INTERVIEW
May 2022
MS. How important Destination Management Services and Corporate Event Management Solutions are for round-the-clock event support, and why DMC is a wise choice for any event planning company. Amit Saroj. I would skip this question as this is more apt for a DMC company. But yes for us as a PCO we have to offer extended service for large scale conferences, since it is backed by our technology. to an extent it becomes an obvious choice to offer DMC services. I may not agree that it is a wise choice for a PCO to transform into a full scale DMC unless it's a different company or a brand. Hope I understood the question correctly. MS. Please share brief highlights of your presentation at ITB India (as a speaker) and the key issues you intend to discuss in terms of industry consolidation. Amit Saroj. At ITB, I spoke about the key challenge we are facing in the recovery phase post covid impact. I shared 8 pointers that we practiced to sustain and now look at our growth path. The ideas were more from a financial business perspective to manage with less resources and yet aim for growth. I think being a virtual event the talk should still be available on the ITB platform. MS. What are the top three major challenges surrounding the industry? Amit Saroj. Covid Impact is the biggest challenge for now we need to deal with the following: Manage a full service company with reduced team size and skill, I think is the stage for not only our industry but the entire hospitality industry including hotels. This needs rebuilding and restructuring. Ÿ Talent drain to other industries. Again this for the entire hospitality industry, the talent from our industry have made choices and found opportunities in different industries which has depleted the skilled resource strength who were trained for years. it will take a few years to replenish with new resources Ÿ Managing Cash-flows, initially with lock downs and
then the backlogs will take time to get back to normal. MS. What is one of the hardest challenges that you’ve come up against and what did it teach you? Amit Saroj. Undoubtedly, it was Covid impact on our business and I have learnt more in the past 2 years than in the past 20 years before covid. We were used to ups and downs in business but covid was a hard kick on the backside for the complacent business owners we had become over years. Not only made us restart like a start up again but taught us some hard lessons on business and life as well. Overall a great learning experience but would not want to go through it again :) MS. Please share with us your experience of the most challenging show you have managed in the past? Amit Saroj. As mentioned earlier, we are like the thread that holds the event together, when the thread breaks or is about to break it becomes challenging. Many events have been challenging but the one I always remember is the global event I did myself in 2004, a Global Forum, which taught me the most about conference organising. We were only 4 team members to do an event which needed at least 40, the thread broke and was missing in that forum but it gave me a lifetime of learning on managing conferences. MS. On another note, what do you enjoy the most about your work? Please share your hobbies and what keeps you busy when you are away from work?
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Amit Saroj. Being part of the hospitality industry is a high in itself as you meet and interact internationally and engage with varied industries of your clients. The dopamine rush of a successful event is addictive and that's what keeps you going and I see people coming back to the industry for it. Hobbies, I like to play guitar and stress my vocal cords with friends and family sometimes. Yoga and running are in my regular routines. I love audiobooks as I am not patient enough to sit and read. Also started a blog now #Successawaited
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