thatsmycompanydog

How did you set your prices?

Asking because if it's CAD $494/weeknight but almost never full, setting a lower price and maintaining 90%+ occupancy seems like a better business outcome for you.

It's only 24 miles long. It is navigable and heavily trafficked by Great Lakes cargo boats, since it is part of the only water route between Lake Huron (and Michigan and Superior) and Lake Erie (and Ontario, Erie Canals, St Lawrence River, Atlantic Ocean). Basically it's an aquatic chokepoint that connects, among others, the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Buffalo, Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal.

It is also part of the Canada-US border, so heavily monitored and policed. And industrialized. It is not a good river to raft on.

I'm not OP, but I'm also arguably better traveled and less biased than he is anyways.

For booking hostels in Bangkok--there are dozens of them, all over the city. Go to Khao San Road if you want to be in the backpacker "scene", meet other backpackers, find a good party or glampacking hostel, or generally have a quick "tourist" experience, with the pricing and scams that can come with it. Go literally anywhere else in the city to experience the real Bangkok, a huge diverse cosmopolitan city. If you have AC and easy access to transit, you're golden.

For Vietnam, my only real tip vs anywhere else in the world is that you almost always just need to fill in the blank for "hotel name" on your visa application. Don't feel like you need to actually have it booked. Transit proximity is nice too, since (especially in HCM) motorcycle drive-by bag theft is a known problem (...or just splurge on a cab).

For islands, I always book hostels ahead of time--you don't want to come in to the wrong port, or arrive on the last boat only to find that everything is booked out.

For bus v boat v plane: Thailand is a huge country, and a semi-corrupt private bus system operates seemingly just to frustrate travelers. If you have time, busses can "save you money," and let you see the countryside, but you may hate your life. (Trains are almost always better). If you're in a hurry, AirAsia is your friend.

Some actual advice: I would recommend avoiding saying "no," even if it would break your budget. Travel is about experiences. If you get invited to one that could be great, don't cling to your money (/fears/stereotypes) that you miss out on them.

I'm from Canada, and for people here, the common "go to" places for new backpackers are Western Europe, Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia, Central America, and Oceania-ish. The "expensive" destinations in each of these are Britain/France, Greece, Thailand, Costa Rica, and Australia. The "cheap" ones to visit are Germany, Turkey, Cambodia, Guatemala, and Indonesia.