I've been a traveler most of my adult life. Over the past few months after hours of internet research / talking to some established hotels in my area iv'e decided opening a place of my own is what i want to do with my life and I believe with hard work is quite achievable.
I am now in the stage of writing a generic Business plan and have allready generated a small bit of start up capital.
(P.S if you have a business plan i could use to refer back to that would be a great help)
Now comes the difficult part, where in the world meets all the criteria and will still turn a profit? (we all need to eat)
The first place i was looking into was Bali, its close to where i live (Aus), has great surf and after you get out of the extremely touristy parts can be quite beautiful. The major problem was the laws against forign land ownership and different forms of corruption.
South and Central America was my next thought, it has everything i really need but i haven't been there in 5 years so i feel like im out of the loop when it comes to the backpacker 'scene'.
The Phiilppines is another place im researching at the moment and will travel there next month to find out more.
There is only so much research one can do on a laptop so im curious what's everyones thoughts on the next "Hot spot"?
The place im looking to find will:
Be somewhere with easy access to a decent surf wave and other water sports.
Be reasonably safe for travelers.
Have an up and coming backpacker scene.
A place where having new tourists ariving will benifit the locals in some form.
Somewhere new and exciting.
Thank you in advance for any suggestions, also feel free to send me an email.
Scott.
7 years
Hey Mate,
Sounds like I am in the same boat as you. I am also planning on opening up a hostel within the next couple of years. Currently I have about $55 000. I'm thinking Costa Rica as I absolutely fell in love with it there after hostel hopping last year. Perhaps we could share what we find and help each other out?
Would be good to hear from you :)
Thanks, Dan H
7 years
Hi Scott and Dan,
If you go off the beaten path a bit you could be a trailblazer and the pioneer of a new up and coming backpacker destination. The hardest part about that is the fact that you will need to spend a considerable amount of time, money, and energy marketing the destination instead of focusing on running your hostel.
If you want to have the best chance of profit and success from the beginning, then it is much easier to find a market that is already popular with travelers, but not oversaturated with hostels. Maximizing your revenue from people who are already going to your city and filling your beds is WAY easier than trying to convince them to come to a lesser known area and then trying to get some money from the ones who show up.
On a purely financial level, a bigger city with easy transportation to surf spots will probably earn you more with less effort than a cool secluded little beach town. Sadly I'm not familiar enough with the Asian or Latin American markets to offer suggestions of where to find one of those popular-yet-unsaturated cities. Hopefully others will chime in with good suggestions.
7 years
Hey Brian,
Many thanks for your response.
You make some good points there. The adventurous spirit in me wants to cut through the jungle, gravel a dirt road and build a hostel out of bamboo, but as you say it's a risky venture and as I am going to go "all in" I can't afford to fail.
The place that I am thinking of, although it's a little beach town, is very touristy. Not with money loaded american tourists coming there for the gambling and the hookers mind you (like Jaco if you've ever been), but rather travellers and surfers looking to spend some peaceful time in the waves, lie around in their hammocks and have a bit of a party in the evenings at their hostels.
To me this place has everything, lot's of tourists to fill beds that are not there for a night or two but more like a week or two, young chill crowd that will create a good atmosphere and also generate some profit from a hostel bar, perfect spot to rent bicycles, scooters and surfboards and perhaps eventually mini Jeeps if it came to it, 27 degrees warm weather all year round, amazing surf, and I could go on and on... Only concern is there are quite a few hostels there already. One thing that does give me comfort though is the fact that the hostel I was in was quite a large hostel and it was fully booked, but it was in peak so I have to find out how it looks in other seasons.
Brian, me and Scott are now in contact and hopefuly we will be able to help each other out in some shape or form. If you happen to know anyone who is in the same boat as us and shares the same vision, we would very much appreciate the contact :)
Many thanks again for your inputs, we appreciate all the help we can get!
7 years
Hey Brian,
A trail blazing pioneer, i like the sound of that!
You make a good point Brian it would be a much easier option to start a business in a area that allready has a coustomer base (this being my first hostel the easier the better) than trying to convince people to travel somewhere they have never heard of. The majority of hostels iv'e stayed in have been throught word of mouth.
Im actually off to Central America tomorrow for a bit of research and relaxiation, so hopefully ill have a more concrete idea in a month or so.
Anything i find along the way ill post in thins thread.
Thanks for the response Brian and Dan, im sure we will speak soon :)
7 years
Hey all, great discussion.
I am in a very similar position, discover the new hotspot or go with tried and tested. I'm still about A year or two of research away from taking the plunge.
Have you thought about contacting local hostel owners for information or just to even scout out the opposition? One of the things I wonder is how the local hostels take it when new blood arrives. Does anyone have any experience with that?
JJTNM
7 years
Hey Guys!
Myself and my girlfriend are on the same route as you all!! We are currently in playa de Carmen Mexico just after starting our trip looking for a hostel!!
After travelling South America 3 years ago on a motorbike I couldn't help but think there is more to life than working for the man as they say back in Australia !
My name is Gavin Dillon I'm Irish and have been currently living in Oz for the past ten years, I don't have a great deal of experience running a hostel but what I'm lacking in experience running a hostel I'd like to think I can make up for in determination ,people skills and the unstanding of what people want out of a hostel!!
Mexico is the place at the moment that we are looking but that could change in the future!
Anyway just thought I'd touch bases with you guys or anyone else that has some information about buying or leasing hostels in Mexico or Central America !
If anyone can share any type of information would be unreal!! Or if anyone knows of hostel that on the market Around Central America as I think there is more around but can be hard to find would be great!!
Thanks guys hope we can chat in the future!!
7 years
Hey Guys!
Myself and my girlfriend are on the same route as you all!! We are currently in playa de Carmen Mexico just after starting our trip looking for a hostel!!
After travelling South America 3 years ago on a motorbike I couldn't help but think there is more to life than working for the man as they say back in Australia !
My name is Gavin Dillon I'm Irish and have been currently living in Oz for the past ten years, I don't have a great deal of experience running a hostel but what I'm lacking in experience running a hostel I'd like to think I can make up for in determination ,people skills and the unstanding of what people want out of a hostel!!
Mexico is the place at the moment that we are looking but that could change in the future!
Anyway just thought I'd touch bases with you guys or anyone else that has some information about buying or leasing hostels in Mexico or Central America !
If anyone can share any type of information would be unreal!! Or if anyone knows of hostel that on the market Around Central America as I think there is more around but can be hard to find would be great!!
Thanks guys hope we can chat in the future!!
7 years
Hello Scott (and everyone else),
It sounds like you are describing San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua. I think it fits your wishes perfectly.
I also have had the same goal, since the first time I visited here 3 years ago. As of last week, I live here, with the intent on building a hostel from scratch. It's about 3 years earlier than I thought but I'm watching land prices rise and get fetched up. I wanted to get my feet on the ground again and start looking for partners/investors.
For me, close to the world renowned surf beach, Playa Maderas, is the place to be. You can't really get beach-front but definitly within walking distance. It's not saturated yet but the town has really grown just since the the time I was here in November. More surfers and travelers than tourists, in my opinion. Unlike other countires, you can own land as a foreigner. In fact, Nicaragua encourages foreign investment. You can apply for residency with at least a 30K USD investment. It's safe and stable. The weather is great, even during rainiy season, which is now. They boast 85-95% F all year round and 350 days of good surf.
For now, I'm living cheap and looking for the right piece of land. I've been working with a great agent for the last couple years and have seen some pretty great properties come and go while I tried to work out the financials. Finally, I to the leap, retired from 20 years of teaching, sold all my stuff and bought a ticket.
Mind you, SJDS is a small town but it is trasforming in a boutique town more every year. Right now it seams like a nice mix between the local way it was and the traveler-centered destination it surely continue to grow into. and Playa Maderas area is about 20 minutes off the beaten path, on some truly rough dirt roads but it's wll worth the trip. THere are currently on a few quality hostels/hotels/accomodations out this way and my goal is to join them as soon as possible.
If you want to know anything more, shoot me an email.
Jason
7 years
Hi guys,
Im currently researching Mexico as well - specifically Playa del Carmen and Tulum. I did find one place but it turned out that it wasnt a registered business and the owners came in from Europe on Tourist visas so I backed away from that deal.
Ive also lived and worked in the Philippines and have seen and experienced the good, bad and ugly.
When dealing in Asia foreigners cannot own land and if in a business the local partners need to own 60%. There are ways around it to protect yourself as much as possible but not everything is foolproof. In short, choose someone whos going to rip you off the least - even expats living there for some time end up developing that mentality to a certain extent as its the cost of doing business there.
Happy to chat or team up with anyone - currently back in Sydney working in QA but have extensive experience with restaurants and bars so I bring those skillsets to the table lol
My email address is [email protected]
Maria
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