I was born and raised in the Netherlands, in a town called Driebergen, 25 miles out of Amsterdam, as the youngest of 6 children. My parents still live in the same house I grew up in. As a kid I always dreamt of living somewhere warm and subtropical so at the age of 20 I packed a suitcase and moved to Spain.

For about 8 years I lived in Spain, in a tourist town on the coast, a little north of Barcelona. Life in Spain was great, very relaxed, beach, sun and I met a lot of great people from many different countries. I feel very fortunate that I spent my twenties in such a great environment. I still have a lot of friends in Spain and go back every year. During the slow winter months I used to live in a ski resort in Austria and I have lived briefly in London as well. After 8 years on the beach and in the mountains I decided it was time for a change and came to America to work on a cruise ship. The cruise industry was a great experience; I learnt a lot and visited many amazing places. A cruise ship is a very interesting place to work since you work with people from literally all over the world; it's sort of a floating United Nations. After living on a ship for two years I decided it was time to get a "normal" life again, and since I enjoyed the USA I decided to give Los Angeles a try.

The first job I had in LA was at the front desk of Shutters on the Beach. After working at the front desk for a couple of years I moved to the concierge desk which turned out to be a great job. People genuinely appreciate what you do for them as a concierge which makes it a very rewarding job, it can be challenging at times but that keeps you on your toes. It helps to work with great vendors that you can rely on and that you know are going to make your guests happy. We have worked with Elite for years now and have had nothing but positive feedback from our guests.

Shutters on the Beach turned out a great place to work, the atmosphere is quite relaxed and down to earth, yet the level of service is high, which is a great combination. Over the years at Shutters I have met a lot of interesting people and most of all I feel very fortunate with the team I work with. The entire front office team works very well together and gets along great, which makes the job a lot easier and so much more fun.

In my spare time I enjoy working out, the beach and the ocean and in the winter most of all snow skiing. I absolutely love Mammoth and go up as much as I can, use that season pass!!

Moving to Southern California worked out very well for me, I love the diversity and the endless possibilities this place has to offer.