London -19th November 2000 - Ulrike Schassberger, 28, junior hotel manager at Schassbergers Kur- und Sporthotel, a family hotel in Germany�s Swabian forest, and Thomas Meier, 30, resident  manager at the Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, are this year�s �Young Hoteliers of the World 2000�, the title conferred by the International Hotel &

Ulrike Schassberger and  Thomas Meier

Held annually, the hunt for the Young Hoteliers of the World is sponsored by HOTELS magazine, with victors announced at the IH&RA�s annual congress in November where they receive an engraved Hutschenreuther trophy. Applicants, who must be no more than 30, are assessed on criteria that include career performance, language skills and community participation, as well as professional outlook and attitude.

A German national, Meier�s early  career took him to Switzerland�s Hotel Beau Rivage in 1993-4 and the Durbar Hotel in Kathmandu as General Manager (1995-7) before spending a year with the Swiss Bank Corporation in Zurich coaching young graduates for their Asian Assignments. 

After two years at the 432-room Amari Airport Hotel in Bangkok, in February this year he was appointed Resident Manager of the 5-star, 208-room Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh, part of Raffles International Hotels & Resorts, a job that involves overseeing operations, liasing with department heads, developing sales and marketing strategies and ensuring ongoing product and service training. 

Meier evidently relishes the multiple pressures his job entails: "Facing daily challenges and deadlines is important to me. It enables me to maintain and develop standards and offer the best possible product in terms of quality and service to guests."

In addition to his on-site responsibilities, he also participates in Raffles� REACH programme, which runs  community-based projects in orphanages, schools for the blind, kindergartens and blood donation programmes. 

But what motivates him most is "running the best hotel in Phnom Penh together with my team and enjoying contact with guests and corporate clients." Area GM Gilbert Madhavan confirms, "Thomas is a good team player but exudes a personal management style all his own and in six months has created an impact with his presence in Phnom Penh, both at the hotel and in the community. We have no doubt he will continue to excel in the industry." Meier plans to do an MBA and move up the corporate ladder within 5 years.

Ulrike Schassberger built on her initial hospitality management education at Lausanne Hotel School (1993-5) with part-time study at The Culinary Institute of America and a stint as front office assistant manager at New York�s Four Seasons Hotel (1998-9), where she was described by GM Herbert Pliessing as "an invaluable  team player with strong planning skills, a good understanding of financial objectives and able to handle any situation with composure and sensitivity. "
 

Last year she took her "enthusiasm and consummate professionalism" back to the family business in Ebnisee, Germany, where she is currently being groomed to take over the management of Schassbergers Kur and Sporthotel, a 70-room vacation hotel with a sports complex and 3 restaurants.  Working closely with department heads to ensure the smooth running

Schassbergers Kur- und Sporthotel  Winnender Straße 10, 73667 Ebnisee/Schwäbischer Wald

To motivate her team, trainees are fully briefed on the number of room nights or restaurant covers they have helped to sell. "We have implemented incentives to reward those employees who sell more than average and department heads who keep their product-costs and wage-costs within budget."

Ulrike has worked on a voluntary basis with a number of organisations including the Leo-Club, Eurotoques Germany, a group of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs in the USA and  the local tourism council. Last year she was awarded an IH&RA scholarship which funded a period of study at Cornell. 

Beyond her immediate objective goal of turning Schassbergers into "one of the most reknowned, profitable resorts in Germany," she has a longer-term objective in supporting efforts to make hospitality careers more attractive. She would like to re-mould the industry�s image in Germany to emphasise its unique opportunities for travel and interaction with other people and cultures. "I am passionate about what I�m doing and find it sad to see people leaving the business because they don�t see a rewarding future. If  we don�t talk about what makes our profession special, its image will not rise."