This Kochi entrepreneur talks about difficulties as a woman hotelier

Prameela always wanted to start a business and each time she visited the 45 year old Hotel Dwaraka, the more she found the need to take care of how it functions.

While she thinks the space is competitive for both men and women, what really irks her is the attitude of some with women rising to a senior role and delegating jobs. "There are sometimes attitude problems when a woman rises to a senior role and has to delegate something to subordinates," she said. 

"There are a lot of women who have broken societal norms of just staying back home or doing household chores and have become successful in different industries. I believe Women’s Day is one such day where you celebrate women empowerment," she added. 

Managing a budget hotel in Kochi wasn’t an easy task and she began researching about the industry and hospitality business. One such business step, she tells us, was to team up with OYO. She said the occupancy levels increased from 30 percent to 80 percent. But, what really worked is the customer feedback that helped her improve the services.

“When I took over this hotel, I used to receive a lot of customer feedback regarding the staff behaviour, room service etc. After partnering with OYO, I have learned the art of using this feedback to deliver better guest experience. Following customer feedback, we have started educating the staff and ensuring that our staff is completely equipped and trained to deliver requirements for our guests,” she tells us.

• Kochi entrepreneur
• Entrepreneur
• woman hotelier
• OYO