All inclusive resorts, buffet restaurants... What will happen to them?

[Bluewavescrashing]

Stayed in a huge hotel in Majorca a couple of years ago. 6 swimming pools, water park, 5 different restaurants, entertainment etc. There was actually an outbreak of hand foot and mouth which we managed to escape. Packed with people all toughing the same tongs at the buffet, tables and sun loungers close together etc.

I'm not bothered about doing that sort of holiday again--it was easy and fun but too busy for my liking so we booked a campsite chalet in France for our next holiday. But what will happen to these hotels now? Will they close or adapt to covid restrictions? Will people still want to go?

The point is ,on all inclusive, people especially with young children can grab a table the go up and get their food. No waiting. Eat and go.
Table service will be slower, and people who want extra, they’ll have to wait.
The convenient of it will be lost.
I don’t see going abroad much fun at the moment anyway for a family holiday.
Things like swimming, lounging around a pool won’t be the same.
I think the tourist industry abroad will sadly not be able to do enough to save the industry until the end of this virus

I must admit I will miss the buffet style restaurants.The Pizza Hut buffet and salad bars. The Toby carvery help yourself servery. The foods of the world buffet restaurant.
The restaurants will lose out because many people pay for that service, an over indulgence treat.

Will anyone mourn those vile "world food" type buffets you get in shopping centres? They are horrible.

I think the prices in the new set up will rocket and it will further add to the social division b/w those who can afford it/anything and those who can't and won't be able to even go.

Presumably they will operate in the same way that carveries will. A screened off area for the food behind which someone will serve you. You tell them what you want and when to stop.

@NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite

Presumably they will operate in the same way that carveries will. A screened off area for the food behind which someone will serve you. You tell them what you want and when to stop.

That would solve the problem of multiple people touching the same serving utensils, but not the - arguably greater - problem of multiple people crowding around the serving areas.

I love a good buffet like cosmos. It'll be very embarrassing to ask for 15 slices of cake but needs must.

I don't like buffets, but I know lots of people especially with kids absolutely love em!

I think what will happen is a strict queuing system with a timed arrival. 1 or two metres apart in the Q, Then a server will be behind perspex and will serve your plate with whatever you fancy from that person's station, and you move along with your plate to the next kind of food you fancy.

There are ways around it. Might help the absolute greed and waste of good food that sometimes happens at buffet stations. I'd say half the food is uneaten in the end. There is just too must choice and some people's eyes grow on stalks and they want everything there!

Anyway, let's see how it works.

Ohhhh I hope they don’t disappear. DP and I are looking forward longingly to the day when we have older and more sensible children and can stay at a swish all inclusive again. Sitting in one place and reading an actual book....swimming without a child clutching my hair....did I mention sitting still?

Can you tell we are in the toddler stage 😂

I think what will happen is a strict queuing system with a timed arrival. 1 or two metres apart in the Q, Then a server will be behind perspex and will serve your plate with whatever you fancy from that person's station, and you move along with your plate to the next kind of food you fancy.

That would involve significant extra staffing though. One of the reasons buffets are cheap is because of the lower staffing levels needed. Also, if you have to queue up with your tray like at an office canteen then you don't really have the option of just popping back for an extra cup of coffee or slice of toast. So the spontaneity of buffets is gone. Might be the least bad solution for the time being though.

Table service will be slower, and people who want extra, they’ll have to wait.

Obviously not quite so convenient and quick, but table service doesn't need to mean looong waits. You could still have all the food laid out buffet style, but with only staff allowed to plate it and bring it to you. The only delay is waiting for the waiter/tress to come to ask you what you want. You wouldn't be waiting for the food to be cooked etc.

Or you keep the self choose at the counters but with barriers etc stopping people from actually picking it themselves, i.e. have a few more staff behind the counter putting it on plates for you (not much different from the usual "cafeteria" style restaurants where the staff plate it up for you at the counter.

I saw that Majorca is open and hotels are doing AI as planned. Was on news this morning.

But to be fair you're talking about Club Mac. Been there and I'm not surprised there was an outbreak of something.
I watched kids standing at kids bit and eating chips and nuggets out of the trays and parents not even noticing.
But I had a fab holiday there and ds loved all the pools and evening stuff.

The only delay is waiting for the waiter/tress to come to ask you what you want.

And then go to the buffet to get the food and bring it back to you. Maybe several times in the course of a meal. Not really the same as deciding you'd like another poached egg or cup of coffee and just getting it yourself.

Plus, like I said above, buffets are cheap because fewer staff are required. If the hotel/restaurant have to hire lots of extra waiting staff, this will push prices up.

If the hotel/restaurant have to hire lots of extra waiting staff, this will push prices up.

I think increased prices across the board will be the inevitable outcome long term. The "pile em in" philosophy has helped cause the spread of Covid (and others like Norovirus). Short term prices will plummet just to get people back, but after the initial surge, long term prices will have to rise as businesses/attractions etc move onto a new business model of fewer customers being charged more.

It wont be like this forever

I am concerned that one of our favourite restaurants- Fazenda - will have to change or not open. It's a Brazilian meat place and the USP is an amazing salad buffet and the meat being brought to your table to pick different cuts and types. They've said they aren't opening in the first tranche of restaurants and I guess they need to figure out how the hell they can continue to operate without completely changing the nature of what they are.

I'm not particularly fond of AI on holiday, but I do love a buffet breakfast and it's very disappointing that they won't be back for a while.

I think increased prices across the board will be the inevitable outcome long term

Probably not. Chances are there will be a vaccine and/or effective treatments quite soon.

The "pile em in" philosophy has helped cause the spread of Covid (and others like Norovirus)

This sounds kind of snobbish. Is there any evidence that buffet restaurants were implicated in the spread of Covid, and not nice middle class ski resorts in North Italy, for example?

The best way forward seems to be the type of counter service you can get at some supermarket / service stations... just tell the person what you want and it gets dished out... cheaper and more efficient than individual table service.