While the Indian hospitality industry is witnessing a stupendous growth, it is presently reeling with increased attrition and manpower crunch. The hotel chains have started hospitality education, setting up management institutes to cater to their internal staffing requirements. The hospitality industry perceives training as the key input to peak performance, with soft skills as the major competency. Soft skills appear to be the base for customer service—from recruiting the right `fit' for the brand and property to providing service in hotels. The article cites the experiences of various hotel chains in India and concludes that the traveller in the future will be tech-savvy and discerning. The challenge for the industry is to combine hospitality training which embodies high-tech inputs with a `high-touch' culture.

The Indian hospitality sector has been undergoing a phenomenal growth. The annual demand for skilled workforce in hotels and restaurants is projected at 29,000 by 2010. This figure is expected to increase to 39,000 by the following decade (Mehra, 2006). On an annual basis, 18,000 students are being trained in the hospitality sector within the country. The Indian hospitality industry is well-known for its warmth, impeccable staff and service. However, the fast expansion in the sector is being derailed by the high attrition rates and manpower crunch.

Currently the industry is finding its feet, with domestic hotel chains re-branding and entering into each segment. With the situation confronting the industry—lack of quality and trained personnel—the chains have leaped into hospitality education. The Park Hotels, Kamat Hotels, Himalayan Ski Village and Sarover Hotels are setting up hospitality management institutes to cater to their internal staffing requirements. Premier chains such as Indian Hotels Company Ltd. (IHCL's) Taj and East India Hotel's (EIH) Oberoi have led the hospitality education bandwagon. In 2004, Oberoi Group started a distinctive program, Systematic Training and Education Program (STEP). This three-year program stands apart from its Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development (OCLD). STEP trains undergraduates on kitchen and hotel functions, while concurrently pursuing a Bachelor of Tourism Studies (BTS) from the Indira Gandhi Open University. Given the scenario facing hoteliers—lack of quality, trained professionals—hospitality groups are turning into educators.

Soft Skills, Core Competencies, Hospitality Sector, Stupendous growth, Manpower Crunch, Hospitality education, Internal staffing, Customer service, Tech-savvy, Indian hospitality industry, Systematic Training, Education Programs, STEP, Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development, OCLD, Bachelor of Tourism Studies, BTS, Multi tasking skills.