A story with ups and downs – and a happy ending

Two Dutch people are regular guests at the campsite in Bürgel. For the last three years, however, they have not been vacationers, but run the business.

Offenbach – When Marleen Rolink and Cor de Jong used to be regular guests at the Bürgel campsite with their two children, they would never have dreamed that they would own it in the near future.

May 1, 2019 marks a turning point in her life. Core de Jong operates two pleasure boats from the Cologne-Düsseldorfer shipping company in Frankfurt. So it makes sense for him and his family to move from the Netherlands to the Rhine-Main region. As an experienced camper, looking for a permanent home or regularly staying overnight on the ships is not the first choice for the captain. After learning that the owner of their regular campsite wants to close down, they seize the opportunity to take it over. From there, a campsite joins the cabin. They are aware from the start that they have a lot of work ahead of them when they take over the property, as some of the site is derelict and the buildings are dilapidated.

Offenbach: Gastronomy on the campsite in Bürgel completely renovated

The family gets active support with the conversion and operation of the campsite from the brother of the owner Jos de Jong, who also comes to Germany from the Netherlands. With a lot of passion and sweat they manage to bring the place back into shape. The gastronomic area has been completely renovated and the outdoor terrace has been rebuilt. The number of parking spaces for tourists can also be increased from 17 to around 30 as a result of the conversion.

However, the start of operations is anything but perfect. Shortly after the takeover, the family was very worried about the corona pandemic, the restaurant had to be temporarily closed and operations even stopped altogether. In addition, there are delivery bottlenecks and incidents during the conversion, which have delayed some work to this day. But they don’t give up, the family enjoys their new home to the fullest, so they have settled there permanently in a huge mobile home and are always close and reachable. “It wasn’t always easy, especially when Corona came and we had to close a lot, but we kept going and believed in our project,” says the owner Cor de Jong.

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Offenbach: A carefree atmosphere as the key to success at the campsite in Bürgel

With all the stress and work, it is important to the family right from the start to get the local residents on board and to maintain a good relationship with the neighbourhood: “We also want the local residents to know that they are always welcome here “, says Marleen Rolink. It is precisely this commitment that the guests appreciate very much at the Bürgel campsite and the owners. Again and again we hear that the site has changed for the better and that it is very livable there. The result of the work is a number of regular guests who vacation there regularly.

Core de Jong believes that this is the key to success: “I am convinced that with our work and our proximity to the guests we can create a carefree atmosphere and thus convince people.” In addition to the regular guests, the family also benefits from local ones Events in and around Offenbach. When Kickers Offenbach recently played against Fortuna Düsseldorf in the DFB Cup, campers from Düsseldorf pitched their tents in Bürgel.

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To this day, neither Rolink nor de Jong regret the daring step. They feel comfortable and have a lot planned for the campsite in the future. “We still want to make a few improvements and constantly work on making people feel more comfortable here.” (Stefan Ruhl)

A campsite in the district of Offenbach has been owned by a family for 50 years.

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