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redmesa
Senior Nomad
Posts: 580
Registered: 3-12-2008
Location: Van Isle and Bahia Asuncion
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How much time have you spent in Baja? It seems like you need to spend at least a year travelling in and learning about Baja before you can even dream
a dream like you have. I may have got it wrong...maybe you are very knowledgeable about Baja. Come on down and stay awhile.
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
Registered: 11-9-2011
Location: nob
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Mood: bewildered
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| Quote: | Originally posted by redmesa
How much time have you spent in Baja? It seems like you need to spend at least a year travelling in and learning about Baja before you can even dream
a dream like you have. I may have got it wrong...maybe you are very knowledgeable about Baja. Come on down and stay awhile.
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You've got it right. We've done some fly-in visits, and a couple of driving visits to the San Quintin area, but we need A LOT more time before we
commit to something.
I spent time as a kid in the Ensenada to Rosarito area, but the Baja of then, doesn't exist any more. We camped on the beach just north of the
Rosarito power plant, starting before they built the breakwaters. I looked for it when we drove by last winter, and couldn't find it among all the
houses.
Also camped at Estero Bay.
That experience is of no use now. Looking forward to starting over!
Good point, redmesa. Thanks
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13052
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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I too am wondering why wildlife photographers and natural history enthusiasts that Islandbuilder knows wouldnt stay at their B&B? We have several
of those who stay with us. It is highly likely that many of their clients from NOB would indeed visit them in baja if they enjoyed their good service
before.
What kind of people DO stay at B&B's? We have found that all kinds do...fishermen, families, single travellers, baja enthusiasts...I guess it
depends on the B&B.
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desertcpl
Super Nomad
Posts: 2406
Registered: 10-26-2008
Location: yuma,az
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| Quote: | Originally posted by shari
I too am wondering why wildlife photographers and natural history enthusiasts that Islandbuilder knows wouldnt stay at their B&B? We have several
of those who stay with us. It is highly likely that many of their clients from NOB would indeed visit them in baja if they enjoyed their good service
before.
What kind of people DO stay at B&B's? We have found that all kinds do...fishermen, families, single travellers, baja enthusiasts...I guess it
depends on the B&B. |
Shari
that was my thought also, I think Bob was just having a bad day
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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no bad days here...
bed and breakfast
Noun:
1: sleeping accommodations for a night and a meal in the morning,
provided in guest houses and small hotels.
2: a guest house or small hotel offering such accommodations.
a bed and breakfast is not your house that you rent the bed rooms out to strangers and then make breakfast in the morning…
bed and breakfasts have dedicated units and private entries
as for visitors that come to baja…
the ones from the usa and canada are mostly retired people on a budget
they are campers looking for inexpensive accommodations...if any
naturalists and enviormental people love the outdoors and thus camp
so building a good campground with real services would be a much better choice
the majority bed and breakfast clients are from mexico mainland, the BIG northern mexican cities like tj and then of course europe…
sooo islandbuilder's target market is wrong for baja...those people won't be staying with him...he's on the wrong track IMHO
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
Registered: 11-9-2011
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Mood: bewildered
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Bob and Susan, Thank you for your considered reply, and for your experienced input! I very much appreciate your perspective and insights.
I think that your campground idea is a good one, but disagree a little with your definition of a B&B. My definition is a bit broader than yours,
and certainly includes having strangers in my home, with whom I share both breakfast and hospitality.
I think "my" definition is more traditional, and yours is reflective on where the market is heading. I would probably do both detached casitas as well
as a couple of in-house rooms. One requirement is that everything would be ensuite.
The naturalists we meet through our boat business are looking for a comfortable bed and excellent food. They have vast traveling experience, and have
camped in places on all continents, but have reached the point where having a bed, a bathroom, a shower and a place to charge their cameras and
computers is worth spending some money to get.
Our guests spend a lot of money just to get to and from Alaska, and typically the week they spend with us is just one of several they will spend in
the State. They come with us to get a look at SE, spend several days at a lodge in Denali, and make short visits north of the Arctic Circle and out in
Western Alaska.
My guess is that their whole Alaska experience costs them more than $20k each. Not bargin travelers.
What they do want is excellent and healthy food, good wines, an extensive library and the chance to meet others with similar desires. Our old classic
research boat provides lots of comforts, but no frills.
Our guides are extremly well trained, our chef is extrodinary, and I am able to stay awake a long time.
Some people come back every year, just so they can laugh until they cry (I'm gifted that way).
So, even though I agree with you, I also think that what we "bring to the game" is a bit unique, and that we will be able to draw from our current
client base to provide a foundation for a new business.
I have, and am, researching getting the permits to bring our boat down, and run a program in the SOC that would be similar to our Alaska business. My
concern is how the warm dry air will impact our 80 year old wooden boat, whose timbers are pretty saturated with our good NW humidity. Having the
planks fall off, and the deck seams open up enough to get a cat through them wouldn't be a good idea. Plus, that's a lot of hours to put on our
original 1932 engine, which is the only one like it in the world.
And, I would like a garden.
[Edited on 1-3-2012 by Islandbuilder]
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
Registered: 11-9-2011
Location: nob
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Mood: bewildered
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| Quote: | Originally posted by jakecard
1. If you have the skills to attract a "naturalist" clientele willing to part with $20K per person for a several-week-adventure in Baja California
then you will certainly make many entrepreneurial "friends" in Baja California.
2. All the best!
Jake |
HA! I need to clarify that they don't spend all that with us, only a small percentage. All I'm saying is that not all folks who are into nature camp
out all the time.
When we travel, we tend to camp for a few days, or live rough somehow, and then pop for a nice room for a night or two before heading back into the
tent.
I think that it would help if we had the naturalist version of a sport fishing camp, sort of like they're doing at San Ignacio during the whale
season.
BTW, they are a good example of the sorts of clients I'm talking about.
Thank you for the encouragement.
[Edited on 1-4-2012 by Islandbuilder]
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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apples and oranges...
you ever hear of that...
look up NOLS baja sailing...my HEROS!!!
[Edited on 1-4-2012 by Bob and Susan]
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
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Ahhh! Gotcha Jake. Thanks for both the clarification and the encouragement.
If they were spending that much just with us, we would be looking for a nice beach front home just to sit in and watch the light on the water. As it
is, we need to buy a winter job in order to connect the budgetary dots in the near term, and to live and work in full time later on.
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13242
Registered: 10-28-2008
Location: La Bocana, BCS
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interesting posts ... we have had so many varied guests stay with us - the nature enthusiasts love the estuary and birds .... the kite boarders love
the wind .... the shell seekers love the long stretches of beachcombing beaches .... geologists/marine biologists/co-op suppliers and obviously the
fishermen ! Some folk just come to eat with Joaquin LOL !!
and I persoanlly think we are still so underrepresented !! we really are the forgotten peninsula, still !
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BFS
Senior Nomad
Posts: 520
Registered: 9-28-2006
Location: Todos Santos
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One B
We own a "B" in Todos Santos (mornings waaayyyyyy too valuable to waist on breakfast! Plus its offshore every morning here) and we get the back
packers, eco warriors, hikers, retirees, foodies, music lovers, art aficionados, you name it; just about everyone comes to this part of Baja and on
every budget. It can be a fun, rewarding and busy enterprise. But it is very tough to make any money as taxes are high and the high season is short.
Many people around here are giving up heading out and it is a great time to snap up a going concern at a bargain price.
Ejemplo 1: A very well known B&B in downtown Todos Santos is being sold by a friend for $225,000 turnkey, with every pot,pan, fork, sheet, bed,
shovel, etc on the premises and comes with or without an established Mexican corporation in place, web site, etc etc and is motivated.
Ejemplo 2: another established beachfront lower end hotel/B&B is for sale here as well. again it comes turnkey with everything included. the views
from this place are stageringly beautiful and just steps to that beautiful warm water. Asking price on this one is $790,000 and they are motivated.
Both of these gems have years of established clientelle with repeat customers and excellent reviews on trip advisor, etc
So come on down!!!!!
[Edited on 1-4-2012 by BFS]
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
Registered: 11-9-2011
Location: nob
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Mood: bewildered
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BFS, great post! I love the idea of a "B"! Except of couse after catching the morning off-shore at Cerritos a bit of frittata would be welcome.
Thanks for the heads up, we have always loved Todos Santos, a wonderful place.
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shari
Select Nomad
Posts: 13052
Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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well, we have a B&B.....BED & BEER!!!! that would be BREAKFAST & BEER for the campers that visit us.....JAJAJAJAJA
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msteve1014
Senior Nomad
Posts: 947
Registered: 12-2-2006
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I recomend the BYOB route. Bring it, or buy it here, but do not try to turn a profit on it here. Mas tranquilo.
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BajaBlanca
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Posts: 13242
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Location: La Bocana, BCS
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BFS give us the name of your place !
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
Registered: 11-9-2011
Location: nob
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Mood: bewildered
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BajaBlanca
BFS give us the name of your place ! |
There's a link on the bottom of his post. Really nice looking place!!
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Bob and Susan
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8813
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Mulege BCS on the BAY
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Mood: Full Time Residents
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geezzz...
a business plan?
no one?
roi (return on investment) ?
this is why most small businesses go OUT of business in the first year or two...dreamers
" i can cook a better egg" ...
if you put $$$ into a business you need more than bank interest to turn a profit...and there are costs to running a business
remember it is VERY true...alot of americans and canadians "check their brains at the border"
i KNOW i did
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 65410
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I think Islandbuilder should also read what Astrobaja has posted on building his B & B in the Sierra San Pedro Martir http://www.bajadarkskies.com
I have stayed at three B & Bs in Baja (Shari's, Ignacio Springs, Bob & Susan's) and they are all totally different from each other and could
easily appeal to totally different types of people.
[Edited on 1-5-2012 by David K]
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astrobaja
Senior Nomad
Posts: 952
Registered: 5-22-2006
Location: near San Pedro Martir Park
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Mood: beam me up
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Thanks David!
We have only been open since spring and have only had a handful of guests. They have been a VERY varied bunch, from a Mexican Cabalgata made up of
San Quintin businessmen, to semi retired gringos and naturalists. Of course we cater to astronomers specifically but we welcome anyone who has an
interest in the sierra. We never expected to get rich doing this, that was never the point! We bought the 1200 acre property through the formation of
a mexican corporation. If we can make a modest profit during the course of each year and get to meet a wide variety of people then we will be content.
So far we have one very favorable write-up in Trip Advisor, and some people from Tuscany (astronomers I know) have expressed an interest in coming
here. A lot of other astro B&B's in the USA charge way more than we do, but our intent is to get some good publicity 1st and then slowly have our
prices come up to par with other comparable B&B's. We totally expected this to be a slow process of word of mouth! Good luck in whatever you do
Islandbuilder!
\"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear
and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.There is another theory which states that this has already happened\"
Douglas Adams
our website: http://bajadarkskies.com |
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Islandbuilder
Senior Nomad
Posts: 555
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David, thank you for refering us to the astrobaja site, and thank you astrobaja for your encouragement.
As I said early on, I asked the permitting question as a first step in a long due diligence process relating to operating a home-based business in
Mexico. Too many of us (me included) tend to find an exciting property, and then try and figure out a way to justify owning it. My personal experience
with old wooden boats reveals that once I have fallen in love/lust with a boat, decisions will tend to be based more on emotion than on facts.
I want to avoid that tendency this time around, so before looking at property, I want to decide if it makes any sense at all to do so. If it's just
the wife and I moving to Mexico (or Costa Rica or .....?) in order to stretch our SS dollars enough to live on them, we'll be looking for a palapa
with a tiny price. If we're trying to set up a business (or take over an existing business) the acceptable price range is higher.
The next step for us is a month long road trip connecting the dots on our internal Baja maps, and looking in more depth at the places that, on paper
at least, appeal to us.
I have traveled 1000's of miles to look at boats that I really liked in theory, but knew from 100 yards away that I wasn't interested in pursuing. I
need to go through that same process in Baja.
I very much appreciate the replies here, to those that said "no problem, go for it" as well as those that think me certifiable for even thinking of
such lunacy. I think that you're probably all right, and all wrong, in differing degrees.
Thanks to you all, and for those of you who are in business in Baja, and trying to make it work for you and your communities, good luck!
Warm regards.
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