The Independent Hotel Show team had the pleasure of interviewing Bram Van Der Hoek, the charismatic CEO of Sircle Collection, an independent group of creative hospitality brands. We met him in Sir Adam Hotel in Amsterdam. Housed in the iconic A'DAM Tower, it pulsates with the creative energy of its neighbours like MassiveMusic and Sony Music.

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Tell us about yourself and your experience in the industry

I am the CEO for Sircle Collection and have been with the company since the start. I joined the company in 2006 as I was the General Manager of Park Centraal in Amsterdam, which was bought from Marriott by Sircle Collection. Back then boutique hotels didn’t really exist it was all very mainstream, so we decided to convert it to a boutique lifestyle hotel with a destination Pan-Asian Restaurant, Bar & Lounge MOMO. Even though the hotel had nearly 200 bedrooms, which is a lot more than most would consider a boutique hotel, it was a big success. Even though it was a difficult time to launch a hotel between 2008 and 2009 during the financial crisis, the property entered the market at the right time and really accelerated from the start.

I grew up in hospitality, my first experience in hospitality was as an intern when I did the night shift on reception at a hotel. I instantly fell in love with the industry, especially when you are in operations, there are so many things going on that no one knows about. I did this for just over 6 months and then moved onto my second internship which was completely different as was a destination company on the Caribbean.

On my return to the Netherlands in the early nineties the hotel was looking to set up a sales department which was new for the industry. I started working within Sales and Marketing which I did for 10 years before becoming a General Manager of Park Centraal.

What made you choose to pursue a career in hospitality?

When I was younger it was very rare for people to go abroad for holidays outside Europe, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go to Canada to visit family. It showed me how much more there is in the world. Everything is related to the feeling that trip gave me of wanting to escape the small village I grew up in and be within an environment where travel would be involved. The whole dynamic within hotels, meeting new cultures etc. is all related to that one trip.

What is your favourite part of your job now?

Firstly, I have a different job every day. Although my job title doesn’t change a lot, for 7 years now I have been the CEO of the company as we grew our footprint in Europe. What I really like about my job is learning to let things go, of course I have micromanaging tendencies and I notice things others wouldn’t. This is good, but as the company grows you need to look for that talent in others Our employees have a lot of involvement and inclusion in what we are doing. There is trust that they can make mistakes, and I think once you start to involve your team great things happen.

Can you describe Sircle Collection to someone who may be new to the brand?

What is important is that we are an independent hospitality company. Everything that we do comes from independent structure and an entrepreneurial spirit, there isn’t a bigger environment that we need to present to. A multi-brand isn’t always easy. Even within a hotel brand, the properties and storytelling differ. For example, Sir Adam and Sir Albert are very different, but what we always do is look at the essentials of the building and work from there, we want all our hotels to be unique. The standard of service is the same, but there is not repetitive branding, so we don’t dilute this.

What do you think a great customer experience looks like at Sircle Collection and what makes it unique?

It’s our priority that each Sircle Collection team member can connect well with others. The moment you arrive at one of our hotels we ensure there is a connection where we can see what the guest wants from their stay. We have a system where we can track people’s stays, which helps us to keep on top of their preferences and enables us to personalise their stay.

It is a daily job to ensure we hire the right talent, people with the correct skillset to ensure our guests have the best experience at our hotel. An example of this in play is something I witnessed recently, a repeat guest consisting of a couple with a small child were checking in and the host picked up the child and escorted them to the room on his shoulders, and I could see how impressed the parents were.

Offering sophisticated local experiences, we have Sir Explore from Sir Hotels brand; a service where we connect our guests with our local friends. So, they can experience the city in a unique insider way.  

How do you approach the issue of sustainability?

Last year we hired our ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Manager, who focuses on making us aware of what we’re doing daily. We had already started making small steps leading to the bigger ones. We work with partners like Earthcheck and certify our hotels with them under the leadership of our ESG Manager and Operational leads within the hotel. All our hotels are working on their waste and energy usage but most importantly the culture and behaviour.

We display what we are doing on our website and work closely with charities across the city through our program Sir Cares. We offer opportunities to donate across all our hotels, for example here at Sir Adam the charity we partner with is the local A’DAM music school (they are Sir Adam’s neighbours who funds the music education for children and gives them the opportunity to grow).  

What piece of advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in the hotel industry?

Don’t rush it, is always my advice to the younger generation. I spent 10 years in Sales and Marketing, which is complex and gave me broad knowledge of the industry. When I look back on my career, I have realised that the opportunities always came at the right moment and naturally. This meant I was ready for it! Take your time, open your eyes, and learn, if you want to develop yourself it will come to you and make sure to follow your heart.

Tell us about one of your most memorable hotel experience

Honestly, it isn’t typical for me to have a memorable experience in a hotel as I am always in work mode. I enjoy visiting undiscovered places, last year I visited a small bijoux in Nerac in the Gascony region, France, and stayed in a small, converted farmhouse with only 3 or 4 rooms run by a Swiss couple. The interior design and special touches were exactly how I would do it. It felt like I was becoming a friend of the couple and staying in their home, which is something we will never be able to achieve.

What is really exciting you about the hotel industry right now?

Technology, having AI powered solutions which we can’t avoid and will be implementing. It does trigger me but in an exciting way, I want to learn more and find out how we will be able to use it within our hotels. The everchanging elements of the industry are so exciting and learning how to translate these into our business models without losing the personalisation.

What is the best business advice that you have ever received?

Ask questions, as many as you can. Be nosey, even in areas that don’t concern you. Stay open to new paths, it was never in my goals to become a General Manager, but the perfect opportunity arose and here I am. Within my first week of being a GM there was a fire at the hotel and everyone was so calm as they knew exactly what to do, although as the GM you have a lot of responsibility, but you work best as a team.

If Sircle Collection had a theme song, what would it be?

Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now! The fun part is so important with everything that you do, even though there are tasks we don’t want to do or enjoy, it is important that we create a great culture, and nothing can stop us.