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44 45 to 73 units or 110 bedrooms, in 2004, with the purchase of Lions Dive Hotel Bonaire. Also in 2004, the company acquired Carib- bean Watersports, and in 2006, it took over management of Caribbean Club Bonaire, a full-service resort that grew under Sapias management from 18 units to 39 units or 56 bedrooms. In July 2010, the one-stop scuba shop, Your Scuba Store, opened its doors in the center of town serving the divers on Bonaire with all their retail needs. Along the way, while Sapias Holding B.V. was ex- panding its portfolio, it was also creating synergistic arrangements among its holdings and taking advantage of economies of scale, whenever possible. For example, throughout 2003-04, the company began operating its own facilities management sector, in order to provide its properties’ housekeeping, maintenance, and engineering needs. It also purchased a com- pany called Beltech to provide them with IT-related services. And in 2006, it consoli- dated a Central Reservations Office for all SAPIAS HOLDING B.V. of its properties. Another company, Desal Pro, which sells and provides maintenance to electricity and water plants that purify salt water into drinking water via a desalination process, was added to its roster, because, ac- cording to Coolen, the government’s prices for water were not competitive. Today, Sapias Holding B.V. has approximate- ly 200 employees across all its divisions, but it is still a family-managed company. Coolen is married to Van der Valk’s oldest daughter, Michelle, who is the General Manager of Buddy Dive Resort. Middle daughter, Barbara, together with her husband Remmert Zandstra, started out as managers of Caribbean Club Bonaire, and today, she is responsible for the marketing of Sapias Holding B.V. and General Manager of Caribbean Club Bonaire, while Remmert is a board member of the operation on Dominica. Steffie, the youngest daughter, is Front Office Manager at Buddy Dive Resort and her husband Eurendy Lucas is Car Rental Manager. The diving industry is a major economic
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