25 years of Becurious: from humble beginnings to market leader in hotel marketing

On a sun-drenched afternoon in June, Becurious's 25th anniversary was celebrated at restaurant Polly Goudvisch, located at the foot of the iconic A'DAM Tower in Amsterdam North. Together with family, friends and business associates, founder and owner Thomas Dieben reflected on his company's impressive journey over the past quarter-century.

During his speech, richly illustrated with anecdotes and memories, Thomas Dieben took those present on a journey through time. "It was my internship for Hotelschool The Hague at The Leading Hotels of the World in 2005 that provided the spark," he recounted. "There, I learned about the immense amounts of money involved in hotel commissions, which triggered me to do something in the triangle of hotel management, marketing and internet technology." This turned out to be the foundation on which Becurious was built.

With a big smile, Dieben talks about the office on Rietwijkerstraat in Amsterdam. "We started modestly, in one room, but have since taken over the entire office," he says.

Own CMS 

One of the key moments in Becurious's history is the development of its own content management system (CMS) for hotels. "We thought that having our own CMS aimed at hotels would be a good idea," recalls Dieben. "Marten, my former partner, developed the first version. Floris, who joined the team later, had other ideas and that led to the development of the hotel CMS as we know it today. This system, which now runs more than 250 hotels worldwide, is the core of our services."

Tom and Erik, Becurious's current developers, are constantly working to develop the system further. This allows Becurious to keep up with the latest technical possibilities and requirements. "With this specialised hotel CMS, we offer our clients a strategic advantage over common systems such as WordPress," Dieben said. 

Hotel marketing

With the recruitment of new talents, Becurious expanded its services. In 2017, Dieben started developing the Hotel Marketing Coach service with Tim, one of his employees. "Our clients now get even more out of their websites through Google Ads, email marketing and SEO, in which Niels, our SEO specialist, plays a crucial role," Dieben said. "We now have more than 40 clients we serve in this area."

Launch of Porter

In 2018, Becurious launched the Porter brand, aimed at providing full-service websites for hotels based on a design template. "The idea was simple but effective," Dieben explains. "We now serve more than a hundred hotels at home and abroad with this concept." 

He stresses that Becurious's success is not only due to technology, but mainly to its loyal clients and close-knit team. "Without the trust of our clients and the commitment of our team, we would not be where we are today," he says with gratitude. "It is their trust that drives us and motivates us to give our best every day."

Future

The 25th anniversary is not only a time to look back, but also to look forward. "Becurious got us here," reflects Dieben. "With Becurious, we want to ensure that people can discover destinations (online) and book hotel rooms easily. That's what we do, every day!"

Becurious's anniversary was thus more than a celebration of 25 years of success. With a solid foundation, a loyal customer base and a team that continues to evolve, Becurious is looking ahead to the next 25 years. As Dieben aptly put it with a glass in hand: "Helping hotels get direct reservations - that's what we do, and we'll keep doing it!"

New service

On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, Becurious recently announced a new service that further expands the agency's services. Becurious, already known for its innovative web design and online marketing services for the hotel industry, will now also start providing specialised content services. This new division will provide hotels with high-quality texts, images and videos. The aim is to help hotels further strengthen their online presence and tell their story in an effective and engaging way.

Founder Thomas Dieben explains, "With the addition of content services, we are closing the circle of our services. Hotels can now fully rely on us for all their online marketing needs, from web design to content creation and optimisation. This enables them to be even more targeted and professional in their appearance."

This new move underscores Becurious's continuous innovativeness and commitment to support their clients in achieving more direct bookings and better online visibility.