Somrup Chanda has joined the Fairfield by Marriott Kolkata and Ozone Convention Centre as the general manager. He has a people-first vision and strong food-and-beverage expertise. Having previously worked across India and abroad, he returns to the city with a deep understanding of its culture and hospitality landscape.

Chanda aims to transform the property into a vibrant hub for events, dining and community experiences, blending warmth, personalised service and innovative culinary concepts to make it a go-to destination.

A quick t2 chat.

Congratulations! What made you say yes to the hotel?

When I chose to come to the city, the property was already well-known. With a diverse background in food and beverage, I understand diverse global events. I am also somebody who likes to be in the midst of people. And I think Calcutta offers that. Fairfield offers a fantastic combination of 180 rooms and

22,000sq ft of banqueting space. And I like that adventure of selling rooms, selling banqueting, giving experiences to the guests, curating events, or actually doing bespoke culinary experiences. I think this property has everything. Was that not available in any other city in this form? The answer is both yes and no.

Not in this magnitude, or if it was, not in the city where you enjoy it. I chose the city because of the hotel and because of the people I know; I know the market. And sometimes you actually go back to your roots to find out how to reinvent the roots and take it forward.

What this property has, many more bigger properties probably don't have — soul. The moment you enter, there is a certain warmth. You enter not knowing anyone here, yet it feels like you know them. Even if you come a second time and your second visit is after many months, I don’t know, amazingly, for some reason, they remember, they know. So, I think Calcutta always had the emotion. They like that personal connection.

My predecessor, Manoj Jangid, was able to hold, nurture, create and keep it warm that way.

You are not new to Calcutta, but how much has the city changed?

I was born in Calcutta and then moved across the length and the breadth of the country because I’m the son of an Air Force officer, so I haven’t stayed in Calcutta for a long tenure. I studied at Kendriya Vidyalaya here. Then, for management, I moved to Hyderabad, and after that, I never returned to Calcutta until 2019, when I came to Novotel, and I was there till 2021.

So you were in Calcutta during the peak of Covid...

I actually saw a phase where I didn’t know what to do because our industry went through a lot. But what I also found that time was very surprisingly that I was able to make a lot of meaningful connections in the city. The reason being, everybody was discovering because nobody knew when it was going to end. That phase made me love the industry more than ever. I think the way we started valuing people in our industry, which was hit first and took the longest to come out of it.

What is your main area of expertise?

I am from a food and beverage background, and I’m coming from the Bangalore Marriott Whitefield, where I was the hotel manager. It was a 520-room property, and with Marriott its been seven and a half years now. This is my first time as a general manager.

At Novotel Kolkata Hotel and Residences, I was a deputy general manager. After Covid, an opportunity came, where I moved to Abu Dhabi, where I was associated with IHG Cluster hotel Operations located at Yas Island, where I witnessed the world’s greatest events like Formula One, UFC, Etihad Arena Concerts and many more.

After two and a half years, I thought of returning to my country. I have my family, including my wife and daughter, in Bangalore.

What are some of your plans for the hotel?

I think I want to make this hotel busier. Now, when I say busier, what I mean is that I think the time has come for this hotel to do events where people frequent this hotel more. This hotel has a tremendous strength in different cuisines of the world to cater. So, when I came for the first time, I saw two towers (Ozone Convention Centre and the hotel). It doesn’t have a sky bridge. I think the time has come to actually blend these two towers together metaphorically. I want to make the guest feel that it's connected; both towers are correlated.

What kinds of events are you referring to?

Weddings, socials and curated events. Exhibitions are four main frame segments of Fairfield By Marriott Kolkata and Ozone Convention Centre, as we have 182 rooms, 22,000sq ft of banqueting space and lounge bar — Vertex — and family focus all-day dining restaurant — Kava. As we are progressing in 2026, we have a huge focus on MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions). There’s a massive opportunity for the local markets like Dhanbad, Asansol and Bhubaneswar.

There are so many, so many HNIs (high-net-worth individuals) of these cities; they actually want to be visible in Calcutta, either by their personal celebrations or through their company meetings or gatherings. There are local travel agents who are bridging these for the hotels.

Then there are many exhibitions, I think my hotel and Ozone Convention Centre have got the perfect platform to host exhibitions in this part of town. Because wherever my eyes go, residents, residential communities, and real estate developments in Calcutta today have gone to a different level. If I provide the perfect atmosphere, where it is the easiest way to do an event, then why not?

Second, the restaurant we are seated in now is called Kava. Thanks to t2 for all the support. Since I have an F&B background and understand the market, more than cuisine, what I want to do is get brands for pop-ups with national and international brands. There are so many brands that we could celebrate here; obviously, the cuisine will come with it. I look at pop-ups from a few elements or verticals. First, a press release is done with the media and people who love the subject.

Second, a cook-off class, which does wonders. So this is for Kava. Vertex has been projected as a liquid bar, but we are looking for a bar and kitchen. When we say Vertex, the first thing people think is open-air, cocktails, Biswa Bangla gate, but I feel the food needs to be a character at this outlet, with more global plates, but small plates. We are also trying to convert the outlet into a restaurant run by all women. I think that will be a USP in the city. I want to do a hydroponic garden and explore the garden-to-plate concept.

I want to accentuate the community dining concept with go XL platters. So, say there are 10 people, we will have, for example, a one-metre-long hot dog, where two staff are carrying it with a little bit of showmanship. I’m planning to do a fun dining here with table games, where guests are engaged.

What are your plans for Ozone Convention Centre?

Ozone Convention Centre is a jewel of the hotel. I have five floors, four ballrooms and one terrace. Now this variety is unique. We are completely indoor, I have breakout rooms, I want to give this message to the people of Calcutta who love to celebrate events, that it is just a myth, that it is out of your pocket. Please come and dine on one Sunday, come and stay over the weekend and compare us with any other hotel. But when you compare, don’t compare commercially. Compare the commercial with experience, you will find that actually you got value for money, but your remembrance will help you to create more events in this hotel.

Hospitality aside, what are your other areas of interest?

I love travelling. My wife and I have travelled to 19-20 countries. Last, we went to Georgia. Even before I was in the industry, I used to simply pack a rucksack and go to the Euro rail station, give five euros, lock my bag and go! In Tuscany, I have even stayed at a grandmother’s house and done community dining.

The second hobby I have is to explore the entire vastness of the food and beverage scene and keep a tab on modern trends.

What's your message for Calcutta?

I would begin by clarifying that the name of the hotel is Fairfield by Marriott Kolkata and Ozone Convention Centre, and I want this property to be your go-to place for all occasions. I want to make it a busy hotel.

I would also like to add that if you want to just sit after a stressful day at work, hopefully not at home, and you want to just unwind, just come and sit at Vertex, have your favourite drink and believe me, you will never feel alone because that place has got that vibe.