Originally Posted by
Kagehitokiri
trying to understand how occupancy was bad when only 11 rooms
I wrote a very short piece on if here:
https://thegoodthebadandtheluxurious...-join-marriot/
I know people that earn substantially more in a month than I do in a year that are put off by North's ever increasing costs. Laucala has increased their prices twice in almost 10 years, whilst the Maldives tends to stick with inflation of around 2-4% price increases, but 8-10% (sometimes even higher) is hard to swallow at North Island. I have no regrets in having been, and I actually planned to return either this or next year for 3-4 nights (they sometimes have 4th night free), but I can absolutely understand why it's a hard sell when the Maldives is so fiercely competitive and most of the clientele are coming from Europe or North America, so the flight time is almost identical to Seychelles or Maldives.
I have never known North Island to be full, except over Christmas - when perversely it's actually off-peak and rainy season. There was a clear push for extra sales, with more and more offers appearing, the joining of R&C and I even saw one or two influencers appear on Instagram, but convincing people to spend $9k/n on a room is not an easy sell, regardless of its strength.
My concern with this change to Marriot is what it will mean for the Seychelles luxury market. Four Seasons and Six Senses are not on the same level, so we're left with Fregate, whose owner seems as blindsided as North's, by deciding to get rid of Oetker collection earlier this year. If Fregate becomes the de-facto winner from this, then the losers is everyone - Fregate is deeply behind North Island in every single category, but even further behind the luxury market of the Maldives. What a shame, as the Seychelles landscapes are my favourite private islands.
Originally Posted by
scented
Needless to say, North Island belongs in the "peaked" category as of today.
I know for some it is hard to understand, but I suppose it will be similar to seeing your favourite restaurant shut down or the decline of Aman to many on this board - I am truly gutted that this has happened. I have said to many people over the last few years: go to Laucala, as once the owner is gone, there is a good chance his son will not share his enthusiasm for his fathers profligacy. I think this proves it more than ever: you don't know what's coming next, so don't wait around forever.