Answering the call of the waves

SHL alumnus Philipp Reutener was literally born into the hotel business: At a young age he helped his parents run their bed and breakfast on Lake Lucerne. After completing his apprenticeship as a chef, his passion for gastronomy and the hotel industry led him to Lucerne to attend the SHL Schweizerische Hotelfachschule Luzern. Philipp's career was already taking off before he even graduated!  Shortly before graduating, he was recruited as General Manager for the «MythenForum Schwyz» event centre. «As part of the SHL diploma thesis, we had to write a business plan for the «MythenForum Schwyz». My performance at the presentation seemed to have convinced the chairman of the board of directors, because he subsequently offered me this great challenge,» says Philipp. He left the «MythenForum Schwyz» to follow the call of the waves and fulfil his dream of working on the high seas.  He was employed by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. for a total of four years - first as Food & Beverage Assistant Manager, soon afterwards as Director and finally in the Human Resources and Culinary Projects department.

For the next six years, he continued his career on land, managing resorts for Amari, Anantara Hotels and Sandals Resorts in Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and Jamaica. However, the lure of the sea was too strong and in 2013 he returned to the water as hotel director for Seabourn Cruise Line, mainly travelling to the Baltic Sea and his favourite region, Antarctica. Then the opportunity arose to join Swan Hellenic. «I was able to help shape the first season of SH Minerva in Antarctica in 2021 as Opening Director - a fantastic experience,» says Philipp. Since then, he has also experienced the maiden voyage of the SH Vega and is currently preparing the opening of the newly built expedition cruise ship «SH Diana». 

Another exciting fact: Philipp's passion for the hotel industry has encouraged him to acquire and assimilate extensive language skills. In addition to his native languages Swiss German and German, he also speaks French, English, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and Thai.

Philipp in the media:

• Video: Tour of Swan Hellenic's luxury expedition ship SH Vega with Philipp Reutener
• Article about the reopening of SHL Vega on aboutTravel