Testimonial * Erikos Kranidiotis

Erikos Kranidiotis, Hotel Management (1998)

Expert Solution Consultant, Misys

"I truly believe the skills and knowledge I gained at Alpine set the foundations for my future development".

After graduating from Alpine in 1998 I completed a Bachelors Degree in Hospitality Management and a Masters Degree in International Business Administration from Bournemouth University in the UK. I worked for five years in JP Morgan Bank in the Investment Banking Operations division. There I worked in several different departments including a Team Leader role for the Client Operations team.

I returned to Greece to complete my Military service and worked for a year at Mytilineos Holdings in the Treasury department. For the past seven and a half years I work for Misys as an Expert Solution Consultant providing Banking software solutions in the Treasury & Capital Markets sector. Both project and support related activities for our clients who are major banks in Greece and around the world. In my free time I enjoy Scuba Diving and I am a Divemaster with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors.

 

Although my career path changed after I graduated from University, I truly believe the skills and knowledge I gained at Alpine set the foundations for my future development. Helping me achieve my goals and being able to collaborate cross functionally with people from different cultures and backgrounds. What we do in most jobs is offer services, both to our clients externally and to our colleagues internally. There is no better way to learn the Service Industries than at Alpine.

Company I work for:

Since 1979 Misys provides financial services software to more than 2000 customers across 130 countries in Retail Banking, Treasury & Capital Markets, Enterprise Risk, Buy-Side, Lending, Corporate Banking, Investment Management, Financial Software, Transaction Banking, and Risk Management. Used by some of the world’s leading global financial institutions, including 47 of the world’s 50 largest banks.

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Success Story * Polina Sepirjova

THE SKY IS NOT EXACTLY THE LIMIT . . .

A graduate of Alpine Center & City Unity College tells us how exciting her career has been during and after graduation!! 

Polina Sepirijova, Latvia, Graduate of 2013
Hotel Management Diploma, BA (Hons) International Hospitality & Tourism Management

My name is Polina Sepirjova and I am a graduate of Alpine Centre & City Unity College, year 2013.  I hold two qualifications:  A Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management from Alpine Center and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Let me share my story with you…

My first taste of working in the industry came as a first internship in my first year of studies at the reputable Sani Hotels in Chalkidiki where I was a Receptionist.  The first six month of my studies coupled with this internship changed me completely, from a very shy and quite person to a confident and vibrant person, open-minded and patient, responsible and ambitious.  My second internship started at Burj Al Arab, one of the most luxurious hotels in the world,  where I was employed as a  Guest Services Executive, and after just 8 month was promoted to another position – Rooms Controller. This experience is unforgettable. I met many celebrities, shook hands with the President of America, accommodated many Royal Families, and much more. Sounds good? That was just the beginning! My sense of adventure took me further and for the next two years  I was employed by another huge company in UAE, the Emirates Airlines. I travelled as a  Cabin Crew all over the world and my office was the whole sky. My dream came true! I was in Paris and saw Eiffel Tower, went to the biggest casino in Monte Carlo, climbed the Chinas Great Wall, went to New York City on top of Empire State building, had a walk in Walk of fame in Los Angeles, touched penguins in Cape Town, did bungee jumping in New Zeeland, even tried costume of samba dancers in Rio de Janeiro…among many other exciting things! This whole journey of adventure taught me how to love life, live without any regrets, how to enjoy the moment!

After this wonderful wor-adventure I decided to return to land!  And so what do I do now? I am working in the artsy Armani Caffè in Dubai as an Assistant Food & Beverage Manager and enjoying the responsibility as well as this new experience, as  I am wait to see what life has next in store for me!

And in closing, I wish every new Alpiner embarking on his or her studies at Alpine Center a most rewarding journey. I can assure you that you will be in good very good and caring hands, professionals who are committed to your success.  You will see that doors will be wide open for you in the global hospitality industry!   Study, enjoy, dream, as your dreams can actually come true!  

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Testimonial *Swiss Diploma in Culinary Arts at Alpine Center *BA(Hons) International Food & Beverage Management

Constantin Giebler came to Alpine Center all the way from Costa Rica to study Culinary Arts. He completed the two-year Swiss Diploma in Culinary Arts and topped it with a BA(Hons) International Food & Beverage Management conferred  by University of Wales. He has now completed his industry placement.

Constantin Giebler in the kitchen of Restaurant La Rive, Amsterdam.

Constantin says: 

"I work permanently as the entremetier in the kitchen of Restaurant La Rive, a Michelin star restaurant, part of the Intercontinental Amstel Amsterdam. The most expensive and luxurious hotel in all of Amsterdam. For many months we were ranked #1 restaurant in all of Amsterdam by Tripadvisor. We are ranked 7th best in Holland. 

I am extremely happy here and moving up fast as I have been promoted already from cold kitchen chef to  warm kitchen garnish chef, and have incorporated myself in some groups such as the environmental team in order to gain knowledge and show pro-activity. 

Amsterdam is a great city, with so much to offer. I am truly happy here."

"I thank you very much Mrs. Hofmann, for everything, as I must say I have it pretty good right now, and owe a lot of that to you and everyone at Alpine. You have open doors for me and taught me things that have enabled me to fulfill my dreams and live the life I wanted to. So again, for that I thank you."

Now Constantin belongs to our Alpine Alumni Ambassadors Association and we will be happy to be kept informed about his career progress. Same applies for all our Alpine Alumni.

We are so proud of you Constantin!

La Rive Restaurant

La Rive, located in the InterContinental Amstel Amsterdam, is one of Netherlands’ leading restaurants, marked by a long tradition of culinary delights, an excellent collection of wines and genuine hospitality.

The culinary team – led by Chef de Cuisine Rogér Rassin, Maître d’ Ronald Opten and Sommelier Ted Bunnik – will see to it, that the dining experience becomes a memorable one.

Restaurant La Rive, awarded a Michelin star is inspired by French-Mediterranean flavours with vegetables and seasonal produce prepared in an innovative way. In addition, the kitchen orients on Asian influences that are added in a subtle way.

For the wine pairings they are constantly searching for extraordinary wines from specific wine regions to enhance the wine and food experience.

La Rive’s dress code: tenue de ville.

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Testimonial *Hotel Management

Lena Dukhovenko

 

“Joining the Swiss ALPINE Center for my hospitality management higher education was the best decision I made in my life. Throughout the years studying for my Bachelor’s Degree, I have gained the invaluable knowledge and experience to become who I am today  and what I have achieved so far!  Alpine gave me wings to fly. I set out to do my internship in Shanghai and then found myself applying for a position with a leading hotel in New York!  These experiences prepared me for the next move to become a Business Development Executive at  Burj Al Arab, the World’s Most Luxurious Hotel in Dubai!   Now few years after graduation, I miss the ALPINE culture and the family of teachers & friends acquainted throughout the years of studying. Thank you very much for preparing me so perfectly well to the complex working environment of hospitality!”

Lena Dukhovenko
Business Development Executive - Groups
Burj Al Arab

Click to view or download Burj Al Arab e-brochures and the New Burj Al Arab Commercial

Burj Al Arab Video

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Oh yes! We are so proud of our GRADUATES!!!

Hospitality Mindsets #1





by Vassilis Xenoudakis



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why a perfect omelet is very important? 

 

You better do it perfect because you will get no second chance; the Guest is sharing this with his friends. The truth is that Guest communication is greatly undermined in terms of the impact it has. Traditionally, it is supervised on departmental level as an organic part of each department’s operation. But should Guest communication be regarded like this and what decisions must be taken to change this?

1.  Must become a leader

Initiate communication, create communication leads and follow up on them. The basic element that distinguishes a hotel from a serviced apartment and allows for charging a premium is human interaction /communication. 

 2.  Must have Guest centric communication and services.

Along with the advancement of technology human communication has been altered in character and communication channels have been enriched. After the introduction of information technology (internet, portable computers, network integration, etc) communication channels are targeted and so frequently utilized that endorsing them in the hotel services is becoming more or equally important to the use of the Guest’s mother language. A good example is that it is not anymore enough to offer a newspaper in the morning, but whichever newspaper the Guest likes, in whatever format, on whatever platform, application or even what part of it is to his/her interest.

3.  Must want to research, be curious.

Usually the only time that a service has been properly researched and introduced in a hotel is on drawing board / during its feasibility study. Even though there is a wealth of information hidden in the “everyday” operation hotels fail to utilize them and only respond to competition. The main reason is that small-medium hotels cannot afford the resources.  I will draw an example from my experience in Greece, a major drawback dominating the Greek hospitality industry. The Property Management Systems (PMS) that are used by the hotels in Greece are either very basic packages with basic functionality or primitive in relation to collection and representation of data generated during a stay.

 

4.  Must admit that enough is not enough.

This applies to the misleading notion that the Guest experience derives from the wealth and not the quality of services. Guests are highly knowledgeable reviewers and standards are the minimum requirement for them, not the higher performance to be achieved. Therefore, achieving them does not make a hotel “the best” or even “good” in providing value. Conception of value is becoming more multi-influnced and includes time and marketing communications (projected services). My interpretation of value of stay would be:

 

Value  =           Experiences gained + services consumed

                  Resources dedicated (time + money) x projected services
 

5.  Must accept that there are many stakeholders.

Everything produced is a result of processing inputs from the environment.  Competition, Guests, suppliers, friends, visitors, communities, media, etc., everybody contribute with their own way to the final tourism product. Those are your stakeholders therefore they have interest in learning how you operate, your culture, success stories or even shortcomings.

This is just the icing of the cake and my empirical approach to a very wide subject based on my experience in Guest Relations and hospitality. Notwithstanding, it is very unfortunate to realize that in Greece this crucial role is handed irresponsibly to entry-level employees or people without hospitality background, as it is regarded that this function does not require “operational experience”.

There are many more points to make regarding the emerging need for strategic management of Guest communication and the information generated from it in hospitality. Certainly, there is no right or wrong answer and I encourage you to respond to this post and add your crumb of knowledge and opinion.

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