Within the first minutes of the announcement of the news that the hosting of the largest music competition in the world will be in Burgas, reservations reached record values.
Some of the prices for overnight stays were also record-breaking - 25,000 euros for an apartment, which now costs 35 times less - 718 euros.
At the other extreme was Sofia, where there was a mass cancellation of previously made reservations.
The news that "Eurovision" would be in Burgas was learned by Alexander from his friends over the phone. He rents out six apartments in the city center and next to the Sea Garden. So, before he hung up the phone, the available dates for May next year in his apartments were already filled.
Alexander Fotev, owner of short-term rental apartments: "While we were talking and talking to them, reservations started coming in. It was crazy here for the next one or two hours. From the 1st to the 27th-28th everything was taken. There is a slight increase - between 150 and 200 euros."
Alexander defines the prices that appeared on the apartment rental platforms as unrealistic. The Burgas Regional Tourist Chamber shares the same opinion.
Evelina Puleva, member of the Board of the Burgas Regional Tourist Chamber: "I came across prices of 11,000 euros for 5 days. This is ridiculous. What will we offer for 11,000 euros - quality? Service? Food? We're not Bora Bora after all. We've destroyed our tourism so much that now it's time to revive it."
On the contrary - in Sofia, thousands of reservations were made for the capital in the first minutes after the Eurovision Song Contest final in Vienna, and now the situation with short-term rentals is completely different.
Pre-booked dates for the online apartments offered are highlighted in red.
Todor Kolev, manager of a company that manages apartments: "Within a few hours of the news, a large part of the reservations we had received for next year had already been canceled. Maybe about 1/3 of them. And we expect this to continue. The cost of a night in this apartment is currently around 100-120 euros per night - a three-bedroom apartment in the center of Sofia. But if Sofia had remained the host of Eurovision 2027 in May, this apartment would cost over 300-350 euros per night."
The tourism industry in Burgas is now warning:
Alexander Fotev, owner of short-term rental apartments: "With these prices we must then retain these people who will come to us, so that they will come in the future."
Evelina Puleva, member of the Board of the Burgas Regional Tourist Chamber: "Let me appeal to all colleagues - let's not speculate on prices."
And they hope that hosting the "Eurovision" will become the best advertisement for Bulgaria.