My name is Samer Al-Kantar and I am a proud graduate of the Alpine Centre, the Swiss Business School for Hotel & Tourism Management. Being from Lebanon, I chose to study at this Swiss school’s campus located in Greece.
I specialized in the Rooms Division Department and between 1998 and 2012 I had the great pleasure to work in big chain hotels such as the Marriott, Intercontinental, Rotana, Hyatt, Sheraton & Movenpick Hotels & Resorts in the Middle East and United Arab Emirates. I started as a supervisor and made my way up to top management as Executive Housekeeper reporting to the Executive Committee and was responsible for new hotel openings.
After this fruitful experience, I was eager to widen my horizons and explore greater opportunities! I advanced into Facilities Management including Operations & Maintenance at King Abdullah Port, one of the leading ports in the world located in the Arabian Peninsula. The Port is planning a huge expansion that will make it the biggest port in the world in 2025. I attribute my success to the principle of Excellence in Service that I have adopted over the years and that has served me well.
I was listed in the Hotelier Awards Shortlist: Housekeeper of the Year when I worked as Executive Housekeeper, Movenpick Hotel Jumeirah Beach. Here’s what my employer had to say: ‘Samer is practical, hard working, loyal, friendly and most importantly comes up with innovative ideas for development of the hotel and staff.
The secret to my success as a Senior Manager is attributed to the many learning experiences that I have acquired and the learnings from leaders such as J.W.Marriott who said: “Take good care of your employees, motivate them, care about them, and make winners out of them…they will treat the customers right! And if the customers are treated right, they’ll come back!” I remind my staff that they should have passion for their work: “If you love it, you have it! if you don’t do it from the heart, drop it! Live, love and enjoy the journey!”
Samer Al-Kantar, Lebanon
