Harriet Eversmeyer, press director of Maritim Hotels

Als new kid on the block probeert Yvie haar weg te vinden op Overhoeks door andere mensen in de omgeving te ontmoeten. Deze keer ontmoet ze Harriet Eversmeyer, persdirecteur van Maritim Hotels.

Can you tell us more about Maritim?
“Maritim is a German hotel chain. A family run business that was started by Hans Joachim Gommolla in 1969. The first hotel was situated at the Baltic Sea. Our name and the three blue sails in the logo still refer to this heritage. Today you can find a Maritim Hotel in six countries overseas. In Albania, Bulgaria, Malta, Egypt, China and even in tropical Mauritius. Now we are expanding our business to Amsterdam. It’s going to be the 3rd highest building in Amsterdam, the biggest conference hotel in Europe and our biggest Maritim property so far. So, we are quite excited about that!”

How did Maritim Hotels get involved in project Yvie?
“We’ve been involved in the project from the early beginnings in 2018. The idea that we could operate a hotel with congress facilities in a popular city such as Amsterdam, triggered us immediately. Meeting and accommodation under one roof; that is what Maritim is best known for. We’ve been accommodating the business traveler since 1969. A genius idea, because in those days, hotels were only focusing on tourists as their key clients. Now we have over 50 years of experience in hosting big business events, meetings, incentives and product presentations in combination with an overnight stay. 

Thanks to this long history and our extensive network of business partners, we already have a strong demand for business events in Amsterdam. This enormous potential made us decide to sign a 50 year lease with owner Union Investment. That is exceptionally long. Normally, lease contracts last for 30 years. But we really have so much confidence in this location that we wanted to extend our stay here. Our goal is to stay indefinitely.”

What do you like about Overhoeks?
“Overhoeks is a great fit for Maritim. Not only is our hotel located close to the waterfront of the river IJ with a direct connection to the city centre by ferry, the surroundings also have the best of Amsterdam on display. There are modern, highrise towers and apartment buildings. Just around the corner you can find fancy cafes, shops, parks, the local Pekmarket and houseboats. Overhoeks reminds me of a few districts in Berlin and Hamburg that were quite hostile environments ten years ago, but are now developed into very popular places. Overhoeks is a very lively area now already, and will be even more so when our hotel, state of the art event location and hospitality open their doors.” 

 What can future visitors expect from Maritim Hotel Amsterdam?
“Our visitors will experience a very comfortable stay in Amsterdam. In fact: we will have everything in one place. Guests won’t even have to move around to enjoy themselves. To sum it all up: in our four star hotel we offer 579 rooms. To relax, guests and also tenants from the residential tower of Yvie can go to the spa, pool and fitness area on the 3rd floor. 

Our state of the art conference area will consist of two ballrooms which together can host over 4,400 people. Additionally, there will be 18 meeting rooms. 

After all business is done, our guests and the public can enjoy a great night out. We offer some fine dining in the panorama restaurant – very good cuisine, but informal – on the 32nd floor and a sky bar on the 33rd floor. Both with stunning views on the river and city centre. On the ground floor there will be a Vienna cafe and an Asian food restaurant. 

“After all business is done, our guests and the public can enjoy a great night out.”

But the real key to our success is that we empower our people to be the best in their job. As we are operating in such a specific work field, we train our staff in our own Maritim Academy. We offer a two year programme in which we combine school and work. And ultimately our guests profit from that. Maritim is synonymous with hospitality excellence.”

What are you looking forward to most?
“Personally, I can’t wait to see the logo of Maritim mounted on the building. We already placed a blue M on one of the floors, just to see how it fits. German people will directly recognize our logo by only seeing the M, because we have become such a strong brand over the years. We hope that we can achieve the same position here in the Netherlands. That would be the absolute icing on the cake.”