HURRICANE IRMA HHBH family recovery foundation. Dear friends of the Holland House,

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1 HURRICANE IRMA 2017 HHBH family recovery foundation Dear friends of the Holland House, On September 6th, 2017 St. Maarten was struck by one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded. We reached out for help for our staff and a foundation was established to help them recover. The support they have received has been overwhelming, heartfelt and generous. Now that we are getting close to Christmas and the beginning of a New Year, we reflect and are grateful to be able to say, we are doing very well! There is still a lot of work ahead of us but we are confident for a bright future for the Holland House and St. Maarten. The past three months have been very intense. We like to share our story. Paul Boetekees General Manager

2 Cees, the maintenance manager enforcing the shutters August 20, 2017, we were working hard to get everything ready for the season in december 2017 August 31, 2017, hurricane Irma is forecasted to get really close to St. Maarten. Time to start planning. Maybe not such a bad idea after all :-) Safety briefing to the hotel guests and staff. Everybody needs to know what to do. Hurricane Kevlar nets are being installed as Sint Maarten is placed under a hurricane warning. All furniture is put inside and the cellar is locked with a tsunami door.

3 September 5, Many guests followed the preparations via the webcam. Over 8400 people had logged on. The catamaran ended upside down on Bobby s Marina. The little red boat was found on the beach further down. September 5, Hurricane Irma is now forecasted to be 185 mph. one of the most powerful hurricanes ever recorded. The calm before the storm. No Photoshop, no filter, the exact color the sky turns before a hurricane hits.

4 September 6, 2017 IRMA knocking at the door. We needed some more reinforcements! Waiting for the storm to pass. First in the lobby, then in the hallways and eventually all of us in the basement. Keeping the spirit up!

5 Significant damage to the roof. First damage assessment was made in the eye of the storm. We finally had a chance to go outside. Roofs and zinc everywhere we look. Lots of damage. It s incredible what wind can do.

6 September 7, 2017 The generator is not working. No electricity. No water. Paul is on many Dutch media sites stressing for more security of Philipsburg. While the merchants look on, the looters have become inventive. Hotel guests are helping out fixing shutters for the next hurricane. With no electricity and internet available, Marc is plotting hurricane Jose on a map using coordinates we got from friends over the phone. Hurricane Jose and later another one called Maria, three hurricanes within 10 days!

7 All hotels on St. Maarten have been damaged. This one is Great Bay Hotel This beachcomber was literally beached! The generator is on thanks to Cees & Dick. We can start cooking again! Maho hotel has been gutted out, this is going to have an impact for tourism on the Island. The roof is in a very bad shape.

8 Staff of Holland House making a first photo to ask for help after which the HHBH family recovery foundation was established. First beers are being served at the bar. Another calm before the storm - hurricane Maria is coming. Hurricane Maria arriving, this one was not so bad.

9 Recovery fase! We build an outdoor office to start reconstruction and organize the cleanup. Chefs are working on inventory and menu planning. We needed to make sure we had enough food. The sand is still there! Beach life continues soon. Meet Lady. She is an Island dog and has protected the hotel many nights after the storm. We fed her so she would stay and is now part of the family. Zephir the houseman, helping out on the beach. Food & Beverage manager Jandery Jesse cleaning her restaurant. The whole staff is working very hard to get the hotel up and running again.

10 Chris and Paula making pasta for the staff. Staff is doing whatever is needed. Front desk staff cleaning the lobby. Thick layers of sand and salt are everywhere.

11 even when they have lost it all. This is Mabel. She is the housekeeping supervisor for over 35 years at the Hotel. Mabel has lost everything. A tornado has hit her home and destroyed everything in it. We realized very soon that our staff members needed serious help. Five of our staff members lost their complete home. Many lost all their household goods and almost everyone has water damage. For this the Holland House family recovery foundation was established. The Hotel owners made significant contribution and along with you, and many others over E Euros was raised in cash and goods!

12 The first container arriving on St. Maarten with over 1800 items of brand new clothing. Lots of toys for kids, shoes, back packs etc. It was overwhelming. The Vilebrequin shop was made available to the foundation to create a pop up shop with all the clothing and goods we received.

13 Free shopping for the staff! They enjoyed it and and were extremely grateful. In the meantime the foundation had prepared vouchers for things the staff needed, stoves, beds, building materials etc. and of course a little extra cash to help out. The hotel has kept everyone that stayed after the hurricane fully employed.

14 After taking care of our own staff, we found out about an orphanage home. 37 children from 1 to 11 are staying with Mrs. Webster and her daughter Jacqueline. They hardly had any clothes, no toys and only one small fridge and a mini stove to cook. The foundation helped them with lots of toys, brand new clothes, brought a new stove and two new fridges! Little Natisha says Thank you

15 Beat the crowd St. Maarten needs a lot of work but the island is still beautiful as ever! December 2017, things are starting to look up. The beach chairs are out. 25 hotel rooms are occupied The deck is set and the restaurant and bar are ready. The two famous bougainvillea are flowering like never before!

16 Wine & liquors are stocked The beat goes on READY FOR A PARTY! FRED YORK & FRIENDS - Jam sessions & talent discovery on first Friday of the month The Friday crowd finds its way to Holland House! Cool deep house and happy beats, meet new friends.

17 And then we got a call: Can you guys host the King and the Queen of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for a private lunch? sure!

18 On behalf of all the staff of the Holland House we sincerely want to thank you for your generous and loyal support. The staff needed it and we are very grateful for your kindness. The Island itself is still beautiful as ever, it s time to come back. You will be treated..like Royalty! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! We look forward to welcome you!