Niels and Thijs van der Valk of Baoase on Family Hospitality, the Art of Saying Yes, and Building the Caribbean's Number One Resort
Why this matters
Hospitality has separated by chain scale and demand segment, with luxury and resort outperforming and select-service holding pricing power on a leaner cost base. New construction starts remain at multi-decade lows, which has supported in-place RevPAR and made conversions of soft-branded flags an increasingly active part of transaction velocity. For sponsors with operational expertise, the sector continues to offer one of the more compelling income-plus-appreciation profiles available across CRE.
Editorial analysis · Real Estate Trail Editorial
On the RET wire
- Disclosed hospitality deal value tracked in October 2026: $1.2B across 10 reported transactions. All Hospitality coverage →
Computed from Real Estate Trail’s own tracked coverage
Niels and Thijs van der Valk, co-directors of Baoase Luxury Resort in Curaçao, detail the family-built property's philosophy, Indonesian design identity, and expansion plans behind its #1 Caribbean ranking.
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