Nitin Sen and Hotel Sea View International

After a busy day in Kolkata and the delayed flight to Chennai, Nitin Sen was desperate for a
comfortable and peaceful sleep. The next day too was going to be long and hectic. But he
wasn’t complaining. In fact, he was eagerly looking forward to it. He was hoping to sign the
30-crore deal with Nandi Constructions that he had been chasing for last few months.
Negotiations had been long, intense and tough. There were just a few minor issues to be
sorted out, and the deal would be in the bag!

He was booked at Hotel Sea View International. It was one of the latest business hotels in
Chennai. It was more than an hour’s drive from Nandi’s office. But, Ms. Jyothi, the head of
administration at Nandi had highly recommended it. She had helped Nitin get the special
rates that Nandi enjoyed.

Nitin had also visited the hotel’s website. In his more than 16 years career in sales and
marketing, he had stayed in many business hotels in India and abroad. Sea View International
seemed to be at par with them.

It was past 11 o’clock when he checked into the hotel. The lobby was elegant and spacious.
Check-in staff was courteous and efficient. The check-in form was printed and kept ready.
All that Nitin had to do was sign. Nitin reminded the receptionist about sea-facing room.

She replied, “I am sorry Mr. Sen. But we have only the garden-view rooms available.”

At the time of booking, Nitin had asked for a sea-view room. He wanted to watch the sun
rising out of the sea. But now he was too tired to argue!

A smiling bellboy took his bags to the room. Nitin tipped him and started to unpack. The suit
he intended to wear the next day was slightly crumpled. He called up housekeeping.

“Good evening Mr. Sen. How can I help you?”

“My suit and shirt need ironing. Can you send somebody to collect them?”

“Certainly sir. By when would you need them back?”

“Before 7 in the morning.”

There was a brief silence.

“Pardon me, Mr. Sen. But the earliest we can deliver the ironed clothes would be 8 o’clock.”

October 2021 Girish Ketkar Page 1 of 4

 Nitin Sen and Hotel Sea View International

“But I have to leave by 7:30. It’s just one suit and a shirt. Why can’t you deliver before 7?
You have the whole night to iron them!”

“I am sorry, sir. The laundry staff will come in at 7:30 in the morning. I can ask them to iron
your clothes first. But it will be at least 8 o’clock before the clothes can be ready.”

Nitin was losing his patience now. He almost shouted on the phone, “Then what the heck is
overnight laundry service mentioned in this pamphlet near the phone?”

“Sir, we are a bit short on night duty staff. The laundry person is on leave. So,
unfortunately, we can’t offer that service tonight.”

“So you want me to go for meetings in crumpled suit?” asked Nitin sarcastically.

“Pardon me sir. But 8 o’clock is the earliest we will be able to deliver the clothes. Sir, if you
don’t mind, can I suggest something?”

“Yes?”

“We have kept an iron and an ironing board in each room. They are in the wardrobe, sir.”

Nitin slammed the phone down, pulled out the iron and started ironing his suit himself. He
later remembered that most hotels in Europe provided such self-help facilities, including
washing machines and ice dispensers on each floor.

“I should have looked into the wardrobe first,” he muttered to himself.

He woke up early the next day. At 5:30 he called up room service and asked for tea.
Thankfully, the room service was efficient. Within 10 minutes a smartly dressed and smiling
service attendant was at his door with steaming tea.

While relishing the hot tea, Nitin quickly looked up his e-mails, reviewed the points to be
discussed with Nandi and glanced through The Hindu and The Economic Times. He was happy
that the hotel had remembered to slide in the newspapers under the door before 6 in the
morning! Of course, he would have been happier if there was Business Standard too.

He got ready, went down to lobby. He saw Business Standard on the newspaper rack.

“I wish you had delivered Business Standard to my room instead of Eco Times,” he casually
remarked to the executive at the reception counter.

October 2021 Girish Ketkar Page 2 of 4

 Nitin Sen and Hotel Sea View International

“Sir, if we had known that you preferred Business Standard, we would have surely provided it.
Had you mentioned your choice at the time of checking in?”

“No, I hadn’t. But hey, nobody asked me! How would I know that I could specify the
newspapers?”

“I am sorry sir. But I have made a note of it now. Tomorrow you will get Business Standard,
sir.”

“Thank you. And one more thing... I want to schedule a business meeting in the evening.
Can I book your business centre from 6 to 8 o’clock? There will be 4 of us.”

“You are looking for a meeting room, sir?”

“Yes, that’s what I meant. You have a business centre and meeting rooms, don’t you?”

“Sir, we do have a business centre. We have secretarial services, and other business services
like document printing, photocopying and fax. But we don’t have meeting rooms there.”

“You don’t have meetings rooms?” Nitin asked unbelievingly.

“Sir, we know that our guests would like to hold business meetings in the hotel. We are
setting up meeting rooms near the business centre. We hope to get them ready in a month’s
time. Until then, guests are welcome to use the restaurant or lobby for meetings.”

Nitin’s meeting wasn’t going to be a casual business chat. He was going to discuss
partnership agreement with a prospective business partner. Private meeting room, rather
than public area such as restaurant or lobby, would have been perfect.

“Well, this isn’t my idea of a business hotel. But you aren’t leaving me with any other option
but to use the lobby.” Nitin said unhappily, and walked towards the restaurant for breakfast.

He chose a corner table, kept down his briefcase, hung his jacket on the back of a chair and
went over to the buffet counter.

He expectantly looked at the South Indian spread. Aroma from the hot sambar bowl was
appetizing. The coconut chutney and tomato chutney looked inviting. The sight of steaming,
soft idlis made him feel hungrier. The vadas looked crispy and not too oily. A waiter was
placing a bowl of delicious upma on the counter. The glass jugs were brimming with orange,
pineapple and mango juices.

October 2021 Girish Ketkar Page 3 of 4

 Nitin Sen and Hotel Sea View International

Nitin couldn’t have asked for more. He had a sumptuous, delightful breakfast. The freshly
brewed filter coffee in the end was particularly invigorating.

Nitin was now all set to take on the challenging day ahead. The car picked him up at 7:30
sharp. A little before 9 o’clock, he was seated in the reception area of Nandi Constructions.
Ms. Jyothi came in to greet him.

“Good morning Mr. Sen. I hope your stay at Sea View was comfortable.”

Nitin didn’t want to start the conversation on a complaining note. He chose not to mention
the ‘ironing episode’ and the fact that the hotel didn’t have meeting rooms!

“Yes it was. Thank you for suggesting the hotel. The room was nice and spacious. I had a
restful sleep. The breakfast was fantastic!”

“I knew you would enjoy the breakfast. Did you like the dosas?”

“Dosas? There were no dosas!”

“Really? That’s strange. Their restaurant is known for dosas, especially the wafer thin crispy
ones which are made to order.”

“Well, the steward never told me about it.” Nitin made a mental note to try the dosas the
next day.

“Oh, I am sorry you missed them. Anyway, Mr. Parthasarathy is waiting for you. Let me show
you to his cabin.”

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Eager to start the business discussions, Nitin walked behind Jyothi towards the cabin.

Note: This is a fictitious case, written for the purpose of class discussions. Any resemblance with
real-life organizations and people is purely coincidental.

October 2021 Girish Ketkar Page 4 of 4