From a room on Airbnb to a street-side burger stall, a pay-to-use shower or children transporting luggage to the campsite in their go-karts: local residents near the site of the Tomorrowland dance music festival are seizing every opportunity to cash in. VRT NEWS spoke to some of them.
The first festival weekend of dance music festival Tomorrowland in Boom (Antwerp Province) is over, but how much did local residents earn from it? A survey by VRT NEWS reveals that the figure is quite substantial. Earnings can run into thousands of euros.
For many, it is a way to earn some extra money this summer. The football club ‘Reetse Veteranen Vrienden’ from Rumst sees it that way too. “We’ve been running our drinks stall near the Dreamville campsite for several years now,” says chair Patrick De Maeyer. “Lots of people pass by here looking for a refreshing drink with extra ice cubes.”
According to Patrick, it’s an ideal revenue model for boosting the club’s funds. “Over two weekends, we earn around 3,000 euros. That allows us to pay for our football pitch, wash our shirts and repair our two large mascots.”
Local resident Hans Somers is also hoping to earn a bit of extra cash this summer. “We’re selling pints to pay for my future son-in-law’s stag do. I’m going along for the weekend, so I’m happy to roll up my sleeves and give it a go.”
Hans has worked out exactly how many pints they need to sell to make a profit. “We’ve got three fridges full of beer. If we sell them all, we’ll make a bit of a profit. I couldn’t find any more fridges. Unfortunately, for festivalgoers, that means ‘once they’re gone, they’re gone’.”
900 euros per night for a room
As well as food and drink stalls, renting out a room on Airbnb has also become hugely popular. In Boom, for example, at Karen Depaepe and Tom Provost’s place, you pay 900 euros a night for a room.
“It’s the first time we’ve done this,” says Karen. “We have lots of friends in the neighbourhood who also rent out rooms, and they’ve all had positive experiences so far.”
"Our three rooms had been on Airbnb for less than a day and they were all already booked," Tom continues. "In total, six guests could stay. They pay 900 euros per night, including breakfast. We hope this will help cover the cost of our holiday afterwards.’
Anyone who feels renting a room is too expensive can, for a reasonable price, stay at one of the pop-up campsites in the area. These initiatives are also popping up in more and places. For example, you can stay in a tent in Bruno’s garden in Rumst. Three nights there cost just under 500 euros. But you’ll also find campsites like this in nearby Schelle or Puurs-Sint-Amands.