All this to say, my base case is that right now rates are the lowest they've been in almost a year and it's more of a gamble to wait and see what the Fed does than to take what we have now.

I can go to Mexico (Yucatan) and spend less than $200/day and have an amazing time, in awesome hotels, eating fantastic authentic food, drinking until I'm wasted and going on multiple excursions. 

You gambled your investment capital on an internet investment-promoter.

Everyone is gambling, and I keep advising my clients to please not compete with that level of moronic. 

Quote from @Ashley Gamble: We recently bought a property that we have found out within the first few weeks of owning it that is has VERY SERIOUS drainage and humidity issues and lots of previous water damage that the sellers did not disclose.

No different than gambling. 

When I have a direct booking website, I will check into that business.I also operate 1 MTR and RentRedi collects a photo of the ID with the person also physically in the photo and then Stripe verifies the biometrics’ authenticity.

As has been said if you don’t have anyone local to rely on you’re probably gambling.

Any illegal activity like drug dealing, prostitution or gambling can attract unwanted elements.

For investors, this means more opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sectors, as the demand for unique, authentic experiences continues to grow.Healthcare and Cultural AttractionsLet’s not forget about healthcare—another pillar of the local economy.