotel every four hours both from north to south and from west to east.”
Highlighting the potential of India, Kachru said, “India is a dynamic market, and we are proud of how our industry has come back after COVID and I think haste will be driven by the market as they are, and when more inventory comes, there would be stabilizing factor, we are all prepared for it, but we want more rooms, more inventory and people are investing and moving ahead. There is scope for everybody to grow. Both national and international chains are doing very well, and they have taken Indian market as a serious market, and we all are expanding.”
