When we moved here in 2016, we loaded up a shipping container full of tools. We paid to own the container and keep it as a storage area. However, plans change and when we were about to have family come visit us, we decided to make it into a bedroom.
As more people saw our shipping container turned bedroom, we had more and more requests to turn it into an Airbnb. It was too small to add a kitchen inside, so we made an outdoor kitchen on the outside of it.
When the pandemic hit and hotels were losing a lot of money in Panama, they lobbied for a new law to ban Airbnb or short-term rentals that less than 3 bedrooms. Many of the Airbnb rentals are 1 or 2 bedroom little casitas.
As the country just started opening up a little bit after the harsh lockdown, the government agency that regulates Airbnbs and short term rentals came and told us we would have 1 year to add 2 more bedrooms or the Coffee Can Airbnb would have to close.
With the help of some workaway volunteers and our own staff, we added the 2 new bedrooms.
Each year we upgrade it a little more. Last month we skinned the walls with PVC and added the PVC ceiling to make it a little more "homey."
The supplies we had to work with back in 2016 were limited. Stores on this side of the country only carried a few options for tiles and when we were buying it, they only had a couple of options to pick from that had enough in stock.
It was never meant to be high-end Airbnb, it was to be an affordable "glamping" place to stay that was clean and fun to stay at on a coffee farm. Outside is a full kitchen and an outside fireplace for those chilly evenings. I am sure it will get more improvements in the future, but with our harvest starting soon we are winding down on all projects until next rainy season.
Here are the 3 bedrooms as of today:
The pink building was an old worker shower and toilet stalls. It was infested with bats when we moved here. We decided to fix up the old bathroom and connect it to the shipping container. It was a dirty, nasty job after gutting it, adding some skylights and fixing it up...it was worth it!
Here is a video of all of the work!
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