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Name of the hotel, Asterisk***

The history of Hotel Asterisk

The asterisk ( derived from the Greek asteriskos, meaning “little star” ) is a typographic symbol in the shape of a star in superscript that has 5 or 6 ponts

The symbol * is used in several ways:

In bodies of text it is used as a footnote. Ths is the original function of the symbol. It is a traditional way of denoting someone’s age. In historical linguistics an asterisk is placed in front of reconstructed words and sentences in languages of antiquity, to denote that these were never found.

Hotel Asterisk was founded in the time when you would look for hotels by searching through a phonebook or travelguide. So the name would be found faster when starting with an A. It would become “The Anker” ( “the anchor”), until a brother in law came up with “Asterisk”, a star! The name sounded right, and the word asterisk is internationally recognised. On top of that, hotels get classified with stars.

From 1932 to the present

History of the hotel

In 1932 a lodging agency was registered at Den Texstraat 16. 36 Years later this was bought by Johannes Adrianus Bucker, who turned it into ”Pension Butro”. He set up a contract with the Dutch National Railway and rented rooms to immigrants from Turkey and Morocco.

On the 6th of April 1977 Johannes Adrianus Bucker made his dream come true; he opened hotel Asterisk. Later he bought the buildings on number 14 and number 20 in the same street. By building a penthouse, a nice livingplace with some privacy for himself and his family was created. When another building in the street was put up for sale he made adventurous plans once more. Due to a fatal heart attack, he was not able to finish the reconstructions. At the time of his death, the hotel had grown to a size of 28 rooms.

After the decease of J.A. Bucker the hotel was acquired by his daughter Irma Bucker and currently has 42 rooms. Nowadays, her children Lisa and Johan Haagedoorn are full staff members. In 2023, Lisa and Johan became joint owners and together represent the third generation of Asterisk. They both have their unique, complimentary qualities which, with the help of their enthousiastic co-workers, makes the Asterisk Hotel a rock-solid formula.

Cornelis den Tex
The Den Textraat on which our hotel is located is named after Cornelis den Tex, major of Amsterdam from 1868 until 1880.

In 1866 he became a member of the liberal party in the city council, after which he had the honour of being the major of Amsterdam from 1868 until 1880. Besides this, he was renowned for his participation in the society. After his time as a major he stayed a member of the senate untill his death in 1882.

On the 12th of May 1874 ‘Koo’ den Tex was admitted to the Dutch Nobility.

Family run hotel
Lodging since 1932, hotel Asterisk sinds 1977

18-06-2023

The third generation hotel Asterisk

What started as our grandfather's dream in 1977 has grown today into a stable, forward-looking family business. Johan and I are extremely proud and grateful to be able to take over the baton from our mother. As the third generation, we feel very honoured to continue the work and dream of our predecessors!

This photo is a reminder of a very personal and precious moment. We had just signed here to take over the hotel. Moreover, Lisa could give birth to her second child at any moment and Johan could become a father of his first child at any moment.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

We owe everything to our great-grandfather

Grandpa started in 1977 with few resources, but hard work. He had a dream. Or actually, his father had a dream and that became his dream. What few people know is that we owe everything to my grandfather's father. Who told our grandfather to start a hotel. Our mother continued to expand the business and invested diligently in the company and made it what it is today: ready for modern times.

It is up to Johan and me to find a way through challenges such as digitalization, sustainability and changing guest needs. Our company and the relationship we have is all about connection with our employees, our guests and each other. Only together can we succeed and make our company successful.