Colophon

THIS MAGAZINE IS AN ISSUE OF CORPORATE HOUSING FACTORY B.V.

Gustav Mahlerlaan 50b

1082 ME Amsterdam

+31 (0) 88 1169 500 info@corporatehousingfactory.com www.corporatehousingfactory.com

PUBLISHED BY ZUIDAS PUBLISHERS

WTC Amsterdam

Strawinskylaan 151

1077 XX Amsterdam

+31 (0)20-3620993 info@zuidaspublishers.nl www.zuidaspublishers.nl

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Romy Lange

EDITORS

Romy Lange

Celine Boute

Brigitte Oosterhuis

ISSUED BY Zuidas Publishers

DESIGN

Imageau - Emiel Brouwers & Rachel Huigevoort

PHOTOGRAPHY

Caily Bobbie Jo

PRINT RUN

5,000 copies

Copyright © 2023 Zuidas Publishers.

All rights reserved. Nothing appearing in this magazine (information, pictures, images) may be copied or reproduced, in any manner whatsoever, unless explicit permission has been given in writing.

20

HOUSING GROUP

A perfect first landing for anyone relocating to Europe

23 TRAVEL

100 ML goodies

10

INTERVIEW

MICHAEL BERENDSEN & JOUKE BAAIMA

Owners Corporate Housing Factory

15

BE SOCIAL Social updates

16

HOW TO GET SETTLED As an international

24

CORPORATE FOODIES

We share one of our favourite recipes plus our favourite restaurants in The Netherlands!

27 COLUMN

A day in the life of Alexandra Kinsella, Service Desk supervisor

18

PROPERTY Favourites

28

GOING GREEN, Together

By Greg Shapiro ‘The

After the success of our 5-year anniversary issue (how has it been 5 years?!), we are thrilled to connect with you once again in print.

I’ve come to believe that it’s the spirit that defines our company and its labels. Building most of them from scratch, it has required creativity, vision, perseverance and most importantly, teamwork. Because in the end, it all comes down to us, working side-by-side with our unceasing enthusiasm and commitment for providing the perfect temporary stay. Who could have imagined 10 years of hard work would lead us to where we are today?

An opportune moment to pause and look back on the strides taken and challenges faced. As we are and have been living in rather peculiar times (I won’t cite the details here), one of the things we’ve surely learned is how paramount it is to more regularly slow down and take the time to reflect on how we’re living and working, as individuals and as a company. I’m sure that, like me, you sometimes can’t help but ponder the true state of the world around us. Most of all, who would have imagined that it ended up being a global pandemic that would transform the way we fundamentally live, travel and work?

Auspiciously, we have proven to be agile. As far as sustainable hospitality goes, there is a lot we can still achieve and have accomplished over the past years! We have been thinking about our means of travel and transport. How can we work towards championing responsible business travel? Thinking about our sourcing habits. Where do the products we use in our apartments come from and what are they made of? Thinking about global hiring, (green) relocation trends and housing in the Netherlands. What’s new and how can we help solve some of the housing issues?

Eva Valkhoff

These are the questions we have been asking at Corporate Housing Factory. Because, while we are successful, financial success is not the sole yardstick against which we measure ourselves. Instead, we are driven by what we can do to bring positive change with things we do. Whether it’s through sponsoring one of the charities we believe in (see page 30), ‘simply’ finding the right solution for our clients’ needs, a new environmentally-friendly housing project we’re passionate about, or placing people – rather than profit – at the heart of our business. Don’t get me wrong: we can hardly claim to be the greenest company on earth; the point is, we grow with the times, and have done so throughout. Environmental topics and social inclusivity might be all the rage today but being environmentally mindful and inclusive has been part of our DNA from the start. Which is one of the primary reasons why I’ve been proud to work for this company no less than 7 consecutive years!

As we now navigate our way into an unknown future, we know that caring about how we live and work – with each other – is essential in shaping a (business) world that is sustainable! On to the next 10 years!

Eva Valkhoff - Head of Marketing