With over three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, Mr. Younis Khan, Hotel Manager, The LaLiT Ashok Bengaluru, brings a guest-centric approach to hotel management, built on operational discipline, team empowerment and service excellence. Having begun his career in Front Office, he believes that the foundation of a memorable guest experience lies in attentive service, consistent standards and a motivated team.
In this email interview, Mr. Khan discusses his leadership philosophy, the hotel’s approach to food safety and quality assurance, and the measures being reinforced to strengthen hygiene, storage and inventory-management practices. He also shares his perspective on transparency and accountability in hospitality, the evolving expectations of Bengaluru’s travellers, and the hotel’s priorities for enhancing its market positioning, culinary offerings and sustainable growth.
With over three decades of experience across the hospitality industry, how has your approach to hotel management evolved over the years, and which key leadership principles continue to guide your approach to operational excellence and guest satisfaction?
I started in Front Office, and that still shapes how I see a hotel. It’s where you learn very quickly that a guest remembers how they were treated, not how well your systems ran. Over thirty years, what has changed is that I now spend far less time solving problems myself and far more time making sure my team can solve them without waiting for me. Guests are also better informed today and expect more personalisation, so the job has become more about anticipating than reacting.
What hasn’t changed is a short list of things I keep coming back to. Listen to your people. Give them ownership. Recognise good work, and not only commercial results. Keep teaching. When associates feel trusted, they take care of the guest almost without being told, and that’s where both operational excellence and guest satisfaction come from.
Food safety and quality assurance are integral to maintaining guest confidence in the hospitality sector. What protocols and monitoring mechanisms does The LaLiT Ashok Bangalore implement across procurement, storage, food preparation and service to ensure compliance with applicable standards?
At The LaLiT Ashok Bangalore, food safety and quality assurance are integral to delivering a safe, consistent, and high-quality dining experience. We follow a systematic approach that covers the entire food journey, from procurement and receipt of ingredients to storage, preparation, and service, in line with applicable food safety regulations and standards. Procurement and Receiving: We source ingredients from approved suppliers and conduct checks upon receipt to assess freshness, quality, packaging integrity, expiry dates, and temperature, wherever applicable.
Storage and Inventory Management: Ingredients are stored under appropriate temperature and hygiene conditions, with raw and cooked foods segregated to prevent cross-contamination. Clear labelling, date marking, stock rotation, and regular temperature monitoring help maintain product quality and safety.
Food Preparation and Service: Our teams follow established food hygiene practices, including personal hygiene, appropriate food handling, cleaning and sanitisation schedules, and temperature controls during preparation and service. Supervisory checks help ensure that these procedures are consistently followed across our kitchens and food and beverage outlets. Monitoring and Accountability: Regular operational checks, documentation, and supervision by the concerned department heads help maintain compliance and identify areas requiring corrective action. We also emphasise employee awareness and training to reinforce a culture of food safety and accountability.
At The LaLiT Ashok Bangalore, we believe food safety is not merely a procedural requirement but a daily responsibility. Through consistent monitoring, team awareness, and a focus on continuous improvement, we strive to uphold guest confidence and deliver a safe and enjoyable culinary experience.
In light of the recent FSDA-related reports concerning The LaLiT Ashok Bangalore, could you share the hotel’s perspective on the observations and outline the measures undertaken to address them and strengthen existing food-safety and inventory- management practices?
At The LaLiT Ashok, Bengaluru, we take all observations made by the relevant authorities seriously and view them as an opportunity to review and strengthen our existing processes. Regarding the recent FSDA-related observations, the concerns pertained to the storage and segregation of meat and frozen products. As communicated at the time, the products in question were reported to be fit for consumption. Nevertheless, we recognise that proper storage, segregation, labelling, and inventory management are essential components of effective food-safety practices.
In response, we have reviewed our existing procedures and are reinforcing controls relating to stock rotation, date verification, product labelling, storage conditions, and inventory monitoring. We are also strengthening team awareness and reinforcing adherence to established food-handling and hygiene protocols to ensure consistency across our operations. We remain committed to cooperating with the relevant authorities and addressing observations appropriately. Food safety is a priority at The LaLiT Ashok, and we continue to focus on maintaining high standards of hygiene, quality assurance, and operational accountability to safeguard guest confidence.
Our commitment is to ensure that food-safety practices remain robust, consistently monitored, and aligned with applicable regulatory requirements.
Maintaining stringent operational standards while delivering a seamless guest experience requires coordination across departments. How do you ensure that hygiene, quality control and accountability remain embedded in the hotel’s day-to-day operations without compromising service excellence?
I think the answer is to keep it simple and visible. Every department head owns the standards for their area, and everyone knows what good looks like. I walk the hotel, kitchens and stores included, and speak to people on the floor, because that tells you more than a report does. We talk openly about what went wrong and why, without it turning into blame. If someone raises a problem early, they should be thanked for it.
Guests shouldn’t feel any of this. The back-end is strict so the front-end can be relaxed and warm. At Baluchi, for instance, the interactive kitchen lets guests watch their food being prepared, which makes the care visible.
With increasing emphasis on transparency and accountability in hospitality, how can hotels communicate effectively about food-safety practices, respond to guest concerns and reinforce confidence in their operational standards?
Be honest, be quick, and be specific. When a guest raises a concern, they should hear back from a real person, soon, with a clear answer on what we found and what we’re doing about it. Vague reassurance doesn’t build trust, but plain facts do. The same goes for public communication. Say what you know, don’t overpromise, and update people when things change.
It also helps to show the work in ordinary times, whether that’s open kitchens, trained and well-informed service staff, or being willing to answer questions about sourcing. Confidence comes from guests seeing that we are consistent, not from us telling them we are.
As Hotel Manager of The LaLiT Ashok Bangalore, what are your key priorities for the property, and how do you envision strengthening its market positioning, enhancing its guest proposition and driving sustainable growth in Bengaluru’s evolving hospitality landscape?
My first priority is getting the fundamentals right and keeping them there: consistent service, strong standards and a team that feels proud to work here. On top of that, I see a real opportunity in Bengaluru’s changing traveller. The city is no longer only a business destination, and guests want to enjoy it around their work. We’re centrally located at Kumara Krupa High Grounds, with 186 rooms and suites and over 59,000 sq. ft. of event space, so we can serve both the business traveller and the guest who stays on for leisure.
Food and beverage is a key part of this journey. Baluchi’s interactive kitchen, regional cuisine, local ingredients and Karnataka flavours, complemented by curated brunches and festive programming, give guests compelling reasons to choose the hotel as a dining destination. A recent milestone has been the growing focus on creating distinctive culinary experiences that celebrate local flavours while strengthening guest engagement.
Sustainability is equally important, with initiatives across energy and water conservation, waste management and responsible sourcing. For me, sustainable growth begins with happy guests and a strong, motivated team in that order.
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