Purchasing an already successful B & B

[GRAINNE FOLEY]

Hi

We are interested in moving to Costa rica and running a B & B. Our plan is to purchase one for sale as opposed to starting one from the ground up. We have noticed however, that there are a lot of B & B’s for sale. What is the reason for this – bad management, people with no experience, the market is saturated with B & B’s or something else? We do have experience in the hospitality industry and feel that we will do very well with this type of business but the amount of B & B’s for sale scares us a little.

Thanks

Grainne

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Grainne,

It’s hard to say why a B&B or any business would be for sale. Sometimes people get burned out, some decide to retire, some had an idea they would like to run a B&B and then decided it wasn’t for them, some have personal issues and they leave the country, some made bad business decisions. It could be a lot of things.

On the other hand, a lot of B&Bs and other businesses thrive and the people run them happily for years.

Costa Rica gets a lot of tourists, so that industry is one of the better ones to be involved in. But it’s also competitive, especially in the beach communities.

My suggestion would be to thoroughly research the individual business, the local competition, and the surrounding community and region – and then visit in person for an extended period – to check if it’s a viable opportunity. I think you have a good instinct for buying instead of building – from the people I’ve spoken with it seems like the options with less stress and hassle.

[GRAINNE FOLEY]

Jason

Thanks so much for your reply. We have a 3 and 4 yo so we are looking to move to an area that is family friendly and has good schools for our kids. Can you recommend areas we should look at in CR that would not only be tourist friendly (for us to open a B&B), but would also work well for our kids.

Thanks again

Grainne

[JASON HOLLAND]

Hi Grainne,

I would say a good mix of tourist business friendly and family friendly with good schools would be the northern Pacific coast (towns like Tamarindo and Playas del Coco), central Pacific (towns like Jaco, Herradura, and surrounding area), and the mountain region of Monteverde. The Southern Zone (towns like Uvita and Dominical) would also be worth a look, although schools there tend to be more homegrown/parent run affairs – best for younger kids, in my opinion. You can find a bunch of info on schools there at these links:

https://internationalliving.com/country_clubs/costa-rica/moving-to-costa-rica/

Monteverde:
The Friends School: http://mfschool.org

Cloud Forest School: http://cloudforestschool.org

Remember that home schooling is also an option. It’s technically not allowed by the Costa Rican government, but plenty of people do it under the radar.

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