Your points are well spoken and I understand them to be from a long time, overall perspective that occasional visitors (like almost all the rest of us) don't see as clearly. The resort understands that as a business, you always need to attract new clientele. While this particular property has a higher return rate than other similar hotels there are always going to be people who do not return. In addition to needing to feed the hole caused by attrition, the hotel has expanded and needs more butts in the seats than ever, while fighting against a percentage of the overall population that would never consider such a liberal destination. The hotel would not survive if it wasn't doing exactly what it is to attract new business. A younger demographic really HAS to be at least one focus in an effort to maximize their census. I've accumulated a group of friends like most of us have at TTR. I'll be going back in July, and can't wait to see them. I told a friend it's going to be my mission to crash as many parties as I can this trip. It's not because my group isn't the greatest around in my eyes, it's because just like the resort, groups are also going to eventually face dissolution for a variety of reasons, unless they continually expand. I've heard people say the larger pool makes people more "clique-ish", and that it's less personal. I guess I interpret that as a need to get off my duff and see what else is going on, invite anyone who wants to join our crazy party, if they can handle it, to jump on in. We help the resort and the newbies in the process. Remember how friendly everyone was at the resort the first time you went? We don't need to change that now, we need to DO IT and never get closed into our own groups or thinking. I want the hotel to prosper, like I want my circle of friends to always expand. Most of all, I want the party to always be fun, so I'm going to make it a point to drag newbies and other "cliques" into my own circle of crazy wherever I can. I'll bet a donut I have a lot more fun along the way than those that resist change.
The point about groups eventually becoming so happy to see and spend time with each other is very valid. We've gone with quite a few different groups (it's not easy for us to always have the same week each year available) and have observed that as well. It's not that group members are unfriendly to other guests. Far from it. But we believe that everyone is so happy to see other members of their group and to spend time with them, the original TTR style mingling gets lost. It's where their friends are! As for us, we've decided that in the future we are actually less likely to travel with a group just so we can make new friends, whatever their age may be!
I agree that most groups are welcoming of new people, but what I've noticed over the years is that long standing groups of familiar faces eventually reach a critical mass and then factions develop into subgroups. I don't think that's symptomatic of the hotel, just of human nature and happens in all kinds of groups where large numbers of the same people regularly spend time together whether it be a workplace, lifestyle club, vacation whatever. One thing for sure, is that without new members any group will wither away since there is a need to gain more people than you lose through natural attrition to enable a 'population' to increase.
Good point, and I agree. There's certainly a challenge between, "if it aint broke don't fix it" to keep the new people coming based on previous reviews and "need for new material" to ensure the repeaters haven't seen it all before. I don't think we can increase the anything goes factor any more than we currently have so we are a little limited in what we (or the Ents guys and girls) can add. We have probably the best Ents team possible, and although new blood would add new things there's no one I know could step into the current staff's shoes and improve things, and while the current team are happy with their jobs I wouldn't do that anyway.
Wow, I was there 4 weeks ago. Who died? Re: repeaters less likely to repeat the Boobs Cruise, I think for some people, it comes down to expense. With the increase at TTR plus the increase of the cruise it is now a much more expensive day than it used to be... Not complaining, just an observation.
