Andrey Parshukov is currently the Head of Business Growth at JetRockets, a forward-thinking company specializing in custom web and mobile application development across various industries. In this podcast, Andrey talks about his career path from studying hospitality in Switzerland and working in the hospitality field to teaching in Vietnam and developing his passion for technology and AI. Andrey gives our listeners some insight into how AI is revolutionizing the hospitalit...

In this podcast, Laurence Toudjui gives our listeners a glimpse of Cameroonian hospitality by describing the current projects that are underway in her native country. Cameroon is currently catching up with other African countries that attract tourists. With its 400 km of Atlantic coast, Cameroon has fabulous sites for beach loving visitors and the country has many natural attractions that are not found anywhere else in the world, making it possible to have various categories of tourism....

Margaux Michel is currently the Alumni Relations Manager at Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland. In this podcast we ask Margaux Michel to describe her varied experiences working in the Sport and Event Management field. An athlete herself, Margaux explains how her multi-cultural background helped shape her career and why she was eager to welcome different experiences with UEFA, the International Committee for the Red Cross and UBS. Margaux shares her reasons fo...

In this podcast, Alexandre Maia de Carvalho tells our listeners about his hospitality career in Portugal and why it continues to be one of the top-ten destinations for European tourists and is gaining popularity for travellers coming from the US, China and Canada. Alexandre’s specialty is luxury hotels and resorts, and in this podcast he describes this growing field and how it has evolved over the past 10 years and what the future holds for this niche. He also discusses the curren...

Scott Eddy has made hospitality and tourism storytelling his field of expertise and he helps hospitality brands and destinations thrive in a fast-evolving digital world. With over 20 years of digital marketing and entrepreneurship under his belt, he has honed his brand strategy skills, Scott now travels year-round professionally as a video globetrotter, and he is an avid cruise aficionado. Scott begins this podcast by telling us how he eventually ended up in digital marketing, hospitali...

In this podcast, Claudine Thoma talks about her professional path from hospitality to education and why she decided to pursue her passion for the hospitality field as a young woman. She also discusses hospitality and hospitality education in Luxembourg, her native country and how she successfully stepped outside of her hospitality business passion into her new passion for hospitality education. In addition, Claudine shares her insights into how the hospitality field is evo...

In this podcast, Krisztina Soreg, PhD talks about her educational path as an Economist and her career choice to become a professor at Les Roches Hospitality Management School in Marbella, Spain. She answers our questions about the role of education in shaping the current hospitality field and the importance of disruptions and challenges to the status quo. Krisztina describes why innovative approaches to education are vital and putting students in the centre of pedagogy is a no-bra...

In this podcast, Andrès Reyes Gjerme talks about his career choices and what he considers to be the main challenges in hospitality leadership today. He describes the importance of finding balance and adapting to an ever-changing, diverse working environment. He describes the hospitality and tourism industry in Norway and answers our questions about why Norway has become such a popular tourist destination. Finally, he shares his views on how hospitality businesses can recruit...

Robin Salem, who works at a The Chapel Bar, a speakeasy in Vienna, Austria, is the first bartender that 50 Shades of Hospitality has interviewed for our podcast. Robin explains to our audience how he went from working as a chef to becoming a barman. The Chapel Bar offers over 30 signature cocktails and mocktails presented in a beautiful book offered to their guests. Robin explains to us how he and his team come up with the concepts and recipes. We ask Robin abo...

In this podcast, Christian Michel tells our listeners about hotel development and in particular, the continued growth and development of the Central and Eastern European markets. Christian describes his long career with Wyndham Resorts and how he has honed his knowledge of hotel development in Central and Eastern Europe. Christian also speaks to our audience about why Central and Eastern Europe have become such popular destinations. Finally, he talks about hospitalit...

Winner of the Best Swiss Receptionist Bucherer trophy in 2015, Judith Malavallon went from working in an iconic BEAU RIVAGE Palace to becoming a teacher at the school she attended in Switzerland. After a management change, she continued teaching at another prestigious Hospitality School in Lausanne. But Judith is a firm believer in having a healthy work/life balance and having children has allowed her to see other options available to someone with a hospitality background. ...

After more than two years and 10,000+ downloads of 50 Shades of Hospitality Podcasts, your producers and hosts, Egidio Marcato and Crystal Forest Cavin discuss their motivation and passion for creating a global hospitality podcast. In this podcast Egidio and Crystal are pleased to announce their future collaboration with Mauricio Schuler and his company, Schulering HUB. Schulering HUB, is all about passion for the hospitality industry, education, life-long learning and using str...

In this podcast, João de Saldanha describes his path from hospitality to the world of finance and investment. Despite some early disappointments, João was able to move forward and he shares his insights into how difficulties can be turned into opportunities for growth and success. He also explains how his hospitality training was a powerful tool for his future career and how a hospitality education gives you the transferable skills that can be used in many industries and fields.&n...

In this podcast, we speak to Carmen Többen who won the WorldSkills Gold Medal for best receptionist in Lyon, France last year. After winning the Gold Medal at the SwissSkills competition in Bern in 2022 and the EuroSkills Gold Medal in Gdansk, Poland in 2023, Carmen used those exceptional experiences to win gold in Lyon. Carmen walks us through the prestigious WorldSkills competition by describing the different tasks she had to perform and explains how she trained for these four, ...

In this podcast, Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga shares the extraordinary history of his family-owned winery, Tenuta San Leonardo, which is an estate of historical significance where great wines are created in Trentino. It produces San Leonardo, a Bordeaux-style red wine which was described by the wine journalist, Jancis Robinson as "surely the most successful Bordeaux blend of northern Italy". For our oenology enthusiasts, Anselmo describes the kind of grapes and wines made at San Leonardo a...

In this podcast, Philippe Rey-Westlund and Byron Rey-Westlund talk about their culinary adventures in Mexico and what has and continues to inspire these explorations of Mexico’s culinary history. Both Byron and Philippe talk about their initial experiences with Mexican cuisine Byron grew up in the Cupertino, California (Silicon Valley) surrounded by fruit orchards. Cupertino, before becoming the Apple Corp. headquarters, was a small village one hour south of San Francisco populate...

Walter el Nagar is a passionate Chef with a multicultural background and a strong desire to make not only a culinary mark but a social one as well. In this podcast, Walter describes his passion for creative culinary arts and his professional path across the globe. Walter was born in Milan in 1981 to an Egyptian father and Italian mother, both of whom are restaurateurs. Known for his creative flair and self-taught culinary skills, Walter embarked on a transformative journey...

In this podcast we speak to Bastian Barnbeck who is a social entrepreneur and the founder of Waved, a non-profit organization that empowers students from rural coastal communities in Panama, using surfing a tool for social change. With a background in Hospitality, Management Consulting and Corporate Social Responsibility, Bastian discusses how he has used all of his experiences for this forward-looking social adventure. We ask Bastian about his motivations for creating Wave...

Ursula Connolly is the founder and Managing Director of People Skills Business. She has more than 30 years experience in developing and motivating individuals and companies to achieve successful results. In this podcast, Ursula tells our listeners about how she works with internationally respected organisations to help them align the development of their employees with their brand and strategic business objectives. She describes how her main focus is to help organisations engage and dev...

In this podcast, Tobias Cornet and Raad Masarwah from The Right Balance, a hospitality consulting and training company that helps hotels across all their revenue generating departments to increase sales, enhance guest experiences and boost their team’s skills & motivation. Tobias and Raad discuss their company’s mission and how their experienced staff support hotels with change management, employee retention and team motivation. We ask pertinent questions about how management can in...