The team caught up with Xander Verheij, the recently appointed General Manager of Hotel The Noblemen, a luxury boutique hotel located in Amsterdam's historic 9 Streets district, housed in a 17th-century canal house. It was great to find out more about his career in hospitality, which began when he was 14 and how he has grown into the General Manager he is today. We discussed the hotels offerings and how Hotel The Noblemen's unique history contributes to how they are 'Redefining Luxury' alongside their 13 individually designed rooms. 

Tell us about yourself and your experience in the hospitality industry.  

I am 24 years old and was raised in a family where hospitality was a big part of my life from an early age. My father owned a four-star hotel in my hometown in the South of the Netherlands, a 62-room property with a restaurant, a bar and several meeting spaces. This was the perfect place for me to start learning the fundamentals of hospitality and evolve my social skills at 14 years old.

However, I was quite eager to carve out my own path and gain experience through hard work and showing dedication, rather than being seen as the son of a hotel owner only. From there pursuing a career in hospitality felt like the only option for me and I studied hospitality at university, gaining hands-on experience through various side jobs in restaurants and hotels.

Funny enough, despite my passion and completing my studies in hospitality three years ago, I decided to step outside of the industry and explore a different career path as an account manager. I quickly realised I was not made for that. I remained in close contact with the industry to make my return and started as the Manager of the Butler department at Hotel TwentySeven. Here I learnt what it meant to lead a team towards managing expectations of an extremely diverse range of high-profile guests.

A few months ago, I got in contact with Niels Zandbergen (owner of Hotel The Noblemen) and joined this beautiful hotel as General Manager. While the hotel is already performing remarkably well across all aspects, Niels’s vision is to continuously elevate it further through a ground-up approach. For me, this shows his commitment to strive for the best and I consider it a perfect chance for me to prove my management skills and make the next step in my career.

What’s your favourite part of your job?   

Working with such a diverse group of people. Both an incredible team and the wide variety of guests we welcome here in Amsterdam. Every person brings a different perspective and background energy, that variety keeps me inspired. I have always been fascinated with human behaviour, what drives people, how they think and connect, and I think a job like this is a daily masterclass. Whether it is guiding a team member to grow in their role or understanding what makes a guest’s experience truly memorable, I find it deeply rewarding. You are never done learning, and that sense of continuous discovery is what keeps me motivated.

How would you describe your hotel in a few words? 

Uniquely designed, intimate storytelling and immersive.

What strategies are you using to ensure your staff is engaged and motivated to provide exceptional service? 

I feel that working with a young team while being young yourself is a great privilege. Although sometimes people might be scared to manage a team at a young age, I really feel it has great value and allows you to understand the thoughts and behaviours of your team towards the guests and their concerns about work.

Although it may sound like common sense to some, the best strategy to engage with your staff is to show engagement and motivation with the business yourself. It is important to stay true to yourself, whilst also presenting the best version of who you are towards your colleagues. At the same time, having open and honest conversations with colleagues about what drives and motivates them is essential. Motivation should feel natural, something that flows from genuine connection, not something you have to force.

What emerging technologies or products do you believe will be essential for hotels to adopt in the coming years? 

Although I would rather slow down the technological innovations in our people orientated industry a little bit, I am very excited to see what it could bring. I recognise that staying competitive in the dynamic Amsterdam market really requires you to embrace those changes as well. Falling behind is not an option.

I think one of the most important things is not getting comfortable in your current systems, as technology is developing so fast. The next generation of travellers are very impatient when it comes to communication and ineffective procedures, keeping their engagement is more difficult. This is where AI driven solutions become necessary and useful in the coming years, staying updated of these is key. Luckily, PMS systems are getting more intuitive and provide you with an increasing amount of data. Even in an industry where people must remain centralised, data will become more important too, just as in every other industry.

If you set things up the right way, it actually gives you more time to connect with your guests and enhance their stay. When the arrival process takes too long or feels inefficient, guests often just want to head straight to their room. But if you turn that moment into something smooth and enjoyable, there is a much better chance they will engage with you and that sets the tone for a more memorable experience, same counts for every other part of the guest journey obviously.

This year the theme of IHA25 was ‘Redefining Luxury’ how do you think Hotel the Noblemen redefines luxury with its offering for guests?  

In all honesty, I feel the term luxury is a bit obsolete and subjective, similarly with the hotel star rating system, I see this becoming increasingly irrelevant, especially for smaller independent hotels. Therefore, I was very glad to hear the theme for the show was redefining luxury as I see that currently a lot more factors are being taken into consideration in creating a luxury experience.

Before, a hotel could stand out with consistency in setting an experience with top-notch staff, a comfortable room and great amenities. After, adding more diversity in terms of pretty design or unique in-room features could do the job. Right now, I feel we are on the edge of moving to a market where you have to take the next step by imbedding a story in your concept that inspires guests and generates a new level of curiosity and excitement.

At The Noblemen, we are actively contributing to this shift by telling the story of noblemen of Dutch history with 13 uniquely designed rooms, of which many also lived in the city of Amsterdam. The storytelling from our team and our rooms sparks the interest of our guests to explore the city with a different perspective. This does not mean we skip the standards of a comfortable kingsize bed, canal views, bathtub, double-headed showers and a dyson hairdryer. Though, this is not where luxury is limited, this is where it starts.

Do you and your team attend Independent Hotel Show? Why do you think it is a must-attend event for hoteliers?  

Yes of course. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the 2025 edition as I was on holiday, however our Assistant General Manager did, and she came back with great enthusiasm. She found it very inspiring, discovering new ideas for our property and making connections with fellow hoteliers. It was a great opportunity for her to explore future partnerships as well as strengthen the partnerships we already have.

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