Observation: Death of marriage agencies.

[HansErich]

... in response to Observation: Death of marriage agencies., posted by Traveller on Aug 5, 2003

Dear mister Traveler,

I agree with your story 100%.
If you are NOT willing to spend $$$/€ or whatever to find a woman stay OUT of South-America....

BUT...If I find a woman that is good I will pay up to 10.000 Euros if I have to,but I hope these women do NOT expect me TO KEEP paying money just to be with them.

So I agree that agencies loose money if clients do not shoqw up.

But in how many cases clients will losse money because of the fact that agencies set them up with the "wrong" women;just in order to keep making money.
How ofthen it happens that agencies say öooo she speaks english"..and afterwartds it turns out that the chica doesn't speak english at all!!! (or very little?)

iow....how many "bad"agencies are in Colombia??

Regards,

Hans-Erich.

[Cali James]

... in response to Observation: Death of marriage agencies., posted by Traveller on Aug 5, 2003

I think you're right Traveler.  I had the same experience with gringos when I rented my apartment out a few times.  Some guys were cool like you and Pacino bet every other guy wanted the place for less than it cost me.  It turned out to be a bigger pain than it was worth.

As far as the agency B & B business, it's a tough one.  The truth is not many gringos want to pay more than about $40 a night so to make a few pesos in profit is tough.  I think staying at an agency the first trip or two is really a good idea.  I stayed at Latin Love when it was the Chrystal Palace and hanging out by the pool with the other newbies was about as fun as meeting the gals.  I'm not sure if any of the surviving agencies offer the same experience......

[Pete E]

... in response to Observation: Death of marriage agencies., posted by Traveller on Aug 5, 2003

Keith,
Right on.I have seen it.Seems like guys would know this is going to cost some bucks but I guess since you can haggle in a place like Cali its tempting to do so.
I hated to see Latin Love go,even though I got married and would use it no more.To me it seemed worth it for the setting and the service.An 18,000 sq ft mansion with a pool and a gym.My bedroom was 2000 sq ft.$100 a night with breakfast,lunch and great staff and translaters.Alot of new guys would like to have that option now I would think.
But guys get cheap.One guy I met there had like no money,here he was in Cali,telling a story about a pay check he couldn't get to he got home.Who volunteers to help?Yup old sucker Pete.I even gave him all my pesos when  left.He never did pay me but I heard he was back down next month.Bud didn't even want a deposit.Ruby didn't ask for any money for days.I think the timing of our buddy Norms place undercut them,he was much cheaper.
Whats your opinion of what that house is worth now?People tell me $200,000 - $400,000.Tempting.Want to open an agency?
You probably had it with that.

Pete

[burbuja2]

... in response to Observation: Death of marriage agencies., posted by Traveller on Aug 5, 2003

Numerous parallels can be drawn to other industries as well.  For example, most hotels require a deposit for a reservation, to be forfeited if not timely cancelled.  All businesses face evolving challenges which must be met.  That is why some businesses die, others prosper, and new ones are formed.  Perhaps if some of these agencies adopted more US type business practices, a lot of the problems you refer to could be avoided.  Last, since the problem is caused by "you" (i.e., us), I was wondering if you could be more specific.  That is, are these perceived problems caused by everyone on the board, or just one (1) individual?  I eagerly await your next lecture.

[cancunhound]

... in response to Observation: Death of marriage agencies., posted by Traveller on Aug 5, 2003

Everyone wants to save a buck!  Sounds like you had some bad apples but to catagorize every agency guy as being "cheap" is probably a little too much.  Seems like most of those annoyances could be avoided by revamping some business practices.  $60/night sounds like a fair setup to me.  I think what is harmful to agencies is that often guys will get "robbed" by some US middleman - shell out $1,000 bucks only to find out all they really got were some addresses and phone numbers, they get down to Colombia and discover they could have just paid the $60/night that they'll be paying anyway.  So these guys already have a bad taste in their mouth, regardless if they realize that the actual agencies in Colombia are legit outfits.  It's amazing to me that in this day and age of the internet, dinasours like "Latin Life Mates" exist.  Before shelling out any money - ask for the address and phone numbers of their actual "agencies" - see if they'll give you that info before spending a dime!