I want to share a story and shine a light on how you treat people and how accusations, especially between expats on this island, can cross a line. How you treat people MATTERS.
I moved to Isla Mujeres 2 years ago. My fiancé has been working here for 8 years before that, going back and forth from the mainland. We are a FAMILY-owned business, not a big corporation. And many locals who know us can attest that we have been contributing positively to this island.
But last night, for the first time in 2 years of living here, I had a HORRIBLE experience with an expat who had NO right to come to my property in the middle of the night, screaming at the top of his lungs, calling us "scammers" in front of our guests.
Here's what happened:
Back in October 2025, a booking came through for a week in February 2026. We received the payment and added it to our calendar. Around the same time, we joined a new booking platform that required us to link our calendar, and in the process, it deleted our previous bookings. We thought we had manually re-entered everything. We thought WRONG. (Huge mistake from our part)
Fast forward to February 14th 2026. We had just hosted our first Valentine's Day event at the restaurant. Our villas were booked. We thought everything was fine. So we went to bed around 10pm.
At 11pm, while we were sleeping we got a text from a number we didn't recognize: "We arrived and there is no room for us. This is not good."
Normally, we communicate with our clients days before arrival, so we were confused -- especially since we know when our guests arrive, we coordinate everything. This time, we hadn't heard from them since October 2025.
At 11:30pm, the banging started.
I woke up terrified, trying to figure out what was happening. I opened the door to find our property manager scared for his life with 5 people standing behind him.
The family of 4 who had booked with us, and one extra person we didn't know.
Let me be clear: this was OUR FAULT. We completely take the blame. We were 1000% willing to figure things out — we even had one room available, and we were not going to let them sleep on the street.
But before we could even begin to solve the problem, the fifth person — the expat, who did NOT book with us, was NOT a guest, and had NOTHING to do with this — started pointing at us and screaming from the top of his lungs. Calling us scammers. Accusing us of stealing money. Talking about how horrible people we were. Yelling about how "he's a local" and that this was "a f*cking scam." And that we should be ashamed.
The expat, was adding fuel to the fire. He was making the guest rile up. The client himself was furious — he clenched his fists so hard you could see his white knuckles. I was genuinely scared he was going to hit my fiancé. Over a mistake. Our first mistake in over a decade. Thank God for his wife, who calmed him down and said, "We'll figure it out in the morning."
But this post is not about the clients.
We understand their frustration. We immediately refunded them. We found 2 alternative places for them to stay — which was nearly impossible because the island was completely sold out. They ended up finding a place, thank god. We are genuinely embarrassed that this happened, and feel so bad that that was how they ended their first night on this magical island.
This post is about the expat who inserted himself into a situation that had nothing to do with him, came to our home in the middle of the night, and chose to scream at, intimidate, and publicly humiliate two people over something that we were going to help resolve since it was a complete misunderstanding and an error from our end.
But to the curly blond-haired man, who is in his 60s and came to my property to yell at my fiancé and me. I don't know your name. I don't know where you live. But I know this:
You came onto my property. You terrorized my family. You scared my property manager. You screamed "scam" without knowing a single thing about us or our business. You had no reservation. No stake. No right.
And you did all of this at midnight, on a small island, where we all have to look each other in the eye the next day.
I have lived in multiple countries. I have dealt with every kind of situation the hospitality industry can throw at you. And never EVER has someone come to my home to disrespect and intimidate me the way you did last night.
People in this industry make mistakes. Calendars glitch. Technology may be a blessing, but it's also a curse. Bookings overlap. It happens. What matters is how you respond and how you treat people — and we responded immediately, with accountability and solutions. What YOU did was come into someone's home to bully them.
If you were truly "a local," you would try to solve the situation the island style. Friendly, finding solutions. And you would know that we here are hardworking, loyal, good people who have never scammed anyone. If you've been on this island long enough, you'd know that a double booking is an honest mistake — not a crime.
But a Mexican person has never shown up at my door like that. Not once. So don't call yourself a local. You showed up as exactly what you are — someone NOT A LOCAL with no respect for the people who actually build and serve this community every single day.
How you treat people matters. Especially on an island this small. Especially at someone's home. Especially at midnight.
You should be ashamed. Treat with respect, and treat them how you want to be treated. Be nice to others and they will respond the same.
I moved to Isla Mujeres 2 years ago. My fiancé has been working here for 8 years before that, going back and forth from the mainland. We are a FAMILY-owned business, not a big corporation. And many locals who know us can attest that we have been contributing positively to this island.
But last night, for the first time in 2 years of living here, I had a HORRIBLE experience with an expat who had NO right to come to my property in the middle of the night, screaming at the top of his lungs, calling us "scammers" in front of our guests.
Here's what happened:
Back in October 2025, a booking came through for a week in February 2026. We received the payment and added it to our calendar. Around the same time, we joined a new booking platform that required us to link our calendar, and in the process, it deleted our previous bookings. We thought we had manually re-entered everything. We thought WRONG. (Huge mistake from our part)
Fast forward to February 14th 2026. We had just hosted our first Valentine's Day event at the restaurant. Our villas were booked. We thought everything was fine. So we went to bed around 10pm.
At 11pm, while we were sleeping we got a text from a number we didn't recognize: "We arrived and there is no room for us. This is not good."
Normally, we communicate with our clients days before arrival, so we were confused -- especially since we know when our guests arrive, we coordinate everything. This time, we hadn't heard from them since October 2025.
At 11:30pm, the banging started.
I woke up terrified, trying to figure out what was happening. I opened the door to find our property manager scared for his life with 5 people standing behind him.
The family of 4 who had booked with us, and one extra person we didn't know.
Let me be clear: this was OUR FAULT. We completely take the blame. We were 1000% willing to figure things out — we even had one room available, and we were not going to let them sleep on the street.
But before we could even begin to solve the problem, the fifth person — the expat, who did NOT book with us, was NOT a guest, and had NOTHING to do with this — started pointing at us and screaming from the top of his lungs. Calling us scammers. Accusing us of stealing money. Talking about how horrible people we were. Yelling about how "he's a local" and that this was "a f*cking scam." And that we should be ashamed.
The expat, was adding fuel to the fire. He was making the guest rile up. The client himself was furious — he clenched his fists so hard you could see his white knuckles. I was genuinely scared he was going to hit my fiancé. Over a mistake. Our first mistake in over a decade. Thank God for his wife, who calmed him down and said, "We'll figure it out in the morning."
But this post is not about the clients.
We understand their frustration. We immediately refunded them. We found 2 alternative places for them to stay — which was nearly impossible because the island was completely sold out. They ended up finding a place, thank god. We are genuinely embarrassed that this happened, and feel so bad that that was how they ended their first night on this magical island.
This post is about the expat who inserted himself into a situation that had nothing to do with him, came to our home in the middle of the night, and chose to scream at, intimidate, and publicly humiliate two people over something that we were going to help resolve since it was a complete misunderstanding and an error from our end.
But to the curly blond-haired man, who is in his 60s and came to my property to yell at my fiancé and me. I don't know your name. I don't know where you live. But I know this:
You came onto my property. You terrorized my family. You scared my property manager. You screamed "scam" without knowing a single thing about us or our business. You had no reservation. No stake. No right.
And you did all of this at midnight, on a small island, where we all have to look each other in the eye the next day.
I have lived in multiple countries. I have dealt with every kind of situation the hospitality industry can throw at you. And never EVER has someone come to my home to disrespect and intimidate me the way you did last night.
People in this industry make mistakes. Calendars glitch. Technology may be a blessing, but it's also a curse. Bookings overlap. It happens. What matters is how you respond and how you treat people — and we responded immediately, with accountability and solutions. What YOU did was come into someone's home to bully them.
If you were truly "a local," you would try to solve the situation the island style. Friendly, finding solutions. And you would know that we here are hardworking, loyal, good people who have never scammed anyone. If you've been on this island long enough, you'd know that a double booking is an honest mistake — not a crime.
But a Mexican person has never shown up at my door like that. Not once. So don't call yourself a local. You showed up as exactly what you are — someone NOT A LOCAL with no respect for the people who actually build and serve this community every single day.
How you treat people matters. Especially on an island this small. Especially at someone's home. Especially at midnight.
You should be ashamed. Treat with respect, and treat them how you want to be treated. Be nice to others and they will respond the same.
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