Why Are Nepalis Underrepresented in Global Hotel Management?

Nepalis have earned a solid reputation across the global hospitality industry. From the Middle East to Europe, from Asia to luxury cruise lines, Nepali professionals are recognized for their dedication, honesty, diligence, and loyalty.

Their work ethic is often lauded by managers and colleagues alike. Guests frequently remark on the warmth, respect, and personal touch Nepalis bring to service roles.

Yet, despite this undeniable talent, a question persists, and it is an uncomfortable one:

Why are so few Nepalis seen in General Manager, Director, or senior executive positions in major international hotel chains? Why is our presence largely limited to operational departments, kitchens, housekeeping, and front-line service roles, but rarely at the decision-making table?

This is not a critique; it is a reflection. Reflection is the first step toward meaningful change. 

Hard Work Alone Is Not Enough

Nepalis are unquestionably hardworking. They can endure long hours, operate under high pressure, and maintain service standards with unwavering commitment. These traits make Nepali employees valuable in operational roles.

However, hard work, while essential, is insufficient for leadership in global hospitality. Executive and strategic positions demand a different set of competencies:

• Strategic thinking: The ability to see beyond day-to-day operations and make long-term decisions.
• Strong business communication: Clear, persuasive, and professional articulation in high-stakes situations.
• Financial literacy: Understanding budgets, revenue streams, and profitability metrics.
• Decision-making confidence: Making timely, high-impact choices while managing risk.
• Executive presence: A professional persona that inspires respect, trust, and authority.
• Team influence: The skill to guide, motivate, and align diverse teams toward a common goal.

While many Nepali professionals excel in technical and operational skills, leadership requires a transition, from performing tasks efficiently to guiding the entire system strategically.

This transition is seldom automatic and demands deliberate preparation, training, and mindset development.

Confidence: The Invisible Barrier

One of the most significant hurdles for Nepali professionals is confidence. Hard work and technical expertise can carry someone through operational roles, but leadership requires the courage to step forward, voice ideas, and assume responsibility for outcomes.

Many Nepali professionals hesitate to:

• Speak up in meetings
• Share bold or unconventional ideas
• Challenge existing systems
• Take responsibility for higher-level decisions
• Apply for leadership positions

This hesitation is often self-imposed. Some underestimate their capability. Some perceive international standards as unattainably high. Others are simply comfortable in roles that feel safe, predictable, and skill-based.

Yet leadership is not granted, it is claimed. Confidence is not arrogance. It is the belief that preparation, skill, and insight justify taking charge.

Training Nepali students and professionals to cultivate this confidence early, combined with exposure to challenging situations, can significantly shift the landscape. 

Communication: The Power That Opens Doors

In global hospitality, communication is far more than exchanging words. It is a strategic tool. Leaders must communicate effectively to influence owners, investors, teams, and international colleagues.

Strong communication allows leaders to:

• Present reports convincingly to owners or boards
• Negotiate contracts and agreements
• Resolve high-level guest concerns with professionalism
• Coordinate with international teams across cultures and time zones
• Conduct media interactions or public relations activities

Weak communication, whether in clarity, tone, or confidence, limits opportunities. In Nepal, while technical skills may be strong, many professionals struggle with professional English, presentation style, and executive articulation.

This is not simply a language barrier; it is an issue of expressing authority, clarity, and decisiveness.

Nepal must invest strategically in developing communication mastery within hospitality education, including debate practice, presentation skills, and situational role-play. Leadership is visible in the voice and the presence it carries.

The Missing Leadership Training

Most hospitality programs in Nepal focus predominantly on operational excellence: service, housekeeping, kitchen skills, front office, and basic management. While these are important foundations, they often fall short in producing leadership-ready professionals.

Leadership training is distinct and requires exposure to:

• Case study analysis of executive decisions
• Business simulations mirroring real hotel operations
• Financial planning and budgeting exercises
• Team management and conflict resolution practice
• Strategic decision-making under pressure

Without intentional exposure to these areas, students often fail to visualize themselves as future leaders. Ambition must be cultivated, not assumed. Colleges must shift their approach from preparing operational staff to nurturing leaders with vision, decisiveness, and business acumen.

Comfort vs. Growth

Another factor limiting Nepali representation in global hotel leadership is comfort. Operational roles feel safer, skill-based, predictable, and less publicly accountable. Leadership positions, however, come with risk, responsibility, and visibility.

Executive roles demand:

• Taking accountability for mistakes in front of teams and stakeholders
• Managing crises under public scrutiny
• Making difficult, often unpopular decisions
• Owning the performance of entire departments or hotels

Many avoid these challenges, not out of incapability but due to lack of mental preparation, grooming, and structured leadership development. Growth begins at the edge of discomfort.

Changing the Narrative: Pathways to Leadership

If Nepal aims to increase its presence in global hospitality leadership, multiple interventions are necessary:

1. Encourage strategic thinking from day one: Students should be trained to consider long-term operational impact, revenue strategies, and team alignment.
2. Integrate executive-level case studies in curricula: Exposure to real-world scenarios cultivates decision-making confidence.
3. Strengthen financial literacy: Understanding profitability, budgeting, and revenue management is essential for managerial credibility.
4. Enhance communication and presentation skills: Fluent, clear, and persuasive communication builds influence.
5. Promote leadership mindset early: Students should be given responsibilities, challenges, and simulated management roles from the first year.
6. Highlight Nepali success stories abroad: Representation builds belief. When students see Nepalis leading global hotels, ambition becomes attainable.

The Shared Responsibility of Institutions and Individuals

Colleges and hospitality institutions must provide structured programs, mentorship, and consistent professional standards. However, individual responsibility is equally critical. Every hospitality professional must actively ask themselves:

• Am I improving my communication and leadership skills daily?
• Am I investing in my grooming and executive presence?
• Am I studying global trends and emerging hospitality practices?
• Am I preparing for leadership, or merely settling into operational comfort?

Growth is ultimately a personal decision, reinforced by disciplined action and exposure to leadership challenges. 

A Mindset Shift for the Future

Nepal does not lack intelligence. Nepal does not lack work ethic. Nepal does not lack warmth, respect, or hospitality instinct. What we need is a transformation in mindset:

• Cultivating leadership confidence
• Developing strategic thinking and decision-making skills
• Projecting executive professionalism
• Building global competitiveness

When Nepali hospitality professionals start thinking like leaders rather than employees, the world takes notice. Representation in operational roles is not enough; true influence comes when Nepalis occupy strategic, decision-making positions at the highest levels. 

Conclusion: It Is Time to Aim Higher

This conversation is not about blaming systems or institutions. It is about raising standards and ambitions. If Nepal combines its natural hospitality talent with professional grooming, strategic communication, leadership training, and fearless ambition, the result will be transformative.

Nepali professionals will not merely work in global hotels. They will manage them. They will make strategic decisions, lead international teams, influence brand direction, and set benchmarks for service excellence.

But this transformation begins with mindset.

It begins with belief.

It begins with preparation.

And most importantly, it begins with the conscious decision to aim higher, beyond comfort, beyond operational proficiency, and into leadership.