Portrait: Remco van der Jagt, general manager within the IHCP Group

'Personal leadership as key to successful hospitality'

Remco van der Jagt is General Manager of two hotels within the IHCP group and fully infected with the hospitality virus. For him, it's all about people: both guests and the team. "Diplomas and experience are nice, but motivation and personality are just as important. If you put the right people in the right place and give them confidence, you get a team that works with passion." Van der Jagt shares his views on leadership, hospitality and the value of a strong team.

The hotel business did not play any role in his childhood in the small village of Langeraar. "My father was a grower and my grandfather had a nursery and fishing. We always went on holiday in the Netherlands by tent. Hotels? Those didn't come up." Yet there were already signs that the hospitality sector would suit him well. For instance, he was always the captain of his football team and looked longingly at the planes taking off from Schiphol Airport. Van der Jagt therefore chose to study Aviation Services at the ROC in Hoofddorp.

His first introduction to the hotel industry was an internship at the Dorint Hotel in Badhoevedorp. However, this grew into more. "A very amicable director wanted people to really learn and grow there. I did everything there: from front office to technical service. Eventually, I became front office manager here." When his director left, he and a colleague took over temporarily.

The learning curve of Schiphol and sales

After the acquisition of Dorint by the Accor Hotel Group, plenty of new opportunities arose. "I loved the hotel business, but I wanted more. Growth." Van der Jagt therefore switched to the commercial side and became Business Development Manager Corporate & Airlines Benelux. "I was allowed to map out what companies there were in the region and what potential they had for hotels. Then I literally started knocking on every door with airlines and companies." It was a period when he was working 24/7. "I was married to my phone. Sometimes too much. But in aviation, you have to switch instantly so they call you next time too."

One of his biggest successes during this time began with a miss. When he lost a major crew contract to a competitor, he decided not to just give up. Together with his director, he flew to Indonesia to convince the client in person. "The fact that we took the time to acknowledge what had gone wrong and made the effort to come all the way to them made an impression," he says. A week later, the crew was back at our hotel."

From commercial successes to operational challenges

After his marriage and the birth of his daughter, Van der Jagt wanted to travel less and return to working physically in a hotel. He attended the International Hospitality Management Program (IHMP) in Paris and became General Manager at Ibis Rotterdam City Centre. "It was a tough period: a new job, a study in Paris and a newborn child. In hindsight, I should have asked for help more often." He now does so more often. "I have two former colleagues with whom I still spar a lot. They are of great help to me."  

This time in a new position of responsibility, he says, actually began with a false start. "I tried to continue on the same footing as my predecessor and I shouldn't have done that. I think you should always remain yourself, whatever position you are in. That's also why you get a job. I like that a number of people encouraged me then to really be myself."

Today, he leads Moxy The Hague & Residence Inn by Marriott The Hague. "My experience in sales, operations and leadership all comes together here," he says.

Hospitality with a personal touch

He illustrates his vision of hospitality with the anecdote of his first first class flight to Kuala Lumpur. "Then I experienced hospitality at the highest level. Everything was perfectly tailored to my needs without me having to ask for it. I want that level of service in my hotels." For him, true hospitality cannot exist without sincerity. "Someone can come in so grumpy, if you welcome someone openly and sincerely, it's an icebreaker. Then people go to their rooms feeling completely different."

Still, it is not always possible to please everyone. "In the beginning, I was wary of a bad review, but I learnt that it is more important how you respond to it. You can't turn a bad review into a good one, but you can show that you take the feedback seriously." His team is therefore learning to approach complaints differently. "We used to solve it with a free night's stay or discount. Now we engage in the conversation: how can we really make it right? Sometimes a sincere conversation or a personal solution is worth more than financial compensation."

An example from his time at Dorint illustrates this. An American guest had a stay full of setbacks: a mistake at check-in, too much authorised on the credit card and a missed shuttle service. "The guest indicated that nothing could be made up. Instead of standard compensation, the manager decided to do something personal. He sent a bunch of flowers to the guest's home address in America with a short, sincere message of apology. The guest greatly appreciated that." 

An engaged team with a lot of freedom

Van der Jagt believes in a team that can operate independently. "I want everyone to feel at home and have the freedom to fulfil their role in their own way. With me, everyone is also allowed to make decisions in the hotel. When it comes to a guest's complaint, but also when you want to do something fun. For someone who has been married for so many years, or checks in with us for the fiftieth time. Everyone is free to put their own spin on it, as long as it falls within certain frameworks. I firmly believe in that, that's what makes people grow. If you really give people the confidence and the feeling that it is ón our hotel, then the guest will get that too."

The team working in his hotels is very diverse. "We have colleagues from South Africa, Italy, Spain and Germany. We actively cooperate with organisations like Den Haag Werkt and Jinc to give people with a distance to the labour market a chance. If someone is motivated, we can teach the skills." To fill a vacancy, he says diplomas are often of secondary importance. "We always look for the right type of person we need in the team. Sometimes we also need a really good cocktail shaker, who is a bit less into languages and SOPs for example."

The commitment and satisfaction of his employees are central to General Manager. "If the team stands, which is the most important thing, then the rest will come naturally. We therefore have several fun initiatives, such as a 'Bucket List Challenge', where employees save up every month to tick something off their bucket list. This year, eight of our colleagues are going skydiving." There are also annual 'Appreciation Weeks' with ice bathing challenges, workshops and party nights.

Van der Jagt is also personally committed to his employees. When a valuable colleague resigned, he didn't leave it at that. "I saw her potential and knew she belonged in the hotel industry. I took her out to dinner and threw everything on the table: why she had to stay, how good she was. In the end, she stayed and is now running her own team. That gives me immense satisfaction."

Although the experienced hospitality manager wants to take the time to build something with his team, he is also already thinking further about the future. "I never want to move on to the next job or position too soon, but I do have the ambition to grow and manage several hotels. There are two now, but may well become three or four in other cities." These would then be hotels in the Netherlands, though. "My daughter Sophie is also already idolising the hotel business and always wants to go there on Saturdays. I would love it if I could later visit her in her own hotel on Saturdays."

Holiday at home or abroad?

"Abroad"

Have you ever slept in a hostel? 

"Definitely, several times."

Are you a true leader? 

"Yes" 

Meat or fish? 

"Meat"

The most fun fair for hospitality: 

"Horecava and Gastvrij Rotterdam"

Coffee or tea? 

"Coffee"

Favourite snack:

"Pancakes"

Nicest city in the Netherlands: 

"Rotterdam"

Best compliment: 

"A guest who comes back because he feels really welcome here."