Club Med, a springboard in the hospitality industry
After two years of the pandemic, the shortage of qualified personnel affects all sectors of tourism. A behind-the-scenes tour of Club Med in Cefalù, Sicily to meet three GOs, talent hired for the season or more if they have an affinity.
Swimming pool in the resort of Celafù, Sicily.
@ClubMed SAS
“I’ll have the pistachio cream pizza. On the first floor of the palace, the patrician villa, situated on a rocky promontory overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea, Sicilian specialties are served à la carte. A cozy setting for the Gourmet Lounge nestled in this baroque building.
We are at Club Med, which is opposite Cefalù, 70 kilometers from Palermo. The old mythical village has been transformed into a luxury resort. Roxane Poncin duplicates the selection of this dessert and records the order. Two days earlier, the student dragged her heavy suitcase along the tarmac at Palermo airport.
Originally from Chambéry, the 21-year-old is the first Swiss Education Group student to join the ranks of the leader in high-end all-inclusive stays. This new partnership with the largest group of private hotel and culinary schools in Switzerland allows Club Med to meet the expectations of a demanding clientele.
Roxanne Ponsin, Assistant Manager at Gourmet Lounge.
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Ronan Fitzgerald, Vice President of Student Services, sees a significant increase in international internship offers: “Our students have the opportunity to be selective in their choices and build their careers in the direction they want, with the support of their career advisor. »
Because yes, in this post-covid period, the hotel industry has quickly resumed, tourists are returning, while labor is drastically lacking. So Roxanne exits the game: “I got about ten job offers. It’s royal! The beginning of my career will be dazzling unlike the previous endings. Prestigious hotel groups are associated with it.
After a one-year stint in Dubai at the Oberoi, she turned down the W of Verbier and the Mandarin Oriental of Geneva. “As a child I stayed at several Club Med resorts. I have wonderful memories of him and love meeting clients on holiday. They disconnect and break free. If Club Med hadn’t held me back, I would have listed the destination in Plan B, not a specific hotel.
Know-how and know-how
Sparkling, mature, Roxanne knows what she wants. Such a profile can only impress the HR manager based in Milan. Gianluca Prete, contacted by e-mail, said he was seduced by both his know-how and his know-how: “His smile accompanied the whole interview.”
He recalls in passing the five values of the club: kindness, responsibility, multiculturalism, freedom and pioneering spirit. Roxane is targeted for this Assistant Manager position to be filled at the Gourmet Lounge in Cefalù.
“Gone is the GO image from 1980 (…) Comfort takes precedence and is part of the requirements of new employees.
Attention, this is one of the destinations of the Exclusive Collection range! “I am delighted to be offered a product from the Five Trident range. It fits my experience and my long-term goals,” commented the new employee.
As soon as she arrives, she is taken to her room. Get out of the 1980’s GO image. Those Gentils Organisateurs, underpaid and over tanned, who slept four or six when it wasn’t in any holidaymaker’s box. Comfort comes first and is part of the requirements of new employees.
Behind the scenes, she quickly meets the hundreds of other hands who work hard to make vacationers’ stays as unique as they are memorable.
His first day is spent observing the palace, which is full of 80 place settings: “I will explore the wine cellar, the menu, I will ask the chef to explain the dishes to me, I will meet my colleagues, I will learn the number of tables. We are already talking to him about a new show. Roxanne is enthusiastic about the idea of participating.
Aerial view of the Celafù resort.
@ClubMed SAS
A trolley takes her around the property and takes her to the Zen pool, along the beach, stops at the three restaurants, the beach, the tennis courts, the archery, the gym. “Can I also use these facilities in my free time?” Alessandro, the Sicilian sommelier in charge of his visit, laughs in his sunny accent: “Of course! In your free time, you do whatever you want.
In addition to the 6 hours and 40 hours of work per day applicable under Italian law, Roxane is invited like all other GOs to participate in the life of the village. “We expect them to attend the cocktail party, have dinner or lunch with the customers and participate, according to their motives, in certain shows and events,” explains Mila Roshi, manager of the Gourmet Lounge restaurant and a reference for Roxane, who is worried about her breakfast: “Before my first coffee, it’s hard to get me to talk…” Let him relax: a corner is available for GO in the main restaurant.
Anyway, she’s quickly thrown into the bathtub of this country life, as she barely finds herself with an unzipped suitcase in the middle of a swimming pool, dancing to the “crazy cues”, one of the club’s most popular.
Springboard for the future
The two women embody two very different careers. With her bachelor’s degree in natural sciences, Mila started her first year of medicine: “like most students, I had to repeat it. To take my mind off it, I went to reinforce Club Med for a summer in Gregorimano, Greece. I was 19.”
Mila Rochi, manager of the Gourmet Lounge restaurant.
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Five years later, it will make a transversal evolution from a mini-club to catering. In addition to the tuition paid for by the Campus Club, she honed her knowledge of the field and soon left for the Seychelles to take over the reins of another gourmet restaurant. What to discover a new destination.
“I like the team spirit. When we live together, we are just colleagues.”
At aperitif time, as the sun sets, I meet Julie Mroz. In front of the bartender, we hesitate between a Campari Spritz and a Negroni. Originally from the French Ardennes, the 29-year-old studied communications in Lille, Lyon and then Paris before joining a communications agency in Nice.
It serves as an e-GO namely Content & Digital Creator. “I coordinate the content of the club’s media support. I met GO in Nice, he was working in catering and couldn’t wait to start the winter season in Valmorel. I couldn’t believe he could be so happy when we usually go back to work. For my part, the sedentary lifestyle bored me, I need to meet new people, travel. »
This is his first assignment. “I took a one-month training course at Club Med la Rosière in the Alps before I arrived. I know the communication strategy, but I had to learn how to create content. And the atmosphere? “I like the team spirit. Living together we are just colleagues. We are united, during a rush we sometimes help at the reception or the bar. I have learned to adapt without crossing my limits and I love to put on shows. We find ourselves in the boxes, the heart flutters before we go on stage, it’s a real pleasure.
At the end of the first week, Roxanne had the pleasure of discovering her colleagues and made friends with two pensioners from Lyon. She visited Palermo and Cefalù on her weekly day off and may take a scooter next time on Francesco Siviero’s advice.
The Neapolitan scientist led three well-rounded conferences on the culture and history of the island, linking the mafia with antiquity, Jesus with Che Guevara… In short, a new proposal for this club that managed to appreciate the oratorical talent of its tour desk manager.
In partnership with Club Med
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