5 reasons to avoid all inclusive vacations
Many people prefer to stay at cruises or all inclusive resorts when on vacation because they feel it makes travel easier and they hardly have to think about their activities each day including what to eat. It’s understandable especially for people with children…BUT there are so many other ways to incorporate ease, and remove hassle from traveling that will be a much better use of spending than an all inclusive vacation-it will just take a little extra preplanning but once you understand the way that all inclusive vacations are designed to work, you may be glad you did. Here are a few reasons to avoid all inclusive resorts:
1. They’re horrible for the environment
The amount of waste, plastic, and trash accumulated at all inclusive resorts is pretty significant. Resorts in tropical places tend to position themselves right on the ocean, so that guests can have beach access without ever having to leave the resort…which unfortunately means that trash and other things end up in the sea daily. For example, when we stayed at an all inclusive resort for a family event in Jamaica, we were able to eat anything we wanted at any time of day from any of the restaurants on the property…we were even given plastic water bottles each day. You can really only eat and drink so much, so that means people are eating wayyyy more than they need at an all inclusive spot simply because its available 24/7. Many of the wasted food, and plastic etc. is likely to end up in the ocean. Being intentional about where you stay on vacation is a small way you can avoid contributing to this major global problem.
2. Lack of adequate support for locals
This is something that should always be at the top of our minds when we travel-especially because first and foremost you are leaving your home to go visit someone else’s. Even if not ALL your accommodations during your vacay are not locally owned and operated, at least you can try to ensure that you’re not staying at an all inclusive resort the entire time. The resort that we stayed at in Jamaica, was a chain resort owned by Mexicans. After speaking to a few of the staff, we learned that many of the Jamaican staff in this resort travel 1.5 hours or more to just to get to work each day. On top of that they are tasked with making sales to earn commission at risk of losing their jobs at the end of the year…..and they don’t get paid enough either. All inclusive resorts have one main job- and that is to make a small percentage of people richer…very little of the profits from all inclusive resorts support the local communities in the country you’re visiting. This is something we should all care about and prioritize when it comes to planning our vacations in other people’s home & country.
3. Scams, Sales Pitches & pyramid schemes
Depending on where you stay, be prepared for employees to make multiple attempts to get you to sign up for vacation “memberships”, or pay for your next trip at another one of their resort properties in advance. This is basically the number one priority of most resorts. As soon as we checked in, we were taken to a guest services rep who made us sign up to have breakfast with another employee the next morning and take a 90-minute tour of the rooms and property. If we agreed to do this, we would be given a $500 credit to use at the spa. They kept us on this “tour” for over 2 hours the next day and had 3 different people try to make us spend money on a future vacation. We kept saying no, and they kept pushing. As the days went by, we saw thousands of other guests being taken through the same process and spending hours sitting in that room turning down sales pitches. To make things worse, one of our family members who wanted to book a massage at the spa was told that she was unable to do so without going to guest services first (becuase they wanted her to go through the sales presentation first also). Those vacation sales were so important to them that they were willing to make the spa inaccessible unless we made time for their scams. Other resorts may do this differently of course, but the goal is pretty much the same: get you to buy in to their offer so they can keep building more properties in other countries and continue to scam people.
3. Slower service is likely
When you stay at a big resort with hundreds of rooms and guests just expect that service may be slow. As we were getting dressed for the family event we had a few minutes away from the property , we noticed a broken ironing board and we also needed extra towels for showering…it took them over 40 minutes to assist us with these issues which caused us to be late to the event. The hotel staff at resorts are often so busy running around to assist guests that they can’t possibly get to everyone in a timely manner. So, if you do have to stay at an all inclusive accommodation for a special event…give yourself way more time to get ready in order to avoid a challenge like the one we had .
4. You hardly see the country
This is a pretty obvious one, but can you say you visited a place if all you did was go to the resort and then you flew back home? So many countries have so much beauty to offer: beaches, mountains, landscapes, historical sites etc. that you’ll never see if all you do is stay at the man-made resort. If you are visiting another country, why not make an effort to spend some time exploring?. Yes, it will take a little more research or maybe even require a guide…but you won’t regret it once you get to see more beauty & history of the country. And if you are not the exploring or adventurous type: look for a smaller, locally operated hotel or Airbnb in a beautiful location and spend most of your time there.
5. You miss out on learning opportunities and culture exchange
One of the reasons we have loved travelling so much is how much we get to learn during our visits. Learning about the country, history, culture etc. that we are visiting is invaluable and timeless education…you can read about it…but experiencing it & hearing stories from locals is definitely a better teacher. When you are only leaving your resort to go on excursions etc. you miss out on the chance to learn from locals and experience their real authentic culture (not like fire shows and reggae themed nights at the hotel or on the cruise ship). When you stay at smaller or boutique hotels, or Airbnb’s, you get to have real conversations, learn about people’s lives, & you might even make some meaningful connections during your trip. Staying within the walls of the resort are one sure way to keep yourself in a box instead of being more open to the many things the world may have to teach you. Travel should be bidirectional anyway….its not just about you, its also about the local communities.