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A helicopter waits at the airport, ready to whisk arriving vacation-
ers to their resort where they are welcomed with champagne
and personally escorted to a luxury villa with a private pool. A lav-
ish welcome party with live bands and fireworks begins at dusk.
Then, carefree days stretch all the way to the azure and
turquoise horizon. Think: 24-hour butler service, gourmet meals
at a dozen on-site restaurants, specialty cocktails mixed with
top-shelf liquors, and a mind-blowing schedule of activities for
every age and interest. Best of all, everything — from tequila-
tastings to tips — is included in one price.
Welcome to the new all-inclusive vacation, one of the fastest-growing segments of
vacation lodging, according to Forbes.com.
“We give the average American the chance to live like Donald Trump for a week,”
says Santiago Merizalde, business development director for Lifestyle Holidays
Vacation Club, an Orlando, Florida–based company operating all-inclusive resorts on
the east coast of the Dominican Republic. “Our business model is based on providing
an unforgettable vacation experience.”
“Unforgettable” has become the mantra for a new generation of resort companies
and vacation clubs pushing the boundaries of the outdated formula for the all-inclusive
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How
All-Inclusive
Resorts
Are Reinventing
Themselves for New
Markets
Steve Larese; Image Source/Blend
B L I S S
By Joyce Hadley Copeland