Women of leisure
YeahBaby magazine
Published on Sunday October 1, 2006
Chris Alden meets the trio of young Dutch women who want to re-invent the way we travel – by pairing tourists with enterprising locals
When Esther Weeber, Marieke van Os and Mandy Mooren first met, they had no idea they would one day start an innovative online travel company together. But they can be forgiven for their lack of foresight – they were all only four years old at the time.
The three friends, now in their thirties, grew up in the same village in central Holland and went to the same school. In order to maintain their friendship as they grew older and went off to university – and to indulge their passion for travel – they decided to go on a weekend break together once a year. It was their experiences as regular city-breakers that gave them the big idea for their business.
”We noticed that the nicest districts, the nicest places, were where the locals went,” says Marieke. “That’s what we experienced, both in New York and when we lived at the home of a local in Berlin.”
After a series of brainstorming sessions involving several bottles of wine, they finally had their plan. In January last year the women launched a website, www.like-a-local.com, which allows travellers to book experiences hosted by enterprising locals, in cities including Amsterdam, Antwerp, Porto and Lisbon.
Customers can stay in local districts, eat at the homes of their hosts or get taken to local restaurants, pubs and sights according to their mood. In Amsterdam, you might stay in a houseboat or a canal house B&B, choose between a bicycle tour of the north of the city or an art-activity session, or eat a five-course meal cooked by your host while sharing a long table with other travellers. The fee you pay will be split between Like-a-Local and your host.
The main criterion, says Marieke, is that the experience is authentically local. “We have to check it’s not too touristy – we make an appointment and find out.” Amsterdam was a natural choice as the base for the business. Two of the friends, Marieke and Esther, live in the city and know it well.
And, partly thanks to the famous open-mindedness of the Dutch, Like-a-Local soon had a list of Amsterdam residents ready to show off their city to the world.
”I like it here because we have everything,” says Marieke, “but it also has the feeling of a village, a really sparkling, big village. I cycle everywhere and you can walk from one side of Amsterdam to the other. You see the different architecture, the boats, the canal-houses – and the freedom in the city.”
A great strength of Like-a-Local is that, in an ever-changing city, residents are often the first to pick up on the best new places to go. Marieke says: ”When I say to you: ‘You have to go to this pub or trendy restaurant,’ in half a year it’s no longer trendy. This is exactly what Like-a-Local is doing: when you meet people, they say what the trendy restaurant is at that time.”
For almost two years, the three women have been running the business in their spare time from home, keeping their day jobs. Esther is district manager in a travel agency, Marieke is a manager in a job agency and Mandy works in marketing. But the idea has proved so popular that they’re planning to quit their jobs and move into new premises in Amsterdam. Their goal is to offer more activities in more cities, such as London and Paris. Yet no matter how far they spread their wings, they intend to keep the spirit of the company as local as they can.
“What I’ve learned is that it’s important to have personal contacts, not only with our clients, but also our locals,” says Esther. “We’re always writing emails and answering the phone. There’s no standard answer.”
And because of the enjoyment they get from the project, the business has also had a positive effect on their friendship.
“Normally, when you have a meeting, you have an agenda and you have to do business, business,” says Esther. “But when you’re friends, it’s more relaxed. We’re doing something we all really love: travelling, hanging around with friends and meeting lots of new people!”
Marieke’s top 10 local tips in Amsterdam
1 Take a stroll in Amsterdam wood and eat a pancake (really Dutch).
2 Go ice skating at the Jaap Eden skating rink – also a very Dutch sport. www.jaapeden.nl
3 Go to Albert Cuyp market (I shop there every Saturday) and drink homemade mint tea at the multicultural café The Bazar (Albert Cuypstraat 182).
4 To warm up when it’s cold, you have to go to Coffee Company (the Starbucks of Holland!) and order a hot coffee. The nicest branch is in the city centre, with view over the canal. www.coffeecompany.nl
5 Get your new winter outfit at Haarlemmerdijk, the trendiest shopping street, with a lot of new stores. A nice local restaurant is Stout (www.restaurantstout.nl), and there’s also the new winery Grapedistrict (www.grapedistrict.nl).
6 For a trendy Dutch dinner, go to Snel at the Lloyd Hotel (www.lloydhotel.com). You can eat stampot met gehaktbal (hotchpotch and meatballs) – delicious, and it costs just €9! It’s as good as my mum’s.
7 Esther’s favourite pub is Café Hans (Amstelveenseweg 69). You’ll see only local people in there enjoying Heineken beer, Dutch cheese and Dutch games. On a cold day, her favourite drink is a glass of port.
8 In winter I like to go to Kanis & Meiland (Levantkade 127). It’s a pub on the waterside and you’ll see people who live in houseboats, young professionals and tourists there.
9 Also nice is walking, skating or jogging in Vondelpark. For a drink, the Blauwe Theehuis (below) is the teahouse I like best.
10 For the best steak in town, go to a restaurant called Loetje (Johannes Vermeestraat 52). My boyfriend and my father both like it – good meat washed down with Heineken beer.
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