On Friday, July 15, at 11:30 a.m., the Marbella Palacio de Congresos became the epicenter of global hospitality talent. Les Roches came together to pay tribute to the generations of students educated in the classrooms of Les Roches Marbella since 1995. For 25 years, Les Roches’ talented graduates have helped to propel the institution into the elite of hospitality management education while forging its role as an important asset of the Marbella and Costa del Sol brands.
During more than two decades, Les Roches has developed and promoted the careers of thousands of students from more than 100 nationalities while competing with other top hospitality schools in the United States and Switzerland. The Les Roches Marbella alumni network, made up of more than 4,000 graduates to date, will now welcome 216 more graduates who come from 66 countries around the world. The new graduates belong to the VIII promotion of the Postgraduate Diploma in International Hotel Management, the V promotion of the Master’s in International Hotel Management, the III promotion of the Master’s in Marketing Management for Luxury Tourism, the III promotion of the Executive Master’s in International Hotel Management, the VII promotion Postgraduate Diploma in Hospitality Management and the XXXI promotion of the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Global Hospitality Management.
During the graduation ceremony, the Les Roches Marbella Awards (19th edition) were presented to this year’s nominees and was chaired by Carmen Diaz García, Delegate for Education, Culture and Historical Heritage of the Marbella City Council. The ceremony included interventions by representatives of Les Roches, including Carlos Díez de la Lastra, CEO of Les Roches, Mano Soler, Director of the Les Roches Marbella campus, and Jon Loiti, Academic Director of Les Roches Marbella.
Alain Ducasse, who has received the Les Roches Marbella “Hospitality Golden Key Award” for his contribution to the history of hospitality, culinary arts and education, has reminded us of the crucial role of the hotel industry in his career. “It was at Le Louis XV restaurant at the Hôtel de Paris in Monaco that I got my first three stars in 1990. It was the first time a hotel restaurant had obtained this distinction. Since then, I have never stopped working in the hotel business. Success, said Ducasse, is based on people and innovation. “Our industry is constantly changing and our customers are constantly demanding something new. So we have to be constantly aware of how the world is changing and always have the agility to innovate. And in a service industry like ours, the human factor makes the difference. It is the human factor that will provide the quality of service to the customer, and the key to innovation”.
Experiential learning
The learning experiences that coexist at Les Roches are based on an experiential model with English as the shared language. Its multicultural environment ensures that its students develop a global mindset, language skills, soft-skills and international business skills. This unique experience becomes a cover letter that provides students with optimal professional opportunities upon graduating.
In the coming years, the young people who are studying at Les Roches today will be the new hotel managers in the best destinations, the executives who lead the renewal of customer service in top fashion and luxury companies with the skills and knowledge needed to implement new business models based on innovation. With their innovative skillsets in hand, up to 33% become entrepreneurs with their business startups.
Hotels, in fact, are only a small part of the industry. Executives specialized in Hospitality Management are part of technology companies, airlines, governments and embassies, luxury brands, event agencies, startups and many other industries that are looking for professionals capable of drawing up management strategies without forgetting the customer experience, brand cohesion and team management. Carlos Díez de la Lastra, CEO of Les Roches corroborates: “Before the pandemic, at Les Roches our graduates received an average of 5 job offers, and for a few months, with more demand than supply, they reached up to 10. This is a symptom of what is happening in this growing market. It is the main executives of the large hotel chains and luxury brands who come to our classrooms to interview our students and, now that the pandemic is more controlled, these opportunities are resurfacing strongly.”
Academic offer
Les Roches Marbella, whose academic calendar is semestral, will receive a new intake of students in September 2022. Included in its academic offer are undergraduate, postgraduate and master’s studies; all designed and updated each year by a committee of international experts.
Les Roches highlights the flexible nature of its programs that, as confirmed by Carlos Díez de la Lastra, CEO of Les Roches, respond to the needs of students and professionals seeking continuous training. He said, “students have taken an active role and they are the ones who demand experience from their training that leads them to their personal and professional goals of the highest level. Les Roches is the answer to what they need and what the industry demands”.
The educational offer of Les Roches Marbella, converted into an intelligent campus, covers all areas of the hospitality sector, from the BBA Degree in Global Hospitality (with four specializations in Hospitality Entrepreneurship, Hotel Financial Performance Management, Resort Development and Management, and Digital Marketing Strategies) to the postgraduate and master’s levels that include the Postgraduate Diploma in International Hospitality Management, the Master’s in International Hotel Management, the Master’s in Marketing Management for Luxury Tourism and the Executive Master’s in International Hotel Management.
