Mallorca for the weekend: The TikTok travel ‘hack’ that dispenses with hotels and embraces Burger King

Two women who cut the costs of a clubbing holiday in Mallorca by using a Burger King as their dressing room and a rental car as a hotel have divided opinions on social media over the savvy travel ‘hack’.

Esther Pinos, a Spanish TikToker, posted the video as @estherpinos_, which said in Spanish: “POV you go to Mallorca to party without getting a hotel and you go to the Burger King to get ready.”

In the video, the duo can be seen straightening their hair and brushing their teeth at a Mallorcan branch of the fast food restaurant before going out to enjoy the popular Balearic island’s nightlife.

The clips filmed in Cala Ratjada Burger King have been viewed over 288,000 times since the TikTok was posted last week with the caption “improvising”.

Esther confirmed in the comment section that the pair had slept “in the rental car” and stored their belongings in the boot, instead of paying for hotel accommodation.

Sleeping in a car is legal in Mallorca provided that the vehicle is ‘correctly parked’.

Some social media users were “disgusted” by the women’s penny-pinching ‘travel hack’.

A TikTok viewer commented: “How disgusting with how dirty those bathrooms always are, especially in the afternoon.”

“We are in a sweaty summer, I can’t be without a shower,” said another.

However, others were more encouraging of Esther’s frugal fast food approach.

One commenter, supporting the budget travellers, advised: “I leave you a tip: you pay the daily fee for any gym, which will be €10. You enter showers and come out prepared to party.”

Other tips from TikTok users included using the lockers at a Mercadona supermarket or getting changed “in the Carrefour parking lot”.

The hack for cheap travel to Mallorca comes after a string of demonstrations against overtourism on the Spanish island.

A leading hotelier in Mallorca admitted he is concerned about the impact mass tourism protests are having on the island’s economy in June.

Javier Vich, president of the Palma Hoteliers Association, fears fewer travellers will book holidays to the Balearic island after reading reports of the protests on Palma’s streets and beaches.

One of the large-scale demonstrations saw almost 10,000 people parade through the streets of Mallorca’s capital at the end of May, carrying posters that read “SOS Residents” and “Enough Mass Tourism”.

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