Hotels along the Black Sea are abandoning all-inclusives due to rising food prices

05.10.2023

Due to rising food prices, hoteliers are not including all-inclusive options in their offers for next year, says the Bulgarian Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Varna. However, other industry experts argue that in order to be competitive in the tourism market, hoteliers need to offer all-inclusive options.

The all-inclusive service is constantly rising in price, and this increases the prices for seaside holidays. Therefore, hoteliers now offer only breakfast or breakfast and dinner.

“This year prices reached 700-900 levs. for a room with an all-inclusive package. We want to be more competitive, we want to give tourists the opportunity to choose, because there are tourists who prefer to go on an excursion for lunch, prefer to be outside the hotel complex,” Pavel Kosev, chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Hotels and Restaurants in Varna, told BNT.

However, hotel owners at resorts near Varna say that tourists want to pay for their vacation in full. They usually look for deals that include an umbrella and a sun lounger in addition to full board.

“I think that abandoning this form is perhaps inappropriate at the moment, because the seasons are already difficult. There may be an ebb if the form of service is changed,” said hotelier Stella Deyanova.

Many tourists support all-inclusive holidays.

“Well, it’s more relaxed, I don’t think about food and it’s more convenient for me. Otherwise, I have to think about the family, about every breakfast, lunch, dinner, about where they will take place. We are in Bulgaria for the first time, we are in this hotel All inclusive, the food is very good, we like it,” tourists say.

The all-inclusive service is preferred by tourists, but for hoteliers it is not economically viable, some of them say.

“You know what it means to produce something that sits on a display case, someone fills a few plates and then throws them away,” said BCRA Deputy Chairman Atanas Dimitrov.

All-inclusive has been talked about in the industry for a long time, but offering it is still a widespread practice. The refusal may apply to high-end hotels visited by paying tourists.

“Hotels that have more than 300, 400, 500 beds, 4 stars, both in Greece and in Turkey, they rely on “all inclusive”, because this is what the tour operator requires, this is what the client requires. So competition is putting pressure on us, and at least in the near future I don’t see a mass abandonment of the all-inclusive system on our Black Sea coast, because we will be left without tourists,” said Stoyan Marinov.

The balance between price and quality in all-inclusive offerings is tricky, according to industry experts. Due to rising food prices, holidays next summer will cost about 5-10% more.

Source: moreto.net

How to sell property in Bulgaria by the sea

How to buy property in Bulgaria by the sea