Spotlight on: Being a General Manager at Holiday Inn

Ever wondered what sort of career journey our General Managers have been on in some of IHG’s leading hotels from across the globe? We’ve been lucky enough to spend time with some of our General Managers and they’ve taken time out of their busy schedules to tell us a little bit out their journeys.

We ask them where it all began, where it’s taken them and where they’d like to get to next. We love hearing the passion our Managers speak passion, with so have a read for yourself Jagdeep’s journey… 

When did you join IHG and in which department?

“I joined back in 1999 as Director of Food & Beverage in Parkroyal, New Delhi. This later became InterContinental Eros and New Delhi India launched India’s largest nightclub “Float”. I was exposed to Marketing brand standards for the first time which changed the way New Year Gala events were done. It was at this time a single ticket to the hotel became introduced which allowed guests to participate and view the different entertainment activities in the hotel while eating in a restaurant of their choice. This doubled the revenue for the single night and was really cool to be a part of.”

Jagdeep, General Manager - Holiday Inn Singapore Orchard City Centre

What’s your story at IHG since first joining?

“Back in 2002 – 2006 I was Director of Food & Beverage in Intercontinental Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was this hotel that was the venue for the ASEAN summit and all Head of States stayed with us. This happened to be my first role outside of India and was great exposure. I attended a career insight program in Phuket during this period which taught me about the Ambassador Club members and Guest Satisfaction. I left Cambodia in 2006 and until 2009 was Director of Food & Beverage: Holiday Inn Singapore, Orchard City Centre was the first hotel to get ISO 22000 and HACCP certified for Food safety in IHG which was a great achievement.

From 2009 - 2010 I became Resident Manager at Holiday Inn Resort Penang, Malaysia. Here I led the renovation and prepared the hotel for a brand re-launch which meant I was in charge of operations too. Having decided to leave Malaysia in 2010 I spent the next two years at EAM Holiday Inn Singapore, Orchard City Centre is where I played a part in the Stay Real launch / Winning Ways while staying in charge of hotel operations. This meant I was responsible for quality and consistent delivery of products.

I have been at Holiday Inn, Singapore Orchard City Centre ever since and became General Manager in 2012. Here I can proudly say we received 10/10 in Winning Metric in 2013 whereby I drove strategy and overall hotel results which included development of talent. One of my biggest achievements during this time has to be being recognised by United Nations twice in 2013 for proactive recruitments of persons with disabilities (PWD’s)”

Where can you see yourself in the years to come?

I would love to work with other brands in locations in South East Asia or the Middle East and progress to Multi Unit Manager in a sub-region and head up an entire Country! I really want to continue to develop myself by working in challenging situations and where better to do that than with IHG?”