Opening another guest house/hostel in Cozumel

[orm]

Hello!

We're looking at the options of opening another Guest House/B&B/Hostel in Cozumel.

And are looking for some local advice/knowledge.

Do most people who stay on Cozumel stay in the large resorts, or are visitors quite happy to search around on the net and get the best/cheapest deals in smaller places?

To you knowledge, are there enough options for low cost, diver-friendly accomodation on the island?

We've only been across once and plan on spending a lot more time over there, but any help/info/advice would be brilliant, even if it's "Are you mad!"

Thanks a lot for any help, it would help us out a lot to hear from people living on the island or visit regularly!

Orm

 

[parrotheaddiver]

hmmmm welcome to the board? you joined in 2005 but this is your first post :shocked2:

You might want to post your question in travelnotes Cozumel Reviews: Cozumel, Cancun Discussion Boards a lot of locals post there....and you will get better answers as to what it takes to open a small place like you are talking about doing In Cozumel

in answer to your question....if more people stay at large resorts rather than smaller places....since the resorts have more rooms I guess the answer would be yes they do....


Good Luck

 

[MMM]

Most places on the island are diver friendly. I've never had a problem finding accommodation. Well, that is before I bought our house on the island. Now it's a breeze.

 

[scubafree]

I would advise against this venture at this time. I think there are enough accommodations for divers on the island at all price levels. Vacancy is much higher than a few years ago. Worldwide tourism is down considerably. Just my two pesos. It's nice to see someone who is willing to work hard and take a risk but do some more research before acting.

 

[orm]

Thanks for the advice!

yes.. been a member since 2005, but have just wandered in and out looking at posts. To be fair, I put my normal U/n and password in and was surprised it still worked!

I'm just putting feelers out at the min, but thanks for your responses!

 

[cvchief]

MMM, I so want to do that.....

 

[driftwood]

Hello!

We're looking at the options of opening another Guest House/B&B/Hostel in Cozumel.

And are looking for some local advice/knowledge.

Do most people who stay on Cozumel stay in the large resorts, or are visitors quite happy to search around on the net and get the best/cheapest deals in smaller places?

To you knowledge, are there enough options for low cost, diver-friendly accomodation on the island?

We've only been across once and plan on spending a lot more time over there, but any help/info/advice would be brilliant, even if it's "Are you mad!"

Thanks a lot for any help, it would help us out a lot to hear from people living on the island or visit regularly!

Orm

Coming from a real estate background, the first $10 I would spend would be to get the Coz map from Cancun information. It may not have all the options available on the island, but it is a very good starting point for building your database.

The next step is a hard one because it involves a trip to Coz where the focus will not be diving. You have to physically look at all the options and try to find a niche market that is not currently being served, or one that is poorly served.

Right now, is a perfect time to do your research. Times are tough and it is a lot easier the separate successful operations from marginal ones.

That is just the starting point for a very complex problem. Once you find your "market" then you can start running the numbers to see if it makes sense.

 

[orm]

Coming from a real estate background, the first $10 I would spend would be to get the Coz map from. It may not have all the options available on the island, but it is a very good starting point for building your database.

The next step is a hard one because it involves a trip to Coz where the focus will not be diving. You have to physically look at all the options and try to find a niche market that is not currently being served, or one that is poorly served.

Right now, is a perfect time to do your research. Times are tough and it is a lot easier the separate successful operations from marginal ones.

That is just the starting point for a very complex problem. Once you find your "market" then you can start running the numbers to see if it makes sense.

Cheers Driftwood...

I've been diving for 12 years and live in Playa, but have never actually dived in Cozumel! I hear it's nice

We're just about the accomodation at the moment. We've been over once for a couple of days to spec out some areas, and have worked out a per room cost that would fit in with the current offerings and have shortlisted some properties that would fit into our plan.

We're just gathering as much info as possible at the moment, one of the key bits of information is visitor demographic.

I've been to the official websites, but they only give me overall numbers, and being there gives you a skewed misrepresentation because of the ship passengers... we're really keen to hear from local people on the island as they have the best feeling for what's happening now.

As scubafree has stated it's tough at the moment... I'm assuming that diver numbers are down? They are here, it's a global trend, but if there's ever a good time to invest now's it.

Thanks again for you input.. it really is appreciated.

Orm

 

[scubafree]

Try posting your question on Cozumel My Cozumel: A Reliable Travel Resource There are probably people on that board that aren't on this one. Just a thought.

 

[ReefHound]

I think you are nuts to be thinking about starting a business on an island you have only visited once. It's tough to succeed in a foreign market unless you are very familiar with the language and culture, especially one like Mexico where who you know is as important as what you know.