A five star hotel in Kerala, India, is encouraging its senior staff to grow their hair long and sport a ponytail tied with yellow ribbon as their company uniform.
"You notice, sometimes whenever you visit a five-star hotel, people are hesitant to approach the man on the desk as he looks too damn busy.
"Here, people walk up and the first question they ask is what's about the ponytail, so it's a nice icebreaker. It gives a feeling of youth. You are not getting younger by the day but this ponytail certainly helps," said Gaurav Pillial, an executive at the hotel.
But there's a hidden agenda behind the fun.
From the Managing Director to the General Manager, all senior executives of the hotel proudly sport a ponytail with their trademark yellow ribbon to break away from stiff precedents established by peers in the industry.
But, not everybody is entitled to sport it. Non-performers are barred from keeping one. And for the lucky few who do wear it, it creates a different image about them.
"It is very inspirational in the company. So only managers and executives can keep a ponytail. When people say they want to get promoted, they are not saying 'Hey, I want the next grade, its Hey, when can I actually keep a ponytail'," said Rahul Pandit, the Corporate General Manager, Hotel operations, Lemon Tree hotel.
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