Hospitality Industry
You can’t deliver success on a plate, but for graduates of Switzerland’s world-beating schools, hospitality can be a springboard to a multitude of careers and opportunities
“I am convinced that if you know the rules of services marketing and are good at it, then you can apply your skills in any industry. The practical experience combined with the rigorous learning has taught me to understand the client’s needs and to make sure my offer is a quality one that they will respond to”
The modern hospitality industry was invented in Switzerland – and with it, hospitality education. The country is home to three of the world’s top four institutions
for hospitality and leisure management – as well as eight in the top 20 – which between them have been turning out top-level managers since the 19th century.
But those graduates don’t just ply their trade in the hospitality sector – many rightly see a grounding in hospitality skills as a great way to open doors into many different industries, with a host of transferable skills. “I am convinced that if you know the rules of services marketing and are good at it, then you can apply your skills in any industry,” says Tanja Ganz, Class of 2000 (1998-2000), who has worked at UBS Wealth Management for 15 years and is today Head of Marketing Europe International.
Tanja joined the bank aged 22, working in a summer job straight after graduating from the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL). “The practical experience combined with the rigorous learning taught me to learn to understand the client’s needs and to make sure your offer is a quality one that they will respond to.”
It’s an approach, she suggests, that transcends sectors – as evidenced by the high numbers of ZIS graduates who choose this route each year.
Tanja’s family had already traversed the globe many times before she joined ZIS in Grade 11 – the first time she had lived in Switzerland. “When it came time to leave the school, most of my friends were applying to universities in the US or UK, but I wanted to continue to study in Switzerland to get to know the country better,” says Tanja. “A friend of my parents suggested we should visit an open day at the school in Lausanne.”
Tanja found herself really interested in the approach, which seemed more akin to a business school than a hotel school, and she liked the idea of an education that would continue to let her travel. As part of the four-and-a-half-year degree, she had two six-month placements, one in a small boutique hotel in Massachusetts and the other in a family run Italian restaurant in Pretoria, South Africa. Back at school, there were 12 exams to pass each semester.
“The first six months are fully practical, taking shifts in everything from laundry, the kitchen to the bar and restaurant, but after that the emphasis is on management, legal and financial training as well as marketing and tourism studies. It was stressful, and I seemed to work a lot harder than my friends at other universities!”
Many of Tanja’s fellow students had been raised on hard work in the family business – like Christian Kramer, Class of 2000 (1997-2000). Christian grew up around his parents’ several restaurants in the Zurich area; from an early age he was helping out serving sausages and beer at the Züri Fäscht. “It wasn’t a given that I would follow in their footsteps, but I was curious about the business. When I was 16 or 17, we went on a day trip to EHL. We had lunch at the school and the whole experience left a lasting impression on me.”
After military service, Christian travelled to Barcelona to learn Spanish and then to London to work front of house for famous hard taskmaster, Anton Mosiman. “He was strict, and always reminded us we were serving a special clientele.” Then, as part of his course, Christian had a six-month internship in the kitchens at the Ritz in Paris. “It was very intense. I was this funny little Swiss guy who didn’t speak good French, thrown into a classic kitchen. I learned a lot!”
Meanwhile, at EHL, Christian found himself studying among a very international group, something that the ZIS multi-national environment had prepared him for perfectly. “The school itself is a closed environment on the outskirts of the city, and you often study late into the evenings. But culturally, and like ZIS itself, the mix of students was very interesting for me. Of course, you acquire many business skills, but the most valuable aspect was the mindset to adapt to working in different cultures.”
After a stint running the family business, Christian went back to London from Lausanne for three years to work with the Conran Group, and is now working on a new venture focusing on digitalisation and sustainability in the hospitality business. “It’s high pressure, but I left EHL with a backpack of experiences that I could draw on in different situations. I already understood that the customer focus is all, but I had now learnt that the hospitality business is a complex one.”
Nicolas Bauer, Class of 2013 (2011-13), would agree. He describes himself as an extrovert teenager who was first attracted to hospitality school after his experience marketing on the Zurich club and bar event scene. “I grew up in the Bahamas, which is a pretty isolated island. When we moved to Zurich as a side job to studying for my school diploma, I worked as a promoter for events and brands. What started out as a distraction soon became my main interest.”
“There is a running joke that you only go to hotel school because of the people you meet there. That’s not true of course, but I do know that by going to ZIS and then Glion, I made long-term friendships and connections that will stay with me for life”
Nicolas discovered that the Swiss Hotel Management School (SHMS) in Leysin offered a BA course in International Hospitality and Events Management. “I didn’t have a plan, but it seemed the perfect answer, with the emphasis on management skills and the opportunity to work abroad on placements.” A chance conversation at the Ritz Carlton booth during Careers Day led him to spend six months working at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong. “I had never even been to Asia before and here I was looking after VIP guests!”
After leaving SHMS, Nicolas worked in the back office as a finance trainee for the Four Seasons Group in London. “It was very numerical, with no client contact, but despite being the kind of person who talks to everyone I found it absorbing.” He went on to oversee the opening of the Florens Lake Resort and Spa in Oberried am Brienzersee. “The business is owned by a family office in the Netherlands and I became interested in their investment decisions. I wanted a broader outlook on real estate.”
Nicolas is now studying for his Master’s in Finance, Real Estate & Hotel Development at the Glion Institute of Higher Education. “I am interested in the construction phase and pre-opening of hotel chains and hope to work in an asset management company on hotel portfolio management. There are so many opportunities in this business right now, catering to the new post-pandemic tastes and the technological requirements of millennials.”
It is a mistake to think that attending a hospitality school restricts you, says Alex Broedelet, Class of 2007 (2001-07). “I signed up for my BBA in Hospitality Administration/Management at Glion Institute of Higher Education because I didn’t know what I wanted to do. But I did know I wanted a broad business training that would also give me specific skills to let me work while travelling the world.”
After graduating from Glion, Alex worked in the luxury events market in Dubai, UAE, before moving on to a real estate advisory service followed by a job as industry relations manager at Hosco, the hospitality network. Last year, he moved to Amsterdam to take up a post as Account Executive at the employee communications platform Happeo. “You do not realise all the soft as well as practical skills you absorb while at hospitality school. It is only later, when you are working in the business world, you realise how important that background was. You learn a total commitment to customer service.”
At Happeo, Alex is dealing virtually with clients from all around the world. “Each have different ways of working, with different cultural sensitivities. At Glion, I had friends from Mexico, Hawaii and South-east Asia. Having been at ZIS, I can relate to the students, as most of the students come from an international background, and that cultural connection has been really important to me. There is a running joke that you only go to hotel school because of the people you meet there. That’s not true of course, but I do know that by going to ZIS and then Glion, I made long-term friendships and connections that will stay with me for life.”
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