Exploring the world
After nearly three years, Sam was keen to learn more of the working world, but was concerned about losing his current position within the house team, so he approached our People & Development Team about taking some time out of the business. This was made possible, so in November 2014 Sam took the jump to try something new and went to work for a luxury ski company as a Chalet Manager.
“The hours were long and relentless, however it proved to me that I could lead a team away from Goodwood, which I had never known before."
With further experience within the luxury industry, Sam came back to Goodwood as Hound Lodge butler in May 2015 after seeing the opportunity come up whilst he was away. Working with Hound Lodge & Kennels Manager Emilie Polastron he had a great task ahead of him.
Working on Hound Lodge wasn’t going to be easy. When he first came back, Hound Lodge was nothing but bricks and blueprints. He was tasked with sourcing everything from crockery to bed linen, and of course everything had to fit Lord March's vision. He was in charge of creating and writing training documents from scratch, as well as putting together a team to head up the operation once the venue was ready.
“Hound Lodge receives you as if you were returning home. You, your guests and your dogs are offered the very warmest of welcomes. With your own private butler service you will not have to lift a finger (or paw), as you are treated to everything you could possibly need to enjoy your time at Goodwood.”
He says working on this project was incredibly rewarding and pushed him to think outside the box, as he had to source a plethora of different products, from toothbrushes from Australia to wooden razors from Spain. It was through doing all of this work that he was able to progress within this role and within four months he was promoted to Assistant Operations Manager.