Thinking of starting a hostel in South America

Hi all,

New to this site but happy that something like this exists. Just looking for some thoughts on an idea myself and my wife had while bouncing around Thailand recently. We're very keen on opening a hostel in South America, most likely Peru. As she is Peruvian and I spent a couple of years there myself (working in hostels) we thought this would be the most sensible place to take such a risk, as we know the place, the people, the language, have a base with her family in Lima etc. We're in the very early stages of this. It's still something we're only talking about but it's something we're very serious about. Our immediate aim is to save money. A business course will have to be done too. We're just looking for some advice from people or couples who've opened hostels. Advice on things like start up capital required, buying versus renting, what to be researching etc. Any and all advice is welcome as it'll also keep us thinking and motivated while we're in the process of saving. I realise I'm rambling at this point so I'll leave it at that for now. If you've gotten this far, thanks for reading.

Kind Regards,

Fleming33 07.Jun.13 Cork