"Everything is new so it's exciting but nervous as well," Ping said.
Olivier said the previous owners had done a good job with the motel, which has a high ranking of 9.4 in booking.com especially for its service.
"We want to give the same level of service and also upgrade the motel.
"What I like about the motel is that it has charm.
"And we want to give the people who stay here a feeling of home."
Olivier was a worldwide tour guide [mostly cultural tours] who had been taking about seven groups a year from Belgium, his home country, to China.
He met Ping in 1998, in China, and the pair hit off which led to Olivier moving to China fulltime in 2002.
Living in Beijing was enjoyable but the pollution was off-putting especially as their son Jonathan's nose was often congested.
They moved to Shanghai, putting efforts into their in-bound travel business, but the pollution was still a major issue especially in winter time.
Moving to Europe was an option but was discounted with Olivier describing it as "one big mess" so they visited other parts of the world and soon took a shining for New Zealand especially Paraparaumu.
Knowing that the nine unit Ocean Motel was for sale, they visited the accommodation several times before buying it and becoming the proud new owners on September 1.
The trio are loving the new lifestyle in Kapiti.
"It's near the sea, the climate is nice, it's not far from Wellington, and the people are friendly," Olivier said.
