Jaap Boelens has been promoted to Director of Food & Beverage at InterContinental Mark Hopkins

Born and raised in the city of Groningen in the Netherlands, Jaap Boelens got his start as a steward at a casual café at the age of 14. He later enrolled in the Hospitality Management College in Groningen and began his career in London at the Lancaster Hotel before joining the InterContinental Hotels Group as the Food & Beverage Outlets Manager at the InterContinental Los Angeles in Beverly Hills.

While pursuing a Master's degree in International Business at The University of Greenwich, Boelens became Assistant Sommelier at the InterContinental London Park Lane. He then spent a year with the InterContinental Houston before finding his way to the San Francisco Bay Area, taking on the role of Director of Outlets and later Food & Beverage Operations Manager for the iconic InterContinental Mark Hopkins. He moved into an Assistant Food and Beverage Director/Director of Outlets position at sister property InterContinental San Francisco for nearly two years before returning to the InterContinental Mark Hopkins in 2016.

During his time on property, Boelens supported the team in receiving a three-star certification by the Green Restaurant Association and was named Manager of the Quarter in late 2016. He also provided his expertise to the InterContinental Downtown Los Angeles for a period of three months, serving on the Food & Beverage pre-opening and opening team for the 890 room destination with multiple food and beverage outlets.