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Thread: Room rate increase - OMG!

  1. #1
    Registered User The Brits's Avatar
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    Room rate increase - OMG!

    We’ve been regulars at Hedo II since2010 (when we moved across after the closure of Hedo III).
    We immediately loved the place despite the obvious need for improvements. For many subsequent years we’ve spent 4 weeks per year at the resort (2 trips per year) and we even managed to win the 5 night prize for the most repeat visits at the Repeaters party the year before last.

    And so we were looking forward to many many more visits over the coming years ………….until we got a price quote for this year from our travel agent. OMG!!!
    We know the recent improvements will have had an effect on room rates but the rate we’re being quoted for 14 days OVP is exactly DOUBLE the rate we paid in 2015 for the same period.
    (We only managed 14 days at the resort last year (in April/May) and we were lucky that only 9 nights were paid for as a result of our repeater prize, so I guess the price increase wasn’t as noticeable at that stage).

    When added to our airfare costs from the UK, we cannot justify the total vacation price as it stands now. We know we could do a shorter vacation but with a 10 hour flight and a 6 hour time zone change in summer, we really couldn’t face that journey for a 7 day trip.

    It might be naďve, but we suppose our hope/expectation was that the improvement works would eventually pay for themselves thru higher occupancy levels whereas the owners seem to have simply loaded the refurbishment spend onto room rates.

    So, our question (which we guess is primarily, but not exclusively, aimed at fellow Brits on this forum) is whether our experience is typical of how rates have shifted over the last 12/24 months?

  2. #2
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    We are Americans, we have heard that people from different countries get charged different rates, but we have no validation of this.
    Over the last few years The price we pay we paid has went up, but the resort is getting better. It used to be A fairly inexpensive all-inclusive not so much anymore

  3. #3
    Registered User The Travel Slut's Avatar
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    Hi there....and sorry to read of a doubling of rates in 2 years.

    Yes, rates have gone up for the past few years and I went back to 2010 and checked the group rate I had for a GVR and compared it to this coming June's rate and it has gone up 23% in 7 years. I feel that is reasonable for all the improvements made since then and the rate today is still reasonable compared to all other all-inclusives of this type.

    Booking with a group can result in significant savings and offer a few other perks. Just a thought.

  4. #4
    Registered User CopNkitten's Avatar
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    Also the time of year now has different rates.
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  5. #5
    Registered User sabinaandscott's Avatar
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    Also a couple of years ago they were discounting Europe over American prices to encourage visitors...Remember the conversations where they were checking Passports at checkin to verify the rate you paid depending on your country of origin?...at the time the Americans were annoyed that UK people got such good rates...now no more discount...and they are charging rack rates...so there is a huge spike in prices from UK....Americans remain the same with nominal year over year increases.
    Canadians are currently getting sticker shock with our low dollar...even though vacation packages are available flight included, the tour companies still have to pay the room in USD, so the exchange is converted to Canadian dollars and passed on to the consumer
    Last edited by sabinaandscott; 03-01-2017 at 05:19 PM.
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  6. #6
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    The change in the value of the dollar and the other currencies affect this. Over the last two years there has been a 35% change between the American dollar and the Canadian dollar, for example. October of 2015 the exchange was almost dollar for dollar. October of 2016 saw this go to an American dollar exchanging for about 1.35 Canadian dollars. Don't know about the differences when compared to the Jamaican currency, though.

  7. #7
    Registered User sabinaandscott's Avatar
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    Euro and Pound are also way down to the USD...Jamaican currency also down to USD....however vendors treat it at par...1USD=100JMD...they never have change in USD, always give Jamaican back. So a beer is $400 Jamaican or $4USD off resort, give or take prices vary. I Think the current actual exchange is $145Jamaican=$1USD, so you lose when paying in US and getting Jamaican change...Hence the reason to take lots of small bills in USD to make exact change for your purchase. Hedo rates are all based on USD so for the room...Jamaican does not come into play
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  8. #8
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    If money doesn't buy happiness... then why is Hedo so expensive?

    One of the great philosophical questions you can ponder while being stoned on the beach at Hedo staring at boobies...
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  9. #9
    Registered User funfortwo's Avatar
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    No question rates have gone up over the years, and it's especially tough for us Canadians with such a low dollar. And we appreciate all the nice improvements but the trip we just returned from will sadly be our last. We've got well over thirty weeks in at Hedo and can no longer justify the cost.

    We thought we might try Temptation but when we priced it we found that with all the renos there it is now even quite a bit more expensive than Hedo for the the same weeks. And of course Desire is already more expensive. We're hoping that some enterprising travel agent will organize some lifestyle trips to vanilla resorts. Packages can be put together for a fraction (half or less) of the cost in the Dominican Republic or Cuba at true 4 and 5 star resorts. And even if they are not clothing optional, if there were a large enough group of lifestylers it could still be a good party.

  10. #10
    Registered User pornstar1360's Avatar
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    Just did an imaginary booking of 5 nights in Aug, ROH room, 1,932 bux, for 2 people. Not with a group nor a higher end, nude, pool, ocean,view, butler, whatever room. Remember, everyone says "No one goes for the room anyway" Honestly, since our Hedo3 days, this price is up around 400.00 in 7 years. (H3 closed in Aug 2010) Not the least bit expensive. Our trip coming up to RM is about 600 more. And we are ok with that. Prices are up everywhere, on everything. Good luck,..
    HEDONISM 3: 2005-06-07-08-09-10 HEDONISM 2: 2011 DESIRE RM: 2012-2013-2014-2015-2016-2017

  11. #11
    Registered User The Brits's Avatar
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    Thanks for the responses, which contain some very valid points.

    The US$ to Sterling rate has definitely worked against us this last 12 months. We were getting over $1.5 to the British pound not long ago, whereas it’s currently around $1.2 to the pound.
    Speaking to the many American (and Canadian) friends we’ve made over the years, we were aware that the rooms at Hedo were priced a little cheaper for European market. We presumed this was a commercial decision by the resort to a) reflect the higher costs of airfare from Europe to Jamaica or b) provide some diversification within the resort, so that it wasn’t solely reliant on the USA/Canadian marketplace. Or maybe a bit of both. Either way, it looks like the owners have had a change in policy.

    Pornstar1360: yes, the rate we’re being quoted is along the lines of the daily rate within your post.
    Re your “imaginary booking”, for an extra $20 per night during the same month we could get a room in Sandals next door.
    Now, firstly we must point out it would be a cold day in hell when we set foot thru the door of Sandals in preference to Hedo. But, having met up with friends and family who have been staying ‘next door’ over the years, there is no denying that the food, rooms, service and overall amenities are way better at Sandals than Hedo.

    “Ah” you say, “but we all go to Hedo for the atmosphere and vibe”. Damn right we do…...but that costs the resort ZERO. It’s the paying guests that make Hedo the resort it is. There’s not an add-on cost to the resort of creating that vibe.

    We remember Jon Gross, during his time as CEO, standing up at the repeaters party and stating that despite the ongoing renovations they would not be making Hedo into a 5* resort as it would “attract the wrong type of people”. Everybody laughed as we all knew what he meant by that and we were all totally on board.

    There’s no doubt that with the improvements Hedonism is now a very nice 4* resort but given the comparison to Sandals next door, it’s effectively charging 5* prices.
    So, we guess the definition of ‘expensive’ depends on the benchmark you use.

    Really hope this doesn’t sound like a rant. Lol. It wasn’t meant to be – just painting the picture as we see it.

  12. #12
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    Just returned from 5 days at Desire Pearl. We booked early so we got 20% off promotion from Desire, then booked through Orbitz and got another 15% off. Desire Pearl was cheaper that Hedo for February.

  13. #13
    Registered User Londinium's Avatar
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    Yeah, we've noticed the increase, but as everyone has already pointed out there's a number of contributing factors. The air fare and the exchange rate is a real killer for us poor Brits!

    It's still our favourite place though, and now that Spice has closed we're struggling to find an alternative.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by pornstar1360 View Post
    Just did an imaginary booking of 5 nights in Aug, ROH room, 1,932 bux, for 2 people. Not with a group nor a higher end, nude, pool, ocean,view, butler, whatever room. Remember, everyone says "No one goes for the room anyway" Honestly, since our Hedo3 days, this price is up around 400.00 in 7 years. (H3 closed in Aug 2010) Not the least bit expensive. Our trip coming up to RM is about 600 more. And we are ok with that. Prices are up everywhere, on everything. Good luck,..

    This closely coincides with what we have been quoted for June. But this, and other subsequent posts, brings up some decent questions. We found this quote (also non-group travel) through a travel agent. But can you do better with Orbitz/Expedia/etc.?
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  15. #15
    Registered User HedoJoe's Avatar
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    There has been discussion in the Hedonism II Facebook group about pricing. Someone asked how prices compared to other resorts around Hedo. I did a comparison of the LEAST expensive available rooms at Hedo II and Sandals Negril for the week of February 3, 2018. Sandals category would be the Caribbean Deluxe priced at $4949. Moving next door to Hedo, it would be the Prude Garden View Regular priced at $3444. Hedo is $1505 LESS EXPENSIVE.

    It seems every year around this time, rumors start flying that rates have doubled from the previous year which is just not true.
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