Keep cost low and sell more.
One thing that you see all over the internet is the cost of doing business in Haiti. From the purchase of food in some areas, to the cost of attractions (mainly at Labadae), to the cost of hotels.
Selling things extremely high, just because you might get someone to pay higher, isn't a good strategy. Keep in mind that people will vote with their money. I have experienced this with buying honeybees. The cost of what a Haitian beekeeper was selling the bees, I could have bought two hives in the US. Just because someone can pay more, doesn't meant THEY will. The function of the co-op is to cut out the price gouging, as it also impacts other peer Haitians as well. High hotel costs, even as the luxury ones, doesn't help anyone either. Keep in mind most resorts in the Dominican Republic are better known and cheaper than many of the hotels that are considered luxury.
This isn't an attack on Haiti, or Haitians. This is saying that the mentality has to change. The attitude that, "We have always done it this way", hasn't, and doesn't work. Fact is all hotels, even the brand new Marriott should cut their prices. Many hotels and hostels should cut the prices by more than in half. Again, charging $65 for a room that doesn't have doors that lock, lacks bathroom, air conditioning, etc doesn't make sense. Rooms like this should be at best $10-15 US per night. American, European, Asian, heck, everyone in the world will not pay high prices, which $65 a night is high, will make those tourist cross the border into the DR. Not that the DR is really much better, but the costs are a little more reasonable for what your are getting. Also keep in mind the location of these hotels as well. Charging high prices for a hotel in a dangerous neighborhood, or a very impoverished location, will not be successful.
Again this isn't about bashing Haiti, and it has tremendous potential, but Haitians have to understand how to do business successfully to pull the country out of poverty. All of the other Caribbean countries had to do this are one point and charge bottom low prices to get tourist, and then after time raise prices.
Also vendors should NOT badger or constantly bother tourists to come to their booths. This is called high pressure sales, a tactic that is usually not successful. Not only will folks stop shopping and move one, many times word gets around to avoid going to a country or city based on experience that their friends or family has had. Simply let people look, if they have a question, they will ask. Again a $5 vase that you purchase shouldn't be sold for $15. If you are in a place like Hong Kong where everything is typically expensive, the tourist may go for it. That doesn't work in Haiti. That $5 vase should be sold for $7-8, maybe $6 if the person does a back and forth on price.
It's making little money that brings in the big money. Getting more people to Haiti has nothing to do with the poor infrastructure as it does the cost per room night, and the cost to do attractions. Again Americans and others are not made of money, and again attracting the very wealthy will not happen. A multi-millionaire is highly unlikely to vacation in Haiti, but would go to Cancun, or the Bahamas. Both places at one time were not ideal and had extremely low hotel room costs. After getting huge waves of people, the market rate for rooms and attractions went up slightly to meet the demand and then level off. Haiti MUST do this if it is to ever have an economy. Also keep in mind many Haitian Americans go to Haiti to see family. With high costs to visit, it limits what that person is able to do for their family. It is a trickle down situation. Someone will loose, and usually the one with the money doesn't.
So in short, Haiti must lower costs to do business. Riding the tap-tap, getting street food, etc are all priced correctly. Hotels and airfare needs to get on board as well.
Go Gonave
Selling things extremely high, just because you might get someone to pay higher, isn't a good strategy. Keep in mind that people will vote with their money. I have experienced this with buying honeybees. The cost of what a Haitian beekeeper was selling the bees, I could have bought two hives in the US. Just because someone can pay more, doesn't meant THEY will. The function of the co-op is to cut out the price gouging, as it also impacts other peer Haitians as well. High hotel costs, even as the luxury ones, doesn't help anyone either. Keep in mind most resorts in the Dominican Republic are better known and cheaper than many of the hotels that are considered luxury.
This isn't an attack on Haiti, or Haitians. This is saying that the mentality has to change. The attitude that, "We have always done it this way", hasn't, and doesn't work. Fact is all hotels, even the brand new Marriott should cut their prices. Many hotels and hostels should cut the prices by more than in half. Again, charging $65 for a room that doesn't have doors that lock, lacks bathroom, air conditioning, etc doesn't make sense. Rooms like this should be at best $10-15 US per night. American, European, Asian, heck, everyone in the world will not pay high prices, which $65 a night is high, will make those tourist cross the border into the DR. Not that the DR is really much better, but the costs are a little more reasonable for what your are getting. Also keep in mind the location of these hotels as well. Charging high prices for a hotel in a dangerous neighborhood, or a very impoverished location, will not be successful.
Again this isn't about bashing Haiti, and it has tremendous potential, but Haitians have to understand how to do business successfully to pull the country out of poverty. All of the other Caribbean countries had to do this are one point and charge bottom low prices to get tourist, and then after time raise prices.
Also vendors should NOT badger or constantly bother tourists to come to their booths. This is called high pressure sales, a tactic that is usually not successful. Not only will folks stop shopping and move one, many times word gets around to avoid going to a country or city based on experience that their friends or family has had. Simply let people look, if they have a question, they will ask. Again a $5 vase that you purchase shouldn't be sold for $15. If you are in a place like Hong Kong where everything is typically expensive, the tourist may go for it. That doesn't work in Haiti. That $5 vase should be sold for $7-8, maybe $6 if the person does a back and forth on price.
It's making little money that brings in the big money. Getting more people to Haiti has nothing to do with the poor infrastructure as it does the cost per room night, and the cost to do attractions. Again Americans and others are not made of money, and again attracting the very wealthy will not happen. A multi-millionaire is highly unlikely to vacation in Haiti, but would go to Cancun, or the Bahamas. Both places at one time were not ideal and had extremely low hotel room costs. After getting huge waves of people, the market rate for rooms and attractions went up slightly to meet the demand and then level off. Haiti MUST do this if it is to ever have an economy. Also keep in mind many Haitian Americans go to Haiti to see family. With high costs to visit, it limits what that person is able to do for their family. It is a trickle down situation. Someone will loose, and usually the one with the money doesn't.
So in short, Haiti must lower costs to do business. Riding the tap-tap, getting street food, etc are all priced correctly. Hotels and airfare needs to get on board as well.
Go Gonave
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