The Night Manager: Memoirs of a Hospitality Student by Nakul Anand, former Executive Director at ITC Limited, and widely recognised as one of the key architects behind ITC’s hospitality and luxury strategy
Some books tell us what a person achieved. A few allow us to share their world and understand how that person thinks. Nakul Anand’s The Night Manager: Memoirs of a Hospitality Student belongs to the latter.
What stayed with me long after reading the book was the sharpness of observation that runs through the book . Anand notices people, gestures and moments that others often overlook.
He remembers individuals who influenced his thinking, offered advice or stood beside him when clarity and strong instincts were needed. These recollections give the memoir a shared warmth and allow readers to be a part of his journey.
Anand recounts how he entered the hotel industry in 1978 as an economics graduate and a general assistant trainee with ITC Hotels. He was surrounded by trainees who had already studied hotel management. Of course, he had much to learn.
He caught up quickly, even topped the programme and began his career as a night manager at the Chola Sheraton in Chennai – thus the christening of the book
This first posting becomes more than an opening chapter. It sets the foundation of a life philosophy – establishes a way of seeing things that follows him throughout his career. The quiet hours gave him the opportunity to observe how a hotel and people truly worked.
He looked beyond his designation, studied its many moving parts and began to understand that hospitality depended as much on empathy, instinct and attentiveness as it did on systems.
This ability to observe and absorb is at the heart of the book. For Anand, hospitality is ultimately about making people feel recognised. A beautifully designed hotel, an excellent meal or seamless service acquires meaning through the feeling it creates. Genuine connection is the foundation on which memorable hospitality is built.
The book’s simplicity is equally striking. Anand draws lessons from complex situations without making them sound complicated. Ideas such as “Brilliant Basics and Magic Moments”, “Attitude Not Aptitude” and “The Answer Is Yes, What Is the Question?” have the clarity of principles defined by experience. They are easy to understand because they have been lived before being shared.
Nakul Anand’s memories are filled with stories of colleagues, mentors, chefs, guests, team members and friends who helped shape a remarkable journey. What makes these passages special is the generosity with which he remembers them. They are never supporting characters included simply to frame his success. They are an integral part of the story itself.
There is honest gratitude in the way Anand looks back. He acknowleges that instinct develops over years of listening, learning and working with people. Even the most decisive moments are shaped by previous conversations and accumulated learning. His success may be exceptional, but he never presents it as a solitary achievement.
The same sensibility informs his approach to Responsible Luxury. Sustainability belongs naturally within the idea of modern luxury. His understanding of this basic principle reflects the wider perspective of a person who has walked the talk. One who has always looked beyond the immediately visible and considered the entire ecosystem of a hotel: guests, employees, resources and surroundings.
Despite the scale of Anand’s accomplishments, the memoir never feels weighed down by them. He writes with humour, affection and the curiosity of someone who has remained a student throughout his career. This humility is perhaps the book’s most endearing quality.
For me, The Night Manager is less a corporate memoir and more a reflection on people, judgement and the art of paying attention.
Its lessons travel well beyond hospitality. Listen carefully. Trust instincts built by experience. Remember the people who helped you find your way.
Above all, the book captures a quality that has defined Nakul Anand’s journey: he has always worn his greatness lightly. There is no need to announce it. It emerges through the stories he tells, the people he remembers and the values he lives by.
The Night Manager is a warm and beautifully observed account of a brilliant career. It reminds us that true leadership often begins with something very simple: noticing what matters and never forgetting who shared the journey.
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