Deepak Ohri Walks the Talk at Lebua

What do you do when business goes down? What do you do when a 357 all suite luxury hotel with 12 bars and restaurants suddenly is asked to shut shop due to a pandemic? That would be daunting proposition for many a hotelier and most would take the easy way out. Sack the Staff. Chopping the low hanging fruit, is a no brainer. But how would it sound if you decided not to lay off even a single employee? There would be a sense of disbelief. That is exactly what Deepak Ohri did.

The CEO of the iconic lebua Towers in Bangkok, Deepak Ohri who has been hailed as a pioneer of roof top dining, decided that they will not layoff any of their 1500 employees. Instead, Deepak sent a personal communication to each of the staff member of this vertical destination topped up by the golden hued dome that houses two enchanting Michelin restaurants and top of the line bars, including the much photographed Skybar.

As Deepak put it so succinctly in a webinar on Monday, every hospitality CEO should ask themselves this question: How do you evaluate the risk of letting people, your most important asset go, when a crisis is staring at you? These are the very people who laid the foundation of what is a successful business for your company, in a service business that is purely based on probability. How can you let such exceptional talent slip through your hand?

And it’s not just in Bangkok, that lebua took the call to keep their team intact. In India too, lebua properties kept their staff employed. The secret of the success is the passion that drives Deepak to innovate, is the absolute commitment of his staff, many of whom have long tenures at lebua. In a post covid decimated hospitality industry, every CEO looks to cut costs and human resources is often the first to face the axe. But lebua is different.

And Deepak has reasons to smile as lebua gets ready to welcome its guests from 3rd of July 2020. The smile is familiar and the welcome is traditional. The motivated staff are ready to serve their guests in ways that only lebua can. They don’t teach you at a Business School about how to keep your flock together in a crisis. Deepak can