Leadership with genuine attention: Future Hotel Leader Kimberly Appels-Peters
In just over ten years, Kimberly Appels-Peters has built an impressive career within the hospitality world, where people-centered leadership and operational sharpness go hand in hand. Through roles in sales, front office and rooms division, she progressed within Accor to her current position as Operations Manager at Novotel Rotterdam Brainpark. On February 2, 2026, she was awarded the Hotel Leaders Award: a recognition that not only highlighted her achievements, but above all emphasized her leadership style. Always close to the team, visible on the floor and with a strong focus on development, trust and perspective.
Winning the Future Hotel Leader Award 2026
The moment on stage went by incredibly fast. I looked at the screen and had actually expected a completely different photo. Until I suddenly thought: that is me. My name was called, people were standing around me, photos were taken and before I knew it, it was over. Not because it was not special, but because I did not see it coming at all. I was genuinely in shock for a moment. What stayed with me was that I stood there without pressure: I could only win. The fact that I was standing there at all already felt like a prize.
Recognition that truly touches you
What that award did to me personally surprised me. I notice that I can still become emotional about it. Often I feel like I am not doing anything special: I am just doing my job. Maybe that is also that Rotterdam mentality, no talk, just action.
But because of that, you sometimes forget that you do make an impact. For me, that award felt like confirmation: others see what I do and what it means to people. That I may mean more to others than I realize myself. I find that incredibly special.
My motto as a leader
If I have to summarize my way of leading in one sentence: be there for your team, with attention, genuine interest and stay yourself. I strongly believe in authentic leadership and do not pretend to be someone you are not and openly say if you do not know something. People immediately sense when you are playing a role.
Ultimately, I want my team to feel safe to be honest, to make mistakes and to grow. I follow one simple rule: treat others the way you would like to be treated. That may sound cliché, but especially in busy moments it is a conscious choice.
How it started as a little girl
If I go back to the beginning, it honestly is not one specific moment. I remember being at Van der Valk with my parents as a child and I mainly looked around to see what people were doing. I found it interesting and I even asked people if they would teach me how to fold napkins nicely. When I think about that, I actually knew very early on that I wanted to go into hospitality.
What exactly it was is hard to capture, but it feels like a certain feeling. Hospitality is full of stories, full of people and above all full of dynamics. No day is the same. And that personal contact with guests, that family feeling, that is what appealed to me most.
First steps in hospitality at McDonald’s
My first side jobs in hospitality were at McDonald’s. Many people really underestimate what kind of training ground a company like that is. They attach enormous value to quality and service. It is fast, it is pace, it is structure. And you stand there all day with a smile “always a happy smile”. That shaped me. Not because it is the same as a hotel, but because that is where you learn what service under pressure means. You learn that your attitude is part of quality. And you learn that processes only work when people execute them with attention.
Sales and operations: the perfect combination
My first real steps in hospitality were in sales. From there I moved closer and closer to operations. If you ask me what that combination has brought me, it is very clear to me: sales shaped me to think strategically and to look more sharply at commercial opportunities. Operations, on the other hand, brought me leadership, humanity and the ability to switch quickly. And together, for me, that is truly a perfect combination.
The moment I knew: I want to move towards management
My growth into a leadership role was an organic process. I quickly noticed something that I later call a kind of natural leadership. Colleagues naturally came to me. For advice, for direction, for support when they were dealing with something. At a certain point I realized: this is where I can make an impact in people their lives. I have received wonderful opportunities myself. And I increasingly felt: this is my chance to give other people those kinds of opportunities as well.
That thought, being able to make an impact, kept coming back. Not as a big word, but in practice: helping someone move forward, giving someone trust, letting someone grow. And for me, management fits with that, as long as you keep it human.
The step into the funeral industry
I deliberately left a gap in my cv when I became a mother to my second child and chose to stay home for a while. Shortly after, corona broke out and I lost my mother to the virus.
During that period, I saw the impact a funeral director can have on a family. Everything came together: impact, hospitality, planning and organizing, genuine attention and an eye for detail. It aligned perfectly with what I am good at and what I enjoy doing, and that is how I entered that industry during corona.
Planning and organizing remain important, but sometimes you also have to leave room for what arises. And above all, it confirmed what I already knew: real, authentic attention makes the difference.
An honest choice: stopping at the right moment
In the funeral industry you work with people at their most vulnerable moment. That requires 100 percent genuine presence. I wanted to prevent the sincere, deep attention that I always gave from ever shifting into a “way of working” or a routine. Precisely because I wished those families the very best, I knew: this is the moment to return.
My return to hospitality started very simply. Laura van Etten, the Commercial Manager of the hotel where I now work, called me because she saw that I was liking things on LinkedIn. She asked if I wanted to return to hospitality and that came at exactly the right moment. She said: I think we could really use you here.
Why Accor feels like “home” to me
Accor feels like home to me. And I also said in the conversation: no matter how large that organization is, I feel that they keep an eye on you as a person. That family feeling. That is important to me.
When people approach you and say “I think I need you at this moment”, that feels like a great honor. I am loyal. Then I go all in. That is who I am. And in an organization where you receive that trust, where people give you opportunities, you also want to give back.
Letting others make mistakes
The biggest learning experience in my growth from sales to operations manager was letting go. Giving trust. Not wanting to do everything yourself, even if you sometimes think: I can do it faster myself. I have learned to let others excel and also to let them make mistakes.
In the beginning I was quick to intervene when I saw something going wrong. Solve it, fix it, move on. But if you always do that, you take away people their growth. If you do not let others make mistakes, they cannot learn. And ultimately, I do not want a team that depends on one person who solves everything. I want a team that becomes stronger itself.
The most exciting step: letting go of the familiar
One of the most exciting steps in my career was the first time I left Accor. I felt at home at Accor, I knew the organization and the people. And then I made the move to Hotel Arena. That raised question marks from the outside world: why would you do that? But for me it felt exciting because I let go of the familiar and “blindly” trusted the general manager I followed.
That step taught me that sometimes you have to go through tension in order to grow. That trust is a choice. And that you get to know yourself better when you step outside your fixed frameworks for a while.
People who shaped me
In the conversation I mentioned two people who shaped me. Özgür Eylen, who at the time was director at ibis Rotterdam, stuck his neck out for me. He took me along in steps, he gave trust, and I learned a great deal from that. And now I work together with Rutger Blom, someone who allows me to be completely myself, lets me develop in every direction, and who says: take the opportunity. If it goes wrong, we tried together. That gives trust.
In addition, I feel that I have been enormously shaped by the opportunities and development programs I was able to go through within Accor and Essendi.
For example, I was given the opportunity to closely experience the opening of a hotel; a trajectory in which the organization truly did everything in its power to make that possible. Those kinds of investments in my growth are clear signals to me: we believe in you. That strengthens your own self confidence to take the next steps.
Three words that fit my leadership
If I have to capture my leadership in three words, I come to: people oriented, optimistic positive and ownership. Ownership especially in the sense that I want to give it to others. That I want people to take their own part, present their own ideas, feel their own responsibility. For me, people and results belong together, but I start with people. Motivated, appreciated colleagues automatically achieve better results.
And I see that the industry has for a long time been very strongly focused on hotel guests. Of course that is important. But sometimes you have forgotten your own “guests”: your colleagues. And I truly believe that now you have to make time to take care of your own people. If you do that, those results will follow.
Why good people leave
Work pressure exists. And often it is high. And no, you cannot simply remove it. But what you can do is show that you see how hard people work. Occasionally stand in the dishwashing area yourself. Or check in guests yourself again. Not as a show, but as real involvement.
I said in the conversation that lack of recognition is the number one reason why people leave. And I believe that. People want to be seen. Not only in words, but in behavior. If you respond to that, people will also give back. Then they feel: I belong, I am taken seriously, my effort makes a difference.
Recognition can be small: being present, listening, having coffee together, working alongside for an hour, a message, a cake, stopping by after a busy shift and saying “thank you”. These are the kinds of things that may seem small on paper, but in culture are enormously significant. And I think they make more difference than we sometimes realize.
What a good hotel manager needs
For me, empathy and flexibility are essential. We have to adapt faster and faster. At the same time, strategic insight remains important: KPIs have to be achieved. And if you ask me, there is something else that is often underestimated: the ability to connect people with each other. Because ultimately, a hotel is a team sport.
Work pressure and balance: energy starts with leading by example
Safeguarding balance in hotels is never a “perfect schedule”. You have sick leave, you have shortages, you have unexpected busy periods. For me, it starts with leading by example and setting the tone in energy. If I stay until seven in the evening every day, my team thinks they have to do the same.
In addition, I believe in team play: that someone from reservations helps at the front office for an hour. That we catch each other. That we do not think in boxes. And at the same time: guarding boundaries. An extra hour once in a while is possible. But if I see that it becomes structural, I start the conversation. Because that is not the balance someone should have. And especially with managers it is extra important: if they structurally work overtime, the team feels that that is “good”, while it should not be.
What I would change industry wide
If I could change something to improve wellbeing, I would say: more focus on the development of your own team. Of course the guest remains important, but keep an eye on your people and give perspective. Do not only put the guest at number one, put employees at number one. And then I turned it into something that fits me even better: make it a shared number one. Because I do not believe in “either or”. I believe in both and both, but with the recognition that your team is the foundation.
What comes next: the step towards general manager
Becoming a General Manager has been a dream of mine for a long time, and now I’m about to take that step: I will be starting as General Manager of ibis Rotterdam City Centre. I am incredibly proud of this opportunity, but what truly drives me remains the same. I want to build a hotel where people genuinely enjoy working, where you can feel the energy on the floor, and where guests love to return.
My most beautiful vision for the future is that this is not just a title, but something meaningful I leave behind in people. That one day someone might call and say: “Hey, I heard you became a General Manager. I loved working with you so much, do you have a spot for me?” If that happens, I’ll know that I’ve made a real impact as a leader. Not only as a “manager,” but as a person.
Would you like to work for the Accor hotel group? View the Accor jobs here or view Essendi jobs here.