We catch up with Martin Jeffrey, a man who truly has travelling and hospitality in his blood! Martin is a Senior Project Manager with the Swiss Hotel School in Passugg (SSTH), Switzerland and was formerly Director of Sales & Admissions, travelling the world to meet and recruit new students. Martin tells us about his life, career and what he has learned from both.



Name: Martin Jeffrey
Current company and title: SSTH Ltd. Senior Project Manager, Consulting

[JJ] Tell us a little bit about your work history:
[Martin] I will do my best to keep it short.....Before coming to Switzerland, I worked in numerous hotels and restaurants around the UK while studying hotel and catering at Henley College, including the Imperial Hotel in Torquay. While I was working at the Imperial I was offered an opportunity to work at one of the world's finest hotels, the Hotel Baur Au Lac in Zurich, Switzerland.

At first this video may come across as something a well-meaning guest may have put together...or perhaps a really dedicated prankster who's brought old internet humor to life (you'll find plenty of lists with these badly translated hotel "signs" on the web)...but wait! It's not a guest or a zealous joker...it's Expedia! Watch the video below:

The new Marriott Hotels & Resorts commercial, directed by Howard Greenhalgh for AMP is a beautiful work of art, with every type of dance flawlessly combined into one fluid motion...a message well delivered, I say! Watch the complete 1 minute version below:

Scala's First Project Will be the Urban Tavern at the Landmark Hilton San Francisco: The Hilton Family of Hotels announced that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with critically acclaimed restaurateur Donna Scala to develop signature casual dining concepts for its full service hotel brands. Scala, owner of Napa Valley's renowned Bistro Don Giovanni, will design and concept the new casual restaurants. Donna and her husband Giovanni have been responsible for several highly praised restaurants, including Piatti Ristorante and Scala's Bistro, which they opened in 1995 in the Sir Francis Drake Hotel. The year it opened, Scala's Bistro was named Best New Restaurant nationwide by Food and Wine Magazine, and Donna Scala received the distinguished honor of Best New Chef.

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, has launched “CSR Champion Training” – an innovative programme to cascade corporate social responsibility goals to the grassroots hotel level and the communities in which Shangri-La operates.

The objective of the CSR champion training is to equip staff with necessary skills and knowledge on formulating, prioritising and implementing CSR initiatives by taking account of different cultures and local needs.

Marriott Rewards®, Marriott International’s award-winning guest loyalty program, is granting wishes with its “Redeem for Anything” program. Members can now create their own personalized rewards and redeem points for anything they want. Flying lessons, tickets to the Olympics, custom built golf clubs, if members dream it Marriott Rewards delivers it. The options are limitless.

yatt’it, the new online travel community from Hyatt Gold Passport, offers travelers an essential combination of candid, fellow-traveler advice and insider knowledge with a unique advantage – credibility. Designed for members of the Hyatt Gold Passport loyalty program, but rich in benefits for all travelers, yatt’it is the first travel site to offer expert insight and tips from local Hyatt concierges in over 40 destinations worldwide along with advice from confirmed frequent travelers. In addition, partnerships with well-trusted sources like Frommers.com and FlightStats.com will quickly establish yatt’it as a valuable online resource for worldwide travel tips.

Dubai is home to quite a few SSTH Swiss School Alumni - a few alumni got together early this April at Barasti Bar (Le Meridien Mina Seyahi) to network and catch up. Included were alumni now working in Banking and Security, plus hoteliers from Jumeirah International, One & Only Royal Mirage and the Mina Seyahi Complex itself. The meeting was hosted by SSTH Marketing Manager Jolanda Rechsteiner and UAE Alumni Chapter President Jitendra Jain (JJ).