Eco-hostel Andromeda: if only we were tourists...

Andromeda is a such a beautiful name for a ship. We automatically associate it with black skies and shiny stars as well as with loyalty, as prescribed by ancient Greek mythology. It’s a close friend who told us about this ecological boat hostel at Bargiekaai 35, which is the only eco-hostel in the country and has been elected Belgium’s best hostel in 2010. 

To be honest we had no clue what to expect, but our rather skeptical prejudices where completely disproved after a couple of minutes. Liselot Claeys and Maarten Verbrugghe welcome us on board and suggest we first make a tour. The rooms are colourful and spacious, the showers better than at home. The only things reminding us of being on a boat is the rather narrow corridor and the impressive ABC engine flaunting behind glass. We’re so pleasantly surprised that we cannot wait to ask our questions.

THE RABBITS: What is the story behind the name Andromeda?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE (owners): The boat’s name was Andromeda when we bought it. Usually, when people name their boats, they often combine the first letters of their names, or their children’s names. In our case it could have been Lima or Mali, but since Andromeda sounds quite good, we didn’t want to rename it.

THE RABBITS: How long have you been running this eco-hostel now?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: We started four years ago. We had been talking about it for a long time before actually doing anything. I was studying, then started to work and didn’t have much time to think about it really. After a while we said to ourselves: either we stop talking about it or we start taking action. At first we had to arrange the required licenses, take care of the administration and look for money. Two years have passed from buying the boat to opening the doors of our hostel.

THE RABBITS: How did you prepare?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: Of course we did some limited market research and went to have a look in cities such as Amsterdam, where boat hostels existed already. On the other hand we didn’t want to investigate too much in order not to get influenced.

THE RABBITS: How did you find this boat? Did you buy it for the hostel or was it already yours?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: We have always lived in this street. At a certain moment we started looking for a boat, found this one by coincidence and turned it into the hostel we wanted to run. When thinking about it now, it perfectly fits in our concept and philosophy: reusing something which normally would have gone to the dump. Secondly we don’t occupy any house and it has a very low impact on both the city and the environment. The barge is very much related to our local history as well: it’s a typically Flemish ship and belongs to the disappearing patrimony. Ghent and Flandres are designed for these kind of boats.

THE RABBITS: How is a boat different from a regular building? In what respect do you have to arrange things in another way?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: Actually it’s not that different. Well, let’s say we never saw it as a restriction to our plans. Our goal has always been to offer exact the same quality to our guests as a regular hostel, regardless the eco and bio aspects. The price-quality ratio had to be the same. We had a certain standard we wanted to reach and it was up to us to achieve that; the boat couldn’t be an excuse. The only thing that might be different is the concept: the setting is quite unique and the boat appeals to people’s imagination.

THE RABBITS: Which ecological measures did you take to lower the impact of your hostel?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: On top of the roof we have our own reed water purification system. We use this water to flush the toilets. The beds have 100% biodynamic latex mattresses. Water and rooms are heated in a CO2-neutral way by using pallets. Just to give you an idea: we have the same heating cost as one family, while twenty people are staying and showering here! All thanks to well-insulated rooms and a well thought ventilation system. And in the morning you get an organic, fair trade and vegetarian breakfast.

THE RABBITS: Unfortunately ecological and biological are very fashionable terms. How do you distinguish between the real thing and the commercial claptrap?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: First of all you cannot focus on “biological” too much, since biological isn’t always ecological or durable. We didn’t use eco-paint for all the walls for example since it’s very susceptible to scratches. So then you have to ask yourself: what is the most ecological solution? Repainting the walls with eco-paint every year or painting it once using regular lacquer which lasts for at least ten years? Another problem is the lighting: we don’t use energy saving lamps since you cannot put a timer on them. Besides, they consume less energy but need to be processed as chemical waste. That’s also the reason why you won’t find any solar panels on the boat: they just cannot be recycled. In the future we do want to install a solar water heater.

We didn’t even receive a single subvention for our project: subventions are inevitably related to checklists, while we wanted to judge things ourselves and make our own choices. Therefore we indulged ourselves in the cradle to cradle principle: how are things produced? How are they used? Can they be reused or recycled afterwards? Unfortunately 100% ecological is impossible: you need to compromise from time to time, e.g. in order to get a fire permit.

Sadly, tourism is one of the most polluting sectors. Here in Ghent tourism is currently booming and no one seems to be thinking about the environment, while you really can make a difference and make sure your guests don’t have to make any effort. If people have to take action themselves, it often doesn’t work.

THE RABBITS: How do your guests react to the ecological aspect?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: The funny thing is: some of our them don’t even know they booked a room at an eco-hostel, let alone on a boat. They’re the kind of people who arrive here and say our garden on the deck looks like a jungle. And a lot of them are very disappointed that we don’t have solar panels. Of course it’s about personal preferences as well; some think it’s nice we have a push button for the showers since it increases awareness on how much water you’re using, while others absolutely hate it. Anyhow, people remain who they are, even when travelling; it’s not because they’re on a trip that certain people will stop complaining.

But in the end, the majority of our guests are very positive and they do appreciate how much effort we put into this.   

THE RABBITS: Did you develop some kind of interest in boats during the years? Are you going sailing with the Andromeda from time to time?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: To sail a ship like the Andromeda you need a skipper, we are not even allowed to go sailing with her ourselves.

But we are more interested in boats now, yes. Living on the water is very pleasant. When walking down the steps, you really enter another layer of the city: we look out on the green banks of the canal, we can watch the animals on the water surface, the birds for example are coming for bread in the morning. We’re sitting more outside than other people as well. We experience city life in another way.

THE RABBITS: What kind of people come to stay the night here?

LISELOT CLAEYS & MAARTEN VERBRUGGHE: Our type of guests differs according to the season: in the spring time and autumn we have the traditional backpackers, which are very different from the people coming here during Gentse Feesten and I Love Techno for example. Then you have the city trippers as well of course. In general they come from all over the world, except for Africa perhaps. African people are more used to staying at a friend’s house when visiting Europe.

The multicultural aspect opens up your world and makes it close a bit at the same time. Clichés are both confirmed and invalidated, which is very interesting. Our hostel is a very social place: travellers also come here to get to know others. The hostel is rather small and informal unlike big ho(s)tels where people are just numbers. And the boat makes it impossible to avoid or ignore each other.

Anyhow we trust our guests: they can take drinks from the fridge and note it down on a sheet. We have our own books in the cupboards, which they can take with them to read. Some of our friends say we’re too naive in these things, but honestly we have never had any problems. The last thing we want is to make people pay on beforehand, let them sign a list of rules and start checking everything they do.

When going up the stairs, leaving this lower level of the city behind us, we’re already late for our next appointment. And if our next interviewee had not been waiting for us, we would still have been on that boat. Maarten and Liselot have the guts to make their own choices and therefore it’s a pitty that so few inhabitants know about this well kept secret. Therefore: spread the word to your foreign friends and decline their requests for staying the night at your place. There’s such a lovely low impact boat waiting to welcome them.

www.ecohostel.be