"Hospitality is in our DNA"

With over a hundred hotels domestically and internationally, Van der Valk is one of the largest family businesses of the Netherlands. Founder Martinus van der Valk paved the way for over 800 family members. In the series Young Valks, 6 great-grandchildren of founder Martinus van der Valk open the doors to their establishments. This gives a unique look into the hotels of, among others, Annabel van der Valk, Bill van der Valk, Esther Hammink and Marije van der Valk.

Hotel Groningen-Hoogkerk is also among the Young Valks, but is not included in the series. In Van der Valk Hotel Groningen-Hoogkerk, management is provided by great-grandchild Stijn Langebeek, 4th ‘Valk generation’, with family number 3.160. Stijn Langebeek is the son of Tjomme Langebeek and Corry van der Valk, who built the Van der Valk Hotel Drachten starting in 2001.

 

 

At an early age, Stijn Langebeek started working at Hotel Drachten as all-round operations employee. During his education in Small Business & Retail Management at the Hanze University Groningen, he has gained experience in many different hotels; for example, at Van der Valk Hotel Sneek during its construction and the 1^st year after the opening. Since late 2015, he has been committed full-time to the construction and layout and is now focused on the overall management of the hotel.
The two younger sons of Tjomme Langebeek and Corry van der Valk, Sjoerd and Derk Langebeek, also contribute to the hotels Drachten and Groningen.