Sunday, October 25, 2015

Testimonial * Joseph Chalfoun

Joseph Chalfoun, Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management, BA(Hons) International Hospitality & Tourism Management, Master’s in International Hospitality & Tourism Leadership (2005)


Head of Operations - Middle East & Greece, Food Fund International, UAE




'In 2002, 
I walked into Alpine, 
a young student hungry for knowledge. 

In 2005, 
I left with so much more 
than simply having my hunger satisfied'.



 



I graduated first with a Swiss Diploma in Hotel Management, then a year later with a BA(Hons) International Hospitality & Tourism Management, and finally, 12 months later with a Master’s in International Hospitality & Tourism Leadership.  


During my years at Alpine I had the opportunity to put into practice what I learned and to practice the leadership skills I acquired.  As a result I served as the President of the Alumni Association.  I also had the great fortune of doing my internship in 5 star establishments that paved the way to the career opportunities I received upon graduation.  


In a few years, Alpine has shaped the way I think and the way I regard the hospitality industry. It has instilled in me the right values and disciplines I needed to get me from one success to another. The passion and dedication the faculty showed me and my fellow students, taught us to regard each and every day as a chance to make a difference in the lives of people we meet. And that in itself is the essence of our industry. 


In my current position, now, I attend Alpine’s Annual Career Day, to recruit student trainees and graduates for our thriving company, just because I know those students and graduates have been trained the same way I have been, trained and educated to succeed and make a difference!


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Monday, October 12, 2015

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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Friday, October 2, 2015

Testimonial * Lena Charitou

Lena Charitou, Graduate Travel & Tourism Management (1999)

Pilot Ground Training Support Officer for Etihad Airways 

 



'Alpine is one of the best choices I have made in my life!'







At the young age of 19 when I graduated from Alpine Center with a Swiss Diploma in Travel & Tourism Management, I was very confident and eager to succeed in this lovely field of Tourism & Aviation.  Now, 16 years later, I am thrilled to recount my success story which includes 13 years working for Air France & Air France-KLM, 2 years working as a Sales Executive for  Falcon Aviation Services, since January 2014 when I moved to Abu Dhabi, and currently, still living in Abu Dhabi, I hold the exciting position of Pilot Ground Training Support Officer for Etihad, one of the world's top leading airlines, I can guarantee that this is not just my opinion but a fact.

 

Alpine Center gave me the foundation for a global career in the travel and tourism industry, equipped me with numerous skills to work in multicultural environments, and above all instilled in me a professional attitude that is a must to succeed in this industry, coupled with a commitment to lifelong learning! 


I am ever so grateful to my tutors and the leadership of the Alpine Center for having provided me with everything I needed to achieve my career goals.  

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Monday, September 21, 2015

Disneyland® Paris is recruiting in Athens on 3rd & 4th November 2015!

Applications are open!
Disneyland Paris, Europe’s no.1 tourist destination, recruits students throughout the year for a variety of seasonal contracts. During this year’s European Casting Tour, we’ll be recruiting in Athens on 3rd and 4th November 2015.

We’ll be offering seasonal contracts for the following roles:

Ticketing Hosts/Hostesses : http://bit.ly/1DSfckl
Attractions Hosts/Hostesses: http://bit.ly/1eQNDCc
Waitresses/waiters: http://bit.ly/1L5aUNY
Commis chefs : http://bit.ly/1Ml0zLQ

We recruit for different periods of the year, with contracts lasting from 2 weeks to 2 months:

Autumn: 2 weeks in October – November
Christmas: 2 weeks in December - January
Winter: 2 weeks in February - March
Spring: 2 weeks to 1 month in March - April
Summer: 2 months in July - August

For these contracts, all 35-hour per week, it’s necessary to be flexible with hours (shifts could begin at 6am or finish at 2am) as well as being available to work during the weekend.

There are accommodation possibilities for employees who live outside the Paris region, and as spaces are limited they will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis (terms and conditions apply).

How to apply

Candidates need to apply before 23rd October 2015 to one of the jobs (above) on our site http://disneylandparis-casting.com/en/casting-tour/greece or via our mobile application Disneyland Paris Careers. Please ensure the option “University/ School” in the candidate source menu is selected.

Why Disneyland Paris?

Working at Disneyland Paris offers the opportunity to gain a professional experience in Paris, in a unique and multicultural environment, as well as the chance to practise your languages (20 languages are spoken amongst our 15,000 Cast Members).

The profiles we’re looking for

Candidates must have an advanced level of French and English (B2 minimum for each language) as well as their native language.

An excellent sense of service, communication and people skills, rigor and respecting procedures are imperative to offer our guests the best experience possible, for which Disneyland Paris is well known.

Wishing you a fantastic day from Disneyland Paris, and hoping to meet you soon.

Disneyland Paris Recruitment Team

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Testimonial * Daria Rarenko

Daria Rarenko, Master’s degree in International Hospitality & Tourism Leadership (2014) validated by University of Wales
Project Manager for the M.I.C.E.
Ambotis Air Services Company, Greece & Europe


My name is Daria Rarenko. Studying for a Master’s degree at Alpine Center helped me acquire work experience in a tourism business  environments and gave me varied skills and the ability to work with many different types of people of different cultures, and basically to fit easily into the team.


I learned how to take initiatives, be responsible, and become a valuable team member, which is key to a successful career.

I have become very interested and motivated in working as a Project Manager for the M.I.C.E. (Meetings, Incentives, and Conventions & Exhibitions) Department in Ambotis Air Services Company.




My responsibilities included planning, organizing and coordinating M.I.C.E Projects in Greece and EU.   I was engaged to work in M.I.C.E projects with an average budget starting from 50.000 to 1.000000 euro with the net profit 20 - 30 %.  Another exciting aspect of my work is my involvement in organizing and coordinating wedding projects with the average revenue starting from 600 - 500.000 euro.


 

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Testimonial * Irina Kuzina

Irina Kuzina, Master’s degree in International Hospitality & Tourism Leadership (2014) validated by University of Wales
Sales manager of Sbokos Hotel Group (Blue Palace, a Luxury Collection Resort&SPA; Agapi Beach; Cretan Malia Park; Koutouloufari Village Holiday Club; Village Heights Golf Resort) -  Blue Palace is also a member of Starwood.  
Born in Tallinn, Estonia
 

For me education always used to be something more than academic knowledge. I believe that first of all it improves the personality and the traits needed to be competitive on the market.  

Alpine Centre had taught me many things – it improved my analytical skills, my patience as well as gave me a chance to meet a lot of amazing people and to establish a good relationship with my former classmates and present colleagues worldwide. 



However, I consider that the main thing that Alpine has taught me is belief in myself! 

Does not matter how difficult and sometimes even unreal your dream might seem to you – just keep going and do not try to find excuses for yourself, because you are capable of everything!


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Friday, September 11, 2015

Success Story * Andreas Romanos


Andreas Romanos, Hotel Operations
General Manager, La Maison Ottomane
Parodos Kanevarou 32, 73100 Chania, Crete, Greece



'my Alpine training had provided me with the confidence that I had learned from the best, the respect of our clients that they had instilled in us and the motivation to excel that went with all that'.






After a career in Business (mainly as a General Manager for Western organisations in Russia) I decided in 2011 to convert an old Venetian House in Chania, Crete into a small hotel and then run it. 

Knowing next to nothing about the hotel industry, except as a frequent user, it seemed prudent to at least learn how to make a bed or serve a meal while giving utmost customer service; and so I ended up at Alpine Centre on their Hotel Operations Programme (and also attending a few executive courses from the Masters' Programme).

Two and a half years later, a little over a year after opening, and la Maison Ottomane is rated by TripAdvisor as the best hotel in Chania and the best in Chania province, 1st of 453.  We are happy and busy.



Clearly in a small hotel (for now we only have 3 suites) the personality of the staff and design/decoration of the premises are of great importance in delighting guests, but the debt owed to Alpine Centre for helping us achieve operational excellence cannot be underestimated.

Like any business, a hotel of any size needs rules and systems and in view of the immediate transparency of failings as well as strengths which comes with online social media, there is no way a hotel can afford to make these up as they go along.

This is where Alpine excelled - in teaching you up front, effectively, how to take a booking, how to serve a breakfast, how to handle an overbooking, a no-show, an allergy, how best to clean a bed, how to get hairs off the bathroom floor, what are the pros and cons of a property management system, when do you serve from the right or left, how do you make a bechamel sauce.....


And what most impressed me about the teaching, what gave it credibility, immediacy and gained our respect and interest as future hotel professionals, was that we were being taught by actual hotel professionals - people who, once the season started again in a few weeks' time, would be putting on their aprons or bow ties and be out there at the hard end, delivering excellence and, in doing so, refreshing and increasing their ability to pass their experience onto the next round of students.

Perhaps Alpine's most impressive achievement is finding people who can work effectively both in a service environment and also as teachers. 

In any case, when we opened our doors to our public, my Alpine training had provided me with the confidence that I had learned from the best, the respect of our clients that they had instilled in us and the motivation to excel that went with all that.  And I can make a bed.



Impressed, grateful, delighted to recommend without reservation.

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