Wish to book by phone? Call us on: +31 50 - 317 5510(International charges)
Wish to book by phone? Call us on: +31 50 - 317 5510(International charges)
Hotels.nl BV was founded in 2001. We are one of the largest websites for hotel bookings in the Netherlands and Belgium. You can book more than 1800 hotels in the low countries through our website.
We strive to make it as simple, clear and cheap as possible for a wide-ranging public to book a hotel room in the Netherlands or Belgium.
We try to do this by continuously improving the website and to incorporate the wishes of guests. When we're surfing the Internet at home, we find that clarity and simplicity are the most important factors. At Hotels.nl we always aim to achieve this.
Hotels.nl is a Groningen-based company, founded in November 2001 by Kees Eldering and Henriëtte Ijzelenberg. The booking site was launched in English with only two hotels: Hotel Ravel in Hilversum and Novotel Amsterdam.
This site is currently available in a number of languages and there are as many as 1800 affiliated hotels.
2001
The founders bought the Hotels.nl domain name and created a booking engine. The site was launched in English with only two hotels.
2002
After a good start business began to grow. The first member of staff was employed and an office space was rented. The living room, which had been used up until then, was no longer sufficient.
2003
In 2003 Hotels.nl was translated from English into Dutch. The company expanded, taking on another six members of staff, and moved to a larger office space in the Museumstraat in Groningen.
2004
Hotels.nl was available in English and Dutch. In 2004 another language came aboard: German. A Reservations Department was set up for telephone bookings and support. The Department, available until 22:00 in the evening, could assist guests in three languages.
2005
Due to the extensive opening hours of the Reservations Department it was necessary to expand the team again. In 2005 the number of members of staff rose to twelve. The office space in the Museumstraat was swapped for a stately canalside building on the Hoge der A in Groningen. The Hotels.nl website continues to grow and now also offers hotels in Belgium.
2006
Hotels.nl's five year anniversary was celebrated this year. Also in 2006 was the launch of a succesful marketing campaign: a flock of sheep along the motorway near Joure was clothed with blankets bearing the Hotels.nl logo. This action caused a lot of fuss, the local authority of Joure actually wanted to ban the marketing stunt, propelling Hotels.nl, and its sheep blankets, to world news: even making it in the New York Times. Hotels.nl continues to grow, perhaps partly due to the marketing stunt. The Reservations Department was now also available on Saturdays.
2007
The magic number of 1000 affiliated hotels was reached in 2007. The advertisement stunt with the sheep blankets secured Hotels.nl the AMMA-award for the Best Media Stunt of 2006. Hotels.nl was also runner-up in the elections for the Technology Fast 50 Award, organised by Deloitte.
2008
In 2008 the number of employees increased again, the company now consisted of 35 employees. Nevertheless an office move was not yet on the cards. Hotels.nl exhibited, for the very first time, at the Vakantiebeurs (Dutch Tourism Expo) in Utrecht. The message: no booking fees at Hotels.nl.
2009
A lot of investment went into research and technology in 2009. A new version of the booking site was launched in November. Hotels.nl became faster, more advanced and more user-friendly.
2010
The website was an automatic hit: in 2010 Hotels.nl was chosen as the most user-friendly travel site and won third prize in the Usability Award, scoring an average of 8.3. Hotels.nl continues to grow and an office move was now a must. The company had taken a lot of pleasure in working at the canalside premises, but exchanged it in 2010 for a building on the Grote Markt in Groningen. The illuminated advertisement on top of the building is eye-catching and its pink and blue colours fit in well with the surrounding street scene.
2011
Hotels.nl now has 48 employees, including a few international members of staff. The website is being translated into various European languages, which will be online in 2012.
Hotels.nl strives to help you as best we can, with your choice and in booking a hotel in the Netherlands and Belgium. We manage all our operations ourselves, guaranteeing the commitment of our website employees, and as such taking daily pleasure in our work.
All contact details can be found on the contact page.
