«All inclusive» in Ukraine

Ukrainians travel a lot inside Ukraine nowadays. They also go to other countries, of course. In summer, Egypt and Turkey are particularly popular among foreign tourists, where the All-inclusive food system is widespread. This is not surprising, because a tourist receives food and unlimited drinks on the territory of one hotel for a fixed amount. There is no need to go any further in search of delicious and varied dishes. The additional expenses during the holiday are only on small things, souvenirs, gifts, etc.

In Ukraine, tourists did not receive such a service until 2018. Yes, the hotels are great, but with food issues. Because of this, on vacation, I had to look for a good place to eat. That is why the experts of Ribas Hotels Group began to study the All-inclusive service in different countries with the main goal - to integrate the egyptian system in Ukraine.

At the end of 2017, I went on a press tour to 40 hotels in Egypt, where I learned how the system works. It was not possible to test the system in Turkey at that time, because the season had already ended there.

My main observation on the results of the press tour is that the hotel team does everything possible to ensure that guests receive maximum services without leaving its territory! Both in terms of infrastructure and food - any guest will find a dish to their taste. And at the same time the tourist will want to return to the hotel more than once.

We suggested that hotel owners who are part of the Ribas Hotels Group network implement the system. The first one who supported was the owner of the White House, a hotel on the Black sea coast, in the Koblevo village (Mykolaiv region).

We started preparing for the start of the season in the spring of 2018, testing the technology, meals, etc.

Concept: guests were offered Breakfast, lunch and dinner on an All-inclusive basis. Cuisine: European and Ukrainian. However, there are only 25-30 dishes to choose from, compared to the choice of hundreds of dishes in Egypt.

This restriction was made because, unlike hotels in this country, we did not have 300-500 rooms, we had only 60. The restrictions were also affected by the lack of certain calculations, research on the preferences of tourists, and so on. IIn addition to the dishes we offered unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages of Ukrainian production - beer, wine, rum and others, which are served from morning to midnight.

Of course, the implementation of the plan also required investments - about $30 000. We purchased used equipment in good condition: tables, dishes, bar, etc. We started with the All-inclusive system in the summer.

From 1600 UAH-at the beginning of the season and in autumn, to 2500 UAH-in July-August.

We used online advertising, promoting the possibility of visiting a hotel with a service system as in Turkey or Egypt.

Unlike the hotels nearby, which had no residents at the start and end of the season, we got almost 100% occupancy thanks to the new system. In quantitative terms, the increase among guests was 30%.

The most important thing is that now it is just a must have not only in the South of Ukraine, but also in other parts in the North and West. This way we will be able to keep the tourists inside the country, providing them with everything that they previously were looking for abroad.

At the same time, we will get another effect — the interest of tourists from other countries to come to Ukraine.

To be honest, we had some problems in the middle of the season. Employees - chefs or waiters - could not keep up with the rush and left the team, which is why they urgently had to look for a replacement. The staff left their jobs in the middle of the day without warning. However, despite some difficulties, we managed!

Develop "All inclusive" in Ukraine. At the same time, improve living and working conditions for the team that participates in the processes, because without it, we go nowhere!