Alpine manager
A quiet figure at Gstaad’s Hotel Alpina, manager Tim Weiland talks about his career, current challenges and the future of one of Switzerland’s top hotels.
It’s as you walk along the rock-cut path to the hotel reception area that you realize the enormous scale of the work undertaken to build theAlpina Gstaad. As white Tesla cars with butterfly doors escort guests gently to their destination, we enter the establishment that has rapidly become a benchmark for Swiss hotels and modern luxury. For the past four years, Tim Weiland has been the guardian of this privileged 56-key palace, nestled in the sacrosanct Oberbort district above Bern’s famous ski resort. Meet a luxury hotel professional who cultivates excellence with service in his head and passion in his heart.
In the service of diplomacy
It’s always with the same dedication that the manager welcomes each and every guest who crosses the threshold of the hotel’s imposing entrance. Tradition obliges! No obligation on the part of this former student of the prestigious Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, who grew up between Haiti, Kenya and South Africa, but rather a playful sense of hospitality that only Swiss standards can still provide. From his earliest childhood, young Tim acquired a sense of hospitality. Thanks to the professional lives of his parents, and in particular his father, fully involved in humanitarian aid in Nairobi among other places, he was brought up in a spirit of togetherness and sharing, taking part in numerous receptions. “Without really understanding it, it was in this multicultural environment that I imbibed my first notions of service. My family was in the service of diplomacy, and I grew up surrounded by difference.
And so, quite naturally, he headed for the hotel business. With his diploma in hand, he set sail for the Maldives. After two years in the archipelagos, the young hotelier moved on to Marrakech and Rajasthan, before continuing his experience in Beijing. “I went from a village of 600 inhabitants to a megalopolis of over 20 million. Even if China wasn’t my first choice, I was building my career at the time. He left the Asian capital for the Alpine heights of the posh ski resort of Courchevel. It was the big leap into a microcosm of luxury in a seasonal hotel approach. Tim Weiland would stay in Haute-Savoie for four years before moving to the peaks of the Bernese Oberland. The Alpina adventure begins in 2018.
Salary balance
As soon as he arrived, he was surprised by the village life in Gstaad during the shoulder season. “It’s a region with its own identity, more lively than you might think. Gstaad is a cultural melting pot of international clientele and discreet citizens. He took over the management of the hotel with the aim of maintaining the standards of excellence of a palace while rejuvenating the service codes. With the employment crisis, is the hotel’s image still strong enough to attract tomorrow’s young talent? “Even if resumes are still of a high standard, we’re receiving far fewer of them. On the other hand, those who decide to join us are staying longer than before. While the general trend is to cut costs, Alpina’s policy is to increase its payroll in order to maintain an optimal notion of service. “It’s all a question of balance. It’s up to us to stimulate our employees so that we can keep them,” he explains.
For this industry professional, the Swiss hotel industry remains the best in the business. “The Swiss hotel industry has evolved with the times. With the arrival of young managers, there’s a real rethinking going on. In my opinion, it is quite simply unique. It’s hard to talk about the Alpina Gstaad without mentioning its commitment to sustainable development. And to top it all off, the hotel has been awarded the coveted Gold certification by
Alpina Gstaad, 23 Alpinastrasse, 3780 Gstaad. Tel: 033 888 98 88
