Boutique Group, a hospitality company fully owned by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, merging the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s culture and heritage with contemporary elegance to develop historic and cultural places into ultra-luxury boutique hotels, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sommet Education, a leading global network of hospitality management and culinary arts schools.
Boutique Group is a one-of-a-kind hospitality company developed to deliver a unique ultra-luxury Saudi experience that contributes to the local economy and enhances the Kingdom’s position as a leading cultural tourism destination in line with the Vision 2030. Sommet Education, meanwhile, encompasses prestigious institutions such as Swiss originated hospitality business schools Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches, together with culinary and pastry arts school École Ducasse.
The collaboration between Boutique Group and Sommet Education will focus on three main areas: training programmes, recruitment, and internships.
Sommet Education will support Boutique Group through customised and bespoke training pathways, enabling Boutique employees to benefit from Sommet’s vast experience in crafting hospitality programmes tailored to the talent development of the company’s staff.
As Boutique Group continues to recruit talent, locally and internationally, Sommet Education has the opportunity to play a significant role through its established network to ensure that the unique talents from its hospitality schools join Boutique.
Boutique Group will offer internship programmes for students, providing them with invaluable hands-on training and experience. In turn, this will help to establish a talent network, ensuring a flow of passionate individuals who are familiar with the company’s ethos and standards.
CEOs from Boutique Group and Sommet Education met in Abu Dhabi at the Future Hospitality Summit and Arabian Hospitality Investment Conference 2023 to formally sign the MoU.
Mark De Cocinis, CEO at Boutique Group, said: “Partnering with Sommet Education was a natural next step for us. Their commitment to delivering top-tier hospitality management and culinary arts schooling directly aligns with our goals of cultivating industry professionals and fuels my enthusiasm for fostering Saudi talents. Through innovative training, we aim to nurture possibility and inspire the visionaries who will drive our industry forward.”
Benoît-Etienne Domenget, CEO of Sommet Education, added: “We are excited about our collaboration with novel pioneers, Boutique Group, as it enhances our potential to revolutionise how hospitality professionals are developed. We spark new heights of greatness for generations of leaders via collaborative programmes that combine our recognised expertise.”
The MoU confirms the expansion of an already fruitful partnership. Boutique Group previously engaged the educational institution to deliver Medh’Yaf, a hospitality immersion programme that focused on the luxury hospitality landscape, techniques to develop and bring to life cultural heritage, and how to deliver the ultra-luxury experience, to over 70 of their employees.
Sommet Education’s network of hospitality management and culinary arts schools offer the highest quality education and training, aligning with industry best practices and standards. It is the only education group with two in the Top 5 globally-ranked institutions for hospitality education and by employer reputation (QS World University Rankings by Subject 2023).
