Urvashi Saikia Nominated for HCP Human Resources Award 2026 – The People’s Choice for Hospitality Excellence

As the hospitality industry places increasing emphasis on people capability, culture building, and leadership development, nominations for the HCP Human Resources Award 2026 – The People’s Choice for Hospitality Excellence continue to recognise professionals driving measurable organisational impact. Among this year’s nominees is Urvashi Saikia, a senior HR and Learning & Development leader currently serving as Human Resource & Learning and Development Manager – Bangalore Region at HMSHost International.

With over 15 years of experience across luxury hotels, international resort destinations, airport hospitality, and global hotel brands, Urvashi Saikia has established a strong reputation for building learning-driven cultures and aligning people strategies with business performance. Her career reflects a consistent focus on leadership development, employee engagement, and operational excellence through structured learning frameworks.

Currently at HMSHost International, Urvashi leads regional HR and L&D strategy for Bangalore, operating at a senior managerial level. Her role encompasses workforce development, training governance, leadership capability building, compliance training, and organisational development across high-volume hospitality operations. She plays a strategic role in strengthening learning ecosystems while supporting business leaders in driving productivity and employee retention.

Prior to this, Urvashi served as Learning and Development Manager for Chennai and Bangalore at Accor, where she was instrumental in embedding Accor’s Heartist culture across properties. She led structured onboarding programmes, cross-departmental training, leadership development initiatives such as LEAP, INSPIRE, and AELP, and ensured AllSafe and HSE standards were integrated into daily operations. Her work contributed directly to improved employee engagement, higher guest satisfaction scores, and reduced attrition.

Her international exposure includes leadership roles in the Maldives with Mirihi Island Resort, Amari Havodda Maldives, and Outrigger Konotta Maldives, where she handled HR and L&D functions in remote luxury resort environments. She also held senior learning roles with Taj Hotels & Resorts, The Park Bangalore, and Clarks Exotica Resort & Spa, further strengthening her expertise in luxury hospitality training and talent development.

Urvashi’s professional excellence has been widely recognised across the industry. She was awarded the Learning & Development Person of the Year 2021 – India & South Asia for driving impactful initiatives focused on Heartist culture, employee recognition, team engagement, CSR activities, and leadership accessibility. These initiatives resulted in significant reductions in employee turnover and measurable improvements in guest satisfaction, NPS, and RPS scores. She has also received accolades such as Best Manager of the Year 2017 and Most Popular Executive of the Year 2016 during her tenure with Taj Hotels.

Academically, Urvashi holds a Post Graduate Diploma from ICFAI University, a Bachelor of Hotel Management from Bangalore University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Dibrugarh University. Her extensive certifications include Certified Heartist Transformer, Train the Trainer, POSH Chairperson, Psychometric Test Professional, TUV and Johnson Diversey Auditor, ServSafe Food Protection Manager, and Certified Yoga Teacher, among others. She has also published research papers on hospitality development and tourism growth.

The HCP Human Resources Award 2026 – The People’s Choice for Hospitality Excellence recognises leaders who create long-term organisational value through people, learning, and culture. Urvashi Saikia’s nomination reflects her sustained contribution to shaping high-performing teams, mentoring future HR leaders, and embedding learning excellence across the hospitality sector.§