June 2, 2025 • 53 mins
This one’s got heart, hustle, and some serious longevity.
I’m joined by Salil Bokil—GM of Hollywood Golf Club down the Jersey Shore. He’s been there 18 years, and somehow built a team where no one leaves. I’m talking a chef who’s been there 17 years… a controller who’s clocked in for over 36. It’s wild—but once you hear how he leads, it all makes sense.
Salil walks us through his journey from India to the U.S., landing here just two weeks before 9/11, and how that moment shaped everything that came after. We talk about his early years in hotels, why clubs became his forever home, and how he keeps things fresh season after season.
He shares what it really takes to build trust with a board, a team, and a membership—and why being visible, grounded, and curious has been his leadership edge.
We also get into:
 – The underrated magic of seasonal downtime
 – What he learned from his parents (and still carries today)
 – How he connects with over 100 seasonal staff—and remembers what you drank a month ago
 – And why you probably shouldn’t try to pull a fast one on him (he’s done your job before)
Salil’s the real deal. No fluff. Just great stories, real strategy, and a masterclass in how to lead well—and stay human doing it.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club
Radio Show, where we give youthe scoop on all things private
golf and country clubs Frommastering leadership and
management, food and beverageexcellence, member engagement
secrets, board governance andeverything in between, all while
keeping it fun and light.
Whether you're a club veteranjust getting your feet wet or
somewhere in the middle, you arein the right place.
(00:20):
I'm your host, Denny Corby.
Welcome to the show.
In this episode, today's guestis a friend of mine.
I've been wanting to get him onhere for a little bit Salil
Bokhil, and he is one of thenicest guys in the biz and
somehow convinced an entire teamto never leave.
His chef has been there for 17years.
(00:41):
His controller's been theresince fax machines were cool.
It's insane.
It's just a wonderfulconversation because we talk
about how a kid from India witha dream and a hospitality degree
ended up running one of thecoolest and most respected clubs
on the Jersey Shore, and heshares how he keeps things fresh
, how he leads with empathy, notego, and why he still starts
(01:02):
every morning with a call to hisparents halfway around the
world.
We get into the magic ofseasonal resets, loyalty that is
earned and respected, notforced.
We have great stories, greatlessons from a great dude.
I cannot wait to get into it.
Before we do, a quick thank youto some of our show partners.
They help drive Private ClubRadio.
(01:25):
If you think you might beinterested in learning about any
more from our sponsors, letthem know.
You heard about them or youhear them and you like hearing
them on Private Club Radio.
They like hearing it, we likehearing it.
We all like hearing it.
We have our friends Kenneth'smember vetting Golf Life
Navigators Club, capital GroupMembers First, and myself.
(01:45):
We have our friends Kenneth'smember vetting golf life
navigators club, capital groupmembers First in myself the
Denny Corby experience.
There's excitement, there'smystery.
Also there's magic, mindreading and comedy One of the
most fun evenings your club willhave guaranteed.
This is not just a show, it's afull evening, immersive
experience your members aregoing to talk about for months
and months and months,Guaranteed.
(02:10):
And listen, I know a lot ofclubs look at what I do with the
magic and related to stand-upcomedy and it's similar but it's
different.
And I've heard of too manyclubs having bad comedy nights.
And if you were thinking abouthaving a comedy night but
haven't, or you're a littlenervous, or maybe you've done
one that was just okay, or youwant to just learn more about
how to have one of the most funcomedy nights your club can have
(02:34):
, I put together a little guidejust to help, because I don't
like seeing clubs have badevents and having a comedy night
a bad comedy night is just notgood for anybody.
So I want to help you in yourclubs.
Even though it's not what I dodirectly.
I still want to help you.
Go to dennycorbycom slashcomedy guide to snag the guide.
(02:55):
It's quick, it's easy and someof the best tips you can have to
make sure you have the bestcomedy night ever.
Enough about that.
Let's get to the episode.
Private Club.
Have the best comedy night ever.
Enough about that, let's get tothe episode.
Private club radio listeners,let's welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Salil bokil, yeah, and and were you?
How old were you when you, whenyou came over, were you already
doing hospitality?
Yeah, so I start, I studiedhospitality, I got my uh, my
bachelor's done in india, um,and then I came here to do my
master's, which was in 2001.
So I was 21 when I came in andI'm 46 now, 25 years later.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Did you ever think you were going to be at the same
club for 18 years?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
No, never imagined, Never, ever imagined.
It was kind of like an unheardof thing for me coming from the
hospitality space.
It, you know, it's like whostays for that long, like it was
never on.
You know, it was never heard ofuntil I started and you know,
(04:00):
honestly, I know why and youknow it's very rewarding and
it's very rewarding.
It's hard to kind of explainthat, but you know, once you're
at a club, that you, you know,and I guess it has to be mutual
too, because I've seen, you know, my predecessors, you know,
have not been here, obviously,as long as I have.
(04:21):
Now, to be clear, like Ihaven't been the GM for 18 years
.
I started off as the clubhouseand director F&B and then AGMs,
have been the GM since 2015.
So, um, but even my previousGMs weren't here, you know, for
that long.
So it's a uh, I guess it justhas to work, you know, within,
(04:43):
within that set.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
So yeah, but I mean, I mean your, your whole bench
has has tenure.
You, I like what you're.
You're telling me your chef'sbeen there 17 years, controllers
there, like 36 years.
Who else?
There was someone your, was ityour agronomist?
Your, your agronomy.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, so this is my 18th season.
My chef's 17th seasoncontroller has been here over 36
uh years.
Our golf row has been over 25years.
Our superintendent's been hereover 11 seasons.
Tennis pro 12 seasons.
So all our like our executiveteam has been here.
(05:22):
You know a good amount of timeand it yeah been here.
You know a good amount of timeand it resonates, you know,
really you know part of, notpart of, I think I think a lot
of the club's success over theyears that we have had, you know
, is a direct result of that,because you know it's just,
consistency breeds success.
And these are just the top, youknow, just the top layers, if
(05:47):
you will.
But even within our generalteam, it's our average tenured
individual right now like afull-time, because we're kind of
seasonal down the Jersey ShoreOur average tenured full-time
employee is about, I would say,about eight years plus.
Tenured full-time employee isabout, I would say, about eight
(06:08):
years plus, which is huge,especially in today's day and
age and in terms of the optionsthat are available or not.
People are not looking to comeinto this space also, but people
are also getting burnt out andare leaving the hospitality
space for that reason.
So we're blessed.
(06:30):
You know, we're really lucky tohave the team and you know
everything that they do on aday-to-day basis.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
It's just uh, you know it's awesome yeah, and it
sounds like everyone kind of gotthere at the same time as well,
I guess.
I guess sounds like the clubstarted, you know, like like
that sort of happened, like alllike around the same time frame,
ish there yeah, no, I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
So 2008, I think, was a little bit of a um, a little
bit weird time.
No, well, that too.
But you know, also a transitionperiod, I think, for the club.
Um, you know, I think in thatyear.
I mean the club has been heresince 1898, right?
So we just had our 125th yearanniversary last year and two
(07:08):
years ago, and so you know it'sbeen here for a long time and it
was, you know, one of thosekind of traditional clubs.
We're down the Jersey Shore, soit's very seasonal, so it was
always meant to be forindividuals that came down the
shore or had summer homes orcame down in the summer, you
know, for them to kind of beengaged in play.
So we were never, you know westill aren't, you know we're
(07:31):
only open nine months.
We closed for three months inthe winter for that reason, but
it was very, you know it wasoperated very differently.
It was a very kind of a closeknit type of, you know, family
type of a setup.
It was a very kind of aclose-knit type of a you know
family type of a setup.
But in 2008, that transitionhappened, you know, we had a new
board and a new president andhe really took the reins and
(07:54):
said you know, we're reallygoing to start looking at this
or running this as a businessand started to make certain
changes and the professionalismkind of came in or started to
come in a little more at thattime, not that it was not saying
it wasn't there before, but itjust kind of started to get a
little more refined with thehires.
So there was a new GM that tookin that year who you know
(08:17):
subsequently hired me, and thechef and the superintendent and
you know starting to putpolicies and procedures in place
and trying to just geteverything back on.
So it helped that cause andthat's when majority of the team
came on board.
I mean, with the exception ofour head pro and our controller,
everyone else kind of startedduring that time and has been
(08:40):
obviously been consistent since.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Oh yeah.
So take it back quick.
How did you even get intohospitality?
Because you started in, becauseyou didn't come from clubs, you
came from the hotel route,right?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So I mean again, you know,originally I, you know, from
India and I did all my schoolingand everything.
So I went to the hospitalityschool there wanting to become a
chef.
And you know, the reality islike, you know, I wasn't super
great at that studies andgenerally, you know, in Indian
families it's like, you know,doctors or engineers is kind of
(09:17):
like the thing you know you haveto study and that's the focus.
And you know I was trying tolook for something, something
offbeat, and I think it was in96, there was actually a TV show
that came on which one of thecelebrity chefs, if you will,
started the show.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
And it really, like you know, I kind of like clinged
on to it and that became mything and it was like you know
what, this is awesome, I want tobe a chef.
And I started to kind of pursuethat.
I got into the hospitalityschool in India wanting to be a
chef and once I got in and Ikind of spent a little time in
the kitchen, I was like, eh,this may not be for me, but
(09:59):
again, obviously it opened upthe avenue for other things
hospitality-based.
So I graduated, worked for ayear in India with the Marriott
and then I had the opportunityor always wanted to get my
master's done in the US and Igot the opportunity to come here
to Johnson Wales in Providenceand I did my master's there 2001
(10:23):
to 2003,.
And then started working.
I got my first job was at the.
Actually it was a small gig inMichigan for six months, I was
trying to help a family friend,but then my first job was at the
Hilton in Short Hills, newJersey, which was a AAA
five-diamond hotel at that point, one of the only ones in New
(10:44):
Jersey when AAA was you know,we're really doing their ratings
and such and I worked there fora couple of years and I, you
know, moved over to aneighboring town and it was the
West End and, you know, alwayslike hotels was the thing, like
clubs was never on the radar tothe extent.
Which is the funny part is.
So I had my resume up on thiswebsite called H Careers, which
(11:08):
is which is, I don't know.
I think it's still probablythere, but I don't know.
But it was a hospitality basedwebsite and the GM who had
started here came over fromBaltimore.
So he was working inSpringfield, living in
Morristown, and I was working inMorristown and living in
Springfield, so he kind of hadthat connection, knew the areas,
(11:30):
and he called me and he's like,hey, you know da, da, da, and
you know Hollywood Golf Club andyou know, like Deal, new Jersey
, I'm like where is that?
Like even as big as New Jersey?
It's like Deal, new Jersey.
So I come down and you know,talk to him, you know things
work out well.
I'm like great.
So I start and as soon as Istart I got enrolled right away.
(11:53):
He was a big, big supporter andyou know I kind of consider him
as my kind of like my mentorand a friend in this industry.
But he was, like you know, gotto get into CMA.
You got to get involved, youknow, njcma, the whole chapter,
and as soon as we got involved,every other week I was going up
for meetings, like two minutesfrom where I was living.
For four years, no-transcript,the only club that I knew was
(12:21):
there were two clubs.
One was obviously Walterstraw,because when I was at the Hilton
they had hosted the PGAchampionship and all the players
were staying at the Hilton.
So I kind of knew, you knowthat, and obviously it was like
I could walk to Walterstraw,that's kind of where I lived.
And then the other one wasCanoe Brook, which is, you know,
across route 24 and they havetwo courses.
(12:43):
So every time in the Hilton isright behind Canoe Brook, so
every time you know you drove towork, you could see the golf
courses.
I figured, yeah, there's, youknow something here, but no
concept of private clubs,because it was.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
You know, this is 2003 to 2005.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Right, so there's no Instagram, there's no crazy act
of social media, not that theclubs were also looking to put
themselves out, so it was hard.
Nobody was advertising for jobs, so you didn't really know,
unless you know there wassomebody from within the
industry.
So it's crazy Like I literallygo up there.
I'm like wow, I lived here forfour years and I had no idea
(13:20):
these clubs existed.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
That's so neat, it's so funny.
It's like you know when, likeyou buy, buy your uh, you buy a
car and like you never see it.
Then all of a sudden, like it'son your mind, you see them,
like everywhere.
So I was like where are allthese clubs coming from?
This is crazy.
Oh, they've been here forhundreds of years.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Wow but that I mean to, I guess, to answer your
question.
You know that's how I, and itwasn't really you know specific.
I was just looking for a changeat that point.
And hotels is tough.
I mean it is.
You know it's a tough businessto be in and I wish I'd known
about clubs, you know, a lotsooner.
Not that, you know, I was withhotels for 10 years or so, but
(14:01):
even that window, I think itjust, you know, just gives you
that, or at least for mepersonally and I'm sure you know
certain individuals may thinkdifferently but for me it gave
me that, you know, thatsatisfaction of coming to a
place where you know, you knowpeople, and the challenge
because you, literally, you haveto reinvent yourself every
(14:23):
single year, every single season.
You got to do somethingdifferent, you got to do
something better.
I mean you do something greatand everyone's like this was
awesome, like all right, well,how do we top that next year?
Right, so it gives you thatconstant challenge and also the
relatability because you're, youknow, you mean I've been here
18 years, right, so I've now,you know, and it's kind of scary
because I've literally I havekids that I did their bar
(14:43):
mitzvah.
You know when I I've now, youknow, and it's kind of scary
because I've literally I havekids that I did their bar
mitzvah, you know, when Istarted, or now, you know,
getting married soon or havebeen married or having kids, you
know like, so it's, it's like awhole you know thing to see,
like, oh my god, it's been, it'sbeen, uh, so it's, it's very
rewarding.
And then you make thoseconnections, you're part of the
family and it's um, and theclub's been, you know,
(15:04):
hollywood's been an awesome.
I mean I can't, I couldn't havethought of another place to to
be at and um, it's justsomething I'm very, very
grateful that came, uh, that youknow that came, came along my
way.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So yeah, how do you, you know, speaking of being
there for for so long, how doyou, how do you keep it fresh?
You know, like, how do you,like you and the team, keep it?
It it's, it's, it's hard to.
I mean, you guys have aglorified, you know, marriage
there between, like you, knowyou and like all the staff.
Like how do you keep thatrelationship and culture and
just even like with, like themembers, how do you keep it all
(15:38):
fresh?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
um, so it's I mean it's, it's definitely hard I
mean, I'm not you, I'm not, youknow, I'm not gonna, you know
I'm not gonna lie but it butwhat I think helps us in a way
is, because of our seasonalityand because of that, the winter
downtime that we have, it reallyallows us that reset time to,
like, you know, really give ittime and think about things and
(16:02):
you know what can we do and lookat the calendar and plan
everything ahead.
You know, and I think you knowthat's what helps us in a way,
because if we were, you know, aconstant, year round club, I
think it, you know it does, youknow it doesn't give you that
moment to like just pause andyou know, look back and you know
what worked and what didn'twork.
So I think that you know whatworked and what didn't work.
(16:30):
So I think that, you know,helps us.
You know definitely, I think,just like I said, you know, just
having the team here for aslong as they've been, it's also,
you know, positive, becausethey also understand, you know,
the dynamics and it's not, youknow, hard for them to, you know
, really take it upon themselvesto say, okay, hey, let's, you
know, do something different orcome up with another idea or,
you know, make things, tweakthings differently, and it could
be, you know, silly things.
It could be as little aschanging up the.
(16:52):
You know it could be a similarevent, but you know you're
changing up the way it's set upor you're changing up you know
the way the.
You know certain things arepresented.
You know, and that also givesit a different, you know flair.
Like you know, we have abeautiful patio and you know
we're actually in the process.
Right now we have a clubhouserenovation, you know, approved,
(17:12):
which I'm super excited about.
It's a unique setup.
We have a campus-style facility.
So this is one of our buildingsthat primarily has our dining
spaces and the kitchen and thelocker room and whatnot.
So that primarily has ourdining spaces and the kitchen
and the locker room and whatnot.
So you know that's.
You know fingers crossed,that's going well.
It's supposed to start, you know, in November, but currently,
even with that, we have abeautiful patio that you know
(17:34):
overlooks the golf course andyou know we do as much stuff
outside on the patio as we can.
And you know even little events, like one of the events last
year, we just, you know,literally kind of reversed the
setups, as opposed to sitting onthe patio and doing something,
we also have like a lower areaof the golf course and so you're
doing something there.
(17:55):
You kind of switch it up andput the seating there and then,
you know, did certain things onthe patio and just that was like
a refreshing change, becauseyou know you're so used to kind
of doing things in a certain way, or even the members they're so
used to like okay, we're goingto come in and this is where
we're going to sit to like allof a sudden, oh wow, this is,
this is cool and string lightsand like the whole thing.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
So just you know, little, little aspects like that
also make a huge differenceyeah, what's your I don't want
to say like secret, but you knoweveryone has their like thing.
But like, what do you think isyour thing that keeps the glue
together for, like the wholeteam, or your like management
style?
Like, what do you think hasplayed into that role, that,
(18:39):
that success?
Cause you know it's, it's oneof those.
You can still give anybody thethe best scenario.
You know everything, like theperfect conditions.
They can still mess it up.
So you know how, how do youkeep?
How do you keep it moving?
What's your, would you say, orwhat would like your people say,
is your secret little sauce, soto speak?
Yeah, from the man who hatescooking no From the man who
(18:59):
hates cooking no.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, I think it's, you know it's really, you know
how, you know how the club as awhole and you know, obviously,
me being, you know, therepresentative of the board or
the club you know it's how we,you know, really take care of
the employees.
Now it's cliche and everybody,you know, talks about it and
does the same thing, andemployee appreciation and this
(19:24):
and that.
But I think you know genuinely,I think you know here at least
what I've seen.
I think it really, you know, isdone right and I think my
approach, and especially becauseyou know I'm you know not, you
know I'm not from here Like youknow, I have a different
background and a differentculture and I think hospitality
(19:47):
is kind of ingrained in me.
You know that's how you know Igrew up and was brought up and
you know.
So my approach to individualsand addressing, you know,
concerns or challenges, or justbeing able to relate to them, or
just being able to relate tothem, I think that's what I feel
is one of my strong suits thatit is very, very easy for an
(20:12):
individual to kind of relate towhat I'm saying and just
appreciate that and once you'redoing as much as you can and
you're just giving the respectthat every individual deserves.
You're going to get thatrespect back and they're going
to do as much as they can to try, and, you know, put in a good
show for the club.
But I think you know themembership at large, the way
(20:34):
they treat the staff.
You know I've talked to a lot ofmy peers where you know it's a
challenging membership and theydon't have the support that you
know they think they should havefrom members of the board in
terms of how the staff is being,you know, being treated, or how
their staff is being handled orthe ability or the trust that
(20:57):
they have.
And I think over the years, andI think, just given the fact
that I've been here for so long,also, you know, allows the
board and there's a lot that hashappened.
You know over the years and Ithink, just given the fact that
I've been here for so long, also, you know, allows the board and
there's a lot that has happened.
You know, over the years andyou know we've kind of gone
through ups and downs but Ithink 2015 onwards, I think you
know to this point now there'sthere's really a comfort level
and you know trust and a faiththat you know you run the
(21:19):
operation the right way and Ithink the staff kind of you know
, sees that and and kind of getsmotivated from that as well
yeah, and when you have thatkind of like you you've had the
boots on the ground, like youkeep the boots on the ground,
and like you've been indifferent positions, like you've
worked all the aspects in thearea, so you know it's even hard
, you know it's.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
You can't, you know no one can come to you and be
like oh, oh, I don't think it's.
Like I've been there, like Iknow how long things should take
, I know what should be done, Iknow how it is.
It's hard to pull a fast one onyou.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
No, but you know I and I think you know the other
thing too is you know we're,we're, we're kind of like a
midsize club.
You know we're not a.
You know it's very engaged likeyou know it's a smaller, you
know property size.
So I am, I mean it's my.
My admin staff is, uh, isusually gets mad at me because
(22:12):
I'm like never in my office sothey have to like peek in and
say, oh my god, he's in theoffice, like you know.
So I'm always around.
You know I'm always connecting,always talking to staff and
members and you know that's onething.
You know they'll always see.
Like you know it's never I'mnot the type of individual
that's, you know, more of anoffice-based, you know guy.
And I think it's super importantfor you know, and again, I've
(22:36):
listened to and you know taken,you know, advices from a lot of
you know my peers who do thatsuccessfully and you know, as
you talk to a lot of people inthe industry, it's you know, if
you're not present and if you'renot, you know, engaged, you
know you could be here for 16hours a day sitting in their
office.
It ain't going to do any.
You know and I've known ofindividuals that kind of, have
(23:00):
that sort of, have that sort ofa mindset and have obviously,
you know, not lasted Right.
So I think you know one of theyou know the answers to your
previous question too is I thinkyou know when you see, or the
members see, you know thegenuineness of your engagement.
I think it does get appreciatedand does go a long way.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Yeah, yeah, how, how many staff do you have when
you're like you know, in seasonwe could be about 100, 125.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Um, you know, we have a lot of seasonal individuals
because our, because of where weare, you know our seasonality
is more like may toseptember-ish uh, with the
weather, um.
So we, you know, we do a lot ofthe seasonal.
We do the H2B staffing program,which we've been doing for over
12 years now and it's beenfantastic, it's been extremely
(23:53):
rewarding and I think thatprogram as a whole is and a lot
of clubs, including clubs inFlorida, that rely on that
program.
But there's so much value to itbecause you get to experience a
lot of clubs, including clubsin Florida that rely on that
program.
But there's so much value to itbecause you get to experience a
lot of the individuals that arecoming from all over the world
right, and especially for me, Ikind of empathize a little bit
(24:14):
because I was in their shoes atone point in time and trying to
come to a new country altogether.
So I kind of have that sort havethat sort of a in, and I think
it's great when you see certainindividuals that are engaged and
even you know to that point,like even we we actually have
four of the H2B guys that haveliterally been coming back to us
(24:37):
almost for eight or nine years.
So even within that we have a,you know, kind of like and
they're, like now part of like.
You know we have a gentlemanyou know at the halfway house
who's been there for six yearsand it's like when he comes in,
everyone's like oh my God, likewelcome back.
Like you know it's part of thefamily and so it's.
(24:57):
You know, it's really a greatprogram that we've had a lot of
success with, a great programthat we've had a lot of success
with.
But it kind of tapers downbecause when our season slows
down then they go to Florida, soit really helps us manage that
volume window.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah, were they doing an H-2B program when you first
started?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
No, so I think H-2B wasn't even and I could be wrong
.
Maybe it was there, but weweren't using it.
We initially started with theJ1s for a couple of years and it
was okay, but it has itslimitations.
And then I think we came acrossthe H2B in I want to say 2012
(25:40):
or 2013, I think.
Also fairly recent, yeah, yeah,but since then it's been.
You know it's like clockwork.
You know, every year, you know,we go through sports of having,
like this year, we have like80% individuals returning back
and then a few new ones, andthen a few new ones.
(26:01):
So you always have some newindividuals, but more so the
repeat ones, which is hugebecause they get the ground
running day one.
You don't have to go throughtraining them and going through
the whole thing because theyknow the program.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yeah, edit, when you were working in hotels was there
?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
anything that you learned or picked up there that
you brought over to clubs.
I think you know what.
What it really which which Ithink is is is huge is just the
entire training process becauseyou know, I mean I went to the
hotel school in india which wasrun by one of the leading hotel
groups in India called TajHotels, and the training that
was ingrained in me just ingeneral, whether it was from the
(26:50):
grooming standards to a lot oflittle things and that kind of
further translated, when Istarted working with Marriott
and I think Marriott as acompany is known for their
standards and everything thatthey imbibe in you and I think
that really, really helped meand it was like a strong
foundation of what I gather fromthe marriott down to the hilton
(27:14):
and weston, which was starwoodthen but now it's all one
company, but you know, everykind of chain at that time these
were were the three big ones.
You know Marriott, Hilton andStarwood, you know, had their
little quirks which reallyhelped in bringing that when I
started here to try and get thisBecause, like I said, you know
(27:35):
it wasn't, you know it was a,and that's what clubs are right.
I mean, it's an extension ofyour home and you know members
want to come here and they wantto feel, you know it's.
You know it's not necessarilythey're coming here to judge and
say, okay, did you serve fromthe left or the right.
You know it's.
You want to come here and havea good time and and uh, and be
(27:56):
recognized, and you know andthat's what it was about.
But it was again like trying toget that uh train back on track
, which that background likehelped me tremendously and I
think anyone that's kind of donethis sort of a transition which
you know there's a lot ofindividuals that you know have
come or have been coming, youknow, probably say the same
(28:16):
thing.
I think it gives you a verystrong base to try and then get
that into your, into your day today system, to try and then get
that into your day-to-daysystem.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, so what type of training like?
What does your training looklike there at the club?
Speaker 2 (28:31):
So I mean it's you know so over the years.
I mean obviously now we have ateam in place but you know from
the basics, you know the regulartraining manual and things like
that, you know.
So everything that's kind ofdone.
But given the fact that we havea great success in having the
individuals come back year afteryear, you know it's not really
not that hard.
(28:52):
I mean we're not literally likestarting from scratch, right.
So you know, and thoseindividuals also help the
individuals that are coming in,you know, to try and you know,
get them up to speed as quicklyas possible.
And then within our you knowour food and beverage management
team, I mean they have again,they've been here for so long,
like even my, you know myclubhouse manager has been here
12 years and so you know theyget, you know, so it becomes a
(29:14):
lot easier for them.
Also on a day-to-day basis.
You know whether it's littlethings like pre-shift, and you
know name recognition, whetherit's playing those games and
pictures, and you know what wecan do.
Um, the best way to get themembers uh, you know, or get the
face to the name and and havethat recognition for members
which you know, in my opinion isprobably the single best or the
(29:37):
single uh most important thingat clubs is the recognition and
and it's kind of like a dualthing, because when you have
individuals that work with youfor a certain period of time,
for as long as they have, therecognition is automatic.
So we have members that comeback, where a lot of the other
clubs it's like okay, well,there was a new guy this year.
(30:00):
I don't know who that is, whoMr Smith is, but here it's huge.
I can't tell you the feedbackthat we get.
It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Yeah, and has that always been a part of your thing
, or do you think you pickedthat up a little bit more as you
evolved through the years ofhotels and management and
leadership?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
No, I think the name recognition is, you know, is
very, you know, club centric,right, I mean, obviously, in a,
in a hotel, depending on whereyou are.
Um, you know, like at the westend, where I was, it was more of
a business hotel and you knowwhere it was located.
It was, you know, within anarea where there was a lot of
the fortune 500 companies fromeurope.
So we would see the sameclientele kind of come in Sunday
(30:45):
and Thursday.
So you know you would see themand you know, you know if they
came in.
But it's an important aspectbecause they felt great too and
you know they were recognized.
But I don't think it's not, asyou know, prevalent or as
important I would say as it isat clubs, you know, just for
that reason.
But I mean, hotels obviouslyhave a different system and a
(31:10):
different dynamic, because thereservations are made and you
kind of have a whole profile ofyou know who's coming in and you
kind of personalize itaccordingly.
But at clubs, you know, I thinkthat is what everybody kind of
looks for, even from a memberside.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Do you do any like employee recognition, like
employee the months or thingslike that employee the quarters?
Speaker 2 (31:30):
we don't.
We we don't have a specificprogram but, like I said, you
know we do.
You know we do a lot of thatstuff on a regular basis, but
just in general, you know, uh,whether it's a summer social or
holiday party and, um, you knowsomething towards you know, the
winter or starting in the spring.
You know we're kind of doingthree or four things, you know,
throughout the season to try andtry and keep everybody engaged.
(31:52):
But we don't have specific, youknow, employee of the year sort
of programs.
It's just because of ourseasonality and the the, the way
the staff is and how longeveryone's been here, it's kind
of, you know it's a little thethe, the way um, the staff is
and you know how longeverybody's been here.
It's kind of uh, um, you knowit's a little tricky, but you
know there's other avenues thatI think the staff really enjoys
uh, being engaged here.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
So so who do you go for for advice or when you know
you got questions like who'syour, who's your go-to people.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
So my, my, I mean my, my mom and dad are two of my
closest confidants and I've seenthem.
My dad was in sales kind of allhis life and so he has that.
I think I kind of got the knackof dealing with people from him
.
He worked for the parentcompany Unilever, which in India
(32:44):
was Hindustan Lever, so he dida lot of the the consumer goods
and you know he had a bigterritory and he traveled quite
a bit and so you know we got tokind of travel with him within
the country as well.
And then my you know my mom hasa teaching background.
She's an author, she's a poet,she's written like 20 books,
(33:04):
she's a big celebrity and uh,you know, in pune or the city
where I'm from, and uh, but what, what I've seen from them is
just, you know, from the humblebackground that they came from,
to you know where they kind ofgot themselves and it's just
like it's just imbibed in me.
And you know, my mom kind of,you know she basically went to,
(33:26):
she got her bachelor's and hermaster's after being married and
after having us, and she was agold medalist and you know both
in the university there, and soI've seen her.
You know her hard work and thesame thing you know, on my dad's
side of just, you know, workingat sales is, you know, I mean
(33:47):
it's a thankless sort of asituation with targets and
things like that.
So I've seen him, you know,kind of put that effort in so
it's really, you know, that'sreally kind of helped me kind of
, you know, develop into who Iam and deal with people and the
effort that needs to go in andthe hard work and you know all
of that.
So so I mean they're kind of my,my confidence, and I think you
(34:08):
know, a lot of times, you know,they're my first phone call.
I mean that's my kind ofmorning routine.
I actually only have like a10-minute drive to work.
You know, sometimes I wish itwas a little more because then I
can please get the phone callscompleted.
But that's with the timedifference in India it's
actually the perfect timebecause you know it's evening
(34:28):
time in India when I'm, you know, getting into the club in the
morning.
So, um, that's my kind of dailyroutine is to, you know, talk
to them in the morning in thecar and, you know, just talk
about stuff and whatever'scoming up and and just kind of
get my day going that way.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Yeah, is there a?
It's going to be like a, like a.
I don't know if it's a twoparty question question, I'm
gonna look.
I'm gonna just word, word, word, word vomit and you just take
it as is.
You know, seeing as you're soclose to your family, is there a
like, a belief or a principle,maybe that like they instilled
(35:07):
in you, that you kind of impartlike?
Or is there like something thatlike, is your kind of guiding
light of like you know, yourprinciple, your belief, like?
Is there like a?
I think it's like a.
Two thing is like a.
Is there something that maybethey instilled in you?
Is there something that youjust kind of maybe found on your
own?
That's encompasses a coupledifferent things, but yeah, I'll
let.
I'll let you take the ball onthat one.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
There you go I think I think more like you know,
staying true to your roots,right, just being unapologetic
(35:52):
of who you are and kind of doingthe best you can, you know
within the the guidelines ofwhat's, you know what's
available you know for you, andjust again, you know the hard
work is just you know there's nosubstitute to that and I think
that I've kind of really reallytaken from them and just the
ability to deal with people.
I think those are the two keyimportant things.
(36:14):
But just even with my kids Imean both my kids were born here
and but you know, we've, we'vemade it a conscious effort.
Whether it's a languagedecision, you know, like you
know, I speak three languages,right.
So in India, you know, I went toa common school.
So you know, I've been speakingEnglish since I was in
kindergarten, which when I camehere initially, everyone was
(36:38):
like, oh my God, I can't believethe English is so good.
Well, there's moreEnglish-speaking people in India
than the entire population ofthe United States, just because
of the size.
So just that.
But even so, I speak English.
Then we have a regionallanguage.
So in India, pretty much everystate kind of has its own
language which is called youknow we call it the mother
(37:00):
tongue.
And then you have a nationallanguage because, depending on
where you go in India, you knowsomebody from the north of India
to the south of India is twocompletely different languages.
They wouldn't understand whatthey're speaking.
So to make communication easy,there's a national language,
which is Hindi, so anybody fromany part of the country can
speak that language.
So it's three languages that Ispeak.
(37:29):
So for my kids, you know, wemade it a constant effort to
make sure that we were speaking,you know, my regional language,
or Marathi, which is what it is.
So we speak that at home.
So they understand that.
You know from watching some ofthe Hindi shows.
They understand Hindi andobviously they understand and
speak English.
Unfortunately they don't speakMarathi, which I wish they did.
But it's just challenging whenyou don't have that many people
(37:49):
speaking.
It's not easy to kind ofcommunicate that, because the
only time you're really speakingthat is when you're home and
then outside of home you're notreally speaking that.
But at least you know we'rehappy that they understand that.
But again, you know, takingtrips back home every year and
having family visit or themgoing and just kind of keeps
them, you know rooted as well,to understand, you know, the
(38:13):
culture and everything that youknow is to bring.
So you know we're grateful forhaving that opportunity and I
want to make sure that theyunderstand that as well and they
know you know where the rootsare right, so that I think,
overall I don't know if itanswers your question, I digress
.
I think overall.
I don't know if it answers yourquestion I digress, I think but
(38:38):
I think that's important for usas a family to kind of, you
know, ensure that we're, youknow, being who we are and
trying to do the best we can,because it's not easy to kind of
come across, you know, all theway here and setting up a base
and um but um, that's, that'swhat we've enjoyed and we want
to continue to do that.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
That's awesome.
Now, how old are your kids now?
Speaker 2 (39:00):
My son's going to be 16.
My daughter's going to be 12.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
And have they shown any interest in what they.
I mean, I know it's still soyoung and so far away, but are
they like hospitable people Like?
Are they like, are you?
Are you and so far away?
But are they like hospitablepeople like?
Are they like, are you are?
Speaker 2 (39:15):
you?
Are you making them going to belike doctors and lawyers?
Speaker 1 (39:17):
and stuff.
What are you?
What do?
Speaker 2 (39:18):
you?
What do you question on them?
but uh yeah, uh no, I mean they,you know they genuinely I think
they because of my backgroundyeah you know when we do travel,
you know it's, you know stayingat, you know whatever hotels or
resorts that we end up stayingand it's good to have the hotel
background because you stillhave connections.
So it's good to get you knowfriends and family rates.
(39:40):
So they do enjoy that.
You know they enjoy travelingand they see that aspect of it.
I don't know if they're, youknow there yet.
If this is, you know this is acareer that they, you know, see
for themselves or want to aspireto be, but you know it's still.
You know my son, you know, hasa short window of his
(40:02):
granddaughter.
She's got a lot of time but youknow she's just 12 and my son's
gonna be, he's a sophomoreright now in high school.
So you know he's got, you know,the next three or four years to
kind of figure out what path hewants to take.
But but, uh, but they do enjoythis.
So I I mean, if they go thisroute, that wouldn't be, uh, I
wouldn't be surprised yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
What, what, uh, what words of advice, words of wisdom
do you have for maybe youngerkids coming up in the, in the
hospitality space now?
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Well, that's a.
That's a loaded question,that's the, that's the topic of
the you know, of today's day andage, and every time you know,
whether it's at conferences ormeetings, it's that's the topic,
because you know you don'treally have that you know
younger pipeline willing to comeinto clubs and kind of put in
the hours and stuff.
But I think the two pieces ofadvice I think is very simple.
(40:57):
One is to be patient, which Ithink is the challenge with a
lot of the younger folks thesedays.
They want instant gratificationand they want to finish
hospitality school and become ageneral manager in two years.
You know, I mean that's kind oflike in their head.
Some of them, you know, thinkthat way, which, you know, again
(41:18):
, is not certainly not sayingit's impossible, but it's, I
think, being patient.
And then, especially in theclub world, I think you know, if
they really understand howrewarding it is from all aspects
, whether it's a, you know,work-life balance, whether it's
the financial stability, whetherit's the job security.
(41:39):
There's a lot of positiveswithin the club space that if
they, you know, they grasp that.
But I think clubs in general,you know, just don't do a good
enough job, I think, of makingit very enticing to a lot of the
college and it's very easy foryou know Marriott or Hilton to
(41:59):
come through and flash all thesebeautiful resorts they have all
over the world and you know,and then people are like, oh my
God, this is awesome, like thisis where I want to work.
Clubs are not that right.
I mean, they're not very um chicin that sense, but I think
until you get into it or youspeak to individuals which is
why I think you know the, thestudent chapters, uh, across the
(42:22):
country, and the fact that theycome to these conferences and
they see all of that, I thinkit's huge because that really
really gives them a flair forwhat the industry is and that's,
you know, one of the biggestthings I have enjoyed.
You know the engagement and youknow the peer-to-peer network
that we have and the conferencesand the BMIs, and you know you
(42:43):
don't get that, you don't getthat at.
You know a lot of the you knowin the hotels and it's the
connections that you make arejust fantastic.
You know, and it's theconnections that you make are
just fantastic, and that's, Ithink, one of the biggest
aspects for me to kind of alsocontinue that, because it gives
(43:03):
you the ability to learn everysingle year and do different
things, and so I think if theseindividuals kind of saw that a
little more, I think it'll beextremely beneficial for them.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Yeah, anything, we didn't talk about that.
You want to.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Well, I think what I was like.
I was just, you know, alludingto something real quick before.
So I think for me, you know,like I said, when I came here in
2001,.
I came in literally, I came intwo weeks before 9-11.
And it was, you know, it was acrazy time, I mean, for someone
who you know came from India andyou know I have no, like no
(43:49):
family here, like literally,it's just the four of us in this
country, which is wild when Ithink of it, you know, like no,
no uncles, no aunts, no cousins,nobody here, it's just nobody,
like nobody, zero.
Wow, because I came here it wasactually five of my, uh, my
buddies who you know we did thebachelors together.
So that was the only incentive,like you know.
(44:11):
At least I didn't come herecompletely, you know, without
anyone, without anyone's, butagain, it was just that.
And to take the leap, and Imean I'm kind of dreading my
son's going to be in college intwo years and I'm kind of like
sweating that right now, youknow I'm going to be 16 hours
(44:43):
away.
Pre-social media, texting,pre-facetime, pre-anything, you
know, calling cards and punchingin numbers to, you know, call
home once a week because it wasstill expensive, but it was, you
know, it was a time that reallyreally taught me a lot and I
think to go through that thatperiod for all of us because you
know we were, you know all myfriends, you know as things were
unfolding it was.
It was a very you know it was avery challenging time, but I
think that really helped us allas individuals.
(45:07):
Like, really, you know, grow upquick, you know you take, you
know take care of yourself andthe responsibility and you know
just the overall factors.
I think that you know, really,you know, put a lot of emphasis
on how important it was for usto not just be here but to you
(45:28):
know, to succeed and doeverything we can to try, and
you know, make a career, and youknow, and all my you know, to
succeed and do everything we canto try, and you know, make a
career.
And you know, and all of my youknow, all the colleagues that I
came with are within different,different spectrums here, but
they're still, you know, they'restill here.
So you know it's like I said,it's 25 years and everyone says
(45:48):
you know kind of doing well intheir own space.
But you know he stuck it out.
It wasn't like we panicked andwe left, so, but it was an
interesting time for sure.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
What was the first job out of?
Or you get here, what was likethe first hotel I came here, you
know, and it was in grad school, so my classes were only like
two days a week.
So I worked at a restaurant inProvidence for a couple of years
and you know, it was kind oflike the routine you work three,
four days and, you know, justwent to college, you know the
couple of days, and so I went onfor it was more like 16 months,
(46:30):
I think, the program, and then,you know, know, then I kind of
started working, um, right away.
So it's uh, when I look back,it's uh, it's quite a ride yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
When others would have given up or said no, like I
pushed through and it's.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
It's tough too, because you know you're not
really um, you knowopportunities are not just
coming by, because you know forus it was a whole, you know,
kind of like a visa process andan immigration process to a
certain extent, because you comein on a certain visa, which is
a student visa, visa to be ableto work, and then once you get
(47:15):
that visa you know not everycompany is sponsoring that visa,
so to say so, you kind of arerestricted to companies that are
willing to get that for you andthen once you get that, then to
find someone that's going tohelp you get your green card
process going.
So there, a lot of, you know, alot of challenges along the way
, yeah, um were there ever anymoments of like?
Speaker 1 (47:39):
this is like so dumb.
But like, do you ever feel likepeople like, almost like
hanging that over your head kindof just like, just kind of like
being like oh, like you know,like, oh, like I have like this,
like power or something like?
Speaker 2 (47:51):
oh, hey, you have to work here, but like no, yeah,
fortunately not, but I know thathas happened.
I know that's happened to somefriends that I've known.
Yeah, fortunately for me.
No, I mean, I think every placethat I've worked at, including,
you know, hollywood, which hasbeen majority of the uh of the
journey, has been extremelysupportive of that and have done
(48:13):
, you know, and my process hasnot been easy by any means.
It's been, it's been very, verychallenging, like you know.
It's.
It's, you know, to the pointwhere I was like two months away
from packing my bags and goinghome because it just wasn't
really uh, things were notmoving well and you know, the uh
process was getting denied.
(48:33):
I was actually, if you, if youbelieve this or not my visa was
being denied because I wasoverqualified for the job.
So they denied my visa sayingthat you have a master's in
hospitality.
We don't think this job needsrequires anyone with a master's
degree, so we're not going togive you the visa.
(48:55):
So I had to then, you know,basically reach out to a lot of
my peers and have them getletters to say he's not as smart
as he looks no he is, I'mbusted.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
I'm busted.
No, that, that, no, that's wild.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
They wrote me letters I mean addressed or whatever to
say hey, here's a job.
Speaker 1 (49:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:22):
Here's why you need someone with a bachelor's or
master's to kind of do the job,because the way the immigration
I mean, they kind of put theyhave one category for, like, say
, a food service manager and amanager at Dunkin' Donuts is in
that same category as a managerfor what's called it.
(49:43):
So the immigration just looksat it like, okay, you're in the
food service manager role.
They don't look at, yeah, yeah,you know the differences and so
, yeah, I mean so little crazythings like that have, you know,
only added to the challenges.
But you know, I've been able to, uh, you know, knock on wood,
(50:04):
I've been able to overcome thatand uh, and then get it, uh, get
it moving along.
So but it's uh, it's been a funride.
Speaker 1 (50:11):
With a smile on your face.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Yeah, well, that's the best you can do, right?
You can only control what youcan control.
You know, when you can't, youcan't, so you can't get worried
about that.
Speaker 1 (50:24):
Yeah, well, thank you so much for coming on.
This was such a greatconversation.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
Awesome, I loved it, and thanks for being patient.
I know we've been trying to getthis set up for a while.
Speaker 1 (50:34):
Oh good, oh good.
Hope you all enjoyed that.
I know I did so, leo, thank youso much for coming on, thanks
for being a friend, thank youfor sharing and being a great
human.
If you're enjoying the content,if you're enjoying the episodes
, a like, a share, a five-starrating means the world and costs
nothing.
(50:55):
You want a snag of the comedyguide?
Head on over to dennycorbycomslash comedy guide.
That's this episode.
Until next time, catch you onthe flippity flip.
Hey everybody, welcome to the Private Club
Radio Show, where we give youthe scoop on all things private
golf and country clubs Frommastering leadership and
management, food and beverageexcellence, member engagement
secrets, board governance andeverything in between, all while
keeping it fun and light.
Whether you're a club veteranjust getting your feet wet or
somewhere in the middle, you arein the right place.
(00:20):
I'm your host, Denny Corby.
Welcome to the show.
In this episode, today's guestis a friend of mine.
I've been wanting to get him onhere for a little bit Salil
Bokhil, and he is one of thenicest guys in the biz and
somehow convinced an entire teamto never leave.
His chef has been there for 17years.
(00:41):
His controller's been theresince fax machines were cool.
It's insane.
It's just a wonderfulconversation because we talk
about how a kid from India witha dream and a hospitality degree
ended up running one of thecoolest and most respected clubs
on the Jersey Shore, and heshares how he keeps things fresh
, how he leads with empathy, notego, and why he still starts
(01:02):
every morning with a call to hisparents halfway around the
world.
We get into the magic ofseasonal resets, loyalty that is
earned and respected, notforced.
We have great stories, greatlessons from a great dude.
I cannot wait to get into it.
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(01:45):
We have our friends Kenneth'smember vetting golf life
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Denny Corby experience.
There's excitement, there'smystery.
Also there's magic, mindreading and comedy One of the
most fun evenings your club willhave guaranteed.
This is not just a show, it's afull evening, immersive
experience your members aregoing to talk about for months
and months and months,Guaranteed.
(02:10):
And listen, I know a lot ofclubs look at what I do with the
magic and related to stand-upcomedy and it's similar but it's
different.
And I've heard of too manyclubs having bad comedy nights.
And if you were thinking abouthaving a comedy night but
haven't, or you're a littlenervous, or maybe you've done
one that was just okay, or youwant to just learn more about
how to have one of the most funcomedy nights your club can have
(02:34):
, I put together a little guidejust to help, because I don't
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(02:55):
It's quick, it's easy and someof the best tips you can have to
make sure you have the bestcomedy night ever.
Enough about that.
Let's get to the episode.
Private Club.
Have the best comedy night ever.
Enough about that, let's get tothe episode.
Private club radio listeners,let's welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Salil bokil, yeah, and and were you?
How old were you when you, whenyou came over, were you already
doing hospitality?
Yeah, so I start, I studiedhospitality, I got my uh, my
bachelor's done in india, um,and then I came here to do my
master's, which was in 2001.
So I was 21 when I came in andI'm 46 now, 25 years later.
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Did you ever think you were going to be at the same
club for 18 years?
Speaker 2 (03:37):
No, never imagined, Never, ever imagined.
It was kind of like an unheardof thing for me coming from the
hospitality space.
It, you know, it's like whostays for that long, like it was
never on.
You know, it was never heard ofuntil I started and you know,
(04:00):
honestly, I know why and youknow it's very rewarding and
it's very rewarding.
It's hard to kind of explainthat, but you know, once you're
at a club, that you, you know,and I guess it has to be mutual
too, because I've seen, you know, my predecessors, you know,
have not been here, obviously,as long as I have.
(04:21):
Now, to be clear, like Ihaven't been the GM for 18 years
.
I started off as the clubhouseand director F&B and then AGMs,
have been the GM since 2015.
So, um, but even my previousGMs weren't here, you know, for
that long.
So it's a uh, I guess it justhas to work, you know, within,
(04:43):
within that set.
Speaker 1 (04:44):
So yeah, but I mean, I mean your, your whole bench
has has tenure.
You, I like what you're.
You're telling me your chef'sbeen there 17 years, controllers
there, like 36 years.
Who else?
There was someone your, was ityour agronomist?
Your, your agronomy.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Yeah, so this is my 18th season.
My chef's 17th seasoncontroller has been here over 36
uh years.
Our golf row has been over 25years.
Our superintendent's been hereover 11 seasons.
Tennis pro 12 seasons.
So all our like our executiveteam has been here.
(05:22):
You know a good amount of timeand it yeah been here.
You know a good amount of timeand it resonates, you know,
really you know part of, notpart of, I think I think a lot
of the club's success over theyears that we have had, you know
, is a direct result of that,because you know it's just,
consistency breeds success.
And these are just the top, youknow, just the top layers, if
(05:47):
you will.
But even within our generalteam, it's our average tenured
individual right now like afull-time, because we're kind of
seasonal down the Jersey ShoreOur average tenured full-time
employee is about, I would say,about eight years plus.
Tenured full-time employee isabout, I would say, about eight
(06:08):
years plus, which is huge,especially in today's day and
age and in terms of the optionsthat are available or not.
People are not looking to comeinto this space also, but people
are also getting burnt out andare leaving the hospitality
space for that reason.
So we're blessed.
(06:30):
You know, we're really lucky tohave the team and you know
everything that they do on aday-to-day basis.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
It's just uh, you know it's awesome yeah, and it
sounds like everyone kind of gotthere at the same time as well,
I guess.
I guess sounds like the clubstarted, you know, like like
that sort of happened, like alllike around the same time frame,
ish there yeah, no, I mean.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
So 2008, I think, was a little bit of a um, a little
bit weird time.
No, well, that too.
But you know, also a transitionperiod, I think, for the club.
Um, you know, I think in thatyear.
I mean the club has been heresince 1898, right?
So we just had our 125th yearanniversary last year and two
(07:08):
years ago, and so you know it'sbeen here for a long time and it
was, you know, one of thosekind of traditional clubs.
We're down the Jersey Shore, soit's very seasonal, so it was
always meant to be forindividuals that came down the
shore or had summer homes orcame down in the summer, you
know, for them to kind of beengaged in play.
So we were never, you know westill aren't, you know we're
(07:31):
only open nine months.
We closed for three months inthe winter for that reason, but
it was very, you know it wasoperated very differently.
It was a very kind of a closeknit type of, you know, family
type of a setup.
It was a very kind of aclose-knit type of a you know
family type of a setup.
But in 2008, that transitionhappened, you know, we had a new
board and a new president andhe really took the reins and
(07:54):
said you know, we're reallygoing to start looking at this
or running this as a businessand started to make certain
changes and the professionalismkind of came in or started to
come in a little more at thattime, not that it was not saying
it wasn't there before, but itjust kind of started to get a
little more refined with thehires.
So there was a new GM that tookin that year who you know
(08:17):
subsequently hired me, and thechef and the superintendent and
you know starting to putpolicies and procedures in place
and trying to just geteverything back on.
So it helped that cause andthat's when majority of the team
came on board.
I mean, with the exception ofour head pro and our controller,
everyone else kind of startedduring that time and has been
(08:40):
obviously been consistent since.
Speaker 1 (08:43):
Oh yeah.
So take it back quick.
How did you even get intohospitality?
Because you started in, becauseyou didn't come from clubs, you
came from the hotel route,right?
Speaker 2 (08:55):
Yeah, yeah.
So I mean again, you know,originally I, you know, from
India and I did all my schoolingand everything.
So I went to the hospitalityschool there wanting to become a
chef.
And you know, the reality islike, you know, I wasn't super
great at that studies andgenerally, you know, in Indian
families it's like, you know,doctors or engineers is kind of
(09:17):
like the thing you know you haveto study and that's the focus.
And you know I was trying tolook for something, something
offbeat, and I think it was in96, there was actually a TV show
that came on which one of thecelebrity chefs, if you will,
started the show.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
And it really, like you know, I kind of like clinged
on to it and that became mything and it was like you know
what, this is awesome, I want tobe a chef.
And I started to kind of pursuethat.
I got into the hospitalityschool in India wanting to be a
chef and once I got in and Ikind of spent a little time in
the kitchen, I was like, eh,this may not be for me, but
(09:59):
again, obviously it opened upthe avenue for other things
hospitality-based.
So I graduated, worked for ayear in India with the Marriott
and then I had the opportunityor always wanted to get my
master's done in the US and Igot the opportunity to come here
to Johnson Wales in Providenceand I did my master's there 2001
(10:23):
to 2003,.
And then started working.
I got my first job was at the.
Actually it was a small gig inMichigan for six months, I was
trying to help a family friend,but then my first job was at the
Hilton in Short Hills, newJersey, which was a AAA
five-diamond hotel at that point, one of the only ones in New
(10:44):
Jersey when AAA was you know,we're really doing their ratings
and such and I worked there fora couple of years and I, you
know, moved over to aneighboring town and it was the
West End and, you know, alwayslike hotels was the thing, like
clubs was never on the radar tothe extent.
Which is the funny part is.
So I had my resume up on thiswebsite called H Careers, which
(11:08):
is which is, I don't know.
I think it's still probablythere, but I don't know.
But it was a hospitality basedwebsite and the GM who had
started here came over fromBaltimore.
So he was working inSpringfield, living in
Morristown, and I was working inMorristown and living in
Springfield, so he kind of hadthat connection, knew the areas,
(11:30):
and he called me and he's like,hey, you know da, da, da, and
you know Hollywood Golf Club andyou know, like Deal, new Jersey
, I'm like where is that?
Like even as big as New Jersey?
It's like Deal, new Jersey.
So I come down and you know,talk to him, you know things
work out well.
I'm like great.
So I start and as soon as Istart I got enrolled right away.
(11:53):
He was a big, big supporter andyou know I kind of consider him
as my kind of like my mentorand a friend in this industry.
But he was, like you know, gotto get into CMA.
You got to get involved, youknow, njcma, the whole chapter,
and as soon as we got involved,every other week I was going up
for meetings, like two minutesfrom where I was living.
For four years, no-transcript,the only club that I knew was
(12:21):
there were two clubs.
One was obviously Walterstraw,because when I was at the Hilton
they had hosted the PGAchampionship and all the players
were staying at the Hilton.
So I kind of knew, you knowthat, and obviously it was like
I could walk to Walterstraw,that's kind of where I lived.
And then the other one wasCanoe Brook, which is, you know,
across route 24 and they havetwo courses.
(12:43):
So every time in the Hilton isright behind Canoe Brook, so
every time you know you drove towork, you could see the golf
courses.
I figured, yeah, there's, youknow something here, but no
concept of private clubs,because it was.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
You know, this is 2003 to 2005.
Speaker 2 (12:59):
Right, so there's no Instagram, there's no crazy act
of social media, not that theclubs were also looking to put
themselves out, so it was hard.
Nobody was advertising for jobs, so you didn't really know,
unless you know there wassomebody from within the
industry.
So it's crazy Like I literallygo up there.
I'm like wow, I lived here forfour years and I had no idea
(13:20):
these clubs existed.
Speaker 1 (13:22):
That's so neat, it's so funny.
It's like you know when, likeyou buy, buy your uh, you buy a
car and like you never see it.
Then all of a sudden, like it'son your mind, you see them,
like everywhere.
So I was like where are allthese clubs coming from?
This is crazy.
Oh, they've been here forhundreds of years.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Wow but that I mean to, I guess, to answer your
question.
You know that's how I, and itwasn't really you know specific.
I was just looking for a changeat that point.
And hotels is tough.
I mean it is.
You know it's a tough businessto be in and I wish I'd known
about clubs, you know, a lotsooner.
Not that, you know, I was withhotels for 10 years or so, but
(14:01):
even that window, I think itjust, you know, just gives you
that, or at least for mepersonally and I'm sure you know
certain individuals may thinkdifferently but for me it gave
me that, you know, thatsatisfaction of coming to a
place where you know, you knowpeople, and the challenge
because you, literally, you haveto reinvent yourself every
(14:23):
single year, every single season.
You got to do somethingdifferent, you got to do
something better.
I mean you do something greatand everyone's like this was
awesome, like all right, well,how do we top that next year?
Right, so it gives you thatconstant challenge and also the
relatability because you're, youknow, you mean I've been here
18 years, right, so I've now,you know, and it's kind of scary
because I've literally I havekids that I did their bar
(14:43):
mitzvah.
You know when I I've now, youknow, and it's kind of scary
because I've literally I havekids that I did their bar
mitzvah, you know, when Istarted, or now, you know,
getting married soon or havebeen married or having kids, you
know like, so it's, it's like awhole you know thing to see,
like, oh my god, it's been, it'sbeen, uh, so it's, it's very
rewarding.
And then you make thoseconnections, you're part of the
family and it's um, and theclub's been, you know,
(15:04):
hollywood's been an awesome.
I mean I can't, I couldn't havethought of another place to to
be at and um, it's justsomething I'm very, very
grateful that came, uh, that youknow that came, came along my
way.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
So yeah, how do you, you know, speaking of being
there for for so long, how doyou, how do you keep it fresh?
You know, like, how do you,like you and the team, keep it?
It it's, it's, it's hard to.
I mean, you guys have aglorified, you know, marriage
there between, like you, knowyou and like all the staff.
Like how do you keep thatrelationship and culture and
just even like with, like themembers, how do you keep it all
(15:38):
fresh?
Speaker 2 (15:39):
um, so it's I mean it's, it's definitely hard I
mean, I'm not you, I'm not, youknow, I'm not gonna, you know
I'm not gonna lie but it butwhat I think helps us in a way
is, because of our seasonalityand because of that, the winter
downtime that we have, it reallyallows us that reset time to,
like, you know, really give ittime and think about things and
(16:02):
you know what can we do and lookat the calendar and plan
everything ahead.
You know, and I think you knowthat's what helps us in a way,
because if we were, you know, aconstant, year round club, I
think it, you know it does, youknow it doesn't give you that
moment to like just pause andyou know, look back and you know
what worked and what didn'twork.
So I think that you know whatworked and what didn't work.
(16:30):
So I think that, you know,helps us.
You know definitely, I think,just like I said, you know, just
having the team here for aslong as they've been, it's also,
you know, positive, becausethey also understand, you know,
the dynamics and it's not, youknow, hard for them to, you know
, really take it upon themselvesto say, okay, hey, let's, you
know, do something different orcome up with another idea or,
you know, make things, tweakthings differently, and it could
be, you know, silly things.
It could be as little aschanging up the.
(16:52):
You know it could be a similarevent, but you know you're
changing up the way it's set upor you're changing up you know
the way the.
You know certain things arepresented.
You know, and that also givesit a different, you know flair.
Like you know, we have abeautiful patio and you know
we're actually in the process.
Right now we have a clubhouserenovation, you know, approved,
(17:12):
which I'm super excited about.
It's a unique setup.
We have a campus-style facility.
So this is one of our buildingsthat primarily has our dining
spaces and the kitchen and thelocker room and whatnot.
So that primarily has ourdining spaces and the kitchen
and the locker room and whatnot.
So you know that's.
You know fingers crossed,that's going well.
It's supposed to start, you know, in November, but currently,
even with that, we have abeautiful patio that you know
(17:34):
overlooks the golf course andyou know we do as much stuff
outside on the patio as we can.
And you know even little events, like one of the events last
year, we just, you know,literally kind of reversed the
setups, as opposed to sitting onthe patio and doing something,
we also have like a lower areaof the golf course and so you're
doing something there.
(17:55):
You kind of switch it up andput the seating there and then,
you know, did certain things onthe patio and just that was like
a refreshing change, becauseyou know you're so used to kind
of doing things in a certain way, or even the members they're so
used to like okay, we're goingto come in and this is where
we're going to sit to like allof a sudden, oh wow, this is,
this is cool and string lightsand like the whole thing.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
So just you know, little, little aspects like that
also make a huge differenceyeah, what's your I don't want
to say like secret, but you knoweveryone has their like thing.
But like, what do you think isyour thing that keeps the glue
together for, like the wholeteam, or your like management
style?
Like, what do you think hasplayed into that role, that,
(18:39):
that success?
Cause you know it's, it's oneof those.
You can still give anybody thethe best scenario.
You know everything, like theperfect conditions.
They can still mess it up.
So you know how, how do youkeep?
How do you keep it moving?
What's your, would you say, orwhat would like your people say,
is your secret little sauce, soto speak?
Yeah, from the man who hatescooking no From the man who
(18:59):
hates cooking no.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, I think it's, you know it's really, you know
how, you know how the club as awhole and you know, obviously,
me being, you know, therepresentative of the board or
the club you know it's how we,you know, really take care of
the employees.
Now it's cliche and everybody,you know, talks about it and
does the same thing, andemployee appreciation and this
(19:24):
and that.
But I think you know genuinely,I think you know here at least
what I've seen.
I think it really, you know, isdone right and I think my
approach, and especially becauseyou know I'm you know not, you
know I'm not from here Like youknow, I have a different
background and a differentculture and I think hospitality
(19:47):
is kind of ingrained in me.
You know that's how you know Igrew up and was brought up and
you know.
So my approach to individualsand addressing, you know,
concerns or challenges, or justbeing able to relate to them, or
just being able to relate tothem, I think that's what I feel
is one of my strong suits thatit is very, very easy for an
(20:12):
individual to kind of relate towhat I'm saying and just
appreciate that and once you'redoing as much as you can and
you're just giving the respectthat every individual deserves.
You're going to get thatrespect back and they're going
to do as much as they can to try, and, you know, put in a good
show for the club.
But I think you know themembership at large, the way
(20:34):
they treat the staff.
You know I've talked to a lot ofmy peers where you know it's a
challenging membership and theydon't have the support that you
know they think they should havefrom members of the board in
terms of how the staff is being,you know, being treated, or how
their staff is being handled orthe ability or the trust that
(20:57):
they have.
And I think over the years, andI think, just given the fact
that I've been here for so long,also, you know, allows the
board and there's a lot that hashappened.
You know over the years and Ithink, just given the fact that
I've been here for so long, also, you know, allows the board and
there's a lot that has happened.
You know, over the years andyou know we've kind of gone
through ups and downs but Ithink 2015 onwards, I think you
know to this point now there'sthere's really a comfort level
and you know trust and a faiththat you know you run the
(21:19):
operation the right way and Ithink the staff kind of you know
, sees that and and kind of getsmotivated from that as well
yeah, and when you have thatkind of like you you've had the
boots on the ground, like youkeep the boots on the ground,
and like you've been indifferent positions, like you've
worked all the aspects in thearea, so you know it's even hard
, you know it's.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
You can't, you know no one can come to you and be
like oh, oh, I don't think it's.
Like I've been there, like Iknow how long things should take
, I know what should be done, Iknow how it is.
It's hard to pull a fast one onyou.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
No, but you know I and I think you know the other
thing too is you know we're,we're, we're kind of like a
midsize club.
You know we're not a.
You know it's very engaged likeyou know it's a smaller, you
know property size.
So I am, I mean it's my.
My admin staff is, uh, isusually gets mad at me because
(22:12):
I'm like never in my office sothey have to like peek in and
say, oh my god, he's in theoffice, like you know.
So I'm always around.
You know I'm always connecting,always talking to staff and
members and you know that's onething.
You know they'll always see.
Like you know it's never I'mnot the type of individual
that's, you know, more of anoffice-based, you know guy.
And I think it's super importantfor you know, and again, I've
(22:36):
listened to and you know taken,you know, advices from a lot of
you know my peers who do thatsuccessfully and you know, as
you talk to a lot of people inthe industry, it's you know, if
you're not present and if you'renot, you know, engaged, you
know you could be here for 16hours a day sitting in their
office.
It ain't going to do any.
You know and I've known ofindividuals that kind of, have
(23:00):
that sort of, have that sort ofa mindset and have obviously,
you know, not lasted Right.
So I think you know one of theyou know the answers to your
previous question too is I thinkyou know when you see, or the
members see, you know thegenuineness of your engagement.
I think it does get appreciatedand does go a long way.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
Yeah, yeah, how, how many staff do you have when
you're like you know, in seasonwe could be about 100, 125.
Speaker 2 (23:30):
Um, you know, we have a lot of seasonal individuals
because our, because of where weare, you know our seasonality
is more like may toseptember-ish uh, with the
weather, um.
So we, you know, we do a lot ofthe seasonal.
We do the H2B staffing program,which we've been doing for over
12 years now and it's beenfantastic, it's been extremely
(23:53):
rewarding and I think thatprogram as a whole is and a lot
of clubs, including clubs inFlorida, that rely on that
program.
But there's so much value to itbecause you get to experience a
lot of clubs, including clubsin Florida that rely on that
program.
But there's so much value to itbecause you get to experience a
lot of the individuals that arecoming from all over the world
right, and especially for me, Ikind of empathize a little bit
(24:14):
because I was in their shoes atone point in time and trying to
come to a new country altogether.
So I kind of have that sort havethat sort of a in, and I think
it's great when you see certainindividuals that are engaged and
even you know to that point,like even we we actually have
four of the H2B guys that haveliterally been coming back to us
(24:37):
almost for eight or nine years.
So even within that we have a,you know, kind of like and
they're, like now part of like.
You know we have a gentlemanyou know at the halfway house
who's been there for six yearsand it's like when he comes in,
everyone's like oh my God, likewelcome back.
Like you know it's part of thefamily and so it's.
(24:57):
You know, it's really a greatprogram that we've had a lot of
success with, a great programthat we've had a lot of success
with.
But it kind of tapers downbecause when our season slows
down then they go to Florida, soit really helps us manage that
volume window.
Speaker 1 (25:14):
Yeah, were they doing an H-2B program when you first
started?
Speaker 2 (25:19):
No, so I think H-2B wasn't even and I could be wrong
.
Maybe it was there, but weweren't using it.
We initially started with theJ1s for a couple of years and it
was okay, but it has itslimitations.
And then I think we came acrossthe H2B in I want to say 2012
(25:40):
or 2013, I think.
Also fairly recent, yeah, yeah,but since then it's been.
You know it's like clockwork.
You know, every year, you know,we go through sports of having,
like this year, we have like80% individuals returning back
and then a few new ones, andthen a few new ones.
(26:01):
So you always have some newindividuals, but more so the
repeat ones, which is hugebecause they get the ground
running day one.
You don't have to go throughtraining them and going through
the whole thing because theyknow the program.
Speaker 1 (26:19):
Yeah, edit, when you were working in hotels was there
?
Speaker 2 (26:28):
anything that you learned or picked up there that
you brought over to clubs.
I think you know what.
What it really which which Ithink is is is huge is just the
entire training process becauseyou know, I mean I went to the
hotel school in india which wasrun by one of the leading hotel
groups in India called TajHotels, and the training that
was ingrained in me just ingeneral, whether it was from the
(26:50):
grooming standards to a lot oflittle things and that kind of
further translated, when Istarted working with Marriott
and I think Marriott as acompany is known for their
standards and everything thatthey imbibe in you and I think
that really, really helped meand it was like a strong
foundation of what I gather fromthe marriott down to the hilton
(27:14):
and weston, which was starwoodthen but now it's all one
company, but you know, everykind of chain at that time these
were were the three big ones.
You know Marriott, Hilton andStarwood, you know, had their
little quirks which reallyhelped in bringing that when I
started here to try and get thisBecause, like I said, you know
(27:35):
it wasn't, you know it was a,and that's what clubs are right.
I mean, it's an extension ofyour home and you know members
want to come here and they wantto feel, you know it's.
You know it's not necessarilythey're coming here to judge and
say, okay, did you serve fromthe left or the right.
You know it's.
You want to come here and havea good time and and uh, and be
(27:56):
recognized, and you know andthat's what it was about.
But it was again like trying toget that uh train back on track
, which that background likehelped me tremendously and I
think anyone that's kind of donethis sort of a transition which
you know there's a lot ofindividuals that you know have
come or have been coming, youknow, probably say the same
(28:16):
thing.
I think it gives you a verystrong base to try and then get
that into your, into your day today system, to try and then get
that into your day-to-daysystem.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, so what type of training like?
What does your training looklike there at the club?
Speaker 2 (28:31):
So I mean it's you know so over the years.
I mean obviously now we have ateam in place but you know from
the basics, you know the regulartraining manual and things like
that, you know.
So everything that's kind ofdone.
But given the fact that we havea great success in having the
individuals come back year afteryear, you know it's not really
not that hard.
(28:52):
I mean we're not literally likestarting from scratch, right.
So you know, and thoseindividuals also help the
individuals that are coming in,you know, to try and you know,
get them up to speed as quicklyas possible.
And then within our you knowour food and beverage management
team, I mean they have again,they've been here for so long,
like even my, you know myclubhouse manager has been here
12 years and so you know theyget, you know, so it becomes a
(29:14):
lot easier for them.
Also on a day-to-day basis.
You know whether it's littlethings like pre-shift, and you
know name recognition, whetherit's playing those games and
pictures, and you know what wecan do.
Um, the best way to get themembers uh, you know, or get the
face to the name and and havethat recognition for members
which you know, in my opinion isprobably the single best or the
(29:37):
single uh most important thingat clubs is the recognition and
and it's kind of like a dualthing, because when you have
individuals that work with youfor a certain period of time,
for as long as they have, therecognition is automatic.
So we have members that comeback, where a lot of the other
clubs it's like okay, well,there was a new guy this year.
(30:00):
I don't know who that is, whoMr Smith is, but here it's huge.
I can't tell you the feedbackthat we get.
It's incredible.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
Yeah, and has that always been a part of your thing
, or do you think you pickedthat up a little bit more as you
evolved through the years ofhotels and management and
leadership?
Speaker 2 (30:22):
No, I think the name recognition is, you know, is
very, you know, club centric,right, I mean, obviously, in a,
in a hotel, depending on whereyou are.
Um, you know, like at the westend, where I was, it was more of
a business hotel and you knowwhere it was located.
It was, you know, within anarea where there was a lot of
the fortune 500 companies fromeurope.
So we would see the sameclientele kind of come in Sunday
(30:45):
and Thursday.
So you know you would see themand you know, you know if they
came in.
But it's an important aspectbecause they felt great too and
you know they were recognized.
But I don't think it's not, asyou know, prevalent or as
important I would say as it isat clubs, you know, just for
that reason.
But I mean, hotels obviouslyhave a different system and a
(31:10):
different dynamic, because thereservations are made and you
kind of have a whole profile ofyou know who's coming in and you
kind of personalize itaccordingly.
But at clubs, you know, I thinkthat is what everybody kind of
looks for, even from a memberside.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Do you do any like employee recognition, like
employee the months or thingslike that employee the quarters?
Speaker 2 (31:30):
we don't.
We we don't have a specificprogram but, like I said, you
know we do.
You know we do a lot of thatstuff on a regular basis, but
just in general, you know, uh,whether it's a summer social or
holiday party and, um, you knowsomething towards you know, the
winter or starting in the spring.
You know we're kind of doingthree or four things, you know,
throughout the season to try andtry and keep everybody engaged.
(31:52):
But we don't have specific, youknow, employee of the year sort
of programs.
It's just because of ourseasonality and the the, the way
the staff is and how longeveryone's been here, it's kind
of, you know it's a little thethe, the way um, the staff is
and you know how longeverybody's been here.
It's kind of uh, um, you knowit's a little tricky, but you
know there's other avenues thatI think the staff really enjoys
uh, being engaged here.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
So so who do you go for for advice or when you know
you got questions like who'syour, who's your go-to people.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
So my, my, I mean my, my mom and dad are two of my
closest confidants and I've seenthem.
My dad was in sales kind of allhis life and so he has that.
I think I kind of got the knackof dealing with people from him
.
He worked for the parentcompany Unilever, which in India
(32:44):
was Hindustan Lever, so he dida lot of the the consumer goods
and you know he had a bigterritory and he traveled quite
a bit and so you know we got tokind of travel with him within
the country as well.
And then my you know my mom hasa teaching background.
She's an author, she's a poet,she's written like 20 books,
(33:04):
she's a big celebrity and uh,you know, in pune or the city
where I'm from, and uh, but what, what I've seen from them is
just, you know, from the humblebackground that they came from,
to you know where they kind ofgot themselves and it's just
like it's just imbibed in me.
And you know, my mom kind of,you know she basically went to,
(33:26):
she got her bachelor's and hermaster's after being married and
after having us, and she was agold medalist and you know both
in the university there, and soI've seen her.
You know her hard work and thesame thing you know, on my dad's
side of just, you know, workingat sales is, you know, I mean
(33:47):
it's a thankless sort of asituation with targets and
things like that.
So I've seen him, you know,kind of put that effort in so
it's really, you know, that'sreally kind of helped me kind of
, you know, develop into who Iam and deal with people and the
effort that needs to go in andthe hard work and you know all
of that.
So so I mean they're kind of my,my confidence, and I think you
(34:08):
know, a lot of times, you know,they're my first phone call.
I mean that's my kind ofmorning routine.
I actually only have like a10-minute drive to work.
You know, sometimes I wish itwas a little more because then I
can please get the phone callscompleted.
But that's with the timedifference in India it's
actually the perfect timebecause you know it's evening
(34:28):
time in India when I'm, you know, getting into the club in the
morning.
So, um, that's my kind of dailyroutine is to, you know, talk
to them in the morning in thecar and, you know, just talk
about stuff and whatever'scoming up and and just kind of
get my day going that way.
Speaker 1 (34:46):
Yeah, is there a?
It's going to be like a, like a.
I don't know if it's a twoparty question question, I'm
gonna look.
I'm gonna just word, word, word, word vomit and you just take
it as is.
You know, seeing as you're soclose to your family, is there a
like, a belief or a principle,maybe that like they instilled
(35:07):
in you, that you kind of impartlike?
Or is there like something thatlike, is your kind of guiding
light of like you know, yourprinciple, your belief, like?
Is there like a?
I think it's like a.
Two thing is like a.
Is there something that maybethey instilled in you?
Is there something that youjust kind of maybe found on your
own?
That's encompasses a coupledifferent things, but yeah, I'll
let.
I'll let you take the ball onthat one.
Speaker 2 (35:27):
There you go I think I think more like you know,
staying true to your roots,right, just being unapologetic
(35:52):
of who you are and kind of doingthe best you can, you know
within the the guidelines ofwhat's, you know what's
available you know for you, andjust again, you know the hard
work is just you know there's nosubstitute to that and I think
that I've kind of really reallytaken from them and just the
ability to deal with people.
I think those are the two keyimportant things.
(36:14):
But just even with my kids Imean both my kids were born here
and but you know, we've, we'vemade it a conscious effort.
Whether it's a languagedecision, you know, like you
know, I speak three languages,right.
So in India, you know, I went toa common school.
So you know, I've been speakingEnglish since I was in
kindergarten, which when I camehere initially, everyone was
(36:38):
like, oh my God, I can't believethe English is so good.
Well, there's moreEnglish-speaking people in India
than the entire population ofthe United States, just because
of the size.
So just that.
But even so, I speak English.
Then we have a regionallanguage.
So in India, pretty much everystate kind of has its own
language which is called youknow we call it the mother
(37:00):
tongue.
And then you have a nationallanguage because, depending on
where you go in India, you knowsomebody from the north of India
to the south of India is twocompletely different languages.
They wouldn't understand whatthey're speaking.
So to make communication easy,there's a national language,
which is Hindi, so anybody fromany part of the country can
speak that language.
So it's three languages that Ispeak.
(37:29):
So for my kids, you know, wemade it a constant effort to
make sure that we were speaking,you know, my regional language,
or Marathi, which is what it is.
So we speak that at home.
So they understand that.
You know from watching some ofthe Hindi shows.
They understand Hindi andobviously they understand and
speak English.
Unfortunately they don't speakMarathi, which I wish they did.
But it's just challenging whenyou don't have that many people
(37:49):
speaking.
It's not easy to kind ofcommunicate that, because the
only time you're really speakingthat is when you're home and
then outside of home you're notreally speaking that.
But at least you know we'rehappy that they understand that.
But again, you know, takingtrips back home every year and
having family visit or themgoing and just kind of keeps
them, you know rooted as well,to understand, you know, the
(38:13):
culture and everything that youknow is to bring.
So you know we're grateful forhaving that opportunity and I
want to make sure that theyunderstand that as well and they
know you know where the rootsare right, so that I think,
overall I don't know if itanswers your question, I digress
.
I think overall.
I don't know if it answers yourquestion I digress, I think but
(38:38):
I think that's important for usas a family to kind of, you
know, ensure that we're, youknow, being who we are and
trying to do the best we can,because it's not easy to kind of
come across, you know, all theway here and setting up a base
and um but um, that's, that'swhat we've enjoyed and we want
to continue to do that.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
That's awesome.
Now, how old are your kids now?
Speaker 2 (39:00):
My son's going to be 16.
My daughter's going to be 12.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
And have they shown any interest in what they.
I mean, I know it's still soyoung and so far away, but are
they like hospitable people Like?
Are they like, are you?
Are you and so far away?
But are they like hospitablepeople like?
Are they like, are you are?
Speaker 2 (39:15):
you?
Are you making them going to belike doctors and lawyers?
Speaker 1 (39:17):
and stuff.
What are you?
What do?
Speaker 2 (39:18):
you?
What do you question on them?
but uh yeah, uh no, I mean they,you know they genuinely I think
they because of my backgroundyeah you know when we do travel,
you know it's, you know stayingat, you know whatever hotels or
resorts that we end up stayingand it's good to have the hotel
background because you stillhave connections.
So it's good to get you knowfriends and family rates.
(39:40):
So they do enjoy that.
You know they enjoy travelingand they see that aspect of it.
I don't know if they're, youknow there yet.
If this is, you know this is acareer that they, you know, see
for themselves or want to aspireto be, but you know it's still.
You know my son, you know, hasa short window of his
(40:02):
granddaughter.
She's got a lot of time but youknow she's just 12 and my son's
gonna be, he's a sophomoreright now in high school.
So you know he's got, you know,the next three or four years to
kind of figure out what path hewants to take.
But but, uh, but they do enjoythis.
So I I mean, if they go thisroute, that wouldn't be, uh, I
wouldn't be surprised yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:21):
What, what, uh, what words of advice, words of wisdom
do you have for maybe youngerkids coming up in the, in the
hospitality space now?
Speaker 2 (40:35):
Well, that's a.
That's a loaded question,that's the, that's the topic of
the you know, of today's day andage, and every time you know,
whether it's at conferences ormeetings, it's that's the topic,
because you know you don'treally have that you know
younger pipeline willing to comeinto clubs and kind of put in
the hours and stuff.
But I think the two pieces ofadvice I think is very simple.
(40:57):
One is to be patient, which Ithink is the challenge with a
lot of the younger folks thesedays.
They want instant gratificationand they want to finish
hospitality school and become ageneral manager in two years.
You know, I mean that's kind oflike in their head.
Some of them, you know, thinkthat way, which, you know, again
(41:18):
, is not certainly not sayingit's impossible, but it's, I
think, being patient.
And then, especially in theclub world, I think you know, if
they really understand howrewarding it is from all aspects
, whether it's a, you know,work-life balance, whether it's
the financial stability, whetherit's the job security.
(41:39):
There's a lot of positiveswithin the club space that if
they, you know, they grasp that.
But I think clubs in general,you know, just don't do a good
enough job, I think, of makingit very enticing to a lot of the
college and it's very easy foryou know Marriott or Hilton to
(41:59):
come through and flash all thesebeautiful resorts they have all
over the world and you know,and then people are like, oh my
God, this is awesome, like thisis where I want to work.
Clubs are not that right.
I mean, they're not very um chicin that sense, but I think
until you get into it or youspeak to individuals which is
why I think you know the, thestudent chapters, uh, across the
(42:22):
country, and the fact that theycome to these conferences and
they see all of that, I thinkit's huge because that really
really gives them a flair forwhat the industry is and that's,
you know, one of the biggestthings I have enjoyed.
You know the engagement and youknow the peer-to-peer network
that we have and the conferencesand the BMIs, and you know you
(42:43):
don't get that, you don't getthat at.
You know a lot of the you knowin the hotels and it's the
connections that you make arejust fantastic.
You know, and it's theconnections that you make are
just fantastic, and that's, Ithink, one of the biggest
aspects for me to kind of alsocontinue that, because it gives
(43:03):
you the ability to learn everysingle year and do different
things, and so I think if theseindividuals kind of saw that a
little more, I think it'll beextremely beneficial for them.
Speaker 1 (43:18):
Yeah, anything, we didn't talk about that.
You want to.
Speaker 2 (43:23):
Well, I think what I was like.
I was just, you know, alludingto something real quick before.
So I think for me, you know,like I said, when I came here in
2001,.
I came in literally, I came intwo weeks before 9-11.
And it was, you know, it was acrazy time, I mean, for someone
who you know came from India andyou know I have no, like no
(43:49):
family here, like literally,it's just the four of us in this
country, which is wild when Ithink of it, you know, like no,
no uncles, no aunts, no cousins,nobody here, it's just nobody,
like nobody, zero.
Wow, because I came here it wasactually five of my, uh, my
buddies who you know we did thebachelors together.
So that was the only incentive,like you know.
(44:11):
At least I didn't come herecompletely, you know, without
anyone, without anyone's, butagain, it was just that.
And to take the leap, and Imean I'm kind of dreading my
son's going to be in college intwo years and I'm kind of like
sweating that right now, youknow I'm going to be 16 hours
(44:43):
away.
Pre-social media, texting,pre-facetime, pre-anything, you
know, calling cards and punchingin numbers to, you know, call
home once a week because it wasstill expensive, but it was, you
know, it was a time that reallyreally taught me a lot and I
think to go through that thatperiod for all of us because you
know we were, you know all myfriends, you know as things were
unfolding it was.
It was a very you know it was avery challenging time, but I
think that really helped us allas individuals.
(45:07):
Like, really, you know, grow upquick, you know you take, you
know take care of yourself andthe responsibility and you know
just the overall factors.
I think that you know, really,you know, put a lot of emphasis
on how important it was for usto not just be here but to you
(45:28):
know, to succeed and doeverything we can to try, and
you know, make a career, and youknow, and all my you know, to
succeed and do everything we canto try, and you know, make a
career.
And you know, and all of my youknow, all the colleagues that I
came with are within different,different spectrums here, but
they're still, you know, they'restill here.
So you know it's like I said,it's 25 years and everyone says
(45:48):
you know kind of doing well intheir own space.
But you know he stuck it out.
It wasn't like we panicked andwe left, so, but it was an
interesting time for sure.
Speaker 1 (45:59):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (46:08):
What was the first job out of?
Or you get here, what was likethe first hotel I came here, you
know, and it was in grad school, so my classes were only like
two days a week.
So I worked at a restaurant inProvidence for a couple of years
and you know, it was kind oflike the routine you work three,
four days and, you know, justwent to college, you know the
couple of days, and so I went onfor it was more like 16 months,
(46:30):
I think, the program, and then,you know, know, then I kind of
started working, um, right away.
So it's uh, when I look back,it's uh, it's quite a ride yeah,
yeah.
Speaker 1 (46:44):
When others would have given up or said no, like I
pushed through and it's.
Speaker 2 (46:50):
It's tough too, because you know you're not
really um, you knowopportunities are not just
coming by, because you know forus it was a whole, you know,
kind of like a visa process andan immigration process to a
certain extent, because you comein on a certain visa, which is
a student visa, visa to be ableto work, and then once you get
(47:15):
that visa you know not everycompany is sponsoring that visa,
so to say so, you kind of arerestricted to companies that are
willing to get that for you andthen once you get that, then to
find someone that's going tohelp you get your green card
process going.
So there, a lot of, you know, alot of challenges along the way
, yeah, um were there ever anymoments of like?
Speaker 1 (47:39):
this is like so dumb.
But like, do you ever feel likepeople like, almost like
hanging that over your head kindof just like, just kind of like
being like oh, like you know,like, oh, like I have like this,
like power or something like?
Speaker 2 (47:51):
oh, hey, you have to work here, but like no, yeah,
fortunately not, but I know thathas happened.
I know that's happened to somefriends that I've known.
Yeah, fortunately for me.
No, I mean, I think every placethat I've worked at, including,
you know, hollywood, which hasbeen majority of the uh of the
journey, has been extremelysupportive of that and have done
(48:13):
, you know, and my process hasnot been easy by any means.
It's been, it's been very, verychallenging, like you know.
It's.
It's, you know, to the pointwhere I was like two months away
from packing my bags and goinghome because it just wasn't
really uh, things were notmoving well and you know, the uh
process was getting denied.
(48:33):
I was actually, if you, if youbelieve this or not my visa was
being denied because I wasoverqualified for the job.
So they denied my visa sayingthat you have a master's in
hospitality.
We don't think this job needsrequires anyone with a master's
degree, so we're not going togive you the visa.
(48:55):
So I had to then, you know,basically reach out to a lot of
my peers and have them getletters to say he's not as smart
as he looks no he is, I'mbusted.
Speaker 1 (49:10):
I'm busted.
No, that, that, no, that's wild.
Speaker 2 (49:15):
They wrote me letters I mean addressed or whatever to
say hey, here's a job.
Speaker 1 (49:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (49:22):
Here's why you need someone with a bachelor's or
master's to kind of do the job,because the way the immigration
I mean, they kind of put theyhave one category for, like, say
, a food service manager and amanager at Dunkin' Donuts is in
that same category as a managerfor what's called it.
(49:43):
So the immigration just looksat it like, okay, you're in the
food service manager role.
They don't look at, yeah, yeah,you know the differences and so
, yeah, I mean so little crazythings like that have, you know,
only added to the challenges.
But you know, I've been able to, uh, you know, knock on wood,
(50:04):
I've been able to overcome thatand uh, and then get it, uh, get
it moving along.
So but it's uh, it's been a funride.
Speaker 1 (50:11):
With a smile on your face.
Speaker 2 (50:15):
Yeah, well, that's the best you can do, right?
You can only control what youcan control.
You know, when you can't, youcan't, so you can't get worried
about that.
Speaker 1 (50:24):
Yeah, well, thank you so much for coming on.
This was such a greatconversation.
Speaker 2 (50:29):
Awesome, I loved it, and thanks for being patient.
I know we've been trying to getthis set up for a while.
Speaker 1 (50:34):
Oh good, oh good.
Hope you all enjoyed that.
I know I did so, leo, thank youso much for coming on, thanks
for being a friend, thank youfor sharing and being a great
human.
If you're enjoying the content,if you're enjoying the episodes
, a like, a share, a five-starrating means the world and costs
nothing.
(50:55):
You want a snag of the comedyguide?
Head on over to dennycorbycomslash comedy guide.
That's this episode.
Until next time, catch you onthe flippity flip.
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