“A childhood dream come true”
Tine Bollen will become the new general manager of the Castle of Ordingen. She succeeds Yannick Bouts, who is leaving for the same position at La Réserve in Knokke. “This is a childhood dream come true. I was always intrigued by hotels, where the constant coming and going of guests brings a special dynamic,” says the 39-year-old Bilzerse, who lives in Alken 15 minutes from her new employer. – Rudi Smeets
Last month, it was announced that Yannick Bouts will become general manager of La Réserve in Knokke. Under his leadership, the hotel at the Castle of Ordingen was labelled five stars and became a member of Relais & Châteaux. Restaurant Aurum earned a Michelin star. When announcing his departure, he promised to help find a successor. It became a successor.
Yannick Bouts: “There were a lot of candidates for the vacancy. When applying, I immediately felt that Tine Bollen was the right person in the right place. She has extensive experience in the hotel business, is from the region and knows how to put people at ease from the very first moment.”
Customer experience
“I am starting this with incredible enthusiasm. In such a unique location with so many possibilities, everyone wants to work,” says Tine. After studying tourism, she gained sales and operational experience at Châteauform, a group of seminar and event venues with more than 65 castles and country houses in Europe. “I was often at the headquarters in Paris and learned from founder Jacques Horovitz about the importance of customer experience,” she specifies.
She then joined Martin’s Hotels. “At the headquarters in Genval, I was responsible for sales and marketing. I was also involved in the start-up of Martin’s Red – the hotel of the Red Devils – and Martin’s Rentmeesterij in Bilzen. The past two years, I worked at real estate developer Vestio. There I broadened my knowledge around property management and investments, but I wanted to return to hospitality. My job at the Castle of Ordingen came at just the right time.”
Family
At her new workplace, she finds herself in a family environment, as owner Richard Sleurs, his son Koen and their wives are closely involved in the ins and outs of the castle.
“I just really like that personal aspect, because what I said before: customer experience comes first. That starts with the reservation and ends after the check-out. In this industry, you can really make people happy. That’s why the spontaneous cordiality of the team is incredibly important.”
Klasse-hotel met vergaderzalen in Limburg – Kasteel van Ordingen
