Help Mike finish his Eco Hostel
Donation protected
Dear friends, family, and others whom I have never met,
As most of you know, 2.5 years ago I decided to follow a dream and began building an Eco Friendly Hostel deep in the jungles of Guatemala. As anyone who has ever started their own business or built something from the ground up will tell you, there can be lots of setbacks and unforeseen costs along the way. Such is the case with this project.
The good news is that we have already been open for 9 months, and we have already gained quite a reputation as a great place for travelers to stay. We have the highest ratings of any hostel in the area on booking.com, and we are averaging about 80% occupancy, so things are moving in the right direction.
The bad news is that we are still a small place with beds for only 12 people, we are entering the low season, we are financially stretched pretty thin, and we have a few expenses that will be difficult for us to cover within the next few weeks. These upcoming expenses are "investments" - expenses that once paid will lower our weekly and monthly overhead, and put us in a better position to be financially self sufficient from here on out.
A few examples of these expenses:
*Guatemalan law requires that workers are paid a severance package upon termination of employment. As we are finishing the "big" parts of our construction, we have to let at least one worker go. The cost including lawyers fees is about $600. However, once we can pay it, we will be saving about $400 a month on labor costs.
*A new commercial water filtration system. We are currently purchasing clean drinking water in 5 gallon containers which have to be brought out by a truck from the closest town. This requires that we buy the water, pay a truck to deliver the water, and then pay local workers to carry these containers 30 minutes through the jungle to have them delivered here at the hostel. The filtration system will cost about $500 but will end up saving us around $200 a month.
*Improving the guests experience by adding additional bathrooms and lighting. These are our two most common examples of constructive criticism we receive from our current guests - "the bathrooms are too far away from the cabins" and "the pathways are really dark at night". The plan is to add 2 eco friendly composting toilets near our current cabins, and to add self contained led solar lighting along all of our pathways. This will cost around $1200, but once it is completed it will allow us to raise the prices of all of our beds, which will likely generate an additional $200 a month.
*Finishing the construction of 4 additional private rooms which are already 80% completed. This will cost about $1200, but once completed will double our current occupancy from 12 to 24 guests, creating up to $1500 a month in additional income.
For those of you who know me, it is fair to say that I have a good bit of pride when it comes to my business dealings, my ability to run a successful business, and my ability to stay on top of my finances. Asking you all for a small donation is very difficult for me, as I really like to take care of my business myself. I'm sure I will find one way or another to get through the next few months, but having help with these additional funds will put us in a position to be ready for the next high season. Without your help, it might take a year or more for us to be in the same place we could be in in only a few months. Even if you only have a few dollars to spare, every bit counts, and I would be extremely grateful for anything you can spare.
Finally, I would like to add that as long as I am here and my business is open, I will continue to help the poor local people who live in this area. We have already been credited with saving the lives of several of the local farmers who live nearby, simply by buying them medication when they needed it. So for every donation that is made, rest assured that you are helping not only myself and my business, but helping all of those less fortunate why rely on my business to help them when they most need it.
Thank you so much for your time and have an excellent day.
-Mike Merrill
*For more information about my hostel, please visit www.chibocol.com
As most of you know, 2.5 years ago I decided to follow a dream and began building an Eco Friendly Hostel deep in the jungles of Guatemala. As anyone who has ever started their own business or built something from the ground up will tell you, there can be lots of setbacks and unforeseen costs along the way. Such is the case with this project.
The good news is that we have already been open for 9 months, and we have already gained quite a reputation as a great place for travelers to stay. We have the highest ratings of any hostel in the area on booking.com, and we are averaging about 80% occupancy, so things are moving in the right direction.
The bad news is that we are still a small place with beds for only 12 people, we are entering the low season, we are financially stretched pretty thin, and we have a few expenses that will be difficult for us to cover within the next few weeks. These upcoming expenses are "investments" - expenses that once paid will lower our weekly and monthly overhead, and put us in a better position to be financially self sufficient from here on out.
A few examples of these expenses:
*Guatemalan law requires that workers are paid a severance package upon termination of employment. As we are finishing the "big" parts of our construction, we have to let at least one worker go. The cost including lawyers fees is about $600. However, once we can pay it, we will be saving about $400 a month on labor costs.
*A new commercial water filtration system. We are currently purchasing clean drinking water in 5 gallon containers which have to be brought out by a truck from the closest town. This requires that we buy the water, pay a truck to deliver the water, and then pay local workers to carry these containers 30 minutes through the jungle to have them delivered here at the hostel. The filtration system will cost about $500 but will end up saving us around $200 a month.
*Improving the guests experience by adding additional bathrooms and lighting. These are our two most common examples of constructive criticism we receive from our current guests - "the bathrooms are too far away from the cabins" and "the pathways are really dark at night". The plan is to add 2 eco friendly composting toilets near our current cabins, and to add self contained led solar lighting along all of our pathways. This will cost around $1200, but once it is completed it will allow us to raise the prices of all of our beds, which will likely generate an additional $200 a month.
*Finishing the construction of 4 additional private rooms which are already 80% completed. This will cost about $1200, but once completed will double our current occupancy from 12 to 24 guests, creating up to $1500 a month in additional income.
For those of you who know me, it is fair to say that I have a good bit of pride when it comes to my business dealings, my ability to run a successful business, and my ability to stay on top of my finances. Asking you all for a small donation is very difficult for me, as I really like to take care of my business myself. I'm sure I will find one way or another to get through the next few months, but having help with these additional funds will put us in a position to be ready for the next high season. Without your help, it might take a year or more for us to be in the same place we could be in in only a few months. Even if you only have a few dollars to spare, every bit counts, and I would be extremely grateful for anything you can spare.
Finally, I would like to add that as long as I am here and my business is open, I will continue to help the poor local people who live in this area. We have already been credited with saving the lives of several of the local farmers who live nearby, simply by buying them medication when they needed it. So for every donation that is made, rest assured that you are helping not only myself and my business, but helping all of those less fortunate why rely on my business to help them when they most need it.
Thank you so much for your time and have an excellent day.
-Mike Merrill
*For more information about my hostel, please visit www.chibocol.com
Organizer
Michael Merrill
Organizer
Houston, TX