I had the wonderful opportunity of spending a short but relaxing vacation with my wife ( no kids - they stayed by her family) at the Dead Sea this week. I was highly impressed with the hotel, and even more so by it’s keen understanding of the concept of having a “Loss Leader”
Let me explain.
We stayed at the Golden Tulip Club located on a private beach on the Dead Sea. The Golden Tulip, like all other 5 star hotels offers all sorts of gimmicks in order to increase their “market share” of the tourists and Israeli vacationers who wish to spend some idle time by the world’s lowest point below sea level. While every hotel has its uniqueness, the Golden Tulip found its way into my wallet the traditional Jewish way, By feeding me.
Some hotels offer free upgrades, some free massage, but only the Golden Tulip offered me all inclusive full board. Let me explain what that means ( upon arrival, I did not even properly understand myself) Not only did we have 3 full meals included in the very reasonable price, we also had free alcoholic drinks on tap, along with 7 different choices of soda. Snacks ( cakes and pancakes) were being serve at all hours of the night, just in case someone did not stuff themselves properly during the scrumptious meals. The open bar was open 24 hours a day and trust me, the alchohal was flowing.
Throughout my entire stay I did not understand how the hotel could be profitable. They had a very advanced free game room equipped with play stations, Nintendo wii’s, foosball, internet, and all sorts of other entertaining programs and games for no entrance fee. There were enough games to keep 20-30 people busy. There were over 5 pools ( not including Yam Hamelach) They even had a casino party ( which we won of course) where prizes were given out to the person with the most money at the end of the allotted time ( I won some nice dead sea mud and salts)
Being as I always look for deals, I had purchased our hotel stay at an excellent rate. Only when I went to the hotel’s spa did I fully understand how the hotel could offer such lavish amenities. The hotel was equipped with 40 “health rooms” to be used by masseuses and beauticians. When my wife went to schedule an appointment, she was told that everything was booked up and was given a time in the future ( later that day) that she could set up an appointment.
I quickly did the math ( they are charging 180 for a 30 min massage and 270 for a one hour) I figured they could easily be clearing close to 10,000 nis per hour on the spa alone! I am sure their costs are not that significant (the dead sea mud is located about 30 feet from the hotel) The spa is open for at least 12 hours a day ( 10,000 x 12 = 120,000 NIS)
Now that’s a smart business model. If you build it, and offer free food, THEY WILL COME!!
