About Me
I am Butler Coach® Prem
I began my career in the Hospitality Industry at 18 in Chennai, India, starting as an Apprentice. My experiences led me to become an Assistant Manager at a renowned property in Lonavala, India.
Seeking new horizons, I joined a British Cruise Company, initially as an Assistant Waiter, facing challenges but eventually rising to become the First Butler for one of the oldest British Companies.
My transition to Private Service in the UK was not without struggles, inspiring me to help those in hospitality seeking clarity and guidance. Through years of adding value to others, I discovered the Power of Wholehearted Service and Leadership.
I have spent 15 years as a Head Butler and House Manager in the UK, managing Households, Negotiating deals, and Training staff. I Founded The London Butler Academy® to empower the serving hearts to soar to new heights and thrive in your journey.
My Full Story
Greetings to you!
It is a delight to have you here. Throughout our lives, we serve one or the other. Husband and wife serve the family; Children serve the pets, parents, or someone else.; business serves customers, and so on. Many of us made a life out of serving others. Some of us have found means through this activity, and others have found means and meaning. I am one among this set of people. I am grateful for how life has treated me.
My First Job
After School, I went straight to work as an Apprentice Steward in leading hotels of the world property in my hometown, Chennai, India. While at the Taj Hotel, I admired a colleague, Paul, an Anglo-Indian Valet. Paul was a charming young man who wore a mesmerizing smile, well groomed. He carried himself gracefully and precision in what he did. He was everything that I desired and what I was not.
Taj Coromandel, Chennai
When serving extraordinary people, I don’t think about whom I am serving, as this is a distraction;
I always think about improving their experience. I focus on the job at hand.
Lady Margret Thatcher, Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Anne, Princess Royal
Go Cruising
After spending 7 years in the Hotels, I increased my Rank to Assistant Manager. Again I started on the Cruise Ship as an Assistant Waiter. I swapped pursuing travelling for the hierarchy of my work position.
At 25, I was an Assistant Waiter on a British Cruise Ship from an Assistant Manager in a Five-star Hotel. I always enjoyed serving; I realised my purpose when being headhunted to be the First Butler of the Company. My first-ever guests were Lady Margret Thatcher and HRH Princess Anne. Princess was the Godmother of the new ship Called “Aurora”. This new position fascinated me as it enabled me to see firsthand how my work could impact the guests’ experiences.
In Butling, you are alone; no one will rescue you; there is no team. Though externally, you are supported by other departments and crew; you cannot afford to miss anything as you must pick up the pieces. To be a Butler, Whether you have it or not. There is no middle ground.
I started loving this new vocation; guests hugged me with tears and expressed gratitude.
Challenges such as organising a Senator to get off the ship on an island during the voyage or Installing a real Christmas Tree in a suite in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean gave me an adrenaline rush. It humbled me when the guests started writing to me asking me which ship I was on before they booked holidays.
Lonavala To London
After four years of Butling on Cruise Ships, when I came to live in London, UK, I thought through what I wanted to do and what made me the happiest; I decided to pursue Butling into the Household.
Despite my past success, I struggled to get into this vocation. Just two Household Agencies have even interviewed me. I never realised that to get into this world, one needs someone to introduce you to it. Besides, how can a stranger from India who has never lived in the UK run errands, drive around or understand how daily life is run?
Meanwhile, before I resolved to get into Private Service, I applied for Hotels and a Cruise Company called “Crystal Cruises”. I got offers from Hotels, including Dorchester, The Savoy, and The Crystal Cruises. After a year of temping and doing many jobs, the thought that I should have taken those Hotel jobs did come, which I promptly ignored.
At Butler School. Frank Fortgens looking at me. (Feb 2008)
Silver Polishing at Butler School
Butler Schooling
After 15 months, I decided to check out the school in the Netherlands and took out a considerable loan, hoping this could change my destiny.
But as luck would have it, within two weeks of my registration, I got a call from the office of a guest on the ship whom I looked after years ago. I responded to the call by accepting the invitation to meet him in his office at Bakers Street. I was presented with a better opportunity than I wanted. I was hoping for an Assistant or a Junior Butler role, but I got a Butler’s position to look after a large Georgian Country House and the Estate.
After considerable thought, I thanked him for the offer and mentioned that I could not take it as I had registered to attend a Butler School.
Don't try to make it memorable. The impact you create through your service leaves a lasting impression.
Private Household Management
Upon completing my training at the Butler School, I embarked on my first Household assignment in Buckinghamshire. Beginning as a Butler in a Georgian Country House, my employer’s weekend retreat, I assumed the role of a singular force responsible for all aspects of Estate Management. This experience served as a foundational learning opportunity, allowing me to gain expertise in every facet of Household Management.
My next job was as an Estate Manager with a German family living in West Sussex.
I continued the Private Household work for another 10 years, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Also started as a Head Trainer for a London Agency during my weekends off days once a month.
My First Household assignment in Buckinghamshire
West Sussex, Backside of the Estate
Mayfair London
Some of the things I did during this time
- I transformed the Georgian Manor House and Estate from being unkept and rarely visited a beautiful, attractive Estate in about 9 months.
- I could help resolve many issues for the German employers with their contractors and the staff.
- I took charge of one of the most popular Grandeur properties in Mayfair London and set up complete Household Management Systems and Staffing.
Olympics 2012 ID
Interim Head Butler for the Burghley House.
In 2012, I volunteered for the London Olympics. I was an Interim Head Butler for Burghley House, the oldest Elizabethan House.
Burghley House, The Oldest Elizabethan House
Me and Sue Pete Toms at the Mango Tree Taunton Somerset.
Various Project Works
After 18 years of Butling and Private Services, I ventured into doing many projects.
I set up an afternoon tea service for a leading London sightseeing bus company.
I set up the complete project of a new vegan restaurant, the Mango Tree in Somerset. I ran this Establishment for 2 years, making it one of the most-known Restaurants in the West of England. The Restaurant, the Mango Tree maintained its rating of 4.9 throughout the whole 2 years. Sadly, a year after I left the Restaurant, the establishment lost all of its original staff and ended up in the demise of the popular destination.
Start of The London Butler Academy®
I moved to Switzerland to set up my company, Aubrei Elite GmbH. I started doing assignments for clients to set up the Household Management System or Train the serving staff of Hotels or other Establishments.
In 2022, during my trip to India, I got a call from an HR Director of an International Chain of Hotels, asking “If I could help him find Butlers for his Hotel”. I was intrigued by this request. In many countries I have travelled to, I have seen Indians in hospitality. To answer my query, he mentioned Mr Rao. “We have hundreds of CVs for the position, not those we can use”.
I reflected on my struggles in 2006 to get into the Private Service Vocation and my ability to help people. I am also aware of the expenses of attending a Butler School and have been to one of the most expensive ones.
I am grateful for the gift I have been blessed with, so I set out to assemble a curriculum.
Like all my courses, this will also have the essence of helping my pupils personally and preparing them to be professional butlers.
My Mission
To make Butler’s education affordable and accessible to all. I have kept the course pragmatic. I have included as many real-time anecdotes as possible so that the pupils can understand what they will be walking into and handle what is thrown at them. There is no substitute for an experience, though.
I envision creating hundreds of serving hearts to realise their dreams, thereby making TLBA graduates become sought after by their employers.
They will possess the confidence and ability to enhance the joy and harmony in people’s lives or the establishments that employ them.
My Vision
My Promise
(Pupils and Clients)
To be a Partner, who enhances your life by finding solutions. I care for you; I will devote my time and energy to learning about your challenges.
My business is to see that you Evolve, Grow and Flourish.
