In episode 59 of Everything is Up, Tammera Hollerich interviews Jig Pandya, the Chief Strategy Officer at Apsilon Hotels, as they discuss Jig's role in leading the digital division and his background in sports and competitive nature. Jig also shares a memorable experience from his childhood and the importance of continuous improvement.
Tune in to learn more about the importance of continuous improvement and learning.
TIMESTAMPS
[00:01:34] Atlanta's Busy Airport Insights.
[00:06:05] Leading the digital division.
[00:12:09] Pickleball obsession.
[00:15:55] Meeting Indian celebrity Amitabh Bachchan.
[00:17:37] Indian culture and adapting in America.
[00:23:32] The biggest room for improvement.
[00:24:35] Lifelong learning and growth.
QUOTES
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Tammera Hollerich
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TammeraHollerich
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tammerahollerich/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thollerich/
Jig Pandya
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jigpandya
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jigpandya/
WEBSITES
Everything Is Up: https://everything-is-up.simplecast.com/
Tammera Hollerich: https://tammerahollerich.com/
Welcome to everything is up a podcast about the real life stories of people who have created extraordinary levels of success These are conversations with people who are constantly striving to take things to the next level And now here's your host
Welcome to Everything is Up with Tamara and joining me today, very excited to have, is Jig Pandya out with Epsilon Hotels out of South Carolina?
Tammera Hollerich
Atlanta, Georgia.
Jig Pandya
Oh, Atlanta, Georgia. Okay, so do you live in the Carolinas or do you live in Georgia?
Tammera Hollerich
No, we're all here in Georgia, in Atlanta.
Jig Pandya
All in Georgia. Okay. For some reason, I had information that you guys were in the Carolinas, but so in Georgia, so I love Georgia. I just love Georgia. There's just, you know, they talk about, you know, the Georgia peach and, but there, you know, I heard recently that Atlanta has the busiest airport in the world.
It's been like that for quite some time, actually, and that's the record that, except for, I believe, 2020, Atlanta has been the busiest airport in the world for probably nearly a decade, if not more.
Yeah, that's crazy. When I was listening to this speaker talking about Atlanta having the busiest airport, there was a statistic, and this was probably in 2018, 2019. The question was, when something is disrupted in the Atlanta airport, how long before that disruption is felt in Hong Kong? because it's all intertwined, like the whole air travel system. I was shocked, and I don't know if you know this, I was shocked to hear it's only six minutes.
It's understandable because I wouldn't think we would affect Hong Kong as much as LA would. I think LA would be the airport that would be the most effective as far as time delays, cancellations, and so forth, because of West Coast, right? Where are you, by the way?
I'm in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
Oh, OK.
So, yeah, but I mean, I found that to be extremely easy because, you know, you think L.A. or New York, one of the New York airports, you would think that they would have been. So I thought that was very interesting. So when you said Atlanta, I'm like, oh, here, guys, here's a bit of trivia that I learned that I did not know at all. I thought that was pretty cool. All right. So let's talk about Epsilon Hotels. Give us a little bit of background. I know your role is Chief Strategy Officer for the company. Tell us a little bit about the hotels and then give us a little bit of background about your role as Chief Strategic Officer.
Yes. Epsilon Hotels currently has 13 hotels that are open all in Metro Atlanta. Of the 13, 11 are branded, two are independent. We have four in the development pipeline. Those would be all branded hotels as well. And a heavy focus for the future is going to be either on Marriott or Hilton products versus right now, our biggest portfolio brands are from IHG, Intercontinental Hotels Group, that would own the Holiday Inns, Holiday Inn Expresses, Crowne Plazas, Intercontinentals, and so forth and so forth. That's the bulk of our portfolio now. But the future will be very, very heavy focused on Marriott specifically, and then Hilton will be right there as well.
Nice. Okay, so I bet that our listeners don't understand this hospitality world, and hotels specifically, that there are major conglomerate groups like you said, Marriott, Hilton, And then the Intercontinental Hotel, like those groups that own a lot of the actual hotels that we all stay in, right? How does that end up working? So as you guys are growing a portfolio, and you're talking about IHG versus Marriott, what is the significant difference there? And why one over the other?
That's a great question. A lot of it has to do with the market and what brand we think that would be very successful in that specific market. Downtown Atlanta would be much different than, let's say, Peachtree, Georgia, Peachtree City, Georgia, right? Peachtree City, Georgia is going to be different than Atlanta Airport. We actually have 5 hotels out of 13 that are already at the Atlanta Airport. Our corporate office, a gorgeous two-story building, is right at the Atlanta airport as well. So a lot of it has to do with brand, sorry, market, what brands are available. And some people might disagree, I think many would agree, but I would say probably the two kingpins in the industry, no matter where you go in the world, whether it's Beijing or London or Paris or Podunk, Mississippi, I think Marriott and Hilton are going to probably be the two kingpins that really go toe-to-toe against each other. So those are the heavy favorites. Bankers also love those brands as well. They feel a little bit safer returns on them. But all franchisors that you mentioned are good in their own ways as well.
Right. Okay. So now let's talk about your role as Chief Strategic Officer. What does that mean? And then how do you apply that role into these various different markets?
I actually lead the digital division of Absalon Hotels, which was newly created just last year. So it's actually very fitting because by nature, I'm an extremely strategic and analytical person. So starting a new division fits right up that trait and qualifications there. And so leading the digital is really focused on not just simply digital marketing, social media, anything related to digital. And that includes in-house technology, SaaS products that we invest in to be more efficient and hopefully more effective and becoming more productive versus other management companies that are out there. Pretty much it's the old-fashioned way of operating, pencil and paper, email, has really been the way the future needs to be a lot more organized. And again, efficiency is really a key word that I think we use a lot as well. So that's where we are today.
That's really interesting. So I put myself through school, through college as a night auditor for a hotel, right? A hotel chain that was fairly close to the university. And I did it in the late 80s, early 90s, all on paper. And I remember thinking, and if you go back to the late 80s, early 90s, I mean, computers were fairly new. I mean, I was taking a computer programming class in Fortran and BASIC. I mean, like, we don't even talk about those old computer languages anymore. But I remember sitting there one night thinking, Why am I doing this with a paper and pencil and I know that that has really even progressed into like the early and in the teens and it's just now where you know I was talking to a couple of you know. People that work at the desk at a hotel one night when we were there, setting up for a job that and they were saying, yeah, that they had just gotten this new program and they were just learning how to do it all electronically. And I thought it's twenty twenty four. Why did it take so long from the late eighties, early nineties? And we're still doing it that way. So I think that that. Why do you think that that is why do you think it took so long for us to let go? Okay, we really need to be more. I mean, there's a lot that goes on during the day in a hotel. And there's a lot that goes people coming and going. So to be trying to track it all on paper just blows my mind in 2024.
Yes, I think most companies have come further than that now, but one hotel is daunting enough. But when you have an entire portfolio, you have to oversee and keep up with whether it's sales and marketing, revenue or operations or maintenance. I mean, all our IT. So there's several different divisions within Epsilon that is very, very busy due to the portfolio, which is a great thing, by the way, to keep up with everything and stay organized.
Yeah, so interesting. So I can, you know, after doing some research about you as an individual, I can see why Epsilon said, we want you to lead this progress into the future. You have had a lifetime. of achievements. And I thought it was interesting because we ask questionnaires of our guests, guys that are listening, and we ask, we have questionnaires. And one of the things that Jig said is, I am very competitive. It really does take a competitive nature to want to strive in a new role, especially a role that you're building out, right, for a predecessor at some point down the road in a role that's not existed before. It does take that persistency and consistency and a lot of competitiveness to want to succeed. So tell our listeners, from a very young age, you've had this competitive nature about you. Talk to us a little bit about Where you think that came from and what that drive has been all these years.
Yeah, so usually the word Indian. I was born in India and usually the word Indian and the word sports do not go in the same sentence and I'm an anomaly in that situation. I was fortunate enough to do things at a young age, run track and field, play basketball, but I was also very fortunate and blessed to play tennis at the University of South Carolina Aikens. I was a true NCAA student athlete. I was there on a full academic scholarship and participated in all the intramural events during college years as well. coached extensively basketball after college and girls high school. And I'm actually a professionally certified pickleball coach right now. So that's another venue. So what I'm trying to say is sports has been, again, Indian and sports do not go on the same sentence. I'm an anomaly. So having that knowledge role models and mentors during those years, I've literally learned everything I need to be successful in life through sports. And I'm very blessed and fortunate to have gone through that experience because it's immensely proven time and time again, as a lot of my success stories are related to what I've learned in sports.
Yeah, that's interesting, you know, because you do have to have um the team spirit when you're in a sport because there's not many sports even even track and field right because everybody has a different event that they're good at that actually makes you better and and even playing tennis right you're still part of a team so learning that you know how to operate in a team but win right And not just get a trophy because you showed up like you kind of still have to win, you know, and so I do see where that would be super helpful. So Pickleball is fairly new to our. society and culture i would say probably the last five years or so all that you see now is like pickleball pickleball course everybody is obsessed with pickleball now i personally have not had an opportunity to play pickleball i'm sure it's coming but i have not played pickleball so what is it about pickleball that has everybody completely obsessed with pickleball
And speaking of that, there was just a major tournament in Dallas last week. So I heard. Yeah. Yeah. That is part of the PPA tour, which they visit all the cities and so forth. And they were in Atlanta the week before. And we were actually the exclusive host hotel for PPA and MLP while they were here in Atlanta for their tournament. So we worked very hard for that. But pickleball is just a it's a hybrid of three sports. It's badminton, ping pong and tennis all kind of combined together. I think the fun factor is a big reason why people love playing the sport. It's easy to learn and pick up. It's not very costly. Maybe get a paddle and a few balls and you're ready to go. It doesn't take a cost investment. If you ask a lot of pickleball players, Tamara, I'm pretty sure it'd be a consistent word as a response. It's very addictive. It's just because it's because it's just a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun. And people don't like getting off the course. They want to play one more, one more, one more. And next thing you know, you've been out there for three, three and a half hours. And just so it's a lot of fun. That's the key.
It's really good to hear, too. You know, we have a society with an obesity epidemic and a very sedentary culture, right? So to see this spring up Um, here in the U S where, you know, our food choices are not always great and our activity levels are not good, but everyone, like you said, all I've heard is it's addicting. It's I'm obsessed with it. Like, and so, but I had no idea that there was like even a sort of like certified coach. Like how cool is that? Um, you know, recently I had a yoga instructor, like certified yoga instructor. I'm like, this is like high achieving individuals. I love that they give back like you've taken the time to go get certified so that you can be this amazing coach. So that's pretty cool. I just had to ask because with pickleball, it's this obsession that is not just isolated to one area of the country. It's like everywhere I go, everybody's talking about pickleball. It's pretty cool.
Yeah, there's a lot of states that are very heavily focused. Texas is one of them. And in the last two years or so, I would say a lot of pros have been moving to the Austin, San Antonio area because of the facilities that are being built. So they and they live permanently there because of the weather, the climate and the training conditions. So kudos to you guys.
Nice. Well, thank you. So we love that. So One of our questions is, share a favorite memory or a moment that you had. And I have got to ask, you talk about when you were 10 or 11, and you had this opportunity to end up on stage with a celebrity, or because you had gone to a concert. One, at 10 or 11, what a cool thing to have happen to be able to get up there. But it went even further than that. You ended up literally right next to the artist being able to. So who was the artist that you were hanging with at 10 or 11? How cool. And then how did you end up in that situation to begin with?
I'm not sure how I ended up. My parents must have arranged something for me to be on stage. It was a concert. I don't know how many of your listeners are Indian, but they would recognize the name Amitabh Bachchan. And he goes by Big B. Who do you think is the biggest celebrity here in the US? What's your answer? Who's the biggest movie actor here in the US?
Probably Tom Cruise.
Okay, take Tom Cruise and multiply it by a million. And this is not a joke. That's how much he would be celebrated in India. He's just, I don't even know the right words. He's not human according to the people in India because he's such a popular guy. And back in the days, and he still is, believe it or not, his star power is still there. But back in the days when I was 10 or 11, we went to his concert. He was traveling the U.S. and He came to Detroit. We used to live in Michigan. So he came to Detroit to do a concert. And I, Tamara, I'm not sure how I got to be on the stage. So I don't know the answer to that one, but the fact that I was there with probably roughly about 25 kids or so, and then he selected me to be next to him while he continued to sing the song from the movie and so forth like that.
So, okay. So really cool. And from your heritage. Okay. So you, you mentioned you were born in India. That's correct. How old were you when you came to the States?
I was three and a half. My parents left me at three months to come to the States, so I was raised by my grandparents. And then when I was three and a half, they came back to India to come get me to bring me to this. I'm an old man now, so I've been here quite a bit a long time now.
Yeah. I mean, a lot of times when You know, I have got guests or even clients where they're from India. The accent is still very thick. Your accent is there, but it isn't as heavy. So I figured you had to have come over pretty young. What was it like? Um, because it is different, right? You have, you've got this traditional culture. I'm married to, um, my husband, it was born and raised here as a first generation American Bulgarian. So his family first language is Bulgarian. And we talk often about, you know, being raised in a Bulgarian home. Here in the States, right? Because you have those traditional customs and yet you're trying to fit in because he went to public school. So he said, you know, I tried it, like, trying to fit in and he goes, there were some times when it was a little bit more challenging. How did you handle all that?
Yeah, I mean, Indian culture is very heavily focused on cultural issues. And of course, in the home, we spoke Gujarati, one of the Indian languages. And I guess the benefit for me was I came when I was three and a half. So I had a little bit of time to learn English. Of course, I wasn't very fluent in that. But once learned, I used to watch TV and news quite a bit just to pick up on the English language I could learn myself. But Kids are very nimble and adaptable, right? So they learn quickly. So I had that same opportunity and then never really challenging issues in school or outside in the place. If anything, it's probably more so at home because I tended to speak maybe English more so than our language when I should have been doing that.
Interesting. Okay. So grew up in Michigan. How did you end up in Michigan? Like Michigan is not a place that typically immigrants end up. So thinking about how did your parents end up in Michigan?
My dad's an engineer, so I didn't land in Michigan when I came to the States. I landed in Hoboken, and we've lived in New Jersey. We've lived in Florida. We've lived in Tennessee. We've lived in North Carolina. Then we went to Michigan. From Michigan, we moved to South Carolina, and that's where I went to high school and college at, of course, and so forth. So been around a few places. Michigan, we were there for about four years.
Nice. Okay. Yeah, I grew up in, my father was military, so I know that move around quite a bit. Yeah. So, you're a huge Michigan Wolverines fan. Yes?
Oh, if you cut me open right now, I'll be bleeding. Blue blood will be spilling everywhere, for sure.
Yeah. So, I'm guessing that that's from those years in Michigan and just really just becoming an avid fan.
Not really. It wasn't until I moved south when we moved to South Carolina. I don't like to do what everybody else does. And of course, moving to South Carolina, the fans are going to be South Carolina Gamecock fans or Clemson Tiger fans, right? And it just so happened my junior year, something related to Michigan where everybody's ragging on me. So I tend to become a little bit more loyal when someone's picking on me about some things. And I think starting my junior year and then my senior year, when we won the national championship in basketball, we were all together in our yearbook retreat. We all got to go to the beach that was on the yearbook staff from high school, and we got to watch the game. And I think from that moment on, when the whole house was against me as one versus everybody, That my fondness and loyalty continue to grow since 89. So here we are at 2024. So it wasn't really until I left Michigan that the fandom and the fanaticism really started to grow.
I love it. I do. Of course, my husband was born and raised in Pittsburgh. And so everything from his side of the house over is black and gold. And then, of course, you know, me being a Dallas girl, like everything's blue and gold. So like he's it's fun around our house because we both love sports. And, you know, Lord, help us all when Dallas plays Pittsburgh. Like it's just draw the line down the middle of the house. Yeah. I understand. So fun. Okay. So before we kind of call it a day here, you have a saying that really kind of hit me to the core when I read it. And one, what we asked you was what is a book or a podcast or something that you could share with our audience that would kind of have some significant impact on your life. And what you said was that the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. It hit me. I have to tell you, it hit me. I am a huge fan of professional and personal development and think that there's no reason to stop learning ever in this world. As a matter of fact, I am right in the middle of getting my master's at 57 years old. I'm like, what am I thinking here? So where, where did you hear that? Where did you come up with that? And how has that just stuck? Because that's profound. That's very profound.
Thank you. I've been again fortunate to have some really great role models and mentors through high school through college. They've been really. Essential and key to my growth and development, and they were very vested in my interest to be successful for the future as well. And I got asked, hey, Jig, what can you tell me the biggest room in the world? And during that time, my mind started to go to palaces and castles and so forth. And he gave me probably about 90 seconds or so to kind of think and then answer the question. He says, that's not correct. The biggest room in the world is really the room for improvement. And I need you to memorize that because as the future comes, learning is never ending and it should be that way. and you need to learn to be able to evolve and adapt and continue to grow regardless of how much experience you've gained or how much knowledge you think you have. There's still room for improvement and to get wiser and better and stronger as well.
Yeah, you guys, you heard it. This is Jigpandia. It's not my quote.
I can't take credit for it.
But you want to know what here today, it is your saying and the fact that you've taken it and you've taken it to continue that saying that that means a lot to our readers, our readers, our listeners. You know, you can't just stop learning and none of us know it all. Whether some, I jokingly say, whether you're a millennial or not, you really don't know it all, you know, but we don't. And the day that we start thinking that we do is the day that you are going to start moving backwards instead of forwards. So I was really taken by that. So thank you so much for sharing it and having our listeners Hear it. You heard him. He said he was told to memorize it. You should memorize it too, guys. Everybody listening. Well, Jig, thank you so much. How can our listeners get in touch with you? Let's say somebody is in the Atlanta area and they need a place to stay or that they just resonate and clicked with you today. What's the best way for them to get in touch with you?
I think LinkedIn would be the traditional platform. I don't know if you spell out the names properly on these podcasts or not, but if you do, then that's ideally the best way to connect and would love to connect and would love the chance to serve people whenever they're coming through Atlanta and hopefully stay at one of our hotels, too.
That's great. OK, we will put it in the footage here, guys, in the footnotes and get it spelled out for you guys. But it is Jig, J-I-G. Do you use your whole name, Jignesh, or do you just use Jig on LinkedIn?
LinkedIn is just pretty much everywhere, it's just Jig.
Perfect. And that's Pandya, P-A-N-D-Y-A. Thank you, Jig, so much for joining us. It's been such a pleasure. And we hope that you have a great rest of your week, everybody.
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me. I appreciate it. You guys take care.
Absolutely. Guys, this is Everything is Up with Tamara and Jig Pandya. Have a great week, everyone. Bye.
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