Iberostar Cozumel dock fees!!!!!

[cicopo]

It's my understanding (based on info in this full message) is that the Iberostar wants to charge ops by the month, not by actual use. If it's the busy season it might work out but not year round (for the dive ops that is).

 

[billindenver]

if Iberostar didn't build the pier in the first place they wouldn't have so many divers staying on their property. That pier brings in a lot more money for them in the long run than it cost them to build it.

I've been on Iberostar's dock in the morning and I assure you, there are not that many people waiting for other dive ops. Same thing at Hotel Coz and Casa Del Mar. There just aren't that many people standing on the dock waiting for an off site dive op. In fact, most of the time...we are standing there by ourselves. I've waived at DM's I know in Dive with Martin boats a time or two and waived at Jeremy in Living Underwaters boat once...but other than that, it's just not that common. We here on this board are all aware of the different ops out there but the VAST majority of cozumel travelers, especially all inclusive travelers are diving with the onsite operation.

Proof of that can be found looking into their boats as yours pulls off. The Casa Del Mar big boat had 60 tanks in it every morning last week...and there was either one or two of their other boats stacked up as well. That's a lot of divers. Randy and I were the only two I saw during the entire week that got on a boat other than Del Mar Aquatics. This off site dive op thing is an issue for the few of us who demand more than the onsite ops deliver...but we are the minority. Make no mistake, these resorts built those piers to accommodate their boats...not as a profit maker for smaller operations. If those operations wish to make a living using them, I don't think it unreasonable for them to pay a small fee to do so.

Lets put this in perspective. At a typical dive op, a BC rental is $8 per day per diver or more. Tip for the DM is typically $10 per day per diver. Dive per day is $80-90 per day per diver. Is it unreasonable to expect $1.66 per day ($50 a month) for pier use on a pier that cost hundreds of thousands to build? Maybe it is....if you didn't have to pay for the pier.

When I dove in Hawaii, I drove to the boat. Same in Florida. I don't think the majority of divers who feel we must dive with superior dive ops like Aldora would complain an awful lot if we had to get ourselves to and from their pier....and even less if it cost an extra $2 a day to get picked up at our hotel pier. In the grand scheme of things....that $14 a week is less than a drop in the proverbial bucket of diving expenses.

 

[cicopo]

I've stayed at Hotel Coz on my last 4 trips and there was a lot of pier traffic by other dive ops every trip. Last trip I also did 1 week at the Grand & there were several other ops dropping off or picking up either at the pier or from the beach beside the pier. Most of my stays were in peak season, so there were a lot of divers at the resort, and most likely many would be willing to pay the extra to dive with another op, but not all of us. I've made a point of verifying whether or not I can expect free pick up / drop off, and it does influence who I dive with or where I stay. I do my homework ahead of time so I know what to expect, but in this case I'd have been blindsided, just like a few other divers & their chosen ops were.

 

[Tailspin]

I just returned from a week at the Iberostar and dove with Dressel exclusively. I would do both again any time .. quality operations.

I wasn't aware of a dock fee for non-Dressel divers while I was down there, and quite frankly, I dove every day and don't recall seeing a non-Dressel boat at the dock all week. I'm sure there were some, but it wasn't like they were stacked up waiting to tie up all day, or preventing the Dressel boats from going out or getting back in on time.

In reading over this thread I feel, like a few others, that it is the Iberostars' business, and they can do whatever they want. If I'm not happy with their business model, I am free to go spend my vacation/diving money somewhere else.

I will say however that I feel a fixed monthly dock fee to the various other Coz dive ops feels wrong to me based on the few non-Dressel pickups I personally observed. If I would have known at the time I booked my stay that I personally would have had to pay an extra fee each day to dive with someone other than Dressel from the IB dock I would have selected to pay myself, or could have chosen a different resort. The amount of dock fee I personally would have been willing to spend would fall somewhere between $0 and the $40 round trip cab fee from IB to town and back it would cost me to dive with someone else. (Hey folks, the Coz cab companies are the real pirates here!!)

Just my $.02

 

[ggunn]

(Hey folks, the Coz cab companies are the real pirates here!!)

Just my $.02

FWIW, on a per mile basis, the cabs on Cozumel are cheap compared to those in most US cities.

 

[deeper thoughts]

If you all want to understand how bad it REALLY is, I got a call earlier today from a fellow dive operator to talk about this.

They have two divers at IB right now - have been picking them up there for a couple of days. They were notified today that they will not be able to pick their divers up tomorrow unless they pay the $50 fee!!!!!

These are the ONLY two divers they have booked there for the entire month of February.

Regardless of how many divers any shop has there in any given month - we agreed that if any of us pays this ridiculous BRIBE - we will be feeding them.

I've since spoken to four other dive op owners about this and of the five I've been on the phone with - we won't give in.

Unfortunately what I think will happen is that many, if not all outside operators will no longer offer pick-ups from Iberostar at all. If people really want to stay there and dive with their operator of choice - the only way to do so may be to taxi/drive to another pick-up point each day. As we all know, this will be an expensive proposition for the divers. The other alternative is for the divers to stay elsewhere and let IB know exactly why.

In the Bahamas they run a bus shuttle for hotel pickups.

 

[greylion]

On the flip side of the coin, all the smaller dive ops will tell their customers to not stay at the IB because of the fee and many of their loyal customers will stay at a different place. It works both ways.

I like smaller dive ops and because of this the IB is now out of my list of places to stay on Cozumel and I've stayed there twice and liked it.

 

[billindenver]

If you all want to understand how bad it REALLY is, I got a call earlier today from a fellow dive operator to talk about this.

They have two divers at IB right now - have been picking them up there for a couple of days. They were notified today that they will not be able to pick their divers up tomorrow unless they pay the $50 fee!!!!!

These are the ONLY two divers they have booked there for the entire month of February.

Regardless of how many divers any shop has there in any given month - we agreed that if any of us pays this ridiculous BRIBE - we will be feeding them.

I've since spoken to four other dive op owners about this and of the five I've been on the phone with - we won't give in.

Unfortunately what I think will happen is that many, if not all outside operators will no longer offer pick-ups from Iberostar at all. If people really want to stay there and dive with their operator of choice - the only way to do so may be to taxi/drive to another pick-up point each day. As we all know, this will be an expensive proposition for the divers. The other alternative is for the divers to stay elsewhere and let IB know exactly why.

The third option, and most likely, is that they will change dive ops. Iberostar is an expensive place to stay. People choosing to do so are pretty particular about what they are looking for in a resort. Either they have kids and want them looked after in a safe compound while they are on the boat, or they want the other amenities that IB offers, which are plentiful. I doubt they are going to go through too much brain damage over a dive op they are paying quite a bit of money to that refuses to pay less than two dollars a day to pick them up. That's like refusing to pay the park fee each day on principle. From the clients point of view, that extra charge is extremely minimal. If clients are so plentiful that you can afford to let them go then by all means full steam ahead...but I doubt that is the case. I suspect your boycott will have a significantly larger impact on your bottom line than the resort's.

Remember the old saying about cutting off the nose to spite the face.

 

[Mike]

If I owned a resort on the water in Cozumel with a pier and a house dive operation -

I would be weighing the numbers using a calculator.

Now why would I be motivated to charge guests or another dive op a pick up fee for using my dock?

Profit as the motivator? How much could I be taking in on an annual basis? $5000? My hotel operation grosses 3.5 million a year, $5000 or even $10,000 in dock fees is not on the radar.

Dissuading guests from using dive ops other than my house dive op?

Let's see, with the aveage dive op grossing $500 per person per diving guest, this money adds up pretty quickly.

However what is the opportunity cost? What is the percentage of guests I lose a booking at my resort because of my policy? What is the net gain in my house dive op profits?

Obviously at this point the financial gains are out weighing the loses or there are just some poorly run resorts who don't know their numbers and are jumping on this pier fee thing as just something that everybody else is doing, so we should too.

However I don't see the logic since how is the dissuading actually working?

How many guests are going to cancel their booked dives with an off-site dive op and use the house op in the middle of their vacation?

The only way it would seem to work is for it to get around and become a 'known' fact of how things work in Cozumel and when booking your next dive vacation you go 'oh yeah, if we book with so and so off site we have to pay a pier fee.'

I personally think divers who book with a particular dive op and book their hotels separately aren't going to change their spots for any reason like this.

The only people who this would change are the casual vacationers who want to do a couple of dives.

It's confusing to me. I don't see any clear logic to it. It would be helpful to have some insider info to clear up the confusion.

 

[Diver Kat]

The third option, and most likely, is that they will change dive ops.

For those not yet connected to a particular dive op, sure. But not for many of the divers I know. Many of us are fiercely loyal to the dive ops we dive with. We have developed long standing personal relationships. I have changed where I stay so that I can dive with my op of choice. Of course the DH & I travel to Coz for the diving, the hotel is secondary. I guess for some, it may be the other way around.

As for "Remember the old saying about cutting off the nose to spite the face." - the same could be said of the hotels that want to start these dock fees. Is the small amount they will bring in annually worth the uproar caused? Doubtful. Just look at this thread - Iberostar is getting lots of attention - just not the kind they want!

IF (and that's a big IF!) these hotels need to start charging a reasonable fee for pier usage/access, then maybe it needs to charged directly to the hotel guests - not the dive op - as a per person fee and listed clearly on their websites so people can make an informed choice upfront.