Category: Investor News/Analysis

“How do they do it?” My friend, a travel agent in Cuenca, asked in Spanish.

“What do you mean?” I said.

“How do foreigners come to Ecuador and make money from the mountainside?” She continued.

She was referring to how some foreigners come to Ecuador and buy a large lot in the middle of literally no where, I’m talking deep wilderness here, for VERY cheap, often for just a couple thousand dollars per hectare.

Land none of the locals care much about.

Then they put up some very inexpensive ‘local-style” cabins made of bamboo and wood then they turn around and rent them for hundreds of dollars a night.

It’s the Eco-lodge business.

And it’s big money.

And you can’t put one just anywhere, but you can in the Amazon region of Ecuador.

Come on, it IS the Amazon… and Ecuador has it.

Besides, after the Galapagos, the second coolest place to visit in Ecuador, although overlooked by most, is the Amazon Rainforest.

Where else can you see pink river dolphins, silk farms, witch-doctors and thousands of types of orchids and birds.

In fact, most find the Amazon to be far cooler, less humid and with far fewer mosquitos than they thought.

In my opinion, it actually has less mosquitos than many of the greener parts of the coast of Ecuador.

An example of one, and the best known Eco-lodge in Ecuador is Kapawi.

Here are 5 keys to the Eco-Lodge business based on my experience working with them:

5. Get friendly with the natives in the area, what tourists who visit eco-lodges most look for is an interaction with the locals. Hire them, keep an open door policy, be generous with them. You have to spend some time with them and learn what motivates them, it might not be money. Arrange tour visits with your guests to visit their communities.

4. Package deals. Don’t try to sell by the night, sell packaged deals, 3 nights, 4 nights, tours with lodging, etc. If you try to sell by the night the nightly rate might scare even those with the loosest of budgets. Include everything except the flight in.

3. Get cozy with the travel agencies in Quito. I know cause I worked for one, but most of the business eco-lodges get is from the dozens and dozens of Quito travel agencies that sell locally and internationally, approach them, offer them a free fun trip, and most importantly offer them a generous commission to sell your lodge. I’m talking 15%, 20%, even 25% here.

2. Establish your logistics beforehand. The high-end tourist market won’t want to board a bus for more than 3 hours, so check on the locations of the nearest airports and nearby road conditions beforehand.

1. Go after the Galapagos crowd. Many travelers that go to the Galapagos love the idea of starting or finishing their trip with a short jaunt to the Amazon, why not kill two birds with one stone seeing both in one trip? Get friendly with some of the yatchs and travel agencies that sell the Galapagos and see if they’d consider including your lodge in their tour offering.

How should you specifically go about finding the best property deals ideal for an Eco-Lodge?

For that, please sign up for my weekly, Ecuador Insider’s Newsletter below (You can unsubscribe at ANY time):

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Biking Cotopaxi, Ecuador in Family

I see it all the time working in a hotel in Guayaquil.

They arrived, a young expat family with two parents in their 30’s and 2 little kids.

They had never been to Ecuador.

But they were planning on making a life here.

They had read all the fluffy speak of Ecuador online.  Visited the blogs.

But when they got here it was a different story, almost right from the start.

The landlord they were going to rent from over the net kind of stiffed them, then someone else overcharged them.

Then the mother, up-tight already, got uneasy seeing all the nudy magazines in the streets and the people kissing in public (common in many countries in the world, not just in Ecuador).

Then the father, who didn’t quite grasp yet that pedestrians DON’T have the right of way in Ecuador, got hit by  a car… luckily it wasn’t serious and he was OK.

All the while feeling a bit isolated by the language barrier, and disappointed that prices weren’t as low as they were led to believe online before arriving.

They came.

They left.

They made it less than a month.

My advice so this doesn’t happen to you?

Commit to 6 months here no matter what!

In that time you should get over the learning curve, learn how to spend less to live here and make some local friends and learn at least a bit of the language.

If you do that, you’ll find Ecuador an amazing place to live, and I bet, no matter where else in the world you go, you’ll keep coming back.  (Like me!)

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With a few new amendments of legislation the Ecuadorian government has further clamped down on businesses who don’t affiliate their employees to the BIESS, or the local Social Security system.

All full time employees need to be affiliated, and the employee needs to pay 9.35% of their salary to the program, which provides them access to free state-funded health care and a pension system, while the business owners need to pay 11.15%.

Businesses have one month to affiliate their employees or risk being fined in upwards of $14k for the infraction. In some cases, jail time is even possible. A probation violation can result in heavy fines, jail time and extended probation. If you violated your probation, it would be in your best interests to discuss your matter with an attorney as soon as possible. An experienced lawyer will know how to present your case in front of the prosecutor and the judge in a light that is more favorable to you. When your future is on the line, you need to do what you can to keep yourself out of jail and in the community where you belong. The Law Offices of Aaron T. Hicks is a criminal defense firm located in San Diego, California. Their firm has effectively helped clients with all types of criminal charges in the San Diego area including: DUI, drug crimes, internet crimes, theft crimes, three strikes cases, weapons offenses, white collar crimes as well as violent crimes and appeals. Should you go with their firm, they will search for any mitigating circumstances that may get your charges reduced or dropped. What’s more, they will question every aspect of your case, including law enforcement’s procedure, collection of evidence and witness testimony. They care about the outcome of your case and they will fight tooth and nail on your behalf. You can go official site for more detail about probation violation attorney.

A capable criminal defense attorney will employ many strategies in order to give you a strong chance at beating these charges. They can argue the merits of the violation itself in an attempt to get the violation dismissed, or help you get your probation reinstated by the court in lieu of more severe sanctions. They will also develop a plan of action that argues why you should not remain in custody, along with what can be accomplished if you are given the opportunity to continue with your probation conditions. When it comes down to it, a probation violation is not something to be taken lightly and you need to retain an experienced and knowledgeable defense attorney who understands probation laws well enough to develop a strong case in your defense. At this point, the judge will be looking to punish you for violating the trust they have given you, so having the right lawyer at your side is paramount in keeping you out of jail. There are many forms of legal penalizations that serve to enforce and prevent the continuation of illegal activities and crimes. One of the most common of these is probation. Probation is the court mandated restrictions of an individual’s freedoms following a criminal conviction. Because these terms can often be very limiting and strict it is common for probation to be violated. When this occurs it is likely the offender will face more serious criminal penalizations, such as jail time.

Even domestic maids and chofers are required to be affiliated.

For me, paying an employee in Ecuador the minimum wage, the BIESS payment comes to about $60 a month.

In order to affiliate employees to the BIESS first you need a RUC, or an Ecuadorian Tax ID number, after that visit your local BIESS office for further details.

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