Alene Keenan is the Yacht Stew Guru. After more than twenty years serving in a variety of roles in the hospitality sector of the yachting industry, Alene has become a master of what she does. She is able to easily draw from her wealth of knowledge and share what she has learned with other stews entering the workforce. Her unwavering professionalism and remarkable intuitiveness coupled with an efficient practicality have served her well, making Alene Keenan the go-to person in this industry.

She has helped thousands of people from around the world prepare for and excel at careers within the hospitality industry. She has worked with captains, crew agents, charter and private yacht management companies, yacht owners, and business professionals. But despite all of the different hats she has worn in her career, her role as a stew advocate remains a first love that takes high priority.

 Consultant, teacher, mentor and author

 Keenan is the founder of The International Institute of Service Arts, a business and service consulting firm dedicated to helping business professionals, hospitality workers and service personnel elevate their etiquette awareness, service skills, and professionalism. Her company includes a division devoted specifically to the yachting industry, Yacht Stew Solutions (YSS). Her work with YSS places her on yachts and in the classroom where she shares her considerable knowledge and experience by delivering courses, seminars and workshops that:

• help stews get started, get better and get accredited
• help yacht owners, yacht captains and yacht management companies get organized
• assist the yachting industry to set and maintain higher professional standards for all interior crew members

A consummate professional, Alene’s many years at sea and continual drive for professional growth put her on the leading edge of onboard and classroom education. Forward thinking and perceptive, she is constantly on the lookout for new ways to serve her clients and enrich their lives. She knows the job of the yacht crew is to make owners’ and charter guests’ dreams come true by offering 5-star service in every department. To this end she has authored the Yacht Guru’s Bible, widely recognized as a must-have book for service professionals in the yachting industry.

Keenan also contributes a regular column, to The Triton, a nautical newspaper for captains and crews. When she is not writing she is busy researching new material and presenting workshops for both students and yacht management. She is currently an instructor at Maritime Professional Training in Fort Lauderdale, offering regularly scheduled monthly courses in Yacht Interior Service and Management. Keenan also offers onboard and private custom courses by appointment as well as general management and support consultation for the yachting industry.

 Upping the game

Keenan continues to be a driving force within the industry working closely with the Professional Yachting Association to support and implement new policy and standards. She has created curriculum for Maritime Professional Training in Fort Lauderdale and focuses on the task of raising the standards for service management and leadership. Keenan believes in promoting basic seamanship skill training along with Basic Safety Training and security awareness for all yacht crew members. She has developed a system targeted to yacht owners, yacht management companies and captains that will help them seamlessly implement the policies and procedures necessary to bring the yacht owner’s dreams to life, encourage professional development of crew, and reduce crew turnover.

Living in service to life

It is clear from reading the many articles and blogs penned by Alene Keenan that she is a natural teacher who shares her knowledge, insights and thoughts with ease and passion. She is able to communicate her deep understanding about the sacrifices and joy that come with being in service. Keenan has nourished this understanding throughout her twenty-plus years of stewardship on the sea. Living in service to life is a tenet she has embraced and one that she now shares with her students as she dedicates herself to training and mentoring the next generation of service professionals.