The Le Meridien Hub lobby concept. Photo by Starwood.
Le Méridien Hotels & Resorts, the upscale hotel brand owned by the Starwood Group, is hiring 100 or more baristas to help run lobby cafes and serve as “coffee ambassadors” to hotel guests. The Le Méridien Master Barista program represents a partnership between Le Méridien and its coffee supplier, Italian coffee giant illy.
“The Le Méridien Master Barista will boast a technical skillset required beyond making basic coffee drinks and undergo an intensive training program, designed by Le Méridien and its global coffee partner illy,” the company recently announced. “Le Méridien Master Baristas will lead coffee-related initiatives and standards at each hotel as well as serve as lead coffee cultural ambassador, maintaining knowledge of current coffee trends while raising the local community’s awareness of coffee.”
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Le Méridien plans to roll out the Master Barista program in rebranded lobby cafes — being rebranded as social spaces known as Le Méridien Hubs — throughout the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia by the end of this year. The program is in part a response to a study of more than 7,400 coffee drinkers from five continents, who shared their coffee drinking habits at hotels.
Prototype Le Meridien Hub
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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