Winning Gold! World Skills Champion of Hotel Reception

In this podcast, we speak to Carmen Többen who won the WorldSkills Gold Medal for best receptionist in Lyon, France last year.  After winning the Gold Medal at the SwissSkills competition in Bern in 2022 and the EuroSkills Gold Medal in Gdansk, Poland in 2023, Carmen used those exceptional experiences to win gold in Lyon.

 Carmen walks us through the prestigious WorldSkills competition by describing the different tasks she had to perform and explains how she trained for these four, very intense days.   We question Carmen on how she trained and managed to stay focused under immense pressure and how these competitions demand both physical and mental preparation.   Carmen also describes the comradery that these competitions create and how being able to compete against young people from around the world was a reward in itself.

 By sharing some memorable moments and talking us through the past three years of intensive training, our listeners can better understand how becoming the World’s best receptionist demanded perseverance, confidence and a very strong network of support not only from her family, but also from the hotels that Carmen worked in during these competitions.  While working at the Baur au Lac, one of Zurich’s most luxurious hotels, Carmen received first-class job training and the staff were thrilled to learn that she had won gold in Lyon.

 Carmen Többen studied at the Schulhotel Regina in Interlaken, Switzerland and received a Swiss Federal certificate as a Hotel Communication Specialist and went on to work at hotels in Thun and in Zermatt.  In 2023 she joined the Baur au Lac in Zurich as a hotel receptionist and went on to become a Front Office Supervisor.  In September of this year, she will continue her education by starting a Bachelor Degree in Hotel Management at the Lucerne Hotel School.