All In

A Singapore hotel is giving new meaning to the term 'All Inclusive'. For s$208 - that's £95 to us - the Quincy on Mount Elizabeth is including the room, 3 meals a day, internet, local calls, laundry, mini bar drinks, an evening cocktail and limousine pick up from the airport. Since it opened last month it has achieved 76% occupancy - and this against a backdrop of a 15% fall in visitors to Singapore. This will either strike fear into the hearts of London hoteliers, or it will generate a more hard headed response that the hotel will go broke quite soon. Whatever the response, it is an indication that this is what our competition is doing. I take the view that there are many opportunities in this recession, but there is also a lot of pain on the way for some. The latest Visit Britain research shows just how fearful Americans are for their future, and there are many other countries where there is real worry and little in the way of the comfort blanket of a welfare system. The pattern of the impact of this recession on travel and tourism is beginning to become clearer - 5 star, conference, incentive, air travel, business tourism and the shoulder season are a really hard sell. I wonder who is thinking through the implications of this for our sector? These are the most profitable parts of business and where the serious investment money comes from. Has anybody noticed that this could be very bad for the quality of the sector just as 2012 edges nearer and nearer? I don't suppose that Boris or Tessa is going to get out the begging bowl for the Ritz or the Savoy, but it would be nice to think that someone somewhere has a handle on these issues.