Brussels party platform sees hosts open their home to strangers

Inviting strangers into your home is something AirBnB and BookaLokal have turned into a business. Now a Brussels start-up is extending the concept to international house parties.

Tribes.City aims to provide a more personal alternative to meet-ups in bars and clubs, by offering an online platform where people can organise and promote get-togethers at their home. They held their first party last July and have been working hard to grow since.

"In bars and clubs, people don't socialise very much, they usually just stay in their small groups," says Tribes.City founder Kevin Somany. "But in house parties, people find it much easier, I think that's because the environment is much more relaxed and friendly. I thought that it would be amazing if people had an alternative to bars and clubs to socialise."

Of course, throwing a party for a bunch of people you've never met before can be a worrying idea. Vincent Van, a French expat host for Tribes.City, admits having some concerns at first. "My first was that I’m having total strangers in my house. I don’t know them, how they’re going to behave. I didn’t know if they were going to break everything in the house.”

Tribes.City helps hosts decide what to provide at the party and how much to charge. Vincent says: "I had to cook, buy drinks and everything for the party. I'm not wanting to earn money, we’re all there to have fun, but I just wanted to cover my expenses. I really have to thank Kevin for helping me figure out how much to charge."

Somany says that when a host asks for their help, they have three main questions: how many people they want to invite, whether they want to offer any food or drinks, and what theme (if any) they want for their party. Their experience so far suggests about 20% of people who register are no-shows, and this is factored into the sums.

“We try to make it simple," he says. "Sometimes the hosts are really ambitious, they want to do all kinds of things - we had one person who wanted to hire a DJ - but it’s usually better to just have nice music and nice snacks. It doesn’t have to cost too much.”

It is a spring Friday evening in Etterbeek and Nymfa, a 28-year-old Filipina, has her apartment full of partygoers who have only just met - all dressed in black and white, tucking into Asian finger food and sharing tales of what brought them to Brussels. "I didn't expect it at all," she says. "I'm very thankful that a lot of people appreciated what I did, especially when it comes to the food. I'm really overwhelmed."

"I didn't know anyone here," says one guest from Cameroon. It's her fourth time at one of these parties. "I just came here with my alcohol and an open mind. I've always met really great acquaintances here. It's a great place to network."

While Tribes.City does not exclusively market to expats, the majority of people currently hosting parties have fairly recently come to Brussels. Somany thinks this is because new arrivals are more keen to build their social circles and often have to start from scratch. He hopes that, as the community grows, more Belgians will get involved.

For more information about Tribes.City, or to host or attend one of their parties, visit www.tribes.city