Iberostar Cozumel dock fees!!!!!

[ggunn]

This is like what happened in south louisiana a few years back. Certain oil platforms did not want us fishing around them. They would call us on the radio and even reported us to the coast guard. They may own the platform, but not the water around it. We can fish there as long as we want. We do not tie up or touch the platform.

I understand the pier is not the offsite dive shops property. But all the dive shop does is pull up to the pier. The customer/diver is the one using the pier to board the boat. To harass the dive shops over this is wrong. They need to charge the person using the pier, not the boat using the water around the pier.

Which rigs were those? I used to fish the Superiors and Magnolias south of Cameron all the time, and I've been on a few trips out of South Pass. I can't imagine why the oil companies would have a problem with you trolling around the rigs as long as you didn't tie up or interfere with crew boat traffic.

 

[rossandmaureen]

One of the more ironic aspects of the Iberostar’s decision is, in addition to the bad press here and other travel forums; it also will reduce their exposure to other travelling divers. In my travels I have based future hotel bookings on what I have thought looked inviting and upon what fellow divers have shared with me after we have picked them up at their resort. By chasing away the independent dive ops the Iberostar will lose this valuable advertising. For the most part, this advertising advantage is fairly one sided…you don’t see the off-site dive ops pulling up to the pier with signs on their boats soliciting customers with signs that say “come dive with us instead of your resort operator.”

I will agree that there are not a lot of divers who take advantage of booking with outside dive ops and that just speaks to the greed of the hotel in trying to monopolize all dive revenue emanating from their resort. It won’t change the booking habits of casual or new divers but it will backfire and alienate a segment of the dive population that could add to their incremental hotel revenue but will not as many will choose to book elsewhere.

The most important aspect about this internet and email campaign is that it is ultimately about us…the travelling diver. A fee like this is the beginning of a slippery slope that, if not successfully fought, will lead to other resorts implementing a similar policy and perhaps banning outsiders all together. It was suggested that pier pick-up will always be available in Cozumel and I have to refute that…things change. If the dive community, working together with the local dive operators, do not take a stand that hurts the Iberostar then the inevitable outcome will be that other resorts will embrace this business model. Given that a resort receives approximately 25% of the on-site operators gross revenue, they have a vested interest in squeezing out any competition. If we want Cozumel to morph into the Caymans or Aruba then let us be silent and watch a dive destination see its convenience and economical offerings disappear.

As much as they have the right (since they own the property and pier) to do this, I have the freedom of choice as a traveller to take my business elsewhere and I will. I also have the right to inform my fellow divers, via the internet, of why I am doing this and to encourage them to join the fight.

Some have suggested that Antonio and Christie are claiming an entitlement to use these docks…I don’t read their comments that way. They are simply saying that this change will impact on us, as divers, in how we have enjoyed diving in Cozumel. When I stayed at the Occidental Grand, I appreciated being able to wait on the beach with my non-diving spouse until I saw the familiar sight of the Jewfish coming to pick me up. I don’t wish to have the inconvenience, the extra time or the cost of having to taxi to the Caleta should my hotel shut out the independent operators and will change my bed rather than my preferred boat. The claimed “third option” of switching dive operators might work for those who change dive ops more often than they change underwear but most on ScubaBoard seem to value loyalty to their chosen operator. As a business owner, I appreciate loyalty but don’t believe I am entitled to it…I earn it. I read the many postings on this forum and see several dive ops that fall in this category of earning that respect and loyalty and often wonder why a solitary voice in the wilderness continues to chime in against a board favourite because of an old perceived slight. If someone is perplexed that he doesn’t get a friendly wave from Christie’s staff perhaps they should consider the multitude of negative posts they make slagging her operation. It’s not rocket science!

While the independent dive operators do not have the entitlement to access the pier, I, as a paying guest, am certainly entitled. I have the right to call for a pizza delivery. I have the right to call for alternative transportation. I have the right to choose who to tip and whether or not to use a Wi-Fi service that I might consider expensive. And I feel strongly that I have the right to invite an outside dive operator to pick me up. Should the resort feel otherwise then put it in writing in their terms of service when I book. If the outside dive ops were coming to troll for business I would be critical of them in the same way that I don’t appreciate trolling on this board…they are not. We, as divers, are extending the invitation.

Some would suggest that, business being business, these dive ops should simply increase their prices accordingly. The real world doesn’t work this way. The dive business is highly competitive and if Christie and Antonio wanted to become millionaires they should probably have started with two million. There will always be someone willing to cut prices (and perhaps compromise safety and break the rules) to obtain business. In the past year I saw a great and highly praised dive op in Belize close up shop for this very reason. The motivation for the best dive operations in Cozumel is to eek out a living doing something they love and enjoy (as we do)... the lifestyle of diving. As Deborah said, until you walk in their shoes (or fins) don’t be so quick to judge. If we want to drive them all out of business and be at the mercy of a few big firms…by all means support the Iberostar in their monopolistic quest.

I would hope this thread doesn’t get closed…let’s keep the heat on but, if you are going to participate in the discussion, get your facts straight. Some keep suggesting that this is only about $2.00 to $3.00 per diver per day. FALSE. It is a fee, ranging from a low of $50.00 per month to a high of $500.00 per month depending on some unknown volume. Both Christie and Antonio have stated that the per day/per diver fee is something that they could reluctantly live with and incorporate into their business plan. Some people don’t want the facts to get in the way of a good argument.

Ultimately I want the better operators to survive and prosper…not just because they provide us a great service, but because we develop strong bonds with them. When I return to dive with my favourite in Cozumel I would rather be regarded as an old friend than simply a customer. I believe in supporting my friends and think that most fellow ScubaBoarders do as well.

By the way I should have jumped back in to this thread sooner and apologize. As I write this I am up in Whistler volunteering for the 2010 Olympics and anxiously awaiting the Canada – U.S.A. gold medal hockey game on Sunday. Go Canada Go. (Why not start another controversial post?)

 

[Fin59]

:dance3::dance3::dance3::dance3::dance3::dance3:

Ok...ya'll play nice while I'm gone. I'm going to Cozumel! Free pick pick-up at Hotel Cozumel

 

[Tailspin]

Ultimately, doesn't the Iberostar (or any business) have a responsibility to pursue a profit model which they feel insures their own survival and growth, and promotes the welfare of THEIR business and employees?

This thread has been concerned about the survival of the local small Coz dive shops and the inconvenience to divers staying at the IB who wish to continue to use these shops for free. I understand that these can be real concerns .. but what about all the employees at the Iberostar?

I recently stayed at the IB and they must employ hundreds of local folks, all of whom are counting on that business staying strong so they can keep their jobs and support their families.

I'm not siding with the dock issue one way or the other, just trying to point out that there are a lot of folks who are impacted by business decisions (bad or good) like this every day. Only time will tell if the IB made the correct decision here. Hopefully the fallout of displaced and inconvienienced individuals, divers and non-divers, will be small.

 

[cvchief]

Tailspin, I hope you are right in reverse. I hope IB finds this profit model DOESNT promote the welfare of their business and they reverse themselves for THEIR employess and business. I hope the fallout is LARGE enough to make them change.

 

[BTravlin]

Ultimately, doesn't the Iberostar (or any business) have a responsibility to pursue a profit model which they feel insures their own survival and growth, and promotes the welfare of THEIR business and employees?

Yes, the IB has the right to pursue profitability anyway they choose including the levying of pier usage fees but, as I've said before, it's not the model I would pursue if I were in charge of the IB. Better to work with the on-site dive op to provide the best service possible so that the vast majority of divers are more than happy to dive on-site.

Finally, will they make more money with the pier usage fee than they lose in hotel revenues from those who choose to stay elsewhere because of it?

 

[Tailspin]

I hope the fallout is LARGE enough to make them change.

If the negative fallout affects the IB, I would guess you would get your wish.

I believe either way some 'blue collar' Coz workers are going to be negatively impacted during what ever time interval it takes to negate or validate this decision.

 

[Tailspin]

.. it's not the model I would pursue if I were in charge of the IB. Better to work with the on-site dive op to provide the best service possible so that the vast majority of divers are more than happy to dive on-site.

A lot of people in this thread have expressed that same position.

I don't feel personally that I have enough factual information from simply reading the anecdotal information in this thread to form a solid conclusion one way or the other as to whether this was a good or bad decision for the IB since we aren't privy to their reasons, nor would my opinion or conclusion have any value here anyway, even if I knew all the facts.

I am left, like many others in this thread, to form a personal, emotional opinion based on whatever aspect of this issue trips their specific trigger.

 

[Christi]

I recently stayed at the IB and they must employ hundreds of local folks, all of whom are counting on that business staying strong so they can keep their jobs and support their families.

Just some more FYI about the Dressel/IB connection. For starters, if you look at any IB Resort in a water sports destination - Dressel is the onsite dive shop.

Not to take concern away from the local people that do work for IB - but did you happen to notice how many foreigners (non-Mexicans) work for the dive shop?

In Mexico, for every foreigner that you employ you must have 10 Mexican nationals. This certainly does not apply at Dressel Divers. Why? Because Dressel and IB are under the same corporate umbrella. This is precisely why every Instructor/DM (with maybe 1 or 2 exceptions) working for them is of European/Canadian/US descent - because they meet their quota with the hotel employees (maids, cooks, maintenance staff, gardeners, boat mates, captains). Most higher level jobs, including management and administrative jobs are not filled by locals, but by foreigners.

I am certain that if Mexican maritime laws weren't so strict, Dressel would not even have Mexican boat captains - but as this is an area that IB cannot control or manipulate, all of their captains are MX Nationals by law.

I've known people who have worked for Dressel at some point and all of them have confirmed that Dressel is owned by the IB and that it is next to impossible for a local to hold the position of Instructor/DM with them - even those that are certified DM's are put in the position of boat mate with false hopes of being promoted into the DM position. I've also heard from several former Dressel employees that they are under extreme pressure to SELL, SELL, SELL and if they don't produce, they are out.

 

[cvchief]

If the negative fallout affects the IB, I would guess you would get your wish.

I believe either way some 'blue collar' Coz workers are going to be negatively impacted during what ever time interval it takes to negate or validate this decision.

I would guess if IB's policy doesn't work and lays off workers, whatever hotel profits from IB failure can pick them up? I don't recommend not going to Coz, just picking another resort.

If IB's policy works for them, I guess local dive op employess could be out of a job to be replaced at Dressel, according to Christi, by non-locals?

Maybe if you are worried about locals, you should reconsider?

Again though, I paid to stay there and use the dock. It is none of their business where my first step off the dock lands!