The Swell Show

Edition 7 · Wednesday, October 21, 2026

Wednesday beats Saturday.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, half the rentals in the area have guests, about 1,900 people. Saturday still has about 20 more rentals open than tomorrow. Midweek arrivals are what keeps the till ringing.

Morning, line-up.

Tide alerts

  • Filling up

    Tomorrow, Wednesday, busier than today. Tomorrow 51% of rentals have guests; today, Tuesday, 45%. Run a full staff from tomorrow on, not just for the weekend.

Today’s story

The weekend is filling slowly

Today, Tuesday the 20th: 45% of rentals have guests, about 1,700 people, and 1 in 5 hotels is full. 1.6 m waves and heavy rain.

Tomorrow, Wednesday the 21st: 51% of the area has guests. For the weekend, about 20 more rentals were booked since Monday and it now stands at 48%. Yesterday we said Tuesday beat the weekend in hotels; today Wednesday beats it across the board.

For your business: the week is even, with guests in 4 or 5 of every 10 rentals every day. Don't save your staff or big orders for Saturday alone: Wednesday and Thursday pay just as well.

What to do today

Lodging
Don't cut your price for Wednesday or Thursday: they're the most booked days of the week. If you want to move something, make it Monday the 26th or Tuesday the 27th.
Restaurants
Run a full staff from tomorrow, Wednesday, not just for Saturday. Heavy rain tomorrow: have something hot and a slow coffee ready for the afternoon.
Shops and services
Tomorrow, Wednesday, brings the best waves of the week and the fullest area: put boards, wax and lessons in view from early on.

The numbers

29%of hotels are full for Wednesday. For Tuesday it was 22%: about 10 more full hotels. Hotels are living off midweek.
About 40rentals are open on Wednesday but already have guests later in the week. Yesterday it was about 90: what comes after Wednesday is quieter.
US$63is the typical nightly price of what's still open for Wednesday. For Saturday, US$84: what's left for the weekend is pricier.

By price

Pricier homes fill first

For Wednesday, 6 in 10 rentals over US$350 already have guests. Among those up to US$60, only 1 in 3. Big-house guests arrive midweek: have a menu and services ready for them.

Budgetup to US$60
36%
Mid-rangeUS$61 to 150
51%
UpscaleUS$151 to 350
54%
Luxuryover US$350
62%

Share of places booked for tomorrow at each nightly rate. Every place in the area, classified one by one.

What the tide brings in

  1. In Costa Rica

    Green rain alert through Wednesday

    The National Emergency Commission put all seven provinces on green alert on October 19, after more than 100 floods over the weekend. In the Central Pacific, soils are almost saturated: check your drains and tell your guests to drive carefully.

    Source: The Tico Times

  2. Around the world

    Europe keeps adding travelers

    From January to September, European arrivals to the country grew 8.4%; Spain, 10.6% and Germany, 8.5%. In September, total air arrivals fell 1.7%. It's worth having your business basics ready for European visitors too.

    Source: El Financiero

See you in the water.

How we measure · Occupancy = 1 − places free for 3 nights ÷ total inventory. It’s a ceiling: some places block dates without being booked. Sources: the main booking platforms, Open-Meteo and the Central Bank of Costa Rica. Measured October 20 at 6:00.