Stay in vientiane, find small house/ apartment.

thomasvladimir wrote:

hi folks,

been to laos 4 or 5 times.
coming back in april/may..
stay in vientiane, find small house/ apartment.
looking for rentable property to create a bar.....low key...ramshackle chic !
also need a local partner as i plan to visit my family in australia often.
hope to meet some of you......

In Vientiane, to open a bar, it is not as easy as finding a property then opening  it as a bar. The are regulations to follow with the authorities before this can happen. You cannot just rent a house or property and open it as a bar.

Have you done any research as to where you will open this bar ? You need to research the areas where expats and tourists hang out and whether there is a place you can consider applicable to your needs. Anything in the city centre is either taken or is expensive to rent. This is the area where the people hang out, anything in the the outer fringe will not get you the patronage to make a profit and keep the place viable.
 
In any business in Laos you will need a local partner. This can be fraught with problems as when you are not there to supervise 24 / 7 things can go wrong.You need to carefully evaluate and research this before you go ahead with your plan.

I am not trying to put you off but merely pointing out the potential problems you will face. Having lived and worked in Laos for many years I speak from  a position of experience.