The sleepy days of summer are upon us.  At CMA, however, the days have been anything but sleepy.  We have successfully graduated another class at the Academy and are preparing for the next session, which will begin on September 13. 

Additionally, after having just returned from a trip to South Africa and India, I was off to Paris where I integrated a butler and room service department at a palace hotel. Essentially 2 departments were turned into 1 cohesive unit.  The project included:

After Paris, I took the train to London where I had the pleasure of meeting with Rick Fink who is the founder of The Butler-Valet School as well as with his associates Lin Butler and Tom Clifton.  The school is located just outside of Oxford on the historic grounds of Ditchley Park.  We had the opportunity to discuss the Butler training market today and the demand for butlers in the residential and hospitality sectors.  All was discussed over a wonderful lunch and a lager and lime at a traditional English pub.

I hope you enjoy this month's newsletter and I thank-you all for your continued support.

Charles MacPherson

President

We're in the swing of summer and if we're lucky we will have received an invitation to stay overnight at a friend's cottage, beach or country home. Whether we get an invitation back is determined by some simple do's and don'ts.
 
Do remember to bring a hostess gift.  Be creative and make a statement by bringing a homemade cake or freshly baked pie.  Don't ever cheap out! Your hosts are making an effort; so should you.
 
Do ask if you should bring anything with you like extra sheets or towels. Don't forget to make your bed in the morning including your children's beds.
 
Do set the table, help with meal service and take turns washing dishes. Don't be a selfish guest and allow the host to always serve you.
 
Do participate in the weekend's activities.  Don't expect to be entertained by your host.
 
Always leave the bathroom as clean or cleaner than when you found it. Don't be a bathroom hog. Spend as little time in the bathroom as possible as others also need to use it.
 
Upon getting ready to depart, do remember to help your host with clean up that includes stripping the bed of soiled linen.  Upon departing, don't ever take the extra wine or foodstuffs. Be gracious and leave them behind for your host to distribute as they see fit.
 
Don't forget to send a thank-you card.  Do think of including something special like your kid's drawing of a weekend event or copies of pictures that you took of everyone having a good time together. 
 
Following these do's and don'ts will help to determine if you're a guest who merits an invitation back.

Etiquette Class Information.

Ah, it's just like Upstairs, Downstairs! While Todd English is holding court with his new food hall down in the basement, the men in white gloves upstairs at The Plaza are getting ready to give you the business. That is, the hotel has just introduced its new Business Butler Package.

In a world of Foursquare and Twitter, and hotel technology that means we don't even have to talk to anyone if we don't want to, the idea of a butler is so quaint, isn't it? But, hell, if a man in a frock coat wants to run us a bath, plump our pillows and give our Louboutins a polish, we're not going to argue.

You can read more about exactly what the Plaza's butlers do in this New York Times article from a couple years back. We also suspect that with The Plaza's recent announcement that all guestrooms will have iPads come September that the butlers will have something to do with that as well.

Until then, tack on a 30 percent savings on your stay in a suite (the Business Butler package is only available in suites), one complimentary suit pressing per stay, one complimentary full American breakfast in The Palm Court daily, and a 20 percent discount when entertaining clients in The Palm Court, The Rose Club or The Champagne Bar. (What, no entertaining at Eloisie's?) That, friends who need to care of a lil business, is what makes up the Business Butler Package.

It's available year-round for stays Sunday through Thursday only. Rates start at $592 a night (based on double occupancy in a Rose Suite).

We're pretty sure the white gloves aren't included, but maybe if you ask Jeeves nicely he'll hand them over at the end of your stay. Just remember to leave a kind word for him on Foursquare.

Source: www.hotelchatter.com

The first superjumbo Airbus A380 belonging to Lufthansa set out on its first flight, from Hamburg-Finkenwerder to Frankfurt International. We were onboard the flight, which should have only taken 40 minutes, but instead took over two hours as the plane made low passes over airports, factories where its parts were made, and even took a turn over Rotterdam for the scenery.

Before today, Lufthansa's new interiors for the A380 were kept tightly under wraps, especially so for First Class, which features an entirely new design for the eight seats, which cost around $10,000 per person for a round-trip from Frankfurt to Tokyo. So what makes them worth a hefty 10K? And how nice are the spiffified Business and Economy classes on the A380?

Source: www.hotelchatter.com

Today we would like to highlight The Charles MacPherson Academy for Butlers and Household Managers, which is a certified Private Career College located in Toronto, Canada. We teach those individuals seeking to enter the world of service, individuals seeking to upgrade their skills, and employers who wish to enrol their staff for specific skills development.

Contact Information


Toronto:
507 King Street East
Suite 100
Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1M3
CANADA

(416) 369-1146 office
(416) 369-1743 facsimile

New York:
134 West 82 Street
Suite 3B
New York, New York 10024
United States

(212) 877-6962 office
(917) 441-0064 facsimile