Hospitality abroad

Nicolette van der Lee - Cornelese [F 2008] and Sander van der Lee [F 2008] met at school. Living and working abroad was a mutual dream. For them, the Netherlands was a country you could always return to. Now they have been together for 17 years, and 14 of those years they are living abroad.

BY ANKIE HOEFNAGELS

How did you two end up in Dubai?

Nicolette says, ‘We embarked on an adventure with no specific goal in mind. Through HRC we both got jobs in Washington. Me at Hilton and Sander at Sheraton. On a J1 visa for one year. We had a great life. But there were also irregular working hours. Sander adds, ‘In America, it became clear to me that working in operations wasn’t my thing. I had already done a finance job at Accor HQ Schiphol and numbers attracted me more.’ After a year, they weren’t done with working abroad. Sander wanted to work in revenue management, which was relati ­ vely unknown at the time. Through his network, he got an opportunity in London. Nicolette got a job at Hilton. One of the factors in their choice for London was that the Olympics were going to take place in London. But it was expensive, their apartment tiny and taking the tube to work every day like a sardine in a can wasn’t great. They were ready for a new adventure.

Sander: ‘We had friends who lived in Dubai. There were plenty of opportunities. I was working at the Hilton Revenue Management Consolidated Center, and they were going to open the same in Dubai for the Middle East and Africa.

What is your life in Dubai?

They have been living in Dubai for 9 years. They are parents of daughter Luna (3,5). Living in a spacious apartment within walking distance of the beach. With a great group of friends from all over the world. Sander has a great career at Hilton and Nicolette has switched to a job as Legal Secretary, at a large American law firm. They can both apply their multiple talents at work.

Cultural difference between the Emirates and the Netherlands?

‘The authentic Arab culture is here, but you don’t usually encounter it. In meetings with owners you do, they are sometimes hierarchical in their manners. But at Hilton we simply have an international work culture,’ says Sander. Nicolette adds: ‘As a woman, you are treated with respect. I’ve never felt inferior. It’s also very safe. The Emiratis try to maintain their Islamic values, but at the same time allow Western cultures. In fact, they try to embrace Western values like equality and sustainability and then be frontrunners in it. There are hundreds of cultures living here. But whether you believe in Allah or God, everyone respects each other. In Luna’s class, all holidays are celebrated.’

What Dutch values are still in your baggage?

Nicolette immediately exclaims, ‘For you I know, Sander: your directness!’ During a yearly performance review, a manager once said to Sander, ‘Maybe you should keep some things to yourself.’ Sander’s response: ‘Well, you should hear the things I already keep to myself!’ Sander adds, ‘also, tolerance. Not excluding anyone. Being open to everything.’ Although in recent years in the Netherlands this has decreased somewhat. Both agree on the Dutch penchant for equality: ‘In Dubai, nannies call their employers ‘Sir and Madam’. We immediately put a stop to that with our own nanny. Submissiveness is not our thing.’

What we can learn from the Emirati culture?

Sander: ‘Courtesy and respect for all cultures. The Dutch can be rather quick to judge and think in stereotypes. Here this is less, or people keep their judgments to themselves.’ Nicolette: ‘I like the element of the community and charity they have here. Dubai organizes for example actions like free meals for Iftar during Ramadan. And in November ‘30 x 30’ is organised, Dubai Fitness Challenge. A series of free sports events that everyone can participate in, to promote a healthy lifestyle. At the 10km run, the CEO runs alongside the concierge.’

What does lifelong learning mean to you?

Sander: ‘I learned the most on the job. Learning for me is more about challenging how things are done. By changing and improving things you learn. Some trainings you forget after a week. But by doing different things each time, going into different hotels, you learn having different perspectives.’

Nicolette: ‘Living abroad enriches your professional, but also your personal development. Getting to know new cultures. Constructing your life again and again, making new friends. In my relatively new job as legal secretary, I’m still learning a lot. What I learned at the hotel school I can still apply. Both in my work and in my private life. We are grateful we are putting our dreams into reality and our study at the Hotelschool Maastricht contributed to that.’

What are your future plans?

Sander: ‘Purely from my own point of view, I am not ready to leave’ Nicolette: ‘I sometimes envy my friends in the Netherlands who work part­time. In Dubai, working full­time is the norm. Once we said that we would go back to the Netherlands when we would have children, but that didn’t happen. Although my mother­in­law keeps reminding me! I would love for Luna to be able to cycle to school later. We still have a big group of friends back home and our parents are getting older, which also draws me towards the Netherlands.’