Phuket - Price Negotiability

[outofofficebrb]

I am pretty sure everything is negotiable between the seller and the buyer.
If I am looking for a bargain in this case discount in diving, I will direct the question to the operator rather than coming to SB.
You will never find out if you never ask but do ask the right person.

I think it was a fair question to see if anyone had any experiences with it before the OP tried asking the operator directly. If someone did, and shared the circumstance, and the operator told them they were nuts, that’s good to know and maybe the OP will approach it differently or not at all. Or maybe there was success and here’s why. If the OPs situation doesn’t really match that, then they know what to expect. Of course, an answer is always no until you ask. I would tread carefully in how it is asked for fear of insulting the dive shop as well. Presentation is everything.

For the OP...I do think itinerary and boat capacity has some influence on whether they will be willing to budge on price and/or how much. Think of it from a fixed/sunk cost and volume perspective. You may be more likely to wrangle a discount if you are doing multiple days of diving and that is usually only when I would ask.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Interesting question more broadly than just Phuket, and maybe it deserves its own thread. It has been my understanding that due to the competitive nature of the business, every dive operator in the popular destinations is already operating on razor-thin profit margins. Not so? You said you negotiated a discount in the FL Keys off the published prices? Do tell.

 

[stevenl]

Do you mean the difference between low season and high season, or a general increase across the board?

Increase across the board.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Why do you say that Steven? What's happening? It's not just the price of fuel is it?

 

[stevenl]

Why do you say that Steven? What's happening? It's not just the price of fuel is it?

No, not the price of fuel, but strong competition between boat operators has lead to a price erosion, some operators suffering financial losses, plus more legal requirements on operators. A significant price increase has been announced and seems inevitable.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Do you mean the government has increased its price? Or the dive ops got together and decided to quit undercutting one another?

 

[stevenl]

Do you mean the government has increased its price? Or the dive ops got together and decided to quit undercutting one another?

Government price? Don't understand that.

Boat operators will raise prices per 1 September.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Ok but why are hotel prices increasing too?

As for the government I was asking if the government was trying to control growth of the dive operators' numbers by increasing fees/taxes instead of limiting business licences.

 

[stevenl]

Sorry, I find this confusing.

Why ask me about hotel prices, never mentioned them.
There are no government fees for diving operators, neither are there limitations in business licenses.

 

[Barmaglot]

Increase across the board.

West coast only, or Gulf of Thailand (Koh Tao, Koh Chang, Pattaya) as well?