Good morning thing I write on every day!
Coffee coffee coffee.
Today, a friend of my girlfriend’s from Monterrey arrives in Tijuana to party. She’s coming with a friend that neither of us knows. So yep. A stranger and a friend of my girlfriend are coming. They arrive late in the afternoon.
Girlfriend cleaned the whole apartment and more in order to receive them.
Let’s see how that goes.
Yesterday…
Yesterday I didn’t leave the house because I wanted to get some work done.
But I got obsessed with moving and looking for places.
I fell in love with this penthouse advertised for $900 rent.
The building is in a great location.
The door looks badass.
Huge living room with a fireplace!
Sizeable kitchen…
Huge balcony space!
It looks too small for me but hey! A bathtub!
Another room. Rooms and other bathrooms are unclear.
More views. More balconies.
And another room. Again, somewhat unclear.
It is listed as a 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 3 balconies, 3 parking spots, kitchen, laundry room, and living room.
$900.
I could pay $300 a month easily. Then I would just need two other roommates to pay $300 a month + expenses. And we are set.
Huge penthouse apartment living.
And I started obsessing with Airbnb. I’ve wanted the penthouse right above me for the longest time, but that neighbor is not moving out. That penthouse has great light, big space, it’s cheap and it would be really easy to pimp it out for an Airbnb.
This other penthouse is much bigger, more expensive, but it could still be an amazing Airbnb.
So I started doing the numbers. “The numbers.” Not real numbers since this is not how it might work out at all.
Let’s say, three rooms. Two regular and a master.
Regular rooms go for $35 a night on the weekdays and $50 on the weekends. Master goes for $60-80. Full apartment for $200 a night.
If two of the rooms are rented at least 10 nights, BAM!
Rent is covered.
That’s it.
Now, I’m faced with several problems. From what I know, Airbnb travelers usually like to rent the full property and have the host not be anywhere. Give them absolute privacy… and for me… I don’t want to leave the penthouse unless they rent the whole thing.
And even then, I’ll still be uneasy about leaving it completely unattended in a city like this.
Problem 1. The host that doesn’t leave the house.
My solution. Fusion it with Tijuana Adventure and make it my job as a host for the guests to have a wonderful time. I already charge $100 per tours…
“Stay in a penthouse in the middle of the city with tour guide host Matingas, a published writer and photographer with thorough experience of the city’s cuisine, craft beer, and night life.”
The first night of the room comes with a tour. First night = $135-150 for the regular rooms (each).
So now I’m down to just having to do FIVE a month to cover the rent of that place…
Or let’s say I rent out the room for 8 guests for a bachelor party and do a bachelor party tour. Charge $600+ for the penthouse + tour + more.
With one of those tours, I am set.
Problem 2.
Initial investment. Most apartments in Mexico are bare-bones. And I prefer it that way. Furnishing the place nicely will be at least $1000 more… besides the initial first month rent and deposit.
This sounds like a lot to me. But to other investors and people that I know, this is like a drop in the bucket. Especially if the investment works, their money invested is recovered, and money could easily be made!
Problem 3.
This place doesn’t have ocean views. Many of the nice expensive accommodations are by the beach. People like the beach and it’s incredibly cheap to get an Airbnb by the beach here. A friend rents out his Airbnb on the beach for $37-55 per night. He says that weekends are what saves him. And in general, he covers rent and makes some money. Not much. But makes some.
That’s more than enough.
I’ve spoken to a bunch of friends who host in Airbnb and a lot of them get their rent covered through that.
And I made my market research, there are a lot of Airbnbs in the area for sure and I should be one of them.
Problem 4.
I still don’t have to move out of this place and Oaxaca is coming up. That penthouse is probably going to be gone soon. The real hunt for apartments starts after Oaxaca. And I’m going to have to do it by myself because my girlfriend is going to be gone.
Right after Oaxaca, she’s flying to Monterrey and I won’t see her till who knows when.
Problem 5.
What if I’m wrong and no one wants to rent it? What if no one really wants to spend that much money in Tijuana? What if a luxurious penthouse with an experienced host is not what people are looking for? I mean… I could even have local chefs prepare meals. Have parties…
Sigh.
I can’t stop fantasizing about the Airbnb though.
And I know I had a bunch of other problems to tackle before saying “YES I SHOULD DO THIS!” But I think this is what I should do.
My girlfriend supports the idea. If it works and we get busy, her job might be attending the penthouse and helping me host.
So I didn’t write what I should have been working on. And I haven’t heard back from the editor from the other piece I wrote…
Sigh.
Instead of spending the day and night fantasizing how an Airbnb work, I should have written the article and query the new ideas.
Ok.
Here’s an idea.
This was on the front page yesterday.
A lot of my friends on Facebook were sharing and I was wondering what is up.
I decided to post it on Reddit and it started gaining momentum. Then suddenly all the comments turned to “YOU FUCKING REPOSTER!”
Went back on Reddit. The fucking image is on the front page (not my post). So someone beat me to it.
Of course, the front page had all sorts of shitty comments. Now I’m posting it in other subs.
AND I WANT TO GO FIND IT TODAY!
Or at least tomorrow!
But no car.
Who wants to help me go find it? Anyone with a car? I’ll bring the camera and then = karma?
Coffee coffee workout breakfast.
There’s pizza in the fridge. We ordered two pizzas at around 8 pm while Toros de Tijuana was playing the La Serie del Rey final. They won game 2. Now they go to Puebla for three games. And return for the last two games.
I want to go to those games.
Alright!
It’s going to be a busy weekend. 10:46 am. Done with this. Time to query stories and keep working on that other one.
Matingas 
One response to “Fantasizing About Airbnb Exclusive Penthouse – Karla’s Friend From Monterrey Arrives Today – Who Wants to Team Up and Find the Giant Baby At the Border?!?!”
Enjoyed today’s post. The border baby pic is spectacular.