Washing dishes or taking out the trash: this is how future directors of luxury hotels are trained | Luck

If you mixed a military academy, a luxury resort in the Swiss Alps and a private university in a shaker, the result would be Les Roches Crans Montana, the campus where this school specializing in hotel management and tourism was born 70 years ago. . Upon entering its doors, the visitor finds himself in a large space that combines light carpet with wooden floors, elegant furniture, large windows with mountain views and even a piano, which is sometimes dared to be played by a student, which further emphasizes the idea of ​​entering a luxury hotel. This is precisely the task that the center’s management set itself when it decided to reconstruct it. “Our students must get used to functioning in the environment in which they have to work,” explains Carlos Diez de la Lastra, general director of Les Roches, during a visit to which this media was invited.

Sitting on one of the leather sofas, 22-year-old Cecilia Fernandez talks about her experience studying at the center. A Mexican with Spanish grandparents who lived part of her life in the United States, she didn’t know what to study when she graduated from high school in her home country. What I did know was that I wanted to do it in a cosmopolitan environment like this university, home to about a hundred different nationalities. In his first weeks at Les Roches, Fernandez had to cook, wash dishes, serve food to classmates, or take out the trash, without any prior experience. These are just some of the tasks that all undergraduate students complete during their first semester, alternating between weeks and interspersed with theory classes.

“This model has two goals. That from the first day in the company they provide insight because they know what they are doing and lead. Thanks to which they gain the reputation and respect of their teams. The second thing is humility, which is very important. Let’s not forget that we train managers to be in the service of others. Not all incoming students have the necessary humility. On the contrary, perhaps some did not make their bed until they came here,” explains Diez de la Lastra.

Most undergraduate students come from families with a high social level, which can afford the approximately 27,000 euros that a semester at a Swiss campus costs. In the case of the headquarters in Marbella, prices range on average from 17,000 to 25,000 euros. In total, they must pay for five of the eight semesters that make up the degree, since the other three are internships at companies. “They bet on us for training to open the doors of large companies for them. “They are investing in faster careers at the management level,” says the school’s CEO, before adding that “30% of students receive some kind of scholarship.”

The difference between those who can arrive at school on the first day by helicopter and those who do not have such a comfortable economic background can only be seen in the daily life of the school if the visitor pays close attention to the clock. they also carry the brands of their bags. At first glance, all students appear the same thanks to the obligation to always dress in a shirt, jacket and trousers or skirt. A military academy appears here. Every morning, campus director Giovanni Odaglia inspects new students to make sure they all comply with the dress code, their clothes are perfectly ironed, and their shoes are sparkling. Those who do not comply must return to their room to change and will be deducted 0.2 points. If a student loses two points in image or two points in behavior, he is expelled and must serve the semester. “It’s very strange that this happens,” Odalia says, five minutes after sending a girl to change clothes for wearing a gray sweater rather than a jacket, and a short time later scolding another student with barely a gesture for wearing she wears earrings. “They need to get used to it when they are in company. Our students are recognized by the way they dress and behave,” he defends.

The professors and other campus staff are also dressed in great style. Such is the case for Stephanie Ruiz, a former Spanish student at the center who now runs the internship department. Seeing how she interacts with students, she is also a consultant, a mentor and one might say a psychologist. “I talk to them a lot, asking them what they like and what they don’t, to understand where they might be best suited and what internships are most beneficial for both them and the companies. For example, I didn’t work well as a waitress. And a negative experience can lead to a loss of interest in this sector. Other times I have to put my feet on the ground to figure out where they want to go. I also advise them when they receive multiple offers.”

What Ruiz and Diez de la Lastra agree on is that they note the school’s high employment rate – more than 90%. On average, they say, each student receives five job offers. And for several years now, not only large hotel chains. “In this sector there are companies such as brokers from private jets and externally, such as private banks looking for staff trained in hospitality. “These are brands that don’t compete on price, but on the experience they offer the customer,” says the CEO, who also cites Apple and luxury conglomerate LVMH as examples. This competition exacerbates, in his opinion, one of the big problems of tourism: a lack of personnel. “Not only is it difficult to find waiters or housekeeping staff. There is also a talent shortage in management and executive positions.”

The growing demand for hospitality majors extends to sporting events, and a master’s degree in the subject began being taught at the Swiss campus this year, adding to the postgraduate training available. The profile of these students is slightly different from the undergraduate profile. “We have professionals who have already started their careers and who, at 30, are faced with a ceiling that does not allow them to grow. They want to make the leap to luxury or more recognizable brands so they can compete for higher-end projects. In this sense we are similar business school. There are also young people who have just graduated from a tourism university in their country because they do not have the economic potential of a graduate student, but they can afford a year of study. Mexican Gabriela de la Lama, a 25-year-old finance graduate, decided to pursue an advanced diploma in management and entrepreneurship in food and beverage management because her father owns restaurants in her home country. As he talks about his experience, a waiter approaches the table to discreetly leave a few bottles of water, and several smartly dressed young people chat near the not yet lit fireplace. A scene similar to what might happen in many of the world’s five-star hotels, those that are destined to one day open.