In the leisure industry everyone knows everyone. Or nearly everyone. A tip from a colleague, a name that comes up, and before you know it you're on a video call with a couple you somehow already knew without knowing it.
That's how it went for us.
Late last year we were tipped off by contacts in the leisure world. Alwin and Bionda, we were told. Brilliant couple. Italian coast. You must speak to them.
We only had to Google the name before the recognition hit. Alwin and Bionda have appeared several times on a Dutch TV programme about people who leave everything behind for a new life abroad. We'd watched the episodes years ago, without realising we'd one day become their seasonal managers. We looked the episodes up, rewatched them and immediately understood why people spoke so enthusiastically about them. These are people who go all in.
Built three times, moved on three times
Alwin and Bionda once left for Italy with their children. Not for a sabbatical, not to try it for a year. For good. And they haven't sat still since. What started as one location grew into a way of life: build a place, make something special of it, and when it's done, take the next step. Villa Alwin Beach Resort in Le Marche is their current project, right on the Adriatic coast. Based on everything we've read and seen about it, it's nothing short of paradise. We can't wait to set foot there ourselves for the first time.
First there was a video call, to see if there was a connection. There was. Then we met in person, in February in the Netherlands, and two hours later we both knew: this is going to work.
What we both get out of it
It might sound like a business arrangement, but it feels like much more than that. Alwin and Bionda run a resort with their own team, but want to be able to step back a bit. There are good reasons for that which are their own. We're here to make that possible. Four extra hands from people who understand what hospitality means, who know the operational side and who throw themselves in wholeheartedly.
But for us it's more than work. Le Marche is the region where we want to buy our own campsite. By working at Villa Alwin this season, we get to know the region from the inside. We're building a network. We're on the ground when an interesting campsite comes up for sale. And we're gaining experience in exactly the sort of environment we want to create ourselves.
This season we're also staying in one of the luxury tents on the resort ourselves. That means we fully absorb the holiday atmosphere, get to know the guests up close and understand what it means to stay at Villa Alwin.
"We're gaining experience at the place where we want to live. We couldn't wish for better preparation."
On 18 April the gates open
We're tremendously excited. To welcome the guests, to spoil them and to make sure they want for nothing. To learn, to look and to get a taste of the life we want to lead.
And who knows. Perhaps the answer to where our place in the boot lies is closer than we think, and Villa Alwin turns out to be our dream. We shall see.