Mr. Wennekes (1958) grew up in a hotel family. Destined to follow in his father's footsteps, he found the hospitality industry not satisfying. In his early twenties, Mr. Wennekes became a butler for an American billionaire. He stayed with this employer for seven years. He then moved to Austria, becoming head butler for one of the country's most prominent families. Later, Mr. Wennekes became head butler at the American Embassy in (Bonn) Germany. He received an official framed certificate from the US White House for "Outstanding Service." In 1999 Mr. Wennekes founded The International Butler Academy.

"What an exciting time we live in! Never before in history have there been so many professionals employed in private service. I am proud to serve on the Board of the most prominent butler and private service training school in the world and that we can contribute to the success of the many outstanding families and companies we work with. The future looks bright indeed. Even with the current economic crisis, our profession is nevertheless growing rapidly. I hope employers, staff, companies, potential students, and others recognize quality and integrity and are not fooled by the many charlatans in this challenging profession. Education is my passion, and I am pleased to say that our school's contribution to the success of modern butling is relatively great."

This is just one of many quotes from Mr. Robert Wennekes, known as the "World's most famous butler" and the "Ambassador of service." Mr. Wennekes has incredible knowledge and insight into the service industry. Sometimes assignments go above and beyond what would be considered standard. In one such case, Mr. Wennekes spent six full weeks at the Qasr Al Sharq Hotel in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he trained 300 staff members and assisted the management team with the opening phase of this stunning property. He received his Professorship of Hotel Management at Sanda University in Shanghai, China, in October 2016. Mr. Wennekes has been in butling and private service for over 43 years. 

Note: researcher, author, publicist, and documentary maker Tamsin Walker (United Kingdom) was a guest at The International Butler Academy for one complete training program.

The archetypal air-headed Bertie Wooster type might have gone out with his era, but the reliable and inimitable style of his butler, Jeeves, is a tradition which is far from consigned to the annals of time.

Rising imposingly from the flatlands of the Netherlands, near Maastricht, close to the German border is an ancient estate from where an equally ancient tradition is being nurtured, albeit with a modern touch. The International Butler Academy is a top-notch school which takes great pride in turning out a select number of first-rate butlers to pay service to the world's richest and most famous. On entering the building, what first strikes is the sense of ordered calm. A number of black-clad, unassuming characters offer a quietly warm welcome, with a reserved politeness which immediately draws a boundary between them and their visitors. They carry with them an air of distance, coupled with an evident willingness to please, which for the unsuspecting, verges on intimidating. It is indeed a different world. But what is the world of the modern-day butler all about? "It's about providing a service," says Robert Wennekes, who founded and runs the academy. Whilst that sounds easy enough, it soon becomes apparent that the 'service' to which he alludes is an all-encompassing way of life, a mindset into which budding butlers are either eased or squeezed depending on their own attitude to the job. Having the right attitude, I am told, is what makes an excellent butler stand out from the crowd.

"Of course we teach our students the technical aspects of being a butler, but what we really focus on is attitude. Without the right attitude, you will not succeed," says Wennekes, himself a butler for many years. When he hung up his tails and white gloves to run a placement agency for butlers and estate managers, he soon realized that the demand for quality staff far outstripped the supply. So, ever the pragmatist, and a devout believer in 'the very best', Mr Wennekes saw only one solution to the problem. "I realized that if I couldn't find those top people for the top jobs, I could train them myself." And that is precisely what he did.

The school opened its doors for the first intake of willing servants back in 2000, and has been running three courses a year ever since. It's clear on meeting Mr Wennekes that he doesn't suffer fools gladly, nor will he tolerate any sign of incompetence, laziness or inflexibility. "Many of the students who come here think they are flexible, but their perception of flexibility is different from mine. They might believe that if they work every day from 9 until 6 o'clock they are being flexible, but if I ask them to work 16 hours a day, they would probably say no." Well, they might say "no" on arrival at the academy, but by the time they leave after 10 weeks of rigorous training and sleepless nights, they do so with a whole new understanding of the word 'service'. "If you do not have a service heart, you will fail," Wennekes states flatly.

But at a cost of 15,500 euros for ten weeks of hard, and to quote the boss 'superb' training, failure is not a thought that most would-be butlers attending the school wish to entertain. And for the most part, they leave the school armed with their diploma, a suitcase full of knowledge and the prospect of gainful employment in a luxury home at an equally luxury location somewhere in the world.

For many, the leap into private service is of quantum proportions. The students, both male and female, range in age from 20 to 60, come from all corners of the globe, and bring with them career paths which deck the spectrum from gardener to lawyer. In talking to them, it becomes apparent that what they have in common is a love of people, and a willingness to please. Whilst for so many of the world's population, it's all we can do to make the family dinner night on night, these people belong to a world of their own. They see no barriers to giving up a huge chunk of their own existence in order to be omnipresent for somebody else. They are not phased by the idea of having to cancel their days off or their holidays in order to be there for their lord and master, they have no issue with having their own lives play second fiddle to that of someone else, in short they are simply willing to enter a life of servitude. And whilst that life, in the 21st century, is a far cry from that of 'below stairs' butlers we know from the likes of P.G Woodhouse or films such as 'The Remains of the Day', and 'Gosford Park', there are of course similarities.

The world of modern-day butling is small and intimate, but not closed. "There are a lot of rich people out there looking for good staff," Wennekes assures me. What they want is loyalty, quality, dedication and discretion. Mr Wennekes knows his stuff, and it is precisely this which he is at pains to pass on to all of those who cross his threshold.