5 min readUpdated: Jul 17, 2026 10:43 PM IST There are hoteliers who run hotels, and then there are hoteliers who understand the secret life of a hotel: the choreography behind the curtain, the nervous system beneath the marble, the invisible decisions required before a guest can say, “What a lovely stay.” Nakul Anand belongs to the second tribe. He officially retired from ITC in January 2024, after 45 years with the company. Officially is the operative word. Since then, Anand has behaved less like a man who has checked out and more like a guest granted permanent late checkout. He has invested in Shiftz, become patron-in-chief of FAITH, remained a mentor, and continued speaking about tourism and leadership. Retirement, in his case, appears to be a room category permanently unavailable. Now comes The Night Manager: Memoirs of a Hospitality Student, his second book and a larger offering after Hors D’Oeuvres: Small Bites, Big Flavours. If the earlier book served management wisdom canapé-style, this is the banquet: 278 pages of memory, method and management, plated …