In this episode we talk to Stephanie van Oorschot, a Hotelier and Educator at heart.  She is a graduate of Stenden University’s International Hospitality Management Program and holds an Executive MBA from Nyenrode Business University.

Currently she is the Industry Relations Officer at the Hotel Management School NHL Stenden in Leeuwarden.

Stephanie and Beverley met years ago at the European Mise-en-Place Cup (EMCUP) Competition, which is held yearly in Maastricht, The Netherlands. The main goal of this event is to attract and inspire future talent to choose a career in the hospitality and tourism industry.

01:45 - We started the conversation with the question’ Talk to us about who you are, so our listeners can get to know you?’
03:18 - What does a hospitality mindset or one may also call it a service mindset, mean to you? Why do you prefer to call it a hospitality mindset and not a service mindset?
03:55 - ‘The Art to make people feel welcome’ and having and showing respect to others and being judgement-free.
04:40 - Stephanie gives us a little history of how she got to where she is today. She switched her plans from law to hospitality. She made a career working for more than 10 years in a big International Hospitality Company where, amongst others she organized the EMCup and HotelloTop (a platform and network for likeminded Hotellos).
07:35 - During Covid it was time to broaden her horizon, she took a few months off and then joined her alma mater, Stenden in Leeuwarden.
07:56 - About the big shift from working in an entrepreneurial environment to education!
08:45 - Taking her wise Dad’s advice to heart to work for a Hotel Management School.
09:08 - The importance of building bridges between education and the Hospitality Industry to work more intensively together.
10:25 - Are women in the hospitality industry treated different from men?
14:25 - On the ‘waste of knowledge’ and lack of soft-skills back in the days that women were hardly found in management-positions.
15:25 - Stephanie now works in a management team where 70% is female, which is different from her former job where the majority was male. What are her challenges at the moment?
18:50 - Are there things that you underestimated in your career? For example, the ongoing weight of responsibilities on your shoulders and learning to build on the people around you.
20:45 - About being on the edge of a burnout because of the pressure she put on herself.
22:37 - The importance of having a role model and knowing we are also role models to other women.
26:30 - Why we should talk to other people about the challenges we face and even talk to a coach to ask for help and put things in perspective. Sharing is caring. There is a lot of strength in being vulnerable.
33:40 - Why there is freedom in being disciplined! Attitude matters and the way your carry yourself.
35:10 - What is the aim of HotelloTop (which in 2024 will celebrate its 20th anniversary) and what is Stephanie’s role?
35:38 - Why every company should have a ‘Hotello’ on their payroll!
30:04 - What is a truth you can bring to the table today that not many people know about you?
30:02 - What drives you to do all the things you do?