8 Comments »

CanuckEh said:

i can definatly see that the world economies are playing it safe right now. My wife and I visited ZLO only a couple of months ago and it was “off-season” then, keeping in touch with those we visited with there were really counting on the influx of Canadian, American and others coming in to save the day economically. As we walked and toured Manzanillo we were quite surprised by how slow and closed everything was, we were told this is normal “but you should see it come tourist season”. Well it sounds like it hasn’t arrived and may not arrive at all, will this be the next link to an economic crash in MX? The Peso is dropping faster than a sun stroked Canadian using Tanning accelerator…as mentioned in the article. We have been considering moving to ZLO for years now and still are intent on getting there, however increases in housing or living is going to make it very unappealing to most, this is not good for anyone though. riding out this tough seemingly endless storm may be too much for any type of economy to weather, will crime increase as desperation increases? poverty? homeless? will Manzanillo remain the undiscovered Gem of MX? time will tell, but thank goodness we have the Manzanillo Blog, up to date, factual, honest.
- 29 December 2008 at 4:32 pm
Scott McMurren said:

I love Mexico–and I love Manzanillo. We’re just wrapping up an 18-day trip, during which we had the opportunity to travel upcountry to Patzcuaro and neighboring villages in Michoacan. This trip completely changed my view of Mexico–and I look forward to returning soon.
Is the economic apocalypse affecting Mexico? Of course. But I can tell you–my trip here has been fantastic–and I look forward to sharing the images, stories and movies with the world. This is my fifth trip here. I don’t know how I could be more enthusiastic. But, truthfully, I do have to go back to Alaska and make some more money! HA!
- 29 December 2008 at 9:57 pm
HolyMole said:

Although medical problems have kept us home this year, we’ve spent the past few winters in Zihuatanejo. However, I did obtain a quote for 5 months at our favourite “casa” in Zihua….and was shocked to see a 40% price increase. Many other message board posters have reported the same thing….a lot of Mexican hotel operators seem to have responded to an expected slowdown in tourism by increasing prices; the opposite that one would expect.
Has the same happened in the Manzanillo area? Has the recession had any impact yet on residential real estate? (We’re also seriously considering a full-time move to Mexico).
- 2 January 2009 at 5:26 pm
Manzanillo Blogger (author) said:

I’m going to have to let some of our readers field that one as I’m not sure what the impact has been on the real estate market.
- 3 January 2009 at 6:15 pm
crazy4manzanillo said:

I think tourism is suffering. When I go to the beach for a quick swim, I noticed that the hotels has lesser tourists than usual, and on the street I think I see fewer people on the City Tour Bus.
On the other side, I think the new condo / hotels and popular american style franchises that Manzanillo will be bringing will provide more job opportunities.
Overall, the crisis is there and happening. Just go on a grocery hunt, and you’ll notice the higher prices on basic needs like milk, tortillas, meat, etc. There are a few shortcut options like going to a Walmart on weekends (they tend to drop prices on that time of the week) or Waldo’s. Oxxo also seem to drop prices from time to time. To be honest, if it weren’t for the low prices those stores offers, I really wouldn’t know how anybody can make it for the day.
I can’t imagine for those locals that have low pay and providing for a familly of six… Like Bart Simpson would say, “ay caramba!”
- 24 January 2009 at 12:30 am
Marina said:

I love Manzanillo, I’ve stayed there for about a month. It’s a very peaceful beautiful little seaside town. I want to go back soon
- 4 February 2009 at 6:17 pm
Lookqroo said:

El problema no es la crisis, ni la gasolina… el problema es que México compite entre destinos, en vez de ofrecer un solo país y un multidestino… o la manera de vender México no es la correcta… si bien destinos muy buenos como Manzanillo, Huatulco u cualquier otro están sufriendo, otros como Cancún, Riviera Maya, Los Cabos incluso Acapulco captan la mayor parte del turismo Norteamericano y Europeo… La falta de vías de comunicación buenas (y no hablo de mas carreteras, hablo de negociar nuevas rutas aéreas… tal es el caso de Aeromexico que no vuela a Manzanillo y es la única linea aérea mexicana que tiene vuelos directos a Asia)… y tener sociedades cooperativas para que Manzanillo ofrezca mas pero no solo como un destino de playa, sino que pueda ofrecer diferentes atractivos, lo mismo que pasa con Veracruz, Oaxaca (este por sus problemas ya conocidos), Chiapas y los estados del norte en particular…. Sociedades estratégicas con otros Estados de la república Mexicana, llevar Colima y Manzanillo a otros países mediante hermanamiento que den fuerza a la expresión cultural de la región en todas sus formas y sobretodo que el CPTM y sus oficinas en el exterior apoyen con campañas productivas al destino…. Ja ya hable…
- 24 February 2009 at 10:12 am
Susan Dearing said:

I have several businesses in Manzanillo, and they are all doing well. Our PADI Dive Center, Underworld Scuba - Scuba Shack has done more business this year than in the 18 years we’ve been here. My two tourist guidebooks have hit record sales this year.
One thing that has changed however, is where the tourists are staying. The hotels are taking a big hit as you say, because they’ve raised their prices and cut down on services. However, people are choosing a different kind of vacation, and are staying in condos, villas, small hotels and apartments, sometimes sharing the vacation rental with friends and other family members.
Many people are coming to Manzanillo, staying in a smaller hotel for a few nights to a week, and while here, go vacation rental hunting for next year’s trip. They are tired of being gouged by large hotels, and putting up with the lack of quality food and service at the all-inclusives, and are seeking the alternative–a private home or apartment. Instead of going out to restaurants, where the food and service is of questionable quality, they are going to the market and shopping to cook and eat at home. Many vacationing families in private villas have staff to cook for them, so you aren’t seeing them walking the streets or eating out as much.
The majority of our customers this year have stayed in private residences, and the good thing about these people, we’ve noticed, is that they’re more adventuresome, more prone to rent a car and get out and explore the area for themselves, and more likely to tip well.
This year, we have expanded our services to include kayak and hiking tours, trips to the turtle sanctuary, to El Salto waterfalls, and now Los Amiales, a natural spring with crystal clear pools perfect for swimming, and with picnicing areas set up right by the water. We’ve been very busy, and have been having a lot of fun!
Many people have purchased my guidebook, and are renting a car, and doing the tours themselves. They tell me it works just as well, far better than to pay for a tour and have a guide that can barely speak English, and knows virtually nothing.
As far as restaurants suffering, try a little quality control and consistency, guys! And do you know that I can give you the names of at least a dozen small restaurants out there where you can get a large portion of great food for $25-30 pesos? Quite a few under $50.
It has always been like this here: the less business a hotel or restaurant has, well, let’s raise the prices! Never a thought to WHY they are doing less business. Blame it on the economy, not your poor business practices.
I have a friend who started a business here two months ago. A restaurant, small, serving only two things. Tortas ahogadas for $25 pesos, and tacos dorados, $10 pesos. The first week she did 25 orders of each. Now, weekly, she is doing more than 200 tortas, and 100 tacos. She has only 4 tables, but does a lot of take out. How can she do so well when all other restaurants are complaining about no business? Quality and quantity for a fair price. Beer is only $10 pesos; a soft drink $6. Compare those prices to other restaurants. And then they go and raise prices because they aren’t making money. I would like to add that Juanito’s, that’s been around for more than 30 years, is one of the few restaurants that is crowded every day. Their breakfasts are excellent, and lunch/dinner prices are reasonable also. Their food is consistantly good and they have a large selection of low cost items. Because of this it is hard to find a place to park at Juanito’s.
Now for a restaurant–whose owner made a poor decision–costing him a lot of money. It was simple really. He originally had a bottle of wine priced at $180 pesos. Personal experience told me that Concha y Toro sells for $64 pesos all over town. When the price went up to $250 pesos, he lost my business. Since then, I have found numerous other restaurants with competing prices, and that price increase has probably cost him (from just me) $10,000 pesos/year. Will the owner ever get it? Unlikely, because he’s never there, anyway.
Let’s tackle real estate. While it may have slowed down a little, it is definitely not stagnating. The difference here is the type of buyers, and what they are looking for. For the last few years, we were geting buyers wanting beachfront, beachfront, beachfront, view, view, view! With the demand so high, prices on those types of properties doubled and tripled, pricing many good, viable buyers out of the market.
Real estate agents, getting spoiled from making huge commissions, are complaining that the average commission now is under $5,000 USD. Before, they were sluffing off the buyers of an $80,000 property and working with buyers looking to spend $200K or more. The realtors who were willing to work with the small buyers did well–didn’t get rich enough to build a house on the beach–but made a fair living.
There are many buyers out there looking for properties of $100K or less, ands there are dozens of properties out there to meet their needs. I have 10 listings myself beginning at $30K up to $107K. Of course, the commission on a $30,000 property is only $1,800, and split two ways–50-50–between buying and selling agent–is only $900. Look at it this way, as an agent you have two prospective buyers, one looking for a $300K property (commission $18,000) and another client, a $30K property (commission $1,800 USD). Who is going to get the first class treatment?
Of course, in answer to this, you’ll probably get some realtor coming back with a Public Service Anncouncement: “We as real estate agents give all of our buyers the same consideration and treatment, blah, blah, blah..” but if you’ve been in the business, it just ain’t true!
A message to all those whiners and complainers out there. Get off your duffs and provide some quality services, be there at your restaurant or hotel to greet the customers personally, shop in bulk and plan ahead (more than two days, please), watch for special sales (did you know there’s a very nice wine at Sam’s Club, Colima for only $28.90 pesos a bottle?) Have a sale, plan some specials, do a happy hour, offer a discount for residents and senior citizens, staart accepting credit cards, but most of all, learn what it means to have a good work ethic and work for a living.
Susan Dearing
susan@gomanzanillo.com
- 4 April 2009 at 9:34 am

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