Iberostar Cozumel dock fees!!!!!

[jfcl01]

Mighty Mouse...what do you mean when you say that "charging 50 dollars to pick up two customers...is exaggerated"?
Are you saying they are not really charging that much..or that 50 dollars is too much for only 2 divers on a couple days out of a month?

 

[billindenver]

Absolutely CV, market pressure will certainly drive this ship..as it always does. The question is, how many people are going to let $21 a week decide where they stay when paying Iberostar prices. We take about 5 nine day trips a year down there, and can only do so because we watch for the Orbitz sales etc and take advantage of them. The trip last month was $850 for two including nonstop airfare and lodging...so I'm with you when it comes to saving money. Our travel model is we save money on our airfare and lodging and spend it on a better dive op.

Still, when we splurge and stay somewhere like Iberostar, and we do from time to time....$21 a week isn't going to affect our decision...that's one days worth of tip for the DM for the two of us. Its one weeks worth of wifi in the lobby of Iberostar. Most importantly, if the dive op charges each of us $3 a day...it's a profit margin for them, and I'm cool with that. When taken in comparison to a week at Iberostar...it's a non factor.

For the price of that week at Iberostar, we spend two at Hotel Coz and smile about it. At Hotel Coz, wifi in the rooms is free, dock is free, shore diving is damn near free and the week is cheap. But, we know when we step up to all inclusive...there will be expenses on top of the huge price tag. Wifi. Taxi rides. Now...dock fees. Luxury costs money. Most of the time we are just as happy without that luxury but sometimes she demands it and I happily give in. Iberostar is a nice place to stay. The grounds are beautiful, the food is good, the beds are comfy and the service is good. If their dive op wasn't on a timer...the free nitrox might convince me to use them...but they are, so I have my diving delivered from off site. That offsite op is far more expensive than Dressel divers per day and yet I choose to spend my time with them instead. If they added another $3 a day do you think it would convince most divers to use Dressel? I very much doubt it.

In the end you are certainly right though. Market pressure will decide which fees will and will not be ignored. Other resorts, if they are paying attention, will advertise their free doc and if there is justice in the world, that will get them a few more customers. However, I suspect Iberostar will not be the last of the big resorts to charge this fee. I suspect that when the first of these fees came into being a while back, nobody really believed it would be the last time this was discussed or the last time a local dive op came on here looking for support...and this one will not be the last either. These fees are not a brand new phenomenon. Others have been doing this for a while and they are still very much in business. People still stay at the Park Royal even though the dive op there is charging for pier access. This isn't new, and the market thus far has shown a pretty neutral response. Some noise and indignation on boards like this, but in the end, like most internet outrage....more smoke than fire.

Shall we take a poll as to which resort will be next? If we assume that the predictions for our economy are only half right....there are far tougher times to come and resorts are going to feel that and our travel dollars will be stretched still further....unfortunately.

It is my understanding that the $50 is for a month of unlimited number of divers...not two divers for a few days. Mighty Mouse, is that not the case?

 

[DSR-3]

Originally Posted by mfinley919
Judy - They didn't charge me or my wife while staying there in November and diving with Aldora. I think they have enough sense not too. Some businesses understand what penny wise, pound foolish means.

Again Bill, I don't think anybody actually believes this is about pier maintenance.

Cozumel dive ops and hotels have been working together for many, many years without this being an issue. Suddenly it's an issue? Why is that?

Exactly!
That cooperation is why Cozumel has been so successful as a dive destination. The hotels wanted the divers and encouraged divers to stay at their property by offering no hassle pier pickup. One of the diver friendly amenities was the pier and the fact that their own dive op can pick them up.
I have owned my own service business for over 25 years. My success was totally based on the great customer service that we provided. Sometimes that service required an investment in something material to keep the quality of my service on a competitive level. A well maintained pier for a hotel resort property is just that sort of investment

You missed my question- I was referring to the fees paid by on-site op's to the on-site resort. Maybe the extra $$ for them vs DWM is for the hidden pier fees...

Doesn't every op that has an on-site deal with a resort have a huge advantage there? Those op's take more business from the true "small guy" than any fees ever will. So where's the beef with them?

It's more than Aquaworld, and my experience has been that their service was no worse than other on-site op's I've used.

 

[cvchief]

Bill,

You are a depressing black cloud.... :crying2: I would bet on the OCG going next, sadly. I like OCG, even the time share people. After our first visit withe genuine mayan calendar and the free Kahlua, they never bothered us and I actually stopped and just chatted with them.

There probably will be more smoke than fire, but we can try to spread the word. Who knows where the tipping point is? Might be good for someone to contact the 'good' resorts and suggest they promote the 'free' dock as well as hammering on the IB. Maybe between pushing people away from IB AND pushing people towards someone else would help?

Would that make a good Coz forum sticky? List of hotels with docks, which are south of the Caleta, which are free, which have a fee and which are exclusive. :deal: I toyed with staying at Scuba Club. I didn't know they had a closed dock till this discussion. As I am a Alison disciple I marked them off the list. (Or should I be considered one of her minions? :devil3: ) I am thinking about the Hotel Coz in May. How long a walk to the plaza is that? Can you see the ocean from there?

 

[sddiver]

To bad this isn't happening in California. The access that was known and accepted by the pier owners over many years would have created a "prescriptive easement" for the outside operators. Here they would have a great case as a group to litigate and prevail over the resort owners. Given my limited knowledge of the legal system in Mexico and how it works, their best hope is that one of the "families" on the island with substantial political capital gets pulled into this. But even if that were true they most likely would only care about their access and not the others.

To bad for all involved.

Rich

 

[Christi]

Since some of the NDDO (Not Dressel Dive Operators) are posting here, how about posting some real numbers? How many divers/month did you average at the IB* over the last year? It would really help validate your arguments (or not?).

I've actually done that but have been trying to stay out of this thread.

The reality is that unless you run a business in Mexico, and in Cozumel specifically, and a non-resort dive op specifically - it's not as cut and dry and some would like to pretend they know. I'm not going to get into all of the business details here because it's complicated and most of you don't care about "back room business details" - you just care about the final product/service.

In the last 18 months, I've had a total of 22 divers at the Iberostar. At $50/month flat rate + some if I exceed a certain number of pick-ups (NOT $3/day/diver as the others are reasonably doing) that is $40/diver. (50 x 18 = $900) and (900/22 = $40.90)

I don't profit from picking up divers at the IB - I am providing a service to people who have already chosen to stay there.

Pier maintenance is a cost of doing business to any ocean front resort in a water sports destination. As BillinDenver even said himself - the pier maintenance is not about the boats pulling up to the pier - it's more about the harsh environment. My boat pulling up to the pier less than 22 times in 18 months (because it was more than 1 divers most times we picked up) IS a drop in the bucket with regards to pier wear and tear.

As far as notification - the IB DID NOT notify all dive ops. The "brilliant" business decision they made was to harass boats as they pull up to pick-up divers. There was NO ADVANCE warning to make this very clear. I still haven't been notified, because I haven't picked up any divers there yet. I've only seen the very unprofessional memo given to a fellow dive-op and heard about the harassing behavior of IB staff when a fellow dive op called me to ask me what I knew about this.

Interestingly enough - I've confirmed two bookings from IB guests for later this year since this whole fiasco started. I was up front and told them that at this point, we are no longer offering pick-up service at IB - but are happy to accommodate them if they are willing to meet our boat elsewhere. One booking (4 people) changed hotels to stay with us - the other (1 diver) will be renting a car and will meet the boat somewhere else. I'll find another way to compensate this diver for his trouble - but I won't do it by hiding and manipulating other charges.

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinions - but it's not as cut and dry as some would like to believe nor is it that us "mom and pop shops" cannot "afford" it.

I'll just close by saying that with ONE exception - every dive shop owner/manager I've spoken to about this is boycotting this flat rate fee. If they would be reasonable and do what the others are doing and charge a per diver/day fee - I think this would be a non-issue. As it is $50 up to $150/month flat rate fee is not reasonable.

 

[cvchief]

Good for you Christi. I will have to ask Alison what she is doing. I feel more hopeful! Bill was really depressing me..... :depressed: Go, Go Adam Smith!!!

 

[DSR-3]

I've actually done that but have been trying to stay out of this thread.

In the last 18 months, I've had a total of 22 divers at the Iberostar. At $50/month flat rate + some if I exceed a certain number of pick-ups (NOT $3/day/diver as the others are reasonably doing) that is $40/diver. (50 x 18 = $900) and (900/22 = $40.90)

I don't profit from picking up divers at the IB - I am providing a service to people who have already chosen to stay there.

Thanks Christi. I have to admit that I'm surprised that your average is hardly a diver a month. I only see it a week at a time (3 in the last year), but I thought it would be more. $50/month at that rate is certainly a major obstacle, and I hope you and others with similar numbers can work through this.

Since I factor the pick-up option into my decision to stay somewhere, any op who pick's me up profits(I hope) from that service and my business. Some divers will require that service.

Since it sounds like there is solidarity among your fellow op's, I'll throw out a goofy thought...
"The Iberostar Water Taxi Service"tm The non-site dive op's pool the $50 fee and some $$ for 1 boat that can taxi divers from/to the IB* pier and their op's boats. Sorry for babbling.

 

[BTravlin]

Since it sounds like there is solidarity among your fellow op's, I'll throw out a goofy thought...
"The Iberostar Water Taxi Service"tm The non-site dive op's pool the $50 fee and some $$ for 1 boat that can taxi divers from/to the IB* pier and their op's boats. Sorry for babbling.

That sounds like an idea worth pursuing.

 

[cicopo]

Wouldn't the water taxi idea require all ops to try to time arrivels & departures to fit a narrow window at specific times of the day? The independants usually have rather loose schedules, especially on the return since they don't rush their divers.