Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
Bas is the point of contact for organisers of guest events for conferences and events in Supernova, Media Plaza, the Juliana rooms and Jaarbeurs Studio. He is there from the first contact until the organisers 'cross the threshold' on the day itself. Bas: 'Then the operational team takes over from me; I focus on the entire preliminary process. I help think about how we can make a conference or event even more successful by putting the client's objective first.'
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
'The hospitality world, is really my world' says Bas. 'I set my bar high. That is also because of my background; I attended the Hotel Management School and hospitality is my passion. In doing so, I put myself in my customer's shoes as much as possible. I really act as if I am the one who has to organise that event. I imagine myself sitting in their chair and ask myself what I would expect from a venue. I think that really goes beyond just renting out the space. I would want people to think with me and come up with ideas to make something better. I try to live up to that.'
"We want and dare to go the extra mile for our customers"
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
According to Bas, hospitality goes beyond putting on a smile. According to him, it really lies in thinking along with the customer. Being willing and daring to go that extra mile. For example, he recently advised a Belgian events agency to make a different choice of buffet. Bas: 'The agency organises many events in Belgium every year. There they are used to eating a bit later, here in the Netherlands it is more usual to do it a bit earlier. When they organised an evening event for their Dutch relations, I suggested not following the same script from Belgium and eating late, but serving some small snacks before the plenary session. After all, this is what the Dutch target group is used to. They are small adjustments, but ones that allow us to serve their target group more specifically together.'
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
Bas has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and for good reason. He enjoys it and works with people who think the same way as he does. 'Actually everyone in our team has an intrinsic need to set the bar so high' he says. 'I feel very comfortable with that, because I don't like to cut corners. Everyone goes full steam ahead. We are serious here, every day. And customers notice that too. I am sure they do. After all, for our customers it is often their most important day of the year'.
"At Jaarbeurs, we go full steam ahead every day"
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
When asked to explain how Jaarbeurs employees 'go full steam ahead', he has to smile. He thinks back to a congress where a participant spilled a cup of cappuccino all over his shirt. Bas: 'During a congress, that is of course incredibly annoying, especially if it happens at the beginning of the day. Then you don't want to spend the rest of the day in that shirt. A colleague behind the bar thought the same and suggested giving him another shirt and having his washed and ironed. Then he would have his shirt back dry and clean at the end of the day. My colleague responded from spontaneity, enthusiasm and compassion. That gives you goosebumps, doesn't it?'
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
Hospitality is about listening, empathising and responding, according to Bas. For instance, he evaluates an event with his clients, and looks for areas for improvement. 'The negative feedback in particular is interesting because we can often do something with it,' he says. Especially with recurring events, I find that even more important. When we speak to each other again in the run-up to the next edition, I revisit the points for improvement. Often the organisers themselves don't remember, but I do mention it and indicate how we will tackle it differently this year. We listened seriously and do something with your feedback.'
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
That Bas seriously listens to customers was evident during the corona period. When the pandemic hit, he kept talking to organisers to see where the need was. Together, they looked at what was still possible under the rules of the day. They turned several conference rooms into studios and started live streaming events. That took shape more and more. Bas: 'I heard from many customers that they really needed a professional studio, so we started thinking about that. I started researching it: what did we need for this and in what space could we do it? Eventually I presented the idea to the management and got the green light. It became a complete renovation, including décor and state-of-the-art technology. Jaarbeurs Studio has been a huge success and continues to be used to the full. I look back on this with such pride. It is another example of how we all drive and roll something out together. We are going full steam ahead.'
Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
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Royal Jaarbeurs: the friendly, sustainable and innovative host for all of the Netherlands. A place where you meet, inspire, learn and grow. We'd love to tell you what's going on at Jaarbeurs and how we do things. How? By getting to know our most valuable asset: our people. Bas Sterrenburg has been working at Jaarbeurs for 12 years and talks about his work as account and event manager. He was also involved in setting up Jaarbeurs Studio.
