PB Venugopal doesn’t let a day go by without a session of chess

Before the pandemic, I would be travelling for 21 days in a month, so I would spend a lot of time reading books about the hospitality industry. We have a philosophy called ‘Omotenashi’ at the company, which means anticipating guests’ needs and providing an amazing experience. My favourite book is Transforming Power of Hospitality: Setting the Table by Danny Meyers.

 My family and I are complete movie aficionados and we love watching a movie together every Sunday. I am personally fond of watching movies loaded with mystery, especially if it stars Morgan Freeman, who is an actor I admire.

My all-time comfort cuisine is Italian. I enjoy eating at Toscano in Bengaluru. Their food, ambience and service are remarkable. But I also love cooking at home, which I mostly do over the weekends.

While work makes me travel a lot, I enjoy going on vacations with my family during holidays. My favourite destination has to be Switzerland wherein we travelled with a small group of first-time acquaintances. Together, we loved exploring Mount Titlis and Jungfrau, and ended up becoming great family friends. My ideal getaway destination in India is Goa, where I like relaxing on the beach and staying at Seaside resorts.

Cricket is the sport that I enjoy watching and playing. In fact, I even played in the annual company cricket event. I try to watch and follow all the cricket matches, depending on my schedule. In indoor games, I love to play chess. I took it up as a hobby in my childhood and have continued it to this day. I try to play chess every day for at least 30 minutes in the evening, on weekdays as well.