Corina Waaijer: 'Every hotel tells its own story'

The daughter of a cheese farmer and market trader, hard work has been instilled in her. On the day she turns 15, she calls a nearby hotel to ask if she can work there. From then on, her passion for hospitality was forever ignited. Now, 34 years later, Corina Waaijer is at the helm of Fine Hotels & Suites: a collection of four hotels, mostly located in striking, monumental buildings. "I want to pass on the history and stories of these special places to our guests. That's what I stand for with my hotels."

Entrepreneurship and taking bold decisions is in her blood. But looking back on her childhood, Waaijer - eldest scion of a family of three children - still labels herself as someone who was brought up quite sheltered. "I come from a warm but rather traditional family. For example, once when I was playing with a friend in a meadow a bit further away, all the mothers in the neighbourhood were immediately in an uproar because we were lost," she laughs. "So as a child, I was already someone who always did push the boundaries a bit. But I did always find it very exciting, even later in life, to make certain choices. Those choices were not always welcomed with open arms by my parents, by the way. During my studies at the Hotel School, for instance, I decided very quickly to switch to studying business administration. That caused some headaches for my parents, who always supported me in all my choices. But to this day: despite the headwinds you sometimes experience, I have always felt I was following the right path. That certainty has also given me the necessary self-confidence in my further career."

Exciting purchase

Even while studying business administration at Erasmus University, the now 49-year-old
Waaijer sure she wanted to be at the helm of her own hotel one day. But first she entered the corporate world to get as many flight hours as possible and gain work experience in a large organisation. However, the dream of owning her own hotel did not take very long to materialise. In 2007, the opportunity presented itself to buy a beautiful nostalgic property in The Hague. "I said to myself: it's now or never! I put a stop to my job at Microsoft and already worked out my ideal hotel in a business plan."

She came up with the name for this first hotel while on holiday in Asia at a restaurant called 'Mozaic'. "That also seemed to me the perfect name for my first hotel in The Hague, partly because that city has a very multicultural character and is therefore, as it were, a colourful mosaic of people who form a unity at the same time." Buying the proposed property was an exciting venture for Waaijer. "The owner wanted to sell it, but was not very willing to negotiate. When I did make an offer at one point, it was initially rejected. I felt strongly that I was being taken for a ride. I was so disappointed that I cried tears for a week. Eventually, mainly by putting some pressure on the seller, the sale went through. A fantastic moment, I even remember exactly where I was standing then and through which window I looked out! On 31 December 2007, I received the key and the start of Fine Hotels & Suites was a fact."

Sustainable

After a year of hard work and renovation, Stadshotel Mozaic opened its doors on 12 December 2008. For Waaijer, that marked the beginning of her continued search for characteristic monumental buildings. "Because the love for old, beautiful buildings has always been the common thread in the development of Fine Hotels & Suites. I wouldn't be so quick to warm up to an atmosphere-less square new building, for instance. In terms of sustainability, however, you do run into challenges with monumental buildings; for instance, there are many restrictions if you want to renovate and sustainability requires large investments. On the other hand: the fact that our hotels are in old buildings and not in new buildings is of course already very sustainable in itself."   

Special stories

After the birth of her third child, Waaijer thought it was high time to expand the chain further. "I thought: the only way is up! In consultation with my investor and shareholder, we then started looking for new premises. Pretty soon, two suitable properties came our way. These eventually became Casa Julia in Delft and Stadsvilla Maud in Schiedam. All our three small boutique hotels house special stories that we also want to pass on to our guests. Casa Julia, for instance, which opened in 2016, is an attractive corner building, dating back to 1920 and designed by architect Jos Klijnen. Among other things, the building served as an institute where tutoring was given to TU Delft students who needed extra guidance with their studies. The great thing is that even today, many guests of this hotel are people who work for TU Delft. In this way, the past and present are nicely linked. It is precisely this underlying history of our hotels that fascinates both me and our guests. The same applies to Buitenplaats de Bergse Bossen in Driebergen, which has been part of our chain since the end of 2019. When I first saw this beautiful building, I only felt 'good vibes'. This hotel also has beautiful stories to tell about the old days."

Corona debts

Like the entire hotel industry, Fine Hotels & Suites also had to deal with the severe impact of the corona crisis, and that both in terms of personnel and finance. "After the corona crisis ended, we basically had to start from scratch again. The hotels were suddenly packed again, while we were just building new teams everywhere. That was spicy. In addition, managing my finances well was a big problem. Although I graduated in financial management, I found it very difficult to assess our figures properly during that period. When I looked at my P&L, I would prefer to jump off the bridge, terrible." However, Waaijer never had the inclination to throw in the towel. "No, I thought about that as little as possible. For me, it was just 'go with the flow'. And of course, what you have built up with so much care and love, you don't just let slip from your hands." 

Waaijer stresses that her company is still feeling the effects of the corona crisis today. The sky-high corona debts, in particular, are a block. "The frustrating thing is that just when we finally have the company back on track and the team is in order, we still have to pay off a lot of tax debt every month. This applies not only to us, but also to numerous fellow entrepreneurs. I think there is far too little attention to this. Especially when you consider that meanwhile the costs of energy and personnel have risen considerably. And with a bit of bad luck, a VAT increase will soon come on top of that, leaving you with less profit margin that you, as an entrepreneur, so desperately need for the team and to make the buildings more sustainable."

Draft amendment

To meet all these challenges, Fine Hotels & Suites plans to implement a concept change in the near future that should lead to efficiency gains. "What we want to move towards is a concept with more automation and fewer staff. For example, currently early shifts are still done by two employees: one for checkout and the other for breakfast. Now, by letting guests check in and out digitally via an app, we will soon only need one employee for the early shift. With that, you can save significantly on your staff costs."

Eyes on the ball

Waaijer's story is particularly inspiring because it proves how far you can get with a healthy dose of guts and perseverance. "It all started with an endless passion for hospitality. And also always wanting to run just a little bit harder than the rest and do things a little differently from the masses," she clarifies. For other ambitious budding hoteliers, she has this advice: "As a hotel manager, you often tend to get distracted by all kinds of operational matters in the hotel. Then you are basically only concerned with what the guest wants from you. But if you want to start your own hotel, you have to turn things around and ask yourself: what do I actually want from my guests, instead of just reacting to what the customer wants? In other words: keep your eyes on the ball and make sure you drive the hotel, and not the other way around. In short, as a hotel owner, it is important to stay at the helm yourself and know where you want to go with your business."

Making mistakes is allowed

That Waaijer realised her dream of owning her own hotel chain has everything to do with the entrepreneurial spirit that was instilled in her from an early age. "My father always told me: if you want to be successful, you are responsible for it yourself. So I always thought along with my father about how he could get even more customers as a cheesemonger or invent new products. From the age of ten I went with him to the market to help sell cheese. There, I learned early on that it is okay to make mistakes. If I once cut a piece of cheese wrong, I always managed to solve it somehow. This is what I also teach my own employees, that you shouldn't be afraid to make mistakes. And that you shouldn't think too much, just do it! If you take a leap of faith, sometimes things can even turn out better than you expected. I've always found that a great life lesson."  

Can you switch off easily in your spare time?

"Yes, I manage that pretty well. For example, when we go on holiday with our family, I make sure I get as few calls as possible and read as few e-mails as possible. Incidentally, because I can rely completely on my team, I could even stay away for several weeks effortlessly."

What do you pay attention to when you visit a hotel yourself?

"On everything, to the hysterical! At least before. Back then, I really went out with a tape measure to see how many centimetres are between the bed and the wall and whether the bathroom is the right size. But fortunately that is no longer so extreme; over time I have learned to let go of that more and more."

Favourite holiday country?

"Italy."

Favourite song of the moment?

"We pray by Coldplay".

Football or hockey?

"Hockey."

Is there anything else on your bucket list?

"I would like to go on another great trip and backpack for a very long time," he says.