Marco: ‘It is really not the case that everyone in our family has to work in a hotel, but of course you get - if you grow up in and around a hotel - the love for the profession from your parents and other family members. In Van der Valk Hotel Nivelles-Sud, I was helping out in the kitchen as a little boy. I already thought that was great back then, but I loved flying even more. The passion for everything related to flying and airplanes started when I was six years old. I also inherited that from my family, because my father and two uncles had a pilot's license. I often went to the airport with them and I thought that was fantastic. My biggest dream was to become a pilot. In Belgium, you can get your pilot's license from the age of seventeen. I got mine on my seventeenth birthday and at that time became the youngest pilot ever in Belgium. That was 22 years ago. Looking back on that, it was really very special. I now only fly as a hobby, about every two weeks, because the hospitality virus really got a hold of me.’

SEIZING OPPORTUNITIES

‘My wife Anne-Sophie and I were still studying when we got the opportunity to take on the hotel project in Verviers when I was 23. A former customs depot and station were transformed into a wonderful hotel. It was such a wonderful opportunity for us that we stopped our studies at the university and moved to the other side of the country. How we built up that hotel together so beautifully is something we should think about more often. Then we opened more hotels, including in Liège and last year in Spa, and we dream of more businesses. Or actually, I can better call it “planning”, because with just dreams you don't achieve much. In the hotel sector, you also have to be lucky with opportunities that come at the right time and that you have to seize. Moreover, staying grounded and thinking clearly is very important. You have to carefully consider what is feasible and what fits a location and your guests.’

VALUABLE

"I have three brothers who all share the same drive, the four of us run multiple Van der Valk hotels. From our father, we learned early on what can be achieved through hard work. Our father is still closely involved in our hotels and new projects. He can't help but give feedback when he walks through the hotels. It is very valuable to share our work with him. There is never a dull moment for us. We are currently working on a hotel in the center of Charleroi and one on the French coast near Calais. This way, we are further establishing Van der Valk's presence."

DO NOT GIVE UP

"We have many dreams, but you also have to be realistic. If I wanted to become the best singer in the country, someone would have to tell me that it's not going to happen. Some dreams remain unattainable, but I believe that with a good plan and perseverance, you can go very far. There used to be no Van der Valk hotels in Belgium, and now there are eighteen! What we keep in mind within the family is passing on the hotels to the next generation. You are always thinking about the future. My wife and I have three children, and our fourteen-year-old daughter is already helping out in the bars of Hotel Verviers and Hotel Spa. It's wonderful to see the next generation ready to contribute to what our family has built. But if our children want to do something outside the hotels in the future, we are completely fine with that too. We will support them in all their dreams."