Newsletter #5

Bringing in the summer: 

The state of Baja Sur.
We have entered Mexico’s Stage 3 of COVID-19. The government has issued a proclamation stating only 1 person per vehicle with no travel outside of essential needs - medical and food. Anyone who is caught will be fined or given community service. This began as of April 26th and will continue through May 31st. As of now, all is scheduled to reopen on June 1st.   

There are physical roadblocks at the south entrance of Todos Santos and all access points around Pescadero except through the main Oxxo road. There were locals acting as a checkpoint for the Pescadero entrance and north Todos entrance.  Those checkpoints are no longer there, but there is still single access into both towns. 

We have heard of some looting, including a car being stolen from Cerritos recently.  We have not heard of home looting. We do know there is some desperation in the area as resources start to get thin for people without paychecks. That being said, the overall feeling with locals is still upbeat. Neighbors are looking out for one another and many people are working hard to keep people supported with food. 
Our understanding is the roads to drive to and from all US access points are still open. We have had a few clients successfully drive back to the states within the past week, and a few more leaving within the next few days. 

We are seeing many Americans and Canadians leave that were planning to ride it out in their MX homes.  We are also reading there are a few planes still flying down, but they come through with only a few passengers.  Finally, we are hearing that tourism travel is not supposed to get into MX, but we have not heard of anyone blocked from entering. 

Tu Casa’s next steps.
We will continue to do 4-8 home visits per month. When we can do more we will.  We will also try to bring our family to homes as often as we can. We are loud and bring life to any space, so please be aware if we are all visiting your home or community, we are doing this intentionally. We’ve also been given permission by many owners to make use of the pool or decks to show a presence.  If this is something you are strongly against, please let us know; otherwise, we may try to make an afternoon or evening out of a visit.  This seems to be the best way to avoid intruders. 

Donate.
There are many organizations working together to support food bags for local families.  Please consider donating to ACTS. 

Airbnb & Tu Casa.
Based on the information through Airbnb, our understanding is they are giving 25% of all canceled reservations to owners within a certain date range.  We also believe there is nothing that needs to be done on the owners end to claim this money. This is great news!
We understand these reservations were canceled, and typically when our owners receive payout from a canceled reservation, we still collect commission.  When an owner does not receive a payout for a canceled reservation, we do not collect our commission. All that being said, Tu Casa was prepared to not collect any money to help the cause as we knew our owners were also acting selflessly.  

Our ask - we are not going to calculate the 20% of the 25% of commissions collected.  If you are able to pay Tu Casa our commission, this is greatly appreciated.  If you are not able to pay based on your own needs, we completely understand this is a difficult time for all.  Please know, we are a small business within our first two years and we are working hard to stay viable.  We continue to pay our people and give work to locals whenever we can, as we have not cut salaries to our workers.  While the 20% of 25% may not seem like much, this will help us get through these next 6 months.  Our goal is to stay afloat as we are offering this needed service.  We love living here and want to continue to grow as tourism comes back.  Now, as many do, it is time to make it through this tough phase.  We also greatly appreciate any help with referrals for security checks on homes, side jobs that need completed that either we can take or we can offer to our local employees, or any other sources of income.  We will continue to work hard for our clients, and to rebuild this beautiful place we all love so much.  
If you do choose to include the commision with your future payments, please send an email so we can properly account for the money received.  We want to make sure all is tracked.  Thank you!

A few personal notes.
Please stay safe and healthy. We are all in this together, even if we are in different places in the world.  Stay positive and reach out if you need anything at all. We will keep you updated on your homes.  We are here for you! 

TCCPM.
Cerritos, BCS
tucasabaja@gmail.com
Rachel’s cell: 720.354.0022        Alex’s cell: 203.892.5133