Jai Govindani had already racked up some impressive feats before joining Red Planet Hotels. Among other things, he helped Thailand’s largest mobile content provider move back into the black, launched the country’s first digital interactive media firm and founded a regional tech startup. At Bangkok-based Red Planet, he took on the challenge of designing the end-to-end guest experience technology that was a key ingredient in the company’s 2015 rebranding. Now 33, Govindani is a passionate tech developer who is equally passionate about the guest experience.
Govindani is one of 20 rising stars (all 40 and under) HOTELS interviewed for our May feature. All shared their insights about their lives in the business and thoughts about some of today’s challenges and opportunities. In a Wall Street Journal-sponsored series, read Govindani’s responses to our questions and click here to link to the full list of interviews with HOTELS 20 Next-Gen hospitality leaders.
Contributed by Megan Rowe
HOTELS: What’s the state of career opportunities in the hotel industry?
Jai Govindani: I think you have to look at this on two levels, entry-level and management. Operations staff is typically younger, not sure of what they want, at their first job, so there is a lot of moving around. But at the management level, it’s a problem. I don’t think opportunities are expanding because people don’t leave. And no one is going to create a job if it’s not in the budget. So you have to wait for people to leave, and you might have to wait 10 years.
H: Do you see any evidence glass ceilings and old boys’ networks are falling? And how are younger hotel professionals networking?
JG: There’s definitely a club, and it helps to be in it. I have heard more than one person say they stay in hospitality because of conferences and socializing. You need to reach out and network — otherwise, you will be significantly limited professionally.
H: Do you see evidence that companies are shifting their cultures to meet hotel staff and corporate needs?
JG: I think there is a disconnect in terms of what people consider priorities. In my parents’ time, people were lucky to have a job. Nowadays, people want to be happy at their job and make an impact. If they have an idea they think is worth doing, they expect it to propagate up through the organization and that people will listen because it’s a good idea. Just having a job is not the be all, end all.
H: What are the needs and priorities of next-gen leaders?
JG: They value happiness and work-life balance. Before I joined Red Planet in 2014, I was running a tech startup, and before that I was running teams. I slept an average of four or five hours a night. After I joined Red Planet I realized that if you don’t work 20 hours a day, life can actually be pretty decent. You can skydive, run marathons, and I do that. People in this generation get it. People coming up now? Everyone thinks they are entitled and pampered, but one thing they get is happiness, that there is more to life than being at a job every day.
H: Why are people getting into the hotel business — and what does the industry need to do to become more attractive?
JG: I think there needs to be a fundamental change in how the industry does things. Companies need to innovate and try to get rid of bureaucracy. For example, a significant time of my job is spent on purchase orders, a lot of hassles that have nothing to do with me adding value in technology. How do you change that? People in the industry today have to be OK with fighting the good fight. Who wants to take a new job knowing it’s going to be years of chasing down purchase orders?
H: What do you care about most when it comes to hotels and careers?
JG: I’m a firm believer in giving guests the best experience possible. I’ve worked in IT services since college, and you learn to be ridiculously patient and nice with people — which is a guest experience. I like the fact that there is that one core underlying principle.
H: To what do you most attribute your success and growth?
JG: My parents. For some reason I can’t stop. I go a thousand miles a minute and have to slow myself down. I didn’t do that — my parents instilled in me a drive to always do things better.
H: What’s your advice to next-gen hoteliers and people entering the industry now?
JG: Do your best every day. As long as you always execute to the best of your ability, you’ll have a good night’s sleep — whatever it is, do the best job possible.
H: Describe the things that you try to do every day, and why you do them.
JG: Besides coffee, the first thing every morning I watch world news. That’s all about perspective. It’s easy to live with our offices, salaries, jobs, mortgages — these are all very First World problems, and there’s a whole other world out there. And I run, because I have an addictive personality.
H: Where do you find inspiration outside your industry?
JG: The tech and academic worlds resonate with me because they are pure meritocracies, where the best ideas win. I draw inspiration from people who believe that propagating knowledge and freedom of information get the world where it needs to go. That’s how you end wars. I’m inspired by my parents, who ran restaurants and did other things just to survive and came a long way just getting me to where I am. I feel like I have had it easy and everyone else has gone through so much.
H: What’s one prediction you’re willing to make about hospitality technology in the coming year?
JG: We aren’t moving fast enough as an industry. Many people will still be obsessed with Alexa and Cortana, and we are chasing down these consumer technologies that have no use in a hotel room.