Industry divided over all-inclusive options

Artist's impression of The Royal Amwaj Resort on Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, which will offer an all-inclusive option.

Avsar Koc: I think the hesitation on all-inclusive relies on the fundamental reason behind the request for all-inclusive — that people want to know exactly how much this holiday is going to cost them. Now is that detrimental to our business and the economy? I’m not so sure.

But if you have it as an option, fine — it’s the customer’s world so you have to give them what they are looking for.

Having said that let’s talk about Dubai — in terms of F&B offerings, hotels in Dubai are superb in terms of variety and we all know that this variety doesn’t come cheap in terms of labour, products, etc.

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I think the key word is your product because everything has to be imported. Yes, I’m sure there is a way to crack this, but when you do your P&L for your fine-dining restaurants it’s a difficult playing field.

AH: Look at the success of the cruise sector over the last few years; they have ridden on the back of this need to know how much money I am spending before I travel and it’s not just the likes of Royal Caribbean that have had this success, it’s the likes of Silversea that are hugely successful because the customers get a luxury hotel or cruise experience and they know how much they’re going to spend. If the customer wants that then why fight the demand?

AK: If I was the cruise operator then I wouldn’t do all inclusive. Once you are on board, what are the options?!

AH: The whole point is they’re finding it profitable, I think that’s the key to all of this — there is no point doing all of this if it is not going to be profitable for you.

AK: I think if you are starting a destination and you build your hotels accordingly then [that’s okay], but to shift from what Dubai is offering today to an all-inclusive [offer] that will see in my opinion some damages in your business model — you might end up changing your food and beverage offering.

YZ: There are certain destinations where you might have two or three hotels that are running the majority of the market. If they all decide to come together and choose to offer an exclusive, all-inclusive [option] because that is the demand and they protect their margin, I can understand it.

But this [Dubai] is a luxury destination today — the offerings are extraordinary, the products are extraordinary, the service compared to a lot of other places is extraordinary. . What I am saying is your all-inclusive clientele today is not in Dubai.

AH: Yes, but do you know where they are? They are in the Maldives and Mauritius. There are very successful all-inclusive resorts in these island destinations. All inclusive doesn’t mean ‘cheap Charlie’. It’s all about enjoying a hassle-free holiday experience.