'Entrepreneurship gives me room to continue developing Hotel Maashof'
The Beurskens family success story begins on 12 July 2000 when brothers Rob and Jack, together with father Jac and mother Maria, open a park-like location with four large trout ponds on a former meadow in the Boekend core of Blerick. Almost 25 years later, the family business has grown into a popular hospitality and recreation company of which Hotel Maashof with 85 rooms is the beating heart.
Sufficient reason for the board of the Lodewijk van der Grinten (LvdG) Prize to nominate Rob Beurskens - as a figurehead of the company - for this award. "I hold various board positions and the committee members used an excuse at this appointment. It was supposed to be about Evert Thielen's latest exhibition at Museum van Bommel van Dam," Beurskens kicks off his story.
Huge appreciation
Besides various board positions, he and the company are members of Ondernemend Venlo and have been attending the award ceremony for years. "Of course it sometimes haunted my mind: what to do if they ask me? That's why I thought this nomination was a huge honour. My answer was actually immediately clear: yes, of course." Still, Beurskens asked for a night's consideration because he does not like to be in the limelight. However, according to Beurskens, it is also important for a bit of extra brand awareness of Maashof. "I therefore consider it a huge appreciation for what we have achieved here over the past 25 years," he said.
'I consider this nomination a huge appreciation for what we have achieved here over the past 25 years'
Inspiration and energy
Entrepreneurship is important to Beurskens. Maashof now has a large and professional team, giving him enough time to develop both himself and the company. After all, Maashof is much more than just a hotel. "I find inspiration by visiting other hotels and reading trade magazines. Even during holidays at home and abroad, I look at how colleagues run their businesses. Think about concepts, the way breakfast is presented, the contact with guests et cetera. In fact, I am always on." Beurskens knows from his own experience that a large proportion of guests lead busy and hectic lives. His aim at Maashof is to offer peace and relaxation in a natural environment. "I enjoy dealing with people and making guests feel comfortable. This gives me energy."
Omdenken
Many developments the family business has undergone since 2000 are somehow related to rethinking, this year's central theme. "True. As an entrepreneur, you are always working on that. As a family, for instance, we had to move in the late 1990s because of the construction of the A73 South. That led to the purchase of this plot around the four trout ponds plus the realisation of a small catering point in a wooden chalet. Now it has grown into a large-scale hospitality and recreation business. We realised the first hotel rooms in 2011, a year before the opening of the Floriade. You are always responding to developments and challenges. That requires a form of rethinking every time. Other expansions, such as more hotel rooms, a wellness, the purchase of some 500 E-choppers that are now rented out throughout Limburg and North Brabant plus the purchase of a gym also came about through a form of rethinking."
He is currently working again with his brother Jack on new developments, for example updating the house style and website and renovating the entrance, restaurant and meeting rooms. All with the aim of making guests even more comfortable. "Take the takeover of the gym two years ago. An added value for both our guests and the team. They both get to use those facilities and that makes us even more distinctive as a company."
As mentioned earlier, Beurskens holds various board positions, including at Koninklijke Horeca Nederland, Venlo Convention Bureau, Steering Group Toeristisch Recreatief Actieprogramma and Dörpsgeneete. He also sponsors various social/cultural activities and events. "All these contacts are important for me as an entrepreneur. You get to different places and meet a lot of people. It is important to pay attention to the community. After all, entrepreneurship is not something you do just for yourself."
Text: Rob Buchholz - Photography: Bram Becks
