When management loses its way; The Kurhaus story!

The Kurhaus in Scheveningen; a hotel that evokes memories in the collective hospitality memory of every Dutch person. A place where the Rolling Stones gave their first legendary Dutch concert in 1964. A place where Winston Churchill and Audrey Hepburn have stayed. A place of renown and fame.

In recent years, this place has been squandered by the management. As a result, the staff work in misery, and the Kurhaus has been brought to the brink of ruin. For several years now, the sickness absence at the Kurhaus has been alarmingly high, employees are forbidden to talk to the union, and 14-hour workdays are more the rule than the exception. A few days ago, Kurhaus employees, with the help of FNV hospitality, brought the reality of the mismanagement to light, hoping for change.

And the management's response to this? None. After RTL 4 on Friday, 30 May aired a report on the abuses at the Kurhaus, everyone had to wait until Monday before the management bothered to respond. How's that for urgency? Meanwhile, after several critical reactions on Facebook, the Kurhaus's Facebook page has been taken down.

When the management finally bothers to say something about this serious matter, the biggest cliché imaginable comes to the fore. The management claims ‘we knew nothing?’ ‘FNV hospitality didn’t inform us’ and also ‘the works council knew nothing’. Oh really? An alarmingly high sickness absence with mainly burnout diagnoses, dozens of legal proceedings initiated by employees, extremely high turnover, the issuing of official warnings, threats of salary sanctions, and keeping employees small with extreme confidentiality agreements didn’t ring a bell?

Sigh.

In short, what nonsense.

As early as 27 November 2013, FNV hospitality sent a registered letter to the management asking for an explanation of the abuses. Subsequently, on 8 May, the works council published a memo in the canteen about the contact with FNV hospitality. A salient detail: the works council is appointed by the management!

What can still save the Kurhaus? This can only happen if the rotten apples of the management are removed. So that not only the employees but also the Netherlands can once again enjoy this special piece of historical hospitality.

Regards, Milen van Boldrik

Respond: m.vanboldrik@fnvhoreca.nl