How Boardwalk Boutique Hotel Became A Career Changer And A Lucky Charm

During her college years Yvette met fellow law student Geert. There was an instant connection between the two, and after a fun time as students, Geert was given the opportunity to work as a guest lecturer at the University of Aruba for eight weeks. It was 2017, and Yvette decided to come along as Aruba sounded like an exotic and exciting break from her law studies. And Aruba proved her right. 

Not only was tropical Aruba the complete opposite from the endless grey Dutch skies and cold winters of the Netherlands, they also both fully embraced the laid-back island lifestyle. It was warm, colorful, surprising, and all in all, a very special and adventurous experience. Upon returning home the young couple decided to look for job opportunities in Aruba once Yvette had graduated. Which she did in 2019. 

Soon an opportunity presented itself. Geert was offered a position as a Lecturer in Criminal Law at the University of Aruba in Oranjestad, the island’s capital. To settle in Aruba with all paperwork and permits in order, it was necessary to get married first. They exchanged vows during an intimate ceremony in The Netherlands on Christmas Eve in 2019. By February 2020, Geert and Yvette had landed on Aruban soil, heading into a new adventure as permanent residents. And soon things turned more adventurous than anyone could have ever imagined, as less than a month after arriving in Aruba, the whole world went into lockdown due to COVID19. An uncertain period followed. 

Despite the global pandemic and the challenging circumstances, Yvette soon found work as a lawyer at one of the largest local companies on the island. Because gathering in groups was not possible at that time, Yvette sought contact on social media in her spare time and joined various chat groups. In one of those chats, locals talked about the unique situation in Aruba during the pandemic, in which the island felt empty and deserted. Someone should seize the moment, the chat group suggested and take photos of Aruba’s beautiful nature at its most pristine, with various colorful fishes, starfish, rays, and turtles suddenly appearing much closer to the coastline, and endless beaches without a single person in sight, making its white sands pop even brighter. Yvette took the suggestions from her chat group to heart and followed her next calling.

During her college years Yvette had picked up a camera as a hobby but soon her student days got filled with other things. Her camera was only collecting dust, and as a student she was always short of cash, so she decided to sell her camera. It wasn’t until years later, in Aruba, when she noticed a camera for sale on social media. And not just any camera; the exact same camera she had used during her student days and knew exactly how to operate. With Aruba offering the décor of picture-perfect paradise, her first topic to photograph did not need any pondering. 

As Yvette decided to photograph the island in all its pure glory and natural beauty, she had a second pet project, pun intended: volunteering at St Peppers, an animal rescue organization in Aruba, where she combined her two hobbies by capturing stray dogs and other neglected pets at their best to help them find adopters, on the island and abroad. Her efforts did not go unnoticed, and one day Yvette received a message from Kimberly, one of the owners of Boardwalk Boutique Hotel, who had been following her on Instagram and was looking for a dog sitter for her own adopted dog. Before saying yes, Yvette wanted to meet Kimberly and her dog Max first, and what followed was a long beach walk during which Kimberly, aware Yvette had just quit her job as a corporate lawyer, recognized a talented marketeer in her content and offered her a job as social media content creator for @boardwalkhotelaruba.

Of course, Yvette said yes to this unexpected offer and became the steady hand and creative brain behind our posts, reels, and stories, and the results show. Over the last five years, Boardwalk Boutique Hotel's social following has grown to 55k across Instagram and Facebook combined, with steady engagement to match, no small feat for a non-branded, family-run 49-room hotel. Taking on this new challenge was a leap of faith for a lawyer by training, yet it all fell into place. Being an island resident with a real affinity for Aruba, her content ideas formed organically, matching well with Boardwalk's "live like a local" motto, and her step into marketing felt far less foreign than one might expect.

The years ticked by, and Yvette's camera skills did not go unnoticed. Opportunity was calling again when Yvette came to the rescue, stepping in last-minute during a destination wedding, as the couple’s local photographer dropped out unexpectedly. And so Yvette, the lawyer-turned-marketing-social-media-guru, suddenly found herself on a local beach photographing a wedding, which she did with such an eye for the perfect shot that, after this spontaneous fill-in gig, wedding photography jobs were suddenly offered by the dozen. And so, yet another profession was born.

Meanwhile, Geert's time at the University of Aruba had come to an end. He wanted to continue his studies in the Netherlands and pursue the RAIO training (to become a judge), so the Aruban adventure came to a close for Geert and Yvette. However, that did not mean the end of Yvette's opportunities and jobs on the island. She remained—and remains—actively involved in Boardwalk's social media content creation and strategy, still dedicates herself tirelessly as a volunteer at Sgt. Pepper's animal shelter when she is temporarily staying in Aruba for assignments, and is regularly booked by prospective couples to photograph their wedding ceremonies on Aruba's vast white beaches.

And so, opportunities continue to follow, and the directions in which Yvette is developing expand further. She stays close to her heart and to her strengths, which ultimately leads to surprising work that provides great satisfaction. Her passion for animals, for photography, and for Aruba has brought together different worlds and opportunities. To use her own words: “saying ‘yes’ to Kimberly’s offer to start working for Boardwalk Boutique Hotel Aruba after that beach walk has brought me so much. After that, things sort of snowballed out of control, but in a very organic, authentic, and positive way. No matter how I continue to develop and whatever opportunities may arise in the future, Boardwalk is my lucky charm, and I wouldn’t part with the hotel for anything; that will always remain a core value in my work week. And who knows, when Geert starts working as a judge in a few years—maybe, in about 10 years—we might take the step to return to Aruba, the island that has brought us so much and continues to do so.”