Hospitality industry in Bangladesh

As an expat Bangali, my frequent visits to Bangladesh are always an exhilarating experience for me. I am overwhelmed by the rapid changes in all spheres of life and living that I see here and impressed by the adaptability of the people. The traffic, chaos, dirt & pollution and dense population in all the major cities especially Dhaka cannot get any worse; yet people continue with their daily life just as though this is normal.  

The resilience of the people who unflinchingly pursue their dreams and try to improve their socio-economic status deserves citation. One needs to appreciate the creativity and dynamism that has given rise to innumerable businesses from the street level vendor to the major industries contributing to the national GDP.  

Because my travels, both professional and personal, take me globetrotting I tend to be attentive to the hospitality business wherever I go. And in recent years I have seen a colossal growth in the hospitality industry of Bangladesh.  

Not long ago when I was a resident of Dhaka we were frequently making adjustments in the household to welcome 'live in guests'. They were not only friends but business partners and professional colleagues. The choice of putting up the guests in standard hotels in those days were limited to the five-star brands of Sheraton and Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel, that were beyond our and the guests' budget.  Then slowly and gradually, the guest-houses started opening and operating that were more like Bed & Breakfast (B&B) with cozy customized services.

Large family-owned houses in major residential areas of Dhanmondi, Moghbazar, Eskaton, Gulshan and Banani were converted into 6 to 8 bedroom B&B's. These guest houses were mostly family-owned and operated. Run more like a hostel offering clean rooms & linens and bathrooms with hot and cold water, dining area with one large or few small tables, lounge with TV and reading materials and a kitchen that brought out basic egg and toast breakfast, a few Chinese items for lunch and dinner on request; it was not a challenge to manage these properties.

Staffs of these guest houses were appointed from the domestic people that were working with the family, even the cook. I recall seeing some of the owners with their respective cooks purchase from the wholesale kitchen markets food and other items in lots. The visitors were excited at the prospect of finding good, comfortable and affordable places to stay when visiting Bangladesh offering customized services like off the menu preparation of food of choice, guest entertainment in the dining & living room etc., that these early versions of B&B's offered.  

In the meantime the country was making progress in trade, commerce and industrial sector and more business and professional people from all over the world were visiting Bangladesh than ever before.  

Business for the 'guest houses' started booming. The owners were frantic to accommodate all the guests but didn't have enough rooms. Consequently, the city's residential areas witnessed an unprecedented proliferation of guest houses in no time at all. There was a period when people trying to rent couldn't find any place as every other residential building was converted or renovated into a guest house.  The creative group of people who had initiated this business were either adding floors to their two storied houses or renting to expand their business.   

Demand grew at such tremendous pace that the small group of guest house owners became hospitality service entrepreneurs launching the economy class, medium sized hotel business in the country. In no time the skyline in Dhaka and other major cities were dotted with the construction of medium sized hotels and/or conversion of apartment blocks into such properties.  

It wasn't difficult to grow into this business as hospitality is an intrinsic part of our culture and heritage. However, where small guest houses could be managed home-style; catering to the guests' needs effortlessly, the larger and more commercial version required professional, technical and specialized management and skills.  

Unfortunately, most of the owners of the properties were neither aware nor prepared for this exceptionally fast transition of a homegrown business to a commercially viable industry. In their enthusiasm to get a big bite of the expanding and hugely successful hospitality industry, the more ambitious owners started importing ideas of 'boutique' hotels/resorts and 5-star standards from around the world. Architectural concepts knew no boundaries and the interiors; posh, plush, opulent and trendy. Thematic restaurants took central stage and costs were overlooked in the rush to outdo one another for visual effect.  

All these adrenalin pumping exercise took a toll on better business sense and impacted the quality of actual hotel operations. Because the entrepreneurs did not prepare themselves for investment in 'human resource'; essential for providing efficient hospitality related services. At the core of hospitality lies 'service' that is delivered by people; a component mostly overlooked in the wake of constructing magnum opus properties.

As with any business it takes time and relentless effort to see uninterrupted revenue, projected breakeven and eventual profits. Although demand was increasing but as the supply gained momentum, the projected 'need' started slackening. Where any new hotel had a steady stream of business without much effort in terms of marketing and service, now there were dual challenges of competition and the necessity to cut corners for diminishing post-launch operational cost. Regrettably, 'human resource' was compromised to sprint over the hurdles. It produced immediate desired results of cutting expense, but negatively affected long-term sound business growth.

Most of these hotels offered exceptionally designed exteriors, interiors, amenities and thematic restaurants but majority lacked the desired professional 'services' and products. Attention to details in service that attracts a world class traveler and leaves an indelible impression was not given due diligence. Skills and capacity of the staff in all the departments of the hotels were ineffective and inadequate, commensurate to set standards.  

The result - obviously a slide in the quality of services offered by most of the hotels and high staff turnovers.

Hence, the hospitality 'baby' started to limp even before getting over the teething pain.  

And after almost 10 years the status hasn't improved, albeit, new properties are mushrooming. There is a persistent dearth of skilled workforce in the hospitality industry of Bangladesh. In the absence of adequate formal institutional proficiency development facilities, continuous in-house training procedures and conscientious service and product quality monitoring, the prospects of improving the performance of the hospitality sector has become ever challenging.  

The abundant human resource of the country, sadly, remains unexplored and unexploited in this context.  Migrant workforce of Bangladesh in the hospitality sector is losing ground due only to lack of professional training and experience. At the management level, expats are hired who bring with them experience and expertise. However, for service-oriented industry it is extremely important to fully comprehend the customs of the people to be managed and served.  

The socio-cultural divide needs to be bridged for transfer of knowledge and skills that remains a decisive challenge for the 'expat management personnel' of the hotels.

At this juncture it is critical for the present and prospective hospitality business owners to develop skilled workforce for the sustainable success of their venture and return of their investment. Any hotel is just bricks and cement structure without the warmth of a genuine 'welcome' smile.

The writer is sales & marketing and human resource development consultant.