40 - Hotelschool The Hague

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E-LEARNING A LA CARTE
ExTRAoRdINARy ExhIbITIoN
fusIoN ANd ouR foRmER P.m.
fuN AT ThE ChRIsTmAs CIRCus
ThINGs you wANT To kNow
berlin Alumni
Cocktail Party:
Thursday 10
march
Info: mail bsb@hdh.nl for
details
Dirk Jan Rijks and his wife Aleid Hoos (1991) and children during their
visit to Holland last Winter
sofitel Asia Pacific:dirk Jan Rijks and
other hotelschool alumni

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official opening Exhibition
Extraordinary
Cooking
books and
Recipies
on tuesday 30 november about 35 people
from the neighborhood attended the official
opening of the cooking books exhibition at
hotelschool the hague.
although the weather was not co-operating, the neighbors of hotelschool the hague were very pleased
with the kind and warm welcome, the drinks, the snacks and the exhibition.
the exhibition was officially opened with a speech from mr Dooge and with our student and finalist of
the television program top Chef, Kay vinje, who cut a red ribbon held by two practical students from the
kitchen.
there were many ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’, when our guests had a look at the old and fascinating books and
recipies that were exhibited in the glass boxes.
the exhibition can be visited in the hague, at least until march 2011.
make over Le début Amsterdam
Le Début - hotelschool’s fine Dining restaurant in amsterdam - has gone through a special makeover!
Kitchen instructor joost de vos thought that improving the interior of the restaurant would be worth the
trouble, despite the prospect of moving to other premises.
joost was advised by stylist erik Gutter from blaricum and with the aid of his wife and some students,
joost ‘wallpapered’ the window sills with pages from old recipe books. the window sills were then
varnished.
in the restaurant they placed two panels, also wallpapered with recipes from old cookery books. the whole
interior has been freshly painted and at the entrance enlargements of hotelschool photos from the period
1930-1935 are on display. the link with education is now clearer to guests, yet the restaurant has retained
a professional ambience.
our thanks to joost for this splendid initiative!
Le Début amsterdam restaurant team invites everybody to come and see this special makeover with their
own eyes, and enjoy our culinary delights at the same time. the restaurant is open from tuesday to friday;
reservations can be made through telephone number 020-8512950

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four in Asia-Pacific - working on and for a
reborn and repositioned sofitel chain!
four former students now work for sofitel Asia-Pacific, where dirk Jan Rijks is
Vice President human Resources. Let’s ask them what life is like at a repositioned
sofitel!
of course, we start with dirk Jan Rijks (1991), based in bangkok.
dirk Jan, how big a difference is it from director of hR to Vice President hR?
there is a big difference! While working for hyatt previously, my career made steady progress over the years. actually, i started with
hyatt in food & beverage first, in baku, azerbaijan. then, after the opening of the hotel, i soon became the training manager and later
the Director of human resources.
on other postings for hyatt in amman and Cairo, i was given additional responsibilities for the region
where i worked. During my tenure with hyatt, i was also based in moscow and Dubai, which broadened my
experience of working with different people, in different settings and dealing with different cultures.
after hyatt, i worked briefly for Qatar national hotels company, as Chief human resources officer. With
those work experiences behind me, i was well prepared for my current role as vp hr! i must admit that
hyatt has been a great learning school in all aspects and i still see them as one of the front runners on
people management in the hospitality industry.
i could barely hide my excitement when i was offered this opportunity, as i always dreamed of working in
asia (and i am based in bangkok), ever since i joined the hotelschool. and one of the main reasons why i
joined the hotelschool in the hague was to have the possibility to travel.
my current role covers 42 hotels (with more hotels to open this year in mumbai, Guangzhou and bangkok), and the majority of our hotels
are in China, so i spend quite some time of the year there which is challenging at times, yet exciting as well!
honestly, i never thought that i would set foot in China during my career, and now i travel there all the time and take the train quite often
between major cities, like i would take a train from Leiden to amsterdam.
my key responsibilities are in the area of recruitment of senior staff (or ambassadors, as we call them in sofitel), plus training and
talent development. hence the reason for having to travel quite frequently to visit and support the hotels in the best possible way. other
responsibilities are more on a strategic level and i am involved in various project groups, working on assignments to design and develop
new hr initiatives and this fortunately enough brings me to paris from time to time.
i do enjoy my current job very much, as it allows me to be exposed to different cultures and challenging situations. on the other hand,
i sometimes miss the hotel life from time to time, and the “buzz” of a busy lobby, or being a Duty manager for the weekend with a “full
house”.
what a wonderful start of 2011!
the year 2011 started off in a perfect way with our national ‘horeca’
fair: the amsterdam horecava.
yet there was much complaining about the decreasing turnovers of our
industry in the netherlands, partly caused by the large supermarket
chains who cleverly respond to the customers wish for luxurious meals
and snacks.
During the horecava (from 10 to 12 january) many activities were
organized. one of the main subjects was how the hospitality industry
should anticipate on social media.
for hotelschool the hague this is a subject that has long been
neglected. as from today, we will therefore try to reach important target
groups through these new communication channels.
We are very interested in your ideas about how we could and should
make use of social media in order to reach potential new students and
of course in order to be in contact with our alumni. We invite you to
send your reactions to hdn@hdh.nl
Wednesday 12 january was a real top day for hotelschool the
hague. first of all, mike Coumans, graduated in 2007, was elected
‘hotello of the year 2011’ for his valuable contribution to social media
use within the hospitality branch.
secondly, our hotelschool team was the winner of the ‘european
mise en place’ cup. founded in 2009, this cup is a real statement
at european hotel management schools. this competition is for
motivated ‘i-do-dare students’ who think that their ideas could make a
real difference in the hospitality industry. our team consisted of veerle
Donders, marijn Letschjert, matthias nordlander and robin spierings.
these winning students took home a beautiful glass cocktail bowl.
besides this award, hotelschool the hague’s restaurants will receive
1000 pieces of glassware, offered by Libbey
Glassware.
it is still true: never a dull moment!
Wim Dooge, president board of Directors

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In how far is an hR person like you involved in the
current repositioning of the sofitel chain?
a little bit of history; about 3 years ago, a repositioning
was started to make sure that the two hundred sofitels
would be firmly anchored in the luxury market. a well
received marketing campaign included a name change
to sofitel Luxury hotels. also, of course, an extensive
new training programme was introduced (called Keys of
Luxury) and that is, of course, hr business.
emphasis was put on the french roots of the company
Dirk Jan Rijks lecturing
and two sub-brands were created. one of them (Legend)
was adapted by the Grand in amsterdam (as only
the second in the world) where our former student robert-jan Woltering is Gm. to ensure high quality,
new brand standards, a new Guest satisfaction survey (medallia) and a mystery guest system were
introduced.
of course, all this means a lot of ‘behind the scenes work’ as well, including a training programme for
managers. in recruitment for instance, profile etc. of new staff changed.
the whole rebranding took place against the backdrop of the financial crisis. in 2009 we went through
a reorganisation process. the network shrunk as planned to 130 units and is now fully ready to expand
again. Last year, it started to show that the repositioning is also a financial success.
how about your views for the long-time future?
Well, of course i know the history of f.e. ritz Carlton and four seasons and i see no reason why their
success at the top of the luxury market cannot be repeated.
Training is vitally important - what is in store for the future?
our focus will very much be to build a strong ambassador program (a is the sofitel name for staff) with
training in attitude, pesonalised service, keeping the basics right, an f&b programme focussed on attitude
and sales, plus story teling (yes!) and much more.
Last but not least, a newly developed management training programme will soon be launched. there
seems to be a growing interest from students to join a french based international company, and sofitel is
fully aware of the importance of further strenghtening the relationships with hotelschools. We plan to work
with around 15 institutes around the world, and of course we would very much welcome the opportunity to
select at hotelschool the hague as well.
in this new phase and stage of development of the sofitel brand, the whole team is now working to make
sofitel a world wide success story and to build brand equity.
this is done through 6 main project groups, with involvement of every level in the organization, with
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a focus on 1) development of the unique addresses, 2) a sofitel ambassador program, 3) personalized
service, 4) enhancing the french elegance, 5) levels of performance and 6) developing the General
managers further to be a true entrepreneur!
do you live to work or work to live?
interesting question! i do my best to find the best of both worlds. it helps a lot that my wife aleid hoos
(1991) is also a former student and has a long work history in five-star hotels. We try to keep weekends for
our 2 daughters and for ourselves. We relax around our bangkok house or go to our sailing club in pattaya.
our best friend and worst enemy: the blackberry!
Now over to wouter de Graaf, General manager of sofitel Queenstown hotel & spa in New Zealand
(1996)
how did you become an international hotelier? Is this something you have always imagined doing?
traveling and hotels always made an impression on me since i was young, so being an international
hotelier was the perfect combination. it was just a matter of finding the right way in order to achieve this
and that is where hotelschool the hague came in to
place. after i finished hotelschool the hague i left the
netherlands immediately to pursue an international career
in hospitality.
how did you end up applying as a Gm of sofitel
Queenstown hotel and spa?
after working for several hotels in a variety of roles we had
an opportunity to move to new Zealand and start a business.
Dirk Jan Rijks and Wouter de Graaf
my wife and i successfully ran our own businesses for over
5 years at which point we decided to sell. We got married and travelled the world for 3 months.
our travels brought us to many beautiful hotels around the world and this really confirmed the passion we
both have for hotels.
upon our return to new Zealand we made the decision to go back into hotels if the right opportunity would
come along.
sofitel Queenstown hotel & spa was already known as one of the best hotels in new Zealand, so it was a
great opportunity and with sofitel’s re-positioning plans it would become even better.
the hotel received the award for best hotel in new Zealand in 2010 and the highest possible star rating for
2011.
Can you tell me more about the highest classification in New Zealand? how did that happen?
two years ago, we set ourselves a goal to achieve the highest level possible in new Zealand - a rating
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that was only held by a small number of very luxurious lodges, led, of course, by the famous huka Lodge
where the hotelschool has been placing students for 15 years now.
the criteria are set very high and the hotel had to go through several audits over a 2 year period before
being invited to become ‘exclusive’. the hotel audits will now continue on a regular basis to ensure the
hotel lives up to its ‘exclusive status’. it has been a great journey, especially with such a professional and
dedicated team as we have because without them it would not have been possible.
as per 2011 sofitel Queenstown hotel & spa is the first hotel ever in new Zealand to have achieved the
very sought after “exclusive” rating (one step above 5-star).
what about the renovations that have taken place at the hotel?
the hotel is only 5 years old, however we were fortunate enough to acquire more space and be able to
completely refurbish all public areas and food & beverage facilities in 2010.
the first stage of renovations is now completed and the hotel has a new reception, lobby, café, meeting
room and business centre. in a few months the second phase will start in which the dinner restaurant and
fitness centre will be refurbished and the hotel will get a new bar.
how do you manage work-life balance and your relationship?
the great thing is that my wife also works for accor, our mother company, as operations manager so she
understands the demands of our industry.
however with the recent birth of our daughter we are busy learning how to balance our life in a more
efficient and effective manner.
i also believe that having a great team that supports each other will make it easier for all to enjoy a healthy
work-life balance and this is important if you want to perform at your best.
fortunately i am part of a team like that.
where is sofitel today in your opinion?
the journey sofitel started late 2007 has been an amazing one with a lot of challenges and opportunities.
the team at sofitel Queenstown hotel & spa has truly embraced and enjoyed this journey and i believe
that sofitel is a serious competitor within the Luxury sector of
our industry today.
over to maarten dirks (2000), Regional director of Talent
Development & Training Sofitel Greater China/Director of
Quality Sofitel Macau at Ponte 16
why did you decide to move from London to China?
At the rate China is developing and seeing its impact on the
Hospitality Industry, it is fast becoming a must if you want
Dirk Jan Rijks and Maarten Dirks
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build a truly international career or if you want to give your career the best possible start.
Don’t forget to tell that to your students!
how did you experience the transition?
It is more difficult then anticipated.
The cultural difference is bigger then I originally thought and working with my Chinese colleagues requires
a lot of cultural awareness and an open mind.
what challenges is the hospitality industry currently facing in China?
the biggest challenge is the lack of qualified experienced mandarin and english speaking employees.
there are simply not enough trained hoteliers in China to maintain a high standard for the immediate
future.
perhaps in the next 10 years this problem will be solved but for the time being it will continue to be a
challenge for all international 5-star hotel chains operating in China.
As you were previously working at sofitel st. James in London, can you tell us some major
differences?
the competition in London is just within the city and in China it is much bigger, as competition is on a
national scale.
every company is actually facing the same issue.
the labour regulations are strongly coloured by the system and more in favour of the employees. this is a
pretty tough market to hire and retain.
Loyalty is very low and people have too many options right now.
sometimes the obvious language barrier is an issue and messages do get lost along the way.
what can you do to try to minimize staff turnover?
i think the key lies in having the right retention strategy to emphasize well-being; showing your employees
that you care about the working conditions and about work-life balance will make a difference.
this is the case for all companies around the world nowadays and it is not just limited to China.
what do especially like about China?
i enjoy the diversity in China. the food is great!
people actually travel here because of food. half of the Chinese culture is based on eating and drinking.
i have had great experiences and have been learning a little about the differences between the various
cities and their kitchens.
you also get to enjoy all the seasons from very cold up north and hot down south.
Diversity of experiences is shown through core principles: family, happiness, luck, and primarily survival!
there is definitely a lot of passion in the country.
i get a lot of warmth even though i am far away from my homeland, it is nice!
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how do you manage work-life balance and relationship?
you always sacrifice something when you work in the hotel business and that is okay, i choose the
industry with my eyes open. my fiancee is a ‘hotello’ from Germany, and she is planning to move to China.
where is sofitel today?
it is on the way up and it is actually making a real impact, because the brand is slowly being recognised
as part of the luxury market. still, sofitel today is far from where we want us to be, but we are working
every single day, hour, week towards the same goal.
what about karen Linthout (management Trainee, at dirk’s office, expected
to graduate 2011)
how was your hR management internship at sofitel Asia-Pacific corporate
office?
it is very different from any work experience i have had before and i am definitely
learning a lot!
i do sit at the computer the whole day which took some time to get used to,
especially when you have a f&b background. nonetheless, i consider myself very fortunate to have this
internship.
Work is great because there is so much going on at the corporate and hotel level.
thus you get a good overview of what is happening, especially when you work within the hr department.
i also got to know many colleagues very fast because of the various tasks that have been assigned to me,
which makes work a lot more fun.
Working for a vp of human resources is also very interesting because i regularly contact several
Directors of human resources, training managers and sometimes General managers.
i recall being nervous whenever i spoke with the hr and Gm of the hotel where i did my practical
internship two years ago.
here in bangkok i am surrounded by various vice presidents and Directors which of course was a little
intimidating the first couple of days.
Tell us a bit about your day-to-day work?
as a hr assistant & support, i assist Dirk on several tasks. in the past five months i have been giving him
support on several projects such as the hr audit, training meetings (i.e. time schedule, team activities,
ordering & designing props, and following up on the finances), best practices, powerpoint presentations,
and various administrative tasks.
would you want to work for sofitel once you have completed your internship?
i certainly would! it is a hotel chain that has just completed re-branding and repositioning itself, thus there
are several opportunities to improve certain areas.
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sofitel also has a unique and elegant concept that is very appealing and promising.
the more global a company gets, the local location of the company is sometimes forgotten, thus not
represented.
sofitel acknowledged this factor and embraced it into their concept of intertwining french elegance with
the best of the local culture.
how do you manage work-life balance and relationship?
When you are working for hr, you tend to work longer hours then staff in other departments.
this is proven by being one of the last ones to leave the office most of the time.
but during the weekends i have time to do my personal things where we go out sometimes and get the
chance to meet a lot of different people, as bangkok is very diverse.
Luckily enough, my boyfriend lives in Kuala Lumpur and is currently doing his management internship for
starwood corporate, as it is not so far away we try to see each other at least once a month.
where is sofitel today?
sofitel has basically given itself a new platform to grow. now we all need to work consistently at giving the
right amount of support and guidance to allow the company to “blossom gracefully”.
Dirk Jan Rijks during his visit to Wouter de Graaf at Sofitel Queenstown, New Zealand
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hmC goes to Zeeland
The hospitality management Club
is a group of about a 100 succesful
graduates and was founded in 1994
by hotelschool The hague and some
alumni.
this group gets together several times
a year, to socialize and to learn from
guest speakers and visits.
in 2010, the annual study trip of the
hospitality management Club went to
Zeeland.
on friday 24 and saturday 25 september, the participating members gathered in this southwestern Dutch
province. in sint annaland, on the beautiful former island tholen, they listened to a lecture about the
project ‘Zeeland sole’, as it appears that the supply of sole has become rare.
Wageningen university has studied the cultivation of sole: the applied methods seem very revolutionary
and innovative.
after the lecture, the members visited the vineyard ‘Druivengaerde’. making wine in the netherlands is
getting more and more popular and ‘Druivengaerde’ is one of the 400 (!) vineyards in our country.
the next morning, the mussel farm ‘aquamossel’ was visited and the members went aboard a barge, built
in 1911.
the trip ended with a meal of
oysters, lobsters and mussels.
Written by hmC member
boudewijn van der rhoer
E-Learning à la carte
35 years after graduating from hotelschool The hague, Jim kort (1977,
former member board of La Confrerie) and wim Timmerman (1976,
former member board Corps Culinaire) met again, joined forces and
started their own company: e-Learning à la carte.
as from 2010, e-Learning à la carte is active with online hospitality training.
e-Learning offers tailor made training modules and next to already existing
courses and expertise can be transferred into e-Learning modules.
Wim: “e-Learning is flexible and fast. the participant can start the course
whenever he wants, he can set his own pace, 24/7. online, at home with
his own computer or in the office.
the company involved can profit from its employee’s knowledge
immediately, without much hassle beforehand, which is efficient and budgetfriendly.
the training is interactive, the participant is challenged with several
questions and at the end of the training, there is a short quiz with which the
participant can show that he has a thorough command of the material”.
jim: “We offer an online wine course for employees of restaurants who
did not actually follow any hospitality course, but who still want to know more about wines in order to be
able to give their guests the necessary advice. at this moment, we are developing an online outdoor café
course. there have been many complaints about hospitality and service in Dutch outdoor cafés. in this
course, hospitality and service is most important, but participants also learn about upselling, personal care,
making up bills, welcoming/stay/farewell and communication. furthermore, we are developing a course
called menu engineering & planning, for chefs and managers. subjects will be how to analyze, calculate,
control and create”.
for more information: www.e-learningalacarte.nl/wijncursus and www.e-learningalacarte.nl/terrascursus
Board of La Confrerie 1975-1976
From left to right: Catherine Olthof, Jim Kort, Henk Stolp,
Michael Funcke and Marleen van der Steen
Jim Kort
Wim Timmerman
Board of Corps Culinaire 1975
From left to right: Wim Timmerman, Did Anne Bouma, Nancy
Visser, Paula Lenters and Fred Damler

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it may surprise you that the old romans did indeed enjoy eating raw leaves and the world ‘salad’ does
derive from the Latin ‘salata herba’ or ‘salted herbs’ (every couple of years the Latin i learned in secondary
schools comes in handy).
however, ‘our Caesar salad (please: not ‘Ceasar’ as half of the restaurants in the world spell it wrongly) was
invented 85 years ago in tijuana, mexico (just across the border from san Diego) by a chef called Caesar
Cardini, to serve as a snack during the 4th of july celebrations.
an important thing that became clearer and clearer during 2010: in the not too distant future China is
going to replace the usa as World power number one. in the big Chinese cities you can actually ‘feel the
vibrations’ and outside China, one country after the other ‘comes under the influence’ in an economic sense.
now, China starts to turn economic influence into political power. Do watch these developments in 2011!
to my big surprise a majority of last-year students is hardly aware of this. Which is even more surprising
because for the ones who want to go international after graduation, it may well be (by far) the most
important influencing factor for their careers during their working life. i strongly feel that we should pick up
this gap in their knowledge and do something about it in 2011! (if you read German and want to know more:
Der spiegel 1/2011 includes an excellent eleven pages article called ‘the Chinese Dream’).
and now for something completely different: former student roderick smith (2002), General manager of
the park inn palace hotel (rezidor) in southend-on-sea got a lot of free publicity after a kind gesture to a
local couple. the couple spent their wedding night at the palace in 1957, at the rate of 2,10 pounds incl.
breakfast. roderick (as one of our alumni of course able to be creative and think out of the box) immediately
decided to sell them, in 2010, a room at the same rate. result: a delighted couple and lot of publicity. young
roderick seems to be doing well anyway: together with his team he won a prestigious tourism and Leisure
award. this is even more impressive when you realize that the hotel as it is now has only been operating
since last march!
more alumni opened hotels in 2010, and Dusseldorf seemed to be extra popular to do so. in the autumn
adriaan van der valk (2009) and Willemijn van den berg (2010) opened the van Der valk Dusseldorf
airport hotel (already trading successfully). monique Dekker (1996), finally, used the last month of the year.
she opened the doors of the already widely published hyatt regency Dusseldorf for a major event: on
December 15th .
We will keep you posted in 2011 and one project is already nearing completion:
madelon boom (1986) plans to open a new five-star hotel in amsterdam later this year.
Girl power in the hotel industry! ay 2011 bring what you hope for!
arnoud C. van Delft, LL.m
dft@hdh.nl
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Julius Caesar - the salad warrior fusIoN dined with the former
among many other things, 2010 brought us an amusing and informative food and beverage book, called
‘What Caesar did for my salad’ (and the earl of sandwich for – yes indeed, plus nellie melba for the peach). dutch Prime minister, Ruud
in fact, the writer, albert jack, explains the origins of the names of a few hundred famous dishes and drinks
– including tea, what the boston tea party really was.
Lubbers
During a dinner at our brasserie Zinq, fusion (a group of students striving to increase awareness of
faculty and students at hotelschool the hague about Corporate social responsibility) together with
mr ruud Lubbers and six inhabitants of the hague, discussed the current situation of refugees in
holland and in the rest of the world.
the dinner was divided into three courses, each with a different theme.
starting off with the theme “identity” mrs. Karen oudenhoven was reciting passages of her book
“boundless crossing”. the dinner participants learned about the Dutch identity and the fear of losing it.
mr. ruud Lubbers talked about his experiences with the changing world and how he learned to adapt
to changes. the quote “all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others” (George
orwell) was brought up by an iranian refugee present, who studies marketing management in the
hague, which changed the discussion into a more political one.
During the main course “trust” was the main theme. every guest was asked if they trusted the country
they live in and what could be changed in order to increase this trust. the discussion showed that
norms and values are the same all over the world. again it was concluded that the government plays a
big role in developing trust between citizens as well as citizens and refugees.
accompanied by a delicious dessert every participant raised his/her wishes for the future. Wishes
ranged from very personal and family related to making a difference in the world by talking and
sharing experiences with friends, family, colleagues and everyone you meet during your life. be a
change agent within your network.
one quote of mr. Lubbers that seems well worth remembering: “Live your life without compromising
the quality of the life of generations to come”
for more information:
www.FUSION-hdh.nl
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All the fun of the Christmas
Circus
Christmas 2010 was extra special for the charities of maaszicht, restaurant millers in rotterdam
and singelzicht in utrecht as it marked 15, 10 and 5 years respectively since their foundation.
maaszicht and singelzicht help troubled and often homeless young people from 17 to 23 to do
what most of us take for granted and build a stable life and an independent future. millers is a
commercial restaurant that provides a platform for the youths to gain confidence and life skills
through interacting with the wider population.
the connection to the hospitality sector starts with the Ceo, hotelschool graduate roel rol
(1982) who has guided the organisation for the past 15 years alongside two successful hotels
run on a social model. there are two other hotelschool graduates in the organisation. mirjam
schokker (1992) is operations Director while sjors hoppenbrouwers (1981) is project manager.
since the beginning the organisation has been innovative in promoting its vision and in raising
funds through unique actions. however it went further than ever this Christmas by deciding to
take over one showing of the Kerstcircus, a rotterdam
Christmas tradition at ahoy for the past 40 years.
Roel Rol, CEO being introduced by Roel Pot,
Master of Ceremonies
the challenge for mirjam schokker and marketing manager
joke Kurvers was how to organise to sell 4,000 tickets for
one show while continuing with their normal business. it was
a step into new territory and 12 trainees were taken on to
work for the duration of the project.
the new team enthusiastically set about developing
and implementing a sales and marketing plan and the
organisational plan for the big day.
it was not an easy ride. Despite a strong publicity campaign
and directly canvassing 3,500 companies and other
organisations in rotterdam, by sinterklaas only 350 tickets
had been sold. however the effort paid off and by show
day over 2,500 tickets were sold and the remainder was
Elephants in the ring
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circulated to staff and local charities. December 22 nd was a day never to forget.
Despite the snow and ice it was a full house and €33,985 was raised for the charity. the team
also learned invaluable lessons on what can be achieved by a small organisation with the right
attitude.
the next project is already being planned.
fungolf is a one day event scheduled for the 27th of may where the course will be laid out in the
city of rotterdam.
Each flight will consist of 3 people and we will end the event with drinks and dinner at Restaurant
millers in Delfshaven.
if you are a golfer and are interested in a unique experience that will also help the charity please
contact mirjam schokker on 010-243 4158 or m.schokker@maaszicht.nl.
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february january 2011 2008
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things you want
to know
CLImbING ThE sTAIRs
willem Versteegh (1999), sales & marketing
benelux for extraordinary travel, Kaapstad
(company of former student jessy Lipperts (1998)
Nicole Chamorro (2000): “Since April 2007 I
have moved to Adelaide, Australia. As there are
very limited 5 Star hotels in Adelaide I moved into
a different section of the Hospitality. I am currently
part of the executive team in Guest Services
for Great Southern Rail. This is the company
that operates the luxury trains in Australia: The
Ghan, Indian Pacific, Overland and our newest,
the Southern Spirit. I have been heavily involved
in creating the newest service level “Platinum”
as well as our new Train “The Southern Spirit”.
It’s a great company and I am constantly facing
new challenges. It’s like having several hotels
operating at the same time but most of the
time from a distance. On a personal level I got
married in November 2007 to Nigel Zweck,
an Australian (the reason for our move here)
and a previous employee of The Ritz-Carlton
Company, where we have met. Our first little girl ,
Aitana Leticia Zweck Chamorro, was born earlier
this year on June 30, 2010. So lots happened on
that level as well”.
Nicolle Chamorro with daughter, nephew and sister
karin Jongman (1995), executive assistant
manager in charge of rooms, for the new
Kempinski hotel in Guiyang, China
Victoria Roos olsson (1999), Director scandic
business school, sweden
Andreas olsson (2000), regional manager
‘nomor’, sweden
marit Rompa (1995), human resources manager
head office ad hoc beheer bv., the hague
Paul Griep (1994), Lecturer financial
management hotelschool the hague
Annette koelemeij (1991), General manager
hotelera posadas, mexico. Posadas is Market
Leader in Latin America but – with the Caesar
Park branch – also in Brazil, Argentine and Chile
Carolina haitsma mulier (2007), sales manager
benelux Leading hotels of the World, paris,
france
Patrick bakker (1993), has been active as
Director General Staffing at Adecco. Now he
is managing Adecco Group Nederland. After
graduating at Hotelschool The Hague, Patrick
worked in the hotel business for several years. In
2003 he became a Member Board of Directors
at Randstad United Kingdom. Three years later
he started to work for Adecco where he was
responsible for the development of strategic
services for large industrial projects.
Esme Valk (2006), human resource manager
bas Consultancy, the hague
kirsten Jensen (2000), after four years in Paris
of which the last two years as GM of the Park
Inn at CDG Airport, Kirsten has started a new
challenge as a GM at the Park Inn in Sandton,
Johannesburg, South Africa.The newly built hotel
opened its doors last summer and boasts 273
beautifully appointed guest rooms, a Red Bar grill,
swimming pool, as well as conference facilities.
martijn dekker (2004), Director of Catering &
Conference sales ritz Carlton jakarta, indonesia
Nir weinstein (1997), Director of operations
radisson blu bucharest hotel. This hotel, which
occupies a whole city block and where the huge
courtyard is a true oasis in the middle of the
Rumanian capital, receives the usual business
and leisure guests. After a recent merger with the
Centre Ville Aparthotel it now also provides luxury
apartments for medium and long stay guests.
Nils minken (2006), Director food and beverage,
renaissance Koh samui resort & spa, thailand
Jibbe de Goede (2007), Director/owner
in2management (interim management, training
and Consultancy)
mARRIEd
tamara Weide (1997) and philippe piakiewitz
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Karin mollenkamp (2007) and michiel van noort
(2004)
fleur de Jongh (2000) and pieter Zoontjens
hans mulder (2004) and Gisela jense
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february january 2011 2008
sEEN ThE LIGhT of LIfE
25 40
alexander, son of maarten Timmerman (2001)
annika fei, daughter of Ingrid kamphuis (2000)
and bart kobus
Lars, son of fleur de Jongh (2000)
aimée, daughter of nathalie van Leeuwen – paaij
(2000)
thea, daughter of katrin herz (1999)
tom, son of Amber van ham (1998) and Peter
fiechter (1997)
Christian, son of Nicholas houwert (2001)
Gijs, son of martine van der knaap (1999)
vlinder, daughter of hans mulder (2004)
naomi, daughter of milka springer (2001)
seth, son of July Patoir (1998)
Catoo, daughter of barbara Zandbergen (1996)
Cato, daughter of Tanja dik (1992)
morris, son of marieke van der Linden (1998)
stijn, son of Astrid van den bogaardt (2005) and
Antoine vd oever (2003)
Gaia, daughter of Elke muller (1999) and Rogier
braakman (1999)
xander, son of Lisette Cauwels (2008)
PAssEd AwAy
onno Gort (1991), former student and also former
colleague at hotelschool the hague, where he
was an iCt staff member
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have you hearD about.....
Two alumni, from the same fraternity and
both CEo’s, each win prestigious retail
award.
in 2010, this most prestigious retail award,
the inG retail annual award, was won by two
former hotelschool students: Quintin dike
(1977) and matthijs van der Lely (1982).
they both received the award for ‘the best
store Chain’. Quintin is Ceo of the garden
and animal category Welkoop/boerenbond and
matthijs is Ceo of selexyzx bookshops.
for Quintin, this was the crowning glory of his
work; in 2001 he started to work at agriretail
– the holding company of Welkoop and
boerenbond. in the last years, its 240 shops
showed an impressive increase in sales, thanks
to a tightly maintained formula. after ten years,
Quintin stops working for agriretail, to take a
break for a few months, after which he plans to
concentrate on new projects.
matthijs won this award with his 15 impressive
selexyz bookshops, located in all large cities
in the netherlands. Can you image how proud
hotelschool the hague feels!
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february january 2011 2008
25 40
mike Coumans (2008) selected
as ‘hotello of the year 2011’.....
During the horecava in amsterdam
rai, mike Coumans, owner/Director
of sendsteps, has been elected as
hotello of the year 2011.
mike, 27 years old, was chosen by the
audience during a live election through
sms, internet and twitter. he is the
youngest person ever to win this election.
Mike Coumans, Hotello of the Year 2011
‘it was an exiting race’, the winner
reacted. preceding the horecava, people
could vote via the hotello top website. there were ten nominees, all selected based on their enormous
contribution in using social media for the hospitality industry. in total there were 2971 votes and with 618
votes, mike won the election.
During the hotello top at the rai, out of the four nominees that were left, the audience could vote live.
With 32 percent of the votes, mike only just won from Gerlof bos (Lookingforbooking.com).
according to mike, the votes for him were also votes for his company sendsteps.
mike started his company right after his graduation, offering interactivity during presentations by allowing
the audience to react via their mobile phones and enable them to interact with the speaker.
you may see the video of the student team, via:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpjthm3etfu
to read more about mike Coumans and the hotello top, please visit:
http://sendsteps.posterous.com/mike-coumans-verkozen-tot-hotello-of-the-year-0
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and hotelschool The hague wins
the mise en Place Award as well!
“We, as representative team of hotelschool the hague, would like to inform you of our victory in the
european mise en place Cup competition 2011. this is a concept competition between 14 european
hotelschools. this year’s competition theme was “social media, toy or tool?”
What did we have to do to accomplish this title?
first of all we made an introduction movie of our team, which can be found on youtube if you search for
emCup 2011.
secondly we had to write an essay on the opportunities, threats and trends of social media for the
hospitality industry. this was judged by both a business jury and a jury which consisted of all the
hotelschool deans from the participating schools. then the competition day was there and we met all
other teams and presented our essay in a three minute pitch.
the assignment that followed was to dig deeper into the subject and we had to apply our knowledge
and the information we gained to a case company; a mid-scale restaurant. We had four hours to work
on it and finally we had to present it to both the business jury and the dean jury in the “raadzaal” of the
community council of apeldoorn. this was a very exciting day and we met a lot of other students.
it was exhausting but then the jury announced the top three, and we were in it! the next day on the
horecava the actual winner was announced at the hotel Lounge stand. Charly van Goch gave us a very
nice introduction and announced us, as hotelschool the hague team, as first prize winners of the cup!!
mr. berendsen joined us on stage to receive the prize, 1000 pieces of glassware from Libby for the
school. We all received a nice souvenir. it was great to participate and if anyone would have any
questions regarding this subject please do not hesitate to find us via social media!
best regards”,
robin spierings (and team members marijn Letschert, veerle Donders and mattias nordlander)
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