NEW JOBS FOR VATELIENS: Jeremie Zeitoun is now New Business lead at Deliveroo in Paris.

Jeremie Zeitoun has always loved the quest for customer satisfaction. This quite naturally led him straight to Vatel and the job of Guest Relations Manager at the 5* Hotel du Louvre Hyatt.

At Expedia since June, 2015, as the Market Associate, Jeremie is going to tell us more about the new types of relationships he has with his partners and his new daily challenges.

“Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve really been touched by everything relating to human relationships. That’s the reason why I did a degree qualifying me to work in summer camps for children - BAFA.

I found out that I really loved organizing events, strategy and making other people happy. So going to Vatel and working in hospitality and tourism was really what I wanted to do.This was a very well-known school, one that people recommended to me. 

In addition to that, I liked the concept where theoretical courses were followed by practical work. These were great years and I’ve got lots of fond memories of them.”

“Professional applications taught me the correct gestures and taught me how to excel. For my first year I went to the Hotel de Sers, a five-star luxury hotel on the Champs Elysees. After having spent four months at the Front Desk and in the restaurant, I wanted to stay at that hotel, and I still am in contact with all the team members.

And then I went to Ireland, where I spent four months in the gourmet restaurant of the Adare Manore 5* and after that in the United States for a year, at the Setai Miami Beach, as a Runner and then as the Captain.

In each of these internships, Vatel was not only known, but considered as a benchmark. That’s why I was able to be quickly considered as the team leader and why all the Vatel alumni who worked in the same hotel or in the same city helped me out.”             

After that I worked in the restaurant of the Parisian palace Plaza Athenee, as the Assistant Restaurant Manager when I was an intern. I then became aware that in the hospitality industry, 550 employees make up one large family.

Then, I changed jobs and started working in the Front Office and Guest Relations in the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Avenue Marceau to have a new experience and to start making strategic decisions. I’d always tried to make my customers happy when they went to my restaurant. And here the only difference was that they were at the hotel.

I always try to wow my customers, to consider each of them as an individual, in order to meet all of their expectations. I try to understand them, to put myself in their shoes, to think about what would make them happy.

Working at the Hotel du Louvre as the Duty Manager and the Guest Relations Manager was a fantastic experience where I learned how to make decisions and be accountable for them.

The other side of the mirror in the hospitality industry...

“After having spent a year at the Hyatt, I was contacted for a job in Expedia’s Parisian branch. I was pretty scared to leave the atmosphere in the hotel while at the same time awfully excited about the strategic dimensions this job would entail. I took my time, met the employees, assessed the opportunity and decided to go for it.

No regrets at all! Each day brings a new challenge and the people surrounding me are all very creative and pro-active. Here I found out how to create partnerships and establish long term relationships with hotels. Now my quest for customer satisfaction is with partners, for whom my hands-on experience really boosts the comprehension of their issues.

My job consists in:

• facilitating the use of Expedia for hotels
• bringing in expert advice and strategy to optimize their turnover.

Expedia has a very motivating management style: team work, solidarity, and helping others are what this is all about and this makes us want to excel in everything we do and support all other team members.

I want to continue to keep learning in this company, which is also expanding every single day. My managers trust me and prove this to me every day, as they allow me to take a lot of initiatives.”