Is the all-inclusive tourism model still relevant?
Veteran hotelier Ralph Taylor was once seen as the poster child of all-inclusive tourism in Barbados.
He was arguably its best known exponent as chief executive officer (CEO) of the once buoyant Almond Resorts Inc., and a great defender of the concept.
Figuratively speaking, things came crashing down more than four years ago when Almond owner, Trinidad and Tobago conglomerate Neal & Massy (now known as Massy), announced that millions of dollars in losses had forced it out of the hotel business.
As a result, the flagship Almond Beach Village at Heywoods, St Peter, closed on April 30, 2012. Its other properties, Almond Beach Club, St James, and Almond Casuarina, at Dover, Christ Church, also closed.
There are some people who saw this as a failure of the all-inclusive model, although subsequent events suggest that this was an exaggeration.
The former Almond property in St James is now The Club, Barbados Resort & Spa, an Adults-Only All-Inclusive resort, Almond in St Peter now operates as an all-inclusive property operated by the Sun Group.
This property is eventually to be a Beaches property.
The biggest signal that all-inclusives were going nowhere came with the entry of Jamaica’s world renowned Sandals all-inclusive brand, which succeeded another Jamaican hotel operator, Couples.
Taylor also re-entered with the all-inclusive boutique property SoCo Hotel at Hastings, Christ Church.
Sugar Bay Hotel, at Hastings, Christ Church, which replaced the former Amarylis Beach Resort, has also opened as an all-inclusive resort, the first such foray by the Calypso Caribbean Resorts Inc. group headed by industry veteran Gordon Seale.
Seale told the DAILY NATION in February, 2015 that he had opted to open an all-inclusive hotel largely because this category of the business was in growing demand.
It was preferred by the tour operators and travel agents, who “drive business” into the market, he added.
“They push it hard so we thought we would like to have a bit of both. So we are covering both bases.
“We have already had a lot of interest in it from the big tour operators,” he said.
At the opening of SoCo in 2013, Taylor also reiterated his love for the all-inclusive model, he said his experience was that guests seemed to relax more when they didn’t have to be concerned with the incremental costs typically associated with hotel stays, such as meals and other services.
In an interview published by Skift.com, Sandals CEO Adam Stewart defended the all-inclusive model against criticisms that it prevented tourists from experiencing an “authentic” holiday experience.
“That’s a significant portion of our guests leaving the hotel to go experience a local activity, which has everything to do with our belief in getting guests off the premises and getting them into the community,” he said. The critics question its real value and suggest that it waters down the tourism experience for visitors and devalues the sector’s potential earnings.
A 2015 survey of more than 1 700 holidaymakers in the United Kingdom found the majority stating that the shift towards all-inclusive holidays was a negative development.
Most people said tourists benefitted from all-inclusive holidays, but that local communities were left worse off.
Last July, in a show of support for the Aruba Hotel and Tourism Association, the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association urged government to abandon proposed legislation which would limit and control the growth of the all-inclusive segment of the hospitality and tourism business.
“Recognising consumer behaviour patterns, a growing number of traditional EP hotels are also offering full or limited meal-inclusive packages, enabling these hotels to increase business activity, consequently retaining and growing staff while generating additional revenue for their company and taxes for the Government,” CHTA observed.
It said all-inclusives were here to stay.