Photo by: Leslie Cantu/Journal Scene

Alastair James, aka “AJ the Butler”

Photo by: Leslie Cantu/Journal Scene

Alastair James, aka “AJ the Butler,” and his Mini Cooper with its specially-designed Rolls Royce front end.

Globe-hopping entrepreneur Alastair James believes he can put his experiences to use smoothing out travel and social situations in a unique business whose basic idea is: the butler did it.

AJ the Butler, that is.

“It” in this case being hosting events, acting as a master of ceremonies, acting as an escort or dealing with the stress associated with travel.

He recently started the business in Summerville as a natural outgrowth of the skills he’s developed over the years.

James started out in England and retains his English accent, though in fact he began his global travels in childhood as his family moved about for his father’s job.

When he set out on his own, James went through hotel management school and found himself in hotels in South Africa and Rhodesia. When he learned the Rhodesians intended to conscript him, he said, he moved himself to Bermuda and then back to Britain.

His hotel management career taught him about how to treat guests.

What started in Britain as a one-off chance turned into a bit of a side career in the U.S., he said. He had just bought a house when some friends told him about a cottage that he just had to see, he said.

“I walked in the house. Oh, it reeked of smoke. It absolutely was horrible,” he said.

And yet, he said, “I could see this house could be gorgeous given a lot of help.”

With his friends’ help he sold the other house and took a chance on the cottage. It took forever to get the smell of smoke out, he said, but the end result was worth it.

“This was the birth of Alastair James taking on freelance rebuilding,” he said.

As an offshoot of his hotel management career, James began creating designs for commemorative items for golf tournaments. A simple conversation as he showed his wares at a trade show led to him leading a travel group from the U.S. to golf destinations in the U.K., he said.

He and his new bride moved to Charleston one month before Hurricane Hugo, he said. She was from Los Angeles, but she thought Charleston would be the place in the U.S. that James would feel most at home, he said.

Hugo didn’t deter them, and James picked up his home remodeling career again.

“I was one of the fortunate ones in terms of real estate,” he said.

Throughout his career, James showed an affinity for taking on new tasks. One business led into another, he said. Though they seemed different on the surface, they were all somewhat connected, so he didn’t have to start from scratch, he said.

“There isn’t a day goes past when we can’t learn something new,” he said.

Now he’s taking all that he’s learned and putting it to use in his new business – the etiquette he learned in hotel management, the finessing of travel details, the small details that ensure people are enjoying themselves.

He wants to recreate travel as something enjoyable.

“I basically take the stress away from individuals and groups,” he said.

Whether it’s a business, family or individual trip, he wants to take the onus off the traveler, he said.

His website, ajthebutler.com, lists his services as “greet-host-care,” master of ceremonies and special escort.

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