lovedog100

I would say, That's a given.

I have an idea. If there aren't enough virgins to go around. Maybe they could take ex-wives instead. Maybe we could even give them a two for one special. Two ex-wives in place of one virgin Anyone else willing to send the ex to spend eternity with a dead suicide bomber?

Second thoughts? Does that mean that you are going to start supporting your president?

You took the words right out of my mouth.

I had two cards that would not work in Thailand last year. When I tried to make my first purchase the card companies called my contact number to see if the transactions were authorized. Of course, I was in Thailand, not home, and the cards were blocked. I called the banks and asked what the problem was. Thailand, like Ukraine, and Nigeria are high on the fraud list. Had I informed the bank of going to Thailand before going, the cards would have worked. As it was, over the phone worked, I just had to give them a Thailand contact number. They did call to confirm. Never had a problem after that.

You don't want sophon either. I've had it for 6 months, there are several english news channels, and a few movie, network type channels. Two less that when I got it. I'm moving to true. Dropping two channels tells me that they don't want my business. They sould change the name to "all reruns, all the time" In one day, you can see everything that's going to be shown in the next week or two. Sophon sucks big time.

Sorry to hear that you are going to waste 10 days of your life. Are you being forced to go?

Probably why the Bush girls are such sluts. If you recognize them, they will give you a blow job not to tell anyone who their dad is.

Just don't ever take your lady into FLB. Keep it all to yourself. This comes from experience my friend.

Checking flights to Guam now.

As I said, ask another successful hotel / guest house owner, maybe even ask two or three. I don't know if the 70% would be an average all year, or for each month. During high season, many hotels are at 95-100% I've talked with several people that had to go with their second or third choice lately. It seems like there were a couple of post on this board that mentioned full hotels also.

An option if the owner is a stickler for the % that he wants for key money would be something like a 5 year lease, with an option for 5 more. Key money would drop to 2.5 million. Keep in mind that at the end of 5 years, he will want another 2.5 million key money. Have that in the contract also, you don't want him to increase it to 3 or 4 million. Honestly though, unless you seriously think that you could raise occupancy above 50% It's not a good investment. With the numbers that you listed, and it doesn't include everything. It's not that much income. It would just about pay my bar bill at FLB Next year may get better, but you will seriously need to have a marketing plan to increase occupancy. Ask another successful hotel / guest house owner, I believe 70% minimum is what you are looking for. Again, I'm not an owner, however in my conversations with owners, I think that was the number they gave me.

Hehehe Funny

Damn, and I complain about the amount I give the lady that stays with me full time. Am I cheap, or are you overly generous? Both maybe?

That is a tough question. The only pizza in Thailand that I've found was in Phuket. In my home town, there is a locally famous parlor, known for the best pizza in town. I think it is. However when I took my friend from New York, he hated it. He likes a crust that is paper thin, and taste more like cardboard to me, and just one topping. When I took my in-laws that are Italian, they were not impressed either. Our answers on the best pizza would be completely different. Now add, being cooked by a Thai that had probably never even seen a pizza until they started work. Tough question. What does it take for a pizza to be good for you? Edit: Pizza at Cafe Uno is good, for my taste, and those I have taken there.

Looks like MM explained it better than I did. The lease sometimes can be sold to another party, if you have that clause put into the lease agreement. The lease terms are negotiable just as is the rent / key money amounts. I had a place that I was extremely interested in. The landlord agreed to a transferable lease, however she had to approve of the person taking over the lease. I thought I could end run around this by having the lease in a company name, and if things went bad, or it became very successful, I could just sell the company, then they got the lease with out having to be approved. She countered with her having to approve a change in officers or share holders in the company. That became a nonnegotiable sticking point with the both of us. I absolutely would not sign a lease that I could not sell with out her approval. I walked away from the deal. Here is why. Take your case, 5 million key money up front. Then in 6 months or a year you find that you can't make money, or have to return home for what ever reason. If you could sell your lease, you could recoup some of the loss if not break even. Say you find someone to pay you 3 million for the lease, a 2 million loss to you is still better than a 5 million loss. You walk away with something. Now, if you find someone willing to pay you 3 million, and the landlord does not approve of the transfer, you are stuck, and going to lose your whole 5 million. It's in the landlords best interest not to approve of the transfer, and send you home bankrupt. The landlord is then free to contact the person that was interested in your lease and negotiate a deal on their own. Or just rent to someone else and get another 5 million key money. This is where a good attorney earns their money, have one look over your lease before you sign. Do not use the good attorney that will save you money that is recommended by the landlord. The landlords recommended cheap attorney will cost you in the end. With out a doubt, that attorney will be the landlords attorney, a family member, or a business partner of the landlord.

It sounds like you catch on quick The term key money is correct in that it's what the Thai's call it. I call it what it is, nonrefundable rent paid in advance.

First rule of business. Location, location, location. The place in question is not a good location. It is hard to find, and inconvenient for tourists. Just to go to walking street for example, your customer will have to get on a motorbike taxi, or flag down a baht buss. Many farang are uncomfortable on motorbike taxi's. That will give them a 100 bht ride on a baht bus each way just to go see walking street. Take that 200 bht, add it to your 600 bht a night, that is 800bht that they could use to find a hotel with in walking distance of walking street, beach road, or second road that has internet, and maybe even a pool. I'm not, nor have ever been a hotel owner, so I'm not an expert, however I've talked with owners, and I believe 70% occupancy is considered successful, 50% failing. Check on that yourself, some times I have problems remembering details that are unimportant to me. Threw advertising you could increase business, again, that's an expense not listed in your costs. Monthly rentals to ex-pats and sex-pats could increase occupancy. That area is more ex-pat than tourist. The Thai system of "Selling" a business is stacked in their favor. Farang should get it out of their head that they are buying anything. They are renting. In your hotel, the only thing that you will own will be your computer, toilet paper, soap, and your cleaning supplies. Everything else is owned by the landlord. The key money system is a scam by the owner, and almost dooms you to failure from the start. Key money is typically 40-50% of the rent the owner wants paid in advance. If you fail as a guest house owner, the owner having 40% of ten rears rent paid in advance has years before he has to re-rent the building, and still not lose one bht. If you fail in 6 months, he has 3 1/2 years to find someone else to "sell" to. If he isn't on a beach sipping on a corona, he could rent it again in a year, to someone else that fails in 6 months. Now, he has made double the money on the building for several years. Good deal for him huh? Five million bht represents the life savings of most people. If it is yours also, you are left with out operating capitol during a slump in business. What if the crappy Thai plumbing brakes and floods a floor, making that floor un-rentable, and damaging furniture, not to mention the cost of repairs. You may not have the money to advertise, or to make needed upgrades. If a couple of drunk young men trash one of your rooms, will you have the money to make repairs? Things like air-con units, and refrigerators, TV's were all bought at the same time and are of the same brand. When one fails, you can expect to start repairing, or replacing them all. Second rule of business: Have capitol available to run the business for one year, without it turning a profit. Third rule of business: see number one. My own fourth rule of business. If I have to work longer hours, have more stress, and make less money than I would working for someone else,,, Well you can see the obvious answer there.

First off, key money is rent paid in advance that is non refundable. Take the 5m and divide it by 120 months and you get 41666 bht per month. Now add that to your rent and re calculate known costs. Costs are as follows: All Utilities : 25000 p/m Staff : 22000 p/m Rent 106666 p/m Accountant: 2000p/m ? Key money p/m 41666 Total of : 155666 p/m 198000 -155666 ----------- 42334 Bht per month Not big money for the investment, it doesn't add in incidentals as maintenance, replacing sheets, towels and such. How about toilet paper, cleaning supplies, loss from theft, advertising, insurance, lawyers, replacing light bulbs. To attract the higher end customer, who buy the way doesn't stay in a 22 room guest house. You will have to make some big improvements, add a pool, internet with wifi, new furniture, paint, light fixtures, linens and towels, paint, parking lot, security, room safes, plasma TV's with cable. I give your own question back to you. What are your thoughts on this business "opportunity?"

I agree with you. The Honey lodge has a nice pool, parking for motorbikes, friendly staff, air-con, easy to get to and from anywhere, and it's very reasonably priced. The only thing I didn't like was that the doors are not solid and secure feeling. Also they must be locked manually, they are not locked whenever the door closes.

Stinky I will jump in on this one. I did not read the statement that you are referring to. I have no idea what was said. However I was in FLB that night. The place was full with no seats available when I walked in. Frosty offered to let us sit at his table. It was one of those on the back wall. So we had Frosty, his girlfriend, a computer, me and my girlfriend all on a sliver of a table. Then I bought some lady drinks, so there were four more drinks all on this little table with a running lap top on it. No place for the ladies to sit, just stand. Frosty was taking pictures 1/2 the time and every time he came back to the table for a drink, everyone had to move to let him get to his seat. Uncomfortable to say the least. A group of people got up and left my favorite table open, I grabbed my drink, check bin, and girlfriend and started off for that table. The three guys in question walked in and right to the table before I could get there. My first thought was, great, these guys get the best seat in the house and are going to order one drink. To my surprise, they ordered three beers. I'll be damned if three ladies didn't run up and jump on their laps, kissing and hugging them. I would guess it was 20 minutes to half an hour before they bought the ladies a drink. I'll admit, I was a little jealous at this point. I was in the mood for two ladies that night, and these guys got immediate service, and I was buying drinks for ladies that I knew for sure were not going with me, nor was I getting anything like that much attention. But that aside. The ladies finished their drinks first, the guys were still nursing theirs. They did not buy the ladies another drink. Then their empty bottles were picked up,and they didn't order another drink. When I noticed the drink free table I told my GF, watch that table, they finish, when they go , we take table. The ladies were back and forth kissing them, and sitting on their lap. After more than an hour of them sitting at an empty table I went to Moulie. I asked "what do I have to do, quit buying drinks to get a table and ladies?" She told me that the guys were bar fining the ladies and the ladies were changing clothes, and they would be gone soon. Yes, they actually bar fined three ladies, not one. 30 minutes later another table open up and I got a decent table. The guys and girls still hadn't moved, they sat at a drink less table. They barely made it past the stereo type. They bought 3 drinks, three lady drinks, and three bar fines and sat there for hours. The three of them together had a check bin that was less than half of mine, and that's including their bar fines. Yes I'm jealous that they got the best seat in the house, that they got better service than me, and that that they got to walk out with a lady each. But, raciest or not, if the stereo type fits, wear it. Every stereo type has some basis of truth. Not to say that everyone fits, but enough that it's noticed. You seem outraged that MM wasn't comfortable with someone with an Arabic sounding name, someone who may be on a watch list, or a do not fly list, having info on forged passports. Would you have been just as outraged if he had asked if there were any pilots or engineers on the forum that could give information on where the best place to place a bomb on a 747 for the most damage? Some things are just a no brainer. Maybe you should thank MM for not helping someone with a forged passport sit next to you on your next flight.

Wow, it looks like real fries (chips for the English) Not those frozen and reheated things sold all over Pattaya. Please tell me that you use American catchup not that foul tasting Thai stuff. There is a place in Jomtien "Just burgers" that makes a very good burger, but the frozen fries and Thai catchup ruin the whole experience.

Buddy, you have a lot of damn gall. MM owns the program that makes this forum work, he owns the computer that runs it, and pays for the bandwidth. He puts in countless hours as an administrator. He has every right to delete anything that he deems inappropriate. Membership in this forum is free, you paid nothing to be part owner, nor did other members. He is under no obligation to ask anyone about his decisions. Point two. To ask a question like that in public is out right stupid, as would be any person that gave out that information in Public. Guaranteed, law enforcement would be investigating both parties. Point three. Your question "How. Can I miss use a chinese or Indian passport?" is just to stupid to merit any kind of reply.

Humor is good. My friends and myself have lots of good laughs when we compare notes and how similar our relationships are. Even between those that have been here a month, and those that have been married several years. The language barrier causes lots of laughs all in it's self. Just a minute ago my GF got off the phone and in a very serious tone said "Mama say she sleep with my uncle" I say What? her: Mama sleep with my uncle. You know my uncle mi? me: Yes, I know uncle, why would he sleep with your mama? her: Mama not see uncle for long time. me: yea, but, I don't understand, uncle and mama boom boom? her: NO!! Mama old, not boom boom with uncle. Mama not see uncle long time, go to see uncle, stay three day. me: Oh, OK, never mind what I say. You are right in that not everyone masters Pattaya in one week. I do think that anyone with a three digit IQ learns most of what is in the books I've read in a week. That doesn't mean that that knowledge doesn't go out the window once we fall head over heals with a Thai lady. I have coffee with a group of men from my country many mornings. It's nice to be able to hold real conversations that are more than bar talk, and use a full vocabulary, not pigeon English. One guy that I thought had a good handle on things is being taken by his girlfriend. He isn't a good enough friend to pull aside and give him my take on the situation. I know between her or me, he is gonna pick her. I'd hate to lose him as a friend. I brought him the book "Money number one" one morning. I knew there was nothing in it that he didn't know. However my hopes were, when he read his situation in print, and the authors take on it, it would open his eyes and he would wake up. He read it, returned it to me, and told me how much he enjoyed it. Nothing changed in his relationship, nor did he see the similarities listed. All the knowledge in the world gets lost as soon as our cock gets hard and our heart rate goes up. It's a man thing. Good luck with your book. Maybe you can make a positive difference in someones life, or just give them a good laugh. Which ever they need most.

Your first post ever, and it's an advertisement LOL. No problem, up to you. Having read a couple of the "must read" books on Thai ladies, and Thai farang relationships. I found one reacquiring theme in all of them. It's all information I learned in my first week in Pattaya. How is yours any different?