Have you been previous years at the same time and the occupancy was lower comparably? As of course time of year has a big factor in occupancy
I wonder if the lower numbers might be due to the increased price since the reno...perhaps some people who used to do multiple trips per year now only go once? The Canadian dollar is also down now...about 72 cents to every US dollar, which may, in combination with the increased prices, be reducing the number of Canadians going to TTR. Or maybe, as Kyle says, it's just the time of year. I wonder if the resort was at full occupancy at the peak month of April this year.
I 100% agree about the Canadian dollar. I have heard this from friends, and it makes me sad because some of my all time favorites, and many people on this forum, are from Canada. I would like to see more of you...and come home from each trip with a bunch of new phrases people at home just look at me strange for saying However, I am not sure about the increased prices of the hotel post reno being a significant changing point. I know many people say this, and I think it's just inflation in general, but for me it's only like $200-300 difference to book a package than it was 3+ years ago. (and I am just talking garden room, booked outside of a membership) Just my 2 cents, and in no way can I speak for everyone's experience with price increases.
Steve said that occupancy was down considerably. I think they waffle between oversold on peak weeks and 50% the rest of the time. I think their marketing focus has alienated many of the older loyalist who came often while failing to attract enough of the new crowd to make up for it. JMO.
I understand wanting to attract new customers. Every business needs that, but you don't need to alienate the loyal base while fishing for new guests, and they made it a point to go after the trendy crowd. In some ways, the guests they were hoping for (almost like a slightly older spring breaker) weren't really a good fit with the existing crowd. Combine that with a weaker Canadian dollar and a price increase and you undoubtedly get some loyal guests who decide they've had enough. There is a point for everybody where you have to determine if it is worth it. We could all be pushed out by any number of factors, higher price, new crowd, or declining lack of value.
In the beginning of April it was very close to 100%. Now of course the partial takeover had something to do with that. For us... it got pretty simple and likely sounds unimportant to others... you just get tired of the same thing and for us that meant the same music every night. Still love TTR but at times it felt like groundhog day (the movie) after 3 times in a year.
We are def in the group who do not go as much as before price increase. As members since around 2010, we went a lot more than we do now. Hell they don’t even price match anymore for members who have old contracts. Music is def an issue for us at Bash, mainly too damn loud. So for the price we pay now, it’s opened up other places in that range.
There is definitely a point here. This is/was a very hard crowd to go for. I know this, because when I started going years back I was in the older spring breaker/29-30 year old demographic, and it/was impossible to convince other friends to go. And sadly a lot of that had to do with the confidence of the girls. Lots of my friend's wives see it as this wild place that everyone is in shape at. No amount of convincing and showing "limited" pictures could convince them otherwise. They were very concerned with their 30 year old bodies not being what they were at 24; from either having kids, working too much, or just strait-up being lazy and letting themselves go. So it is/was a hard NO from lots of them. And they must think their husbands are going to go do the same things they did them when they met 5-10 year prior to. They have moved to vacations where they are in coverups near a pool most of the day and going to bars. Not like TTR which is the complete opposite, as far as actually being in the pool all day, and not really being covered up. They need to change their advertisement strategy, or at least attack it harder in some circles, if they want the guest count to rise in the demographic they built the new resort for, then need to adapt and listen. And to backup what @Jen&Kyle say, the music needs to lean more in that EDM/modern direction to appeal to those crowds...but still don't play it so fracking loud.
I wasn't going to comment, because we are getting off the original post, but I agree with the discussion. I don't know what their intent was when they remodeled, but I always got the impression that they were looking for a more upscale clientele, and were pushing to be at least 4 star if not a 4.5 type resort. Their design didn't come close to that at all I feel, it has more of a cheesy Disney World, "Pop Century", or "All Star Sport" feel (they are the value resorts at Disney) Couple that with the design flaws of seating that leaves bruises, safety concerns that were highlighted the other day with the Tower glass panels on the balconies, and other things like ledges you could fall off of at the quiet pool end of the sexy pool, and you don't get the 4-5 star feeling. I don't see how you are going to attract more big spenders since the older 5 star crowd isn't going to like the cheapness of the resort (roofs that never stop leaking in the main lobby bar area), and the well off millennial's, aren't going to be thrilled with the Bash music. @Jen&Kyle or @ScubaSteve I know what you mean about 'groundhog" day, and I'm a little concerned since we are going an extra day then normal and the repetitiveness, but I'm figuring that will give us a chance to just totally rest a little more if we need it, because we don't get that at home. My question to you is about music. I wouldn't have a problem at all with more of the type of music that you would like to hear. You have been to many clubs at Desire, and I assume other places. How does the volume level compare to what is at Bash? I know loud music is fun, but I think they could turn it down a little, and it would still be loud, and people could have a little bit of a conversation?
TTR is a resort that many people would not come to. If you're full of hangups, judgements, boringness, or whatever, there are just a lot of the population that isn't going to chose to pick a place to vacation where there is a certainty of a large number of free-range boobies. What TTR has going for it is that the people who ARE drawn to the crazy, wild, partying concept will repeat going to a place like this where guests of the Riu, Cancun Palace, or pick any one of the others and people seldom feel like they need to go back to THAT hotel. They are fine with variety. Now they play trivia games in the sexy pool and I wonder where I am. While I know my opinion carries no weight I will say I think it's a mistake for the resort to "scale back" the poolside games and other activities from what they were back in the days of Chinos. Someone ALWAYS ended up nekkid and usually embarrassed and everybody whooped and squealed. The party stops and starts with the music and the playmakers and when they can't do things in the crazy ways they used to be done, the place starts losing it's luster to the faithful. If you start dulling the sexy vibes of the place, it BECOMES the Riu or Cancun Palace, just with some boobies by the pool. If you want to BE Grand Oasis Sens, lose your focus. If you want to keep the faithful (and add to their ranks), be true to yourself, TTR. Loosen up. Laissez le Bon Temps Roulez!
