Vote for Pie Aerts [F 2009] for Hotello of the year

You can vote for Pie here until Monday, December 22.
The Hotello of the Year will be announced on the HotelloTop on January 14, 2026, during the Horecava.

What does this nomination mean to you?

First of all, my nomination came as a big surprise. I never thought that I, as a photographer, would be eligible for this award. Nevertheless, throughout my corporate career and my career as a photographer, I have always been very aware of how my time at the Hotel School in Maastricht laid the foundation and created fertile ground for success later in life. It is therefore a tremendous honor to be nominated and to be the only candidate representing the Hotel School Maastricht in the top 3.

What did your time at hotel school mean to you?

During my time in Maastricht, I learned above all about the power of connection: how I can bring people and worlds together by telling a good story. I can't count the number of times I stood on a chair, a table, or a stage to turn three random words into a compelling story. But I also learned to work hard. 'It's not yes, but no because' was the motto for four years.

Perhaps what has been most valuable to me is that the Hotel School taught me how important it is to stay true to yourself. That unique combination formed the basis for both my corporate career and my life as a photographer, two complete opposites, but united in the Hotel School DNA. In my case, that consists of a strong sense of humanity, an inexhaustible drive to always want to work harder than anyone else, and mobilizing and building communities with impact. You have to have that DNA in you to begin with, but the institute brings it out ten times stronger.

Why should people vote for you?

When I ended my corporate career in 2019 and chose to become a photographer, I had one big dream: to combine my commercial instinct with my creative passion and use it to bring people together to make an impact and give something meaningful back to the world. Based on that philosophy, I brought 400 photographers together within the fundraising platform we called “Prints for Wildlife.” Together, we managed to raise $2.5 million for African animals and communities in need through the sale of photographic prints. This made us officially the largest photographic fundraising campaign in the history of global conservation in 2025.

By voting for me, you are in fact voting for the idea that you don't have to be a CEO, prime minister, or philanthropist to make a difference in the world. All you need is a dream and, in my case, a small attic room in Amsterdam, but also a willingness to keep taking steps, no matter how small, towards that dream.

The Hotel School in Maastricht literally gave me the world, and now I am finally giving something back to that same world. As a hotelier, as a photographer, but above all as a human being. And for that I am incredibly grateful.

What are your next steps with Prints for Wildlife?

As a non-profit foundation, we have big dreams, but we often encounter scalability issues. Nevertheless, since our inception in 2020, we have grown into a sizeable organization with more than 20 employees during campaign periods.

Art is the language of the heart. A language that invites us to recognize something of ourselves in others, and that holds up a mirror to us, so that we dare to build bridges where walls seem to stand. In a world that is becoming more polarized every year, art can offer an alternative form of dialogue, one that touches not only the head, but above all the heart.

As a photographer but also as the founder of ‘Prints for Wildlife’, I am on a lifelong mission to show people the power of hope. Because what remains when hope leaves our hearts?

In addition to selling images online, people can expect physical art auctions from us in the future, but I have also been dreaming of a book for some time. 100% of our profits go to charity, but perhaps even more important than the financial impact we make is the fact that we are strong advocates for inclusivity and equal opportunities within the world of nature photography. I strongly believe that the future of nature conservation should lie in the hands of local communities.

And what does your work as a photographer look like?

As a photographer, I mainly work on long-term documentary projects at the intersection where humans, animals, and nature meet. I then turn these into print collections and books. For example, I have been working on two major projects over the past five years. I photographed one of these projects in Chilean Patagonia, and it will be published as a book in 2026. I have been photographing the other story in Kenya since 2019, and it will be published as a book in 2027.

Life as a photographer can be very lonely, but at the same time, I work in some of the most breathtaking and remote places on earth. That is why, in 2022, I set up a company offering photographic expeditions, taking small groups of 8-10 participants to my favorite places on earth. I now organize 6 trips a year, to Kenya, Botswana, and Zambia in Africa, and to the North Pole, Patagonia, and India. On these trips, I combine my great love of hospitality, adventure, and photography into unique once-in-a-lifetime adventures. We use photography as a means to learn more about a particular culture or nature reserve. This brings me full circle, as it allows me to combine my past as a hotelier with my current life as a photographer.

For more information and images, visit the Pie Aerts website.