I agree with RG, about 7 or 8 years ago SB was getting to be a problem, I remember because when we opened Laguna the Marina would hav e Rave's and we would still have drunk and drugged out partiers at 10AM. Since then SB has become far less noticeable unless your in the actual Party Zone.
I think all of the comments are valid--whether having to do with the slump in tourism in general or the slump in the construction boom as they have the same basis--the worldwide economic crisis. Did it start with people requesting and banks giving loans they shouldn´t have or companies badly run making and people buying vehicles that were neither ecologically nor economically adequate? Who knows. But whatever the cause, the cure will not be easy or fast. Vacation is similar to drinking booze--they do it whether they are happy or sad, rich or poor and make up any reason to justify doing it. There are only 2 basic factors in the hotel industry--occupancy and rates. If one goes up the other goes down. So far most hotels in Cancun and the Riviera Maya have not seen a reason to lower rates and occupancy is low. November stats are up from the previous year but there are "statistical reasons" for that and things are "really" down although at this time of year--between Thanksgiving and Christmas--occupancy is usually down, I expect that December will be down. Most hotels still have rooms available for Christmas and New Year's when they are usually full already. There are also lots of cancellations--both individuals and groups for the next few months. Even people with money are being careful with it. The construction industry in CAncun has basically boomed for locals and full time condos and are based on availability of credit--and we all know what the credit situation is. And as far as differences between Cancun and the rest of Mexico, with minor differences, there are very few differences. Dollar-based products, services and commodities (vehicles, many foods, refined gas, etc.) go up the same in Veracruz as they do in Cancun. In a globalized world, there are fewer and fewer places to hide so you may as well do it in a warm place with a nice view!
Something that still amazes me about Cancun in general is that businesses tend to RAISE prices when times are slow..... Business 101 for me was the opposite, you LOWER your prices to increase business when times are slow and only raise them when you can afford to lose the customers. Time after time here I have seen hotels, restaurants, and every other kind of operation imaginable do this, and inevitably they go under.... Even thou a lot of the Hotel Zone hotels are foreign owned they still seem to follow this pattern.... One of my friends, sells food products to many of the hotels in Cancun and Playa, along with Xcaret and Xel-ha.... he has been negative or just breaking even all year with the exception of July, and maybe one other month... so the decline has been going strong for at least all of 2008 from his viewpoint and 2009 looks worse... I'm not sure if he will be able to keep the doors open, but time will tell.
I can tell you folks at Portofino it is amazing how many owners bought and do not rent their units and use them strictly as vacation homes. This is why Portofino looks so empty. The building is sold out and was sold out for over 3 years, all sold during pre-construction. However there were investors who bought 3 plus years ago who thought they would make a killing after units were delivered and now are desperate to break even. I did not buy my unit pre-con but bought it from someone who did as an assignment of rights and that seller lost like $30,000 from price I paid. I am actually looking to buy another unit, I had someone offer me a unit they paid $575,000 for 1st for price they paid, and I said it was to high, then 525,000 and now the yare down to $480,000 I am seriously considering it. And by the way HOA is $620 per month on the smallest units up to $1000 per month for the 4 bedroom units, or $3.50 per sq meter per month (sq mt includes total sq meter inside and out balconies) But I can tell you the rental business is booming. I rent my unit and also rent for a few other owners exclusively. I have already filled like 18 weeks in the 1st half of 2009.
In our case we have to raise prices when our costs go up. Everything has gone through the roof, all you need to do is go to the grocery store for proof of that. The owner of one of the largest food distributers is one of our closest freinds, He has over a million in invoices owed to him and that is pretty much par for the course when your working with Hotels ... they suck and will find another supplier if you don't like it.
I'm continually amazed that Cancun doesn't actively develop another industry besides tourism. I understand that Mexico has more hotel rooms per capita than any other country in the world (Jim, can you verify this?), so it may be that public officials here just don't see past tourism. But given the location of Cancun you'd think that if *something* was manufactured here it could be quickly and cheaply floated to other ports. I just don't see why this area stays so tourist-oriented unless it's simply due to lack of vision...which I would totally believe. Countries like Bolivia are land-locked and mountainous and don't have the inherent advantages we have here of being able to send goods to port easily. But, as I understand it, there's no excuse in the Yucatan for not getting goods to market relatively cheaply.
I can't comment too much on how it's truly affecting tourism as I truthfully don't know, and my friends who work in the HZ selling tours and stuff - seem to be doing okay, but I'm not sure they'd tell me otherwise for no other reason than pride! However, to answer Matkirks question regarding construction costs going down? I can say at this moment - NO. We are in the construction process of our home in Cancun, and in my opinion it's still as expensive as ever. The problem is the cost of materials, not the labour. Labour can't go down anymore - who could survive if it did? The cost of materials needs to go down.... Neways, agree with RG - they need to come up with some other industry that is going to make this place work....Now whos' going to be in charge of that project??!!! :lol:
air fares Attention Bargain air fair shoppers. Anyone from St. Louis, Dallas/ Fort Worth, Denver, and Minn./St. Paul. Every Monday eve Worryfree Vacations has their "Red Hot Deals" posted. They show packages air & hotel and air only deals. If you are somewhat flexible in your dates this is a great way to save some nice money. You have to book your fare no later than Thurs eve midnight that same week. Another nice feature being it is a charter all flights are direct, how a bout that! Go to www.worryfreevacations.com. You can also sign up for their emails and get red hot deals emailed to you weekly.
Too bad Worry Free Vacations won't let your flight originate in Mexico. It only works for RT flights originating in the US, while most posters in this thread live in Mexico...
Hmmm. Always the teacher, RG! I will consider that my homework. Interesting question. They have considered maquiladoras in the southern part of the state but nothing ever came of it. They opened up a telephone assemply plant in CAncun a couple of years ago--don't know what happened to it. And Mike Kelly opened the Avante assembly plant on the way to the airport but, well, we all know about that.
