Ajay Mehtani

Experience

Ajay Mehtani is Senior Vice President at HVS Executive Search based in New Delhi. Ajay has over 30 years of experience in Hospitality, FMCG, ITES and Private Equity. He has worked with InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) leading the Sales and Marketing function in Southwest Asia to grow the presence of IHG brands to over 3500+ rooms across InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn brands in the region. Ajay has worked with Quatro Global Services looking after the Travel & Hospitality Solutions division and with Duet India Hotels handling Asset Management and Development for an investment of over $300 million in internationally branded mid-scale hotels across India. Prior to joining HVS he was working with Starwood Hotels & Resorts as Regional Director - New Builds, Transitions & Franchise Support for South Asia. He has completed his Master’s in Marketing and Hospitality with Certification in Digital Marketing, Foundation of Business Strategy and in Fundamentals of Revenue Management and the Executive Program in Marketing Strategy from IIM Lucknow.

My Articles

HVS Monday Musings: Collaborative Innovation

The term ‘collaborative innovation’ is frequently used in the context of technology or software development, but hardly ever with the Indian hospitality industry. Read on to know more.

• January 9, 2022 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Operations , Asset Management , Sales & Marketing , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: Indoor Air Quality May Define Your Choice of Future Hotel Stays

Health and safety are a priority for travelers today. This article discusses that indoor air quality (IAQ) will soon become a key parameter influencing traveler’s choice of stay.

• June 20, 2021 By Ajay Mehtani

• Architecture & Interior Design , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: Tech Driven Ancillary Revenue Push in Indian Hotels Sector

Hotel companies in India have finally started focusing on ancillary revenue and now need to take it a step further by embracing technology to push their ancillary revenue strategy.

• May 30, 2021 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Operations , Technology , Resorts , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: Being Frugal in 2021 – Is this One of the Lessons We Learned from the Pandemic?

Being frugal in every way possible is a key lesson learned by the hospitality sector during the pandemic. This article discusses some of the changes made at hotels during the pandemic.

• January 10, 2021 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Operations , Asset Management , Hotel Brands , Hotel Management , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: COVID Cost Factor (CCF) - Are we willing to change the status quo in India?

Most hotels have implemented quick cost-saving changes to their largest cost components i.e. compensation and energy costs as they try to stay afloat during the pandemic. However, the industry needs to take a step further by evaluating and scrutinizing their cost structures even deeper to make some radical changes. Are we ready & is it time?

• December 6, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Operations , Asset Management , Hotel Accounting , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: Dynamic Pricing, Perishability, Decoupling in India's Service Industry

Is it time for the hotels sector to embrace some of the revenue management practices followed by the aviation industry? Read on to know more.

• October 18, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Operations , Asset Management , Hotel Accounting , Risk Management , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: The Onus lies with Us – Rebuilding Trust to Get Back Guests to Eat & Stay With Us!

Strictly implementing SOPs with 100% accuracy and training our associates to live by those SOPs is the need of the hour. ‘Safety’ should be built into our hospitality DNA as that alone can help us rebuild trust and customer confidence.

• September 21, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani , Dipti Mohan

• Hotel Operations , Food & Beverage , Hotel Companies , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: Improving Hotel ROI – Thinking Out of Box from Design to Operations

The pandemic is forcing the hospitality sector to rethink and make hotels more viable as developing hotel assets that drive higher ROI is the need of the hour. How can hotels achieve this? Read on to know more.

• August 31, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Investments & Ownership , Asset Management , Hotel Companies , Risk Management , COVID-19 , India

HVS Monday Musings: Why Professional Asset Management Adds Value to Hotel Investors?

Professional Asset Managers are likely to gain significance in the COVID era as Hotel Owners & Investors realize their true value in helping improve hotel performances and yields in these extremely disruptive times. Read on to know more.

• August 24, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani , Dipti Mohan

• Hotel Investments & Ownership , Asset Management , Hotel Companies , COVID-19 , India

Marketing in Uncharted Waters - The COVID Era

Should Marketing Spends be put on hold during these unprecedented times? Read our article to know more.

• May 21, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Operations , Sales & Marketing , COVID-19 , India

Will Ancillary Revenues become Primary Revenues in the COVID Era?

In the COVID-9 era, will Ancillary Revenues become Primary Revenue and should efficiencies be measured as revenue per square foot? Read on to know more.

• May 6, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani

• Hotel Operations , Asset Management , COVID-19 , India

Hotel Operations in the COVID Era

Social distancing has become the new normal in today's COVID-19 world and hotels need to re-evaluate and update their SOPs to quickly adapt to this change. This document will help hotels in the planning process for the formulation of COVID-19 related SOPs.

• April 16, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani , Dipti Mohan

• Hotel Operations , COVID-19 , India

An Invasion of Business Like Never Before

The Indian hospitality sector is undergoing one of its worst-ever crises in living memory and is putting every effort to deal with this unprecedented invasion. Even now, hotels are relentlessly providing quality services to their guests. So, who are the guests staying at these hotels?

• April 7, 2020 By Ajay Mehtani , Dipti Mohan

• Hotel Operations , COVID-19 , India