The Swell Show

Edition 27 · Tuesday, November 10, 2026

This week starts fuller than last week.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, there are guests in 6 out of 10 rentals, about 2,200 people. Last Tuesday, half of them had guests. That's about 150 more rentals with someone in them.

Morning, line-up.

Tide alerts

  • Heads up

    The drought red alert is still on. Cóbano and Paquera have been on red alert for El Niño since October 22. This week comes in almost dry: check for leaks and save water.

Today’s story

No more slow days at the start of the week

Today, Monday the 9th: almost 6 out of 10 rentals have guests, about 2,100 people, and 3 out of 10 hotels are full. 1.4 m waves at 12 seconds and a dry day.

Tomorrow, Tuesday the 10th: there are about 150 more rentals with guests than last Tuesday. Wednesday has about 120 more, and Thursday about 70 more. Yesterday we said Monday no longer empties out: now it's the whole first half of the week.

The restaurant sector already felt it: last week it sold 16.9% more than the week before. For your business, this is an even week, but with more people than last week. Plan purchases and staff the same for every day, a bit above last week.

What to do today

Lodging
Don't cut prices for Tuesday or Wednesday. They already have about 150 and 120 more rentals with guests than a week ago, and people keep booking at the last minute.
Restaurants
Shop this week for more people than last week: tomorrow, Tuesday, there are about 2,200 guests in the area. It's dry and hot: keep drinks ice-cold.
Shops and services
Open your schedule for classes, boards and tours from Tuesday to Thursday, not just for the weekend. Midweek already has almost as many people as a Saturday.

The numbers

+16.9%sales in the area’s restaurant sector over the last week, versus the week before.
33%of hotels are full for Tuesday. Yesterday, for Monday, it was 31%: a Tuesday with 1 in 3 hotels full is a sign of a busy week.
65%of rentals for 6 people have guests on Tuesday; couples' rentals, 60%. Groups and families keep coming: have big tables and sharing plates ready.

By price

Pricier places stay fuller

For Tuesday, 7 out of 10 rentals over US$350 have guests; among those up to US$60, fewer than half.

Budgetup to US$60
47%
Mid-rangeUS$61 to 150
56%
UpscaleUS$151 to 350
63%
Luxuryover US$350
72%

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. Around here

    Red tide in the Gulf of Nicoya: shellfish banned

    SENASA widened the ban on harvesting and selling oysters, mussels and pianguas from the gulf because of the red tide. Cooking them doesn't make them safe. If your menu has seafood from the gulf, ask your supplier where it comes from.

    Source: The Tico Times

  2. In Costa Rica

    Diesel rose 17% in October

    According to INEC, diesel rose 17.4% and gasoline 3.1% in October; taxis 5.7% and buses 2%. If you rely on freight or transfers, review your costs this month.

    Source: The Tico Times

  3. Around the world

    JetBlue faces debt trouble

    The airline's bonds fell to 42 cents on the dollar and its creditors hired restructuring advisers. No changes to its Costa Rica flights have been announced yet, but it's worth watching.

    Source: The Tico Times

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 November 9 at 6:00.