Success Stories: our employees

Susanne Eichholz

Hotel Director - NH Collection Berlin Mitte

My career at the NH Hotel Group started in 1994 as Sales Executive in NH Weinheim in the Sales department.  Soon after that I became Sales Manager and was responsible for different hotels in the region Bergstraße and Frankfurt. The trustful, inspiring atmosphere, the development possibilities and the company culture convinced me from the first day on. I accompanied the opening of the NH Oberhausen first as Accounting, Front Office and Reservation Manager and later as Management Assistant. My first position as a Deputy General Manager and then as General Manager led me to Hamburg, where I could gain further enriching experiences in this responsible position. Further stations in my career as General Manager included the hotels NH Stuttgart Sindelfingen and NH Berlin Potsdam Conference Center. For the last 5 years I was responsible for the NH Berlin Kurfürstendamm and NH Berlin City West as Cluster General Manager until summer 2016. As a trainer and coach I am supporting the employees and talents of the NH Hotel Group. From 2016 to 2017 I was Quality Manager of the Business Unit Central Europe (75 properties). Since September 2017, I am the Hotel Director of the NH Collection Berlin Mitte at Checkpoint Charlie. 

Alex Dürr

Director of Operations - Business Unit Northern Europe

In the year of 1990 – formerly Astron Hotels – my career at the NH Hotel Group began. After my apprenticeship as Restaurant Operations Trainee and several years of experience at different stations in the F&B sector, I started as F&B Manager and later became Deputy Hotel Director in Munich. I started my very first position as a General Manager in Kulmbach in 1997 and had the opportunity to open the NH Frankfurt Niederrad. After this, the next step in my career led me to Berlin where I became the General Manager of NH Berlin Mitte, NH Berlin Friedrichstrasse and NH Berlin Kreuzberg. In 2009 I could co-organize the development of Nhow Berlin into a Music and Lifestyle Hotel, which was a very exciting and creative period of my life. At the NH Hotel Group there were always many opportunities provided through which I was able to participate in many trainings. I became a trainer and a coach myself. As the project responsible for the launch of the NH Collection brand in our business unit, I accompany the hotels and employees in the change process. From 2011 to 2016 I was Regional Operations Director with the responsibility of up to 19 hotels. Since July 2017 I am the Director of Operations of the Business Unit Northern Europe. 

Rick Van Schijndel

Hotel Director - NH Amersfoort

After graduating from the Hotel Management School Leeuwarden I started my career in 2001 as an F&B supervisor at NH Conference Centre Leeuwenhorst. Later I became F & B Service Manager and after four years at NH Conference Centre Leeuwenhorst I got the opportunity to become the F&B Manager at NH Amsterdam Centre NH Museum Quarter. This was a nice start with great new dimensions in the capital of the Netherlands.

 After a year I started working for another hotel chain, but after a while I noticed that it was time for a change. I contemplated where I had actually worked the best, where I came to work with a smile and come home with regained energy. The answer was NH Hotels!

Fortunately, I could relatively quickly start working as an Assistant Director at NH Schiphol. I wanted to challenge myself by learning more about Rooms Division and Revenue Management! This became a success and I was asked to be a part of the opening team for Nhow Rotterdam. This was four months of hard work to ensure that the hotel was ready for the grand opening!

After this exciting opportunity I was the interim director in Hotel NH City Centre, then at NH Schiller, NH Doelen and NH Caransa. The time at NH Schiller was very special since they hosted the famous TV program “RTL Late Night” which was aired live; the coordination of the F&B during a live TV program was a great challenge!

I’ve been the Hotel Director at NH Amersfoort for over a year now, and I am convinced that you can be yourself and determine your own career path with the NH Hotel Group. However, it is important to remember that you are in charge of your own happiness. If you want you can do anything, if you do not want anything, nothing will happen; you’re responsible for initiating the change!

Josefa Gil

Revenue Coordinator NH Resorts; Sotogrande, Cadiz - Spain

At the age of 18, I started working at the NH Almenara as an Assistant Receptionist after a seven-month internship at the same hotel. In 2004, after I had already become Receptionist, I moved to the new Hotel NH Sotogrande when it opened and after a few years in Reception I was promoted to Deputy Head of Reception and Ambassador for Internal Communication within the hotel.  Two years later, I became Head of Reception and also became a member of the Hesperia – NH Hotel Group integration team and upon my return from that marvellous experience, I was promoted to the Revenue Management department for Resorts.  All of my experiences in the company have been and continue to be very positive.  NH Hotel Group stands out ‘in terms of people’; it cultivates and values effort, compensates professional performance and helps you to grow as a person.

Marcela Neira

General Manager; NH Latino & NH 9 de Julio, Buenos Aires - Argentina

I joined NH as the Head of Reception at the first hotel the chain opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina – the NH Latino hotel in 1999. After that opening, I was part of the team that would open the NH Florida in the same city. Then I was promoted to General Manager of the NH Latino and NH Florida, combining these jobs with the operations management of some hotels of the Region. Several years later, I had the opportunity to make my first major hotel opening as General Manager, the NH 9 de Julio and assuming management responsibilities for it alongside responsibilities for the NH Latino, jobs which I continue developing today. I have had the opportunity to grow along with the company in South America and what is important is not how many years I have worked for the company, but the fact that I have worked in different positions, situations and challenges that make you feel the same sensations that you felt on the first day you came to work at NH Hotel Group.

Annemarie van Loo

Human Resources Manager

I started out my internship at the NH University in 2005. I quickly discovered that I would love to work for NH in the future, because of its freshness and dynamism. Fortunately, following my internship I had the opportunity to continue as an employee in the HR department -Personnel Administration. I applied for the job, went through the process and was selected. A year later I had the opportunity to apply for the job of Supervisor of the Personnel Administration and I was promoted. In the six- year time frame, I got the opportunity to build my own team and department. In 2013 a new challenge arose:  applying for the HR Specialist position. I was selected, a great sequel! Today, as part of a great team, I enjoy helping and advising both the central services offices and the hotels. My main ambition is to provide them with the best possible service and of course with my best smile!

Manuela Calistri

General Manager; NH Villa Carpegna, Rome - Italy

I have joined NH Hotel Group as Housekeeping Manager. After having been part of the first PDI Manager (Internal Development Programme) for the Business Unit Italy in 2007, I have been involved as Housekeeping & Quality Supervisor at Nhow Hotel in Milan and NH Grand Hotel Palazzo.  A big challenge arrived soon with the renovation of the NH President as Assistant of the General Manager. During the same period I was chosen as one of the trainers of Project One Program.  And after a couple of years, I became General Manager, one of my greatest moments in my professional career within NH.  I’m fully convinced that NH does mean a big opportunity for everyone and especially for people who need to trust on a serious and professional company, open minded and ready to turn difficulties into big opportunities.