When did you open Hospedaje Blue Ocean and what inspired you to do so?

We opened our hotel in 2016. I am Swiss and my husband Marco is Peruvian and lived for 25 years in Switzerland. We were both working in tourism and dreamed for a long time of opening our own hotel. We had already visited Mancora several times, and we decided in 2007 to buy some land directly on the beach. After a few years, we started building the first 3 rooms, and one year later we added another 3 rooms. We rented out the place for 3 years and decided then to move to Mancora and do it ourselves.

What do you love most about Hospedaje Blue Ocean?

We love being the owners of our own business and fulfilling our ideas and dreams. We love that we are located directly on the beach so we can watch the sunset every evening - we don’t get tired of it. We love our great guests from all over the world, and sometimes they even leave as friends.

Tell us about your team!

Me and my husband are part of our team - my husband is the chef and I am responsible for all the reservations and the guests when they are at the hotel. We have three employees, one at the bar, one in housekeeping and one in the kitchen. In high season, we also work with volunteers, who help whenever we need someone. It was very hard to find employees who were reliable and on time. We are very lucky to finally have a very good team. They always have a smile on their faces, no matter how much work we have.

What's next for Hospedaje Blue Ocean?

This year we finally built our swimming pool and opened it three months ago. Since then we have had so many more reservations - we never thought that a pool would have such an impact. So we are thinking of maybe building 6 more rooms after the next high season. We have already made plans! Another project is starting to generate electricity with solar and wind energy. We have sun and wind all year round, so this would be a big advantage.

How has Tab helped Hospedaje Blue Ocean?

When we started the business, we had a lot of ‘no shows’. Sometimes the taxi drivers just brought the guests to another hotel, as they didn’t know where we were. We were not able to charge clients' credit cards in advance - we could only charge the cards once they had arrived. So Tab helped us a lot as we can charge the customer a deposit in advance - and  the cooperation with Booking.com was a great advantage. We had no ‘no shows’ any more.

Why is Mancora a great place to visit?

When you are travelling through Peru, you visit a lot of great places and can do tours and hikes everyday. In Mancora, people can finally relax and enjoy the beach. Our winter months - July and August - are still like summer as well - it is always more than 20 degrees during the day. It is also a great destination for sport fans, you can surf and kitesurf right in front of our hotel.

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You can find out more about Hospedaje Blue Ocean on their website at https://www.blueocean-mancora.com or by following them on Instagram at @blueoceanmancora!