Running vacation rentals in Ajijic and Lake Chapala, Mexico, where guests stay almost a week and February is the busy month

The lodging tax is also set by the state and is on the Jalisco page. The withholding platforms do for the SAT, Mexico's tax authority, applies the same way at the lake, and we cover it on the page for all of Mexico.

This is not legal or tax advice, and Upbridge does not file anything for you: no registrations and no tax returns.

Ajijic's season is winter. In February occupancy gets close to 50%, and in June it drops to about 28%, according to AirROI. February stays are booked about 66 days ahead, against 26 days for May stays, so you can see the winter calendar from December and set up cleaning shifts early.

A large foreign community lives around the lake, though nobody agrees on how large. A study published in January 2026 in the journal Migraciones Internacionales reports that 344 temporary and 347 permanent residence cards were issued in Chapala in 2024, while the 2020 census recorded up to 5,384 residents from other countries in the municipality. The local government and civic groups put it at up to 17,000. The same author quotes a 2016 estimate from The Lake Chapala Society of about 7,000 permanent residents, rising to 17,000 in winter when the seasonal residents arrive. In Ajijic, 6% of listings ask for a minimum of 7 to 29 nights.

The rest of the year, guests are mostly from the Guadalajara area. Of those who leave a review in Ajijic, 21.3% live in Guadalajara and another 10.2% in Zapopan. In the town of Chapala, the best month is July rather than February, and the average stay is shorter, at 4.7 nights. September is the slowest month in both.

If your house sells the lake view, it helps to know how the lake is doing. On October 5, 2026, it was at 70.04% of capacity, according to Jalisco's state water commission, after dropping to about 63% in early June. The 2025 high was 77.55% (Azteca Jalisco).

In Ajijic, three in four listings charge a separate cleaning fee, typically 508 pesos, and in Chapala 315 pesos (AirROI). Checkout is split almost evenly between 11 a.m. and noon.

Because winter bookings come in two months ahead, Cleo can spread February's cleanings across your team as soon as they arrive. It takes the bookings from your Guesty, Hostaway, Lodgify or Uplisting, or from each house's iCal, and every checkout becomes a cleaning with someone responsible for it.

With stays of almost a week, the paper, soap or coffee can easily run out before checkout. In the inventory you load the supplies for each house, they're counted down after every checkout, and you get a notice before they run out.

The photo checklists keep each house the same at every checkout, even when a different person cleans it, and you see the report with the time it was finished.

Almost half of Ajijic's reviews, 44.7%, are written in English, according to AirROI. That's why we build the guest guide in English and Spanish, with the address, the WiFi and how to get in.

At the lake, your work piles up between December and March and drops off in September. With the account for cleaning companies you keep the houses in Ajijic and in Chapala on one calendar, each with its own iCal or system. The client is yours, and we don't take a cut of what you charge for cleaning.

Jalisco · Guadalajara · Puerto Vallarta · San Miguel de Allende