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Hotel Wesseling

Strong together for over 40 years

One of our very first customers was Hotel Wesseling in Dwingeloo. The family hotel that has a remarkable history in the hotel business was enthusiastic about our rental concepts and linen service from the get go. “And we still are”, state Mark and Annemarie Bergmans-Wesseling, who have been in charge of one of the oldest family businesses in the Netherlands for over twenty years.

Hotel Wesseling surrounds the picturesque and intimate Brink of Dwingeloo. Has done so for decades. Or rather, for centuries. The clock started ticking there in 1662(!) and has never stopped. From the first inn to its current accommodation, the hotel stayed in the hands of the same family. “We are not just one of the oldest hospitality companies in the Netherlands, but we are also in the top ten of oldest family businesses”, Mark states with enthusiasm.

The history still resonates in the current hotel building that was built in 1915. Intimate, homely, warm, full of character and still just as hospitable and personal as back in the days when the first carriages with travellers arrived. This certainly does not mean that time has stood still in this establishment in terms of comfort, facilities and modern operations. On the contrary. Like a true family business, the current owners are dynamically on their way to progress. “My father in law Hendrik Wesseling, who took over the hotel from his father in 1956, did major renovations and changed a lot here. We continued that to meet and surpass contemporary demands of our guests.”

Growth by entrepreneurship

The family business is also expanding furtively. In 1991, the family bought the Grand Café Hotel De Brink. That establishment was located, as the name indicates, right across the street from Hotel Wesseling on the same street Brink. The acquisition, with a delightful terrace decorated to forget about time and ten modern hotel rooms, is a complimentary addition to Hotel Wesseling. “We jokingly call our acquisition ‘our beach pavillion’”, Mark says while he laughs. Then, in 2005, the family company took its first steps outside Dwingeloo. Hotel Bieze in the giant’s grave capital Borger was purchased to be the third branch on the family tree. In the meantime, the place was buzzing with other activities. “Yes indeed”, Mark concurs, “under the name Signature Culinaire, we produce culinary regional products, such as Mustard Soup of local mustard. Of course, that dish is also on the menu of our restaurant, but we also sell it through local supermarkets. Besides this, we also have a cookery workshop and a real foodtruck, Wesseling on Wheels“.

Cost control

The plan to start renting linen forty years ago originated from Mark’s mother in law. “She understood back then that is was commercially interesting to rent linen instead of purchasing and arranging it yourself. The ease of renting played an important role in her decision. But, knowing her, the price will also have played a role. I have gathered from her stories that then regional manager Eelke Tuininga also did her best to get her to be one of the first Blycolin customers. From the very first deliveries up until today, we have never considered to manage our linen elsewhere or ourselves. It takes too much time and energy to get it done as well as Blycolin does. And thereby, the costs also play as big a role to us as they did for my mother in law. By cooperating with Blycolin, we manage the costs variably and controllably.”