Question How does the dive travel industry work?

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SaltyWombat

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How does the dive travel industry work?

At least here in the US, I think dive shops, resorts, and liveaboards all meet at the DEMA trade show in November. A dive shop then reserves liveaboard or resort space.
  1. Let's say a dive shop books 8 spots at a resort. Do they get a discount from the resort which they then absorb as their profit? For example, a resort website might say a week costs $2000 to the general public. A dive shop could get 8 spots at $1600 each, so they make 8 x $400 = $3200 profit on the trip.
  2. Or is the only discount that the shop dive trip leader stays for free?
  3. If a shop reserves spots, are they on the hook to fill all of them? In other words, is it like booking a hotel block for a wedding? If you don't fill those rooms, you still pay for them.
  4. What does a dive shop get out of offering travel?
 
1) yes, or they sell the free spots they get instead of having an employee go for free
3) yes, no different than a charter
4) trips are also a good occasion to sell vacation divers some new gear for the trip

i've generally found dive shop trips to be a poor value and usually use a dive oriented travel agency instead or book directly.
 
1. They probably do not book directly with a resort or destination, but rather go through a wholesaler like Caradonna or Maduro, who negotiate good deals with the destinations. The wholesalers offer a commission to the dive shops, which is actually a fraction of the commission they get from the destinations, but which individuals and diveshops do not have access to.
2. Usually there is a free spot for so many paid spots, plus the per-spot commission (not paid on the free spot).
3. Yes, you need to fill the spaces you have booked.
4. A small amount of money if the trips are big enough, that goes partly to the airfare of the employee leading the trip. Plus you get people coming into your shop to gear up for the trip, to signup for classes on the trip, and they feel like they are having fun with their scuba diving. That is all good.

If a dive shop want to make money on trips, they need to pick locations very carefully, have the trips be big, and full, and send along one or two employees who will ensure customer service and happiness, and fix leaky SPG swivels, and replace LP inflators, and hold hands of the newbies, and not get drunk.
 
To survive, an LDS better had better be hard inro the dive trip business, local and week-long. They should also have a ‘dive club’ with a social bent to gently promote. People crave social interactions, you have chicks in rubber suits in exotic locales.

Making dive travel work as a ‘stand-alone’, I don’t see the survivability of that model. In the 80’s I wanted to take a swing at it, yet LDS were unapproachable. We started a ‘singles dive club’ as a thing promotable to similar extant snow ski clubs. Moderately successful, but a tough way to make a buck, even back then. Now? Margins are way tighter. Comps are thin.

Most every LDS offered Caribbean trip I have ever seen wrapped several participants into an Open Water Dive Portion of their Certification. The OWSI/Trip Leader does that and whatever other certs he or the shop can sell. Who gets paid? Dunno, but not much when all said and done. Sometimes this is ‘the gravy’ offered to the trip leader by the LDS.

Once actually sent sales Divemistresses to Bridal Shows, they sold local Pool Component and subsequent OW portion to paradise as the honeymoon package. Gift Registry. It kinda’ worked but too damn complicated and stressful for most newlyweds.

Note to Mr. OWSI: Select to “act” as only one or the other, an Instructor or a DM, you can not do both. Your ‘trip leader hat’…better be waterproof.

Dive Travel is a key piece to LDS success. They should stay within their wheelhouse. Doing local one-day trips working out? The next step is NOT to buy a dive boat.
 

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