I’ve been meaning to start this site for a while. If you can call 20 years a while.
I first got interested in blogging not long after moving to Phuket in 2006. It always felt like something I wanted to do, but I never felt like I had anything interesting to say.
Now seems like as good a time as any to finally start.
Not as a “personal brand”, “influencer”, or content project, but more as a place to document and write things down properly.
Most of my time is spent running a property management and short-term rental business in Phuket. It can be stressful work. Guests, owners, cleaning, maintenance, problems, fixes, and all of it happening at the same time.
Outside of that, I’m also raising a family. I’ve got two daughters, one is seven, and the other is nearly two, so most days are a mix of business and the responsibilities that come with being a father as well.
Over the years, I’ve realised there are a lot of things you only really understand once you’re in it.
From the outside, my job looks fairly simple.
List a property, get bookings, keep it clean, and fix things when they break.
In reality, it’s much more layered than that.
It’s managing expectations from owners and guests who all want slightly different things. It’s dealing with issues that you can’t plan for. It’s building systems so the same problems don’t keep happening. It’s trying to step back from day-to-day tasks while still keeping everything running the way you want it to.
At the same time, I’m also trying to improve and grow the business.
Hiring the right people. Putting better processes in place. Implementing the right software and tech. Figuring out what to focus on and what to ignore.
And alongside that, there’s just life in Phuket.
What it’s actually like to live here long term, not just visit. How the seasons affect everything. What a normal week looks like when you’re working here rather than on holiday.
I realised I didn’t really have anywhere to write about any of this properly.
Most of what I do stays in my head, in notes, or in conversations with owners, guests, or the team.
This site is a way to make some of that more visible.
Not in a polished or overly structured way.
Just writing things as they happen, what I’m learning, what’s working, what isn’t, and what I’m trying to build next.
Some posts will be about property management. Some will be about the business itself. Some will just be observations about living and working in Phuket. And some will just be random pictures.
There’s no real plan beyond that.
The goal isn’t to turn this into a content machine.
It’s just to have a place where I can write clearly and honestly about the work and the process behind it.
With how much AI-generated content is starting to fill the internet, I have a feeling people may start looking for something a bit more real again. Writing like this feels like a good place to start.
If you’re a property owner, an operator, or someone building something similar, I hope some of my writing might be useful.
If not, it’s still a record of where things are at right now.
— Duncan