The search for the new Future Hotel Leader has officially entered its next phase. After reviewing an impressive number of nominations, the expert jury has announced the Top 10 Future Hotel Leaders of 2026. These are the young professionals who, according to colleagues, supervisors and partners, are already making a significant impact within their hotels and show the potential to grow into the leaders of tomorrow.
The Top 10 Future Hotel Leaders 2026:
- Stan Cremers, Front Office Manager – Sofitel Legend The Grand Amsterdam
- Olga Galiuk, General Manager LuminAir – DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station
- Jorrick Bollen, Operations Manager – The Social Hub Eindhoven
- Remy Baben, F&B Manager – De L’Europe Amsterdam
- Dylan Verbeek, Guest Experience Manager – De Plesman
- Bas Schuurmans, Food & Beverage Manager – Hotel Nassau Breda
- Kimberly Appels, Operations Manager – Novotel Rotterdam Brainpark
- Joost Abbink, Head Chef – The Lobby Fizeaustraat & The Lobby Nesplein
- Fadi Alassaf, F&B Manager – Park Plaza Amsterdam Airport
- Brian Verrijp, Director of Human Resources – Amstel Hotel
Together, these ten rising leaders represent the broad spectrum of talent within the Dutch hospitality industry — from operations and F&B to HR and guest experience. What unites them is their vision, their drive and their proven impact in an industry that continues to evolve at high speed.
What Happens Next
Now that the Top 10 has been announced, the next phase of the competition begins. Each finalist will create a video presentation in the coming weeks, showcasing their leadership style, vision and achievements.
Based on these video submissions, the jury will select the Top 3 finalists in early January. These three finalists will then enter the public voting round, where colleagues, family, friends and hospitality professionals can vote for their favourite candidate.
Following this, the Top 3 will be invited for an in-depth interview and lunch with the jury, as they prepare their final case presentations.
The grand finale takes place on February 2nd, during Hotel Leaders Network 2026 — the annual networking event for hotel leaders in the Netherlands. Here, the finalists will present their case live on stage, followed by the final voting round among all attending hotel leaders. After which the winner of the Future Hotel Leader Award 2026 will be announced.