Good morning! After announcing that we now offer free camping to RV and motorcycle travelers on our 90 acre land, I am pleased to announce that our lovely little house is now available to rent on Airbnb!
If you are unfamiliar with the concept, Airbnb offers the possibility as a host to rent your extra room or the whole house if you are away on holidays, and as a traveler to stay with locals or rent a place for a short time when you visit a new destination. You can read my review here and a pros and cons list of Airbnb versus Couchsurfing there.
I had a bit of a hiccup at first when Google maps wouldn’t place our address correctly so a couple of people inquired but didn’t lead to a sale as you really need to have your own transportation to get there. Or plan on spending a week just relaxing and laying in a hammock by the lake, which many sunbirds do during the winter months. Our friends who own hotels nearby often receive US or Canadian retirees who stay there for a month and then rent a car for the day to explore Maya ruins.
So if you are going to Guatemala for the holidays and plan on visiting the ruins of Tikal, Yaxha or the lovely colonial town of Flores, check out our listings!
Rent a full house, sleeps 6, with private beach on Lake Peten Itza
You can check the ad here, in this case we would leave the house for your private use with our gardener/handyman and the maid to take care of you. The can prepare meals of fresh lake fish, locally grown steak and pork, or a traditional Guatemalan breakfast.
Rates start at $150 per night for up to six people.
Rent by the room
Room 1 click here to see the ad is the big new room that we just built, it sleeps two, has its private bathroom, AC, and lake views. The rates start at $85 per night for two.
Room 2 click here to see the ad is a smaller, simpler room that shares a bathroom with room 3, it has two single beds and sleeps two. The rates start at $35 per night for two.
Room 3 click here to see the ad is a yet smaller, simple room that shares a bathroom with room 2, it has one double bed and sleeps two. The rates start at $35 per night for two.
We can cook too
You are free to use the kitchen with any booking but will need to bring your food over from Flores (20 miles away) or rely on the village’s very basic shop. We can arrange for meals to be cooked for you, breakfast is $4, lunch or dinner is $10, we try to get fresh white fish from the lake, or will serve meat, side, salad and dessert as well as a beer or soda.
We got our first booking!
A couple of weeks after putting the ad online, I received our first booking. A family of 4 will come between Christmas and New Year. It is kind of perfect as we can go away for the holidays and leave them their privacy. Will we have another inquiry later on to rent the house for a full week and end up having to pass, maybe but first come first serve.
Please spread the word!
This post was featured on the Lifestyle Carnival, The Frugal Farmer, Young Adult Money, Eyes on the Dollar, thank you!
This is definitely tempting, Pauline! I have a feeling we won’t get the funds in time for the Costa Rica wedding we wanted to go to in the Spring so this may be a good option instead (and later on down the road).
too bad about the wedding but as a holiday destination, Guatemala has much more to offer, the Maya culture, traditions, food… are much more diverse than CR.
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Pauline, this sounds like a wonderful vacation! I will definitely be keeping this in mind for us down the road, and will spread the word as well. Awesome!
Thank you Laurie!
That’s awesome, Pauline. Your place looks heavenly!
Wow, looks beautiful! Congrats on getting a booking. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy with the place.
Like DC said, that is tempting! Congrats on getting your first sale and sure it’ll be the first of many. I am not going to show my wife the pics as I think she’d have us on the next plane flight out. 🙂
well then I am sending it to her directly haha.
Wow Pauline! That sounds amazing!! I wish I could!
That’s awesome Pauline! Now if only someone would book it now since you’re already away traveling! =)
As a matter of fact we do have guests at the moment, a Spanish family who came to visit our maid for a couple of weeks and they are staying at our place. It covers the costs while we are away which is awesome.
This is awesome! I will have to talk to W about this 🙂
That is a cool honeymoon destination, with adventure in Guatemala then a week of beaches and diving in Belize or Cancun 🙂
wow I love it!!! I’d totally go for the room with all the stone! I’ve been eyeing that since you started showing pics of it earlier this year. I don’t think you’d have any trouble getting visitors! How would you get from the airport? Just curious?
There is a local airport half an hour away that you can get to by boat so I can pick travelers by boat or just with the car, which is not as cool. Both are about 30 min ride.
My boyfriend and I are looking for a good destination between Thanksgiving and Christmas. If we could figure out cheap transit, this would definitely be an option for us.
spirit flies from NY via Ft Lauderdale but they are pretty expensive around those dates usually, although early December may be ok.
It’s beautiful Pauline!! Guatamaula is on my bucket list, if I actually make it there ill know wherebto stay!
Thank you! Let me know if you are planning a trip in the region!
That looks awesome. Congrats on getting your first booking. I’m sure the visitors will thoroughly enjoy their trip.
Thanks Jake, I hope so.
People are going to be lining up to stay with you, Pauline! It looks gorgeous (both rooms and views!) and the prices are very reasonable. If we ever head your way – we’re definitely staying with you! 🙂 Congrats on lining up your first customer and to many more!
Thank you Shannon! I have had a second booking so am really excited.
Wow, your house looks amazing! I’m sure you’ll get tons of bookings.
Good luck with your vacation rentals! Where do you stay while you have renters?
Pauline, your place looks great and is really good value too. Now, how do I justify the air fare from Scotland??? Will def check out airnb though as I’m currently exploring ways to make money from my house. One way is renting rooms though I’m also looking at the option of renting it out by the day for film/TV shoots. I know some people who make money that way (they live in an ordinary house), and it pays well. Best of luck with this new venture for you. x
Pauline when you rent your wholoe house out are those the weeks you are gone? Your house looks great and looks to be a much better experience than the hotels. Hope you get a boatload of bookings for your income stream.
What a lovely place with great rates. I will spread the word. We’d love to get there one day!
How beautiful! I love the stones, it’s so different from what you normally see. You make it very tempting! I will be sure to spread the word in case I run across anyone who feels like taking a vacation there. It’s so great you’re already getting it rented out; I am sure you’ll have no problem with getting more bookings.
Beautiful place! I’m looking forward to having a condotel rental someplace tropical that I can rent out when I’m not there. One of these days! I found it interesting in my Caribbean research this summer that St. Kitts gives you citizenship if you invest $250K in their economy, typically via real estate.
We rented a place in the Caribbean this summer using HomeAway with great success. Have you had any experiences with them vs AirBnB?
That’s awesome that you are renting out your house on AirBNB. I rent my house out, but to a long-term renter. If I lived closer to the major city where I am at, I would consider AirBNB if I couldn’t find a long-term renter. It’s amazing how the internet is revolutionizing all aspects of our lives.
Pauline!!! So freakin’ cool! Very reasonable rates and congrats on your first booking. I can imagine you and BF stumbling upon this idea over a pint in France or perhaps in the Moroccan desert. Have a fun one!!!
This is amazing! I love the photos and if I ever visit Guatemala, I’ll definitely be looking you up on AirBNB. I wish we had the ability to put something like this on AirBNB – what a great extra money maker.
Hi Pauline I am so jealous what a beautiful part of the world…and your prices are so reasonable or so they seem compared to prices in Australia.
Love the idea of having a maid…if we ever get to Guatemala we be sure to check your place out.
Good luck with the booking and the yakezie challenge!!
That looks like a beautiful place!!! You will have to keep us updated on your success level with AirBnB… I have always been curious how successful people are and how much money they actually make off a site like that, seems like it could get pretty lucrative if you have a desirable spot (which you obviously do!)
This is really beautiful! There are several apartment or room for rent that you can find in the web that will suit your budget and needs as well. Thanks a lot for sharing these houses for rent.
Looks great. I’ve got a friend heading that way somewhere in the middle of next year so I’ll mention it to them. Not sure if they’re planning on spending much time in Guatamala, but your place looks like a great spot to hole up for a few days.