In Response to Re: Suggestions for Punta Cana 2015 : It wasn't free though, was it? The $1500 was part of the package and the prize pools on sky for the Punta Cana Final reflected that. Posted by F_Ivanovic
I'm gonna hazard a guess that it wasn't part of the prizepool package. Just an extra perk to make the package look even more appealing.
Think the flight money, tournament buy in, all inclusive accommodation for 2 for a week in a hotel like that plus return transfers is pretty much the bulk of the £3700 (or w/e) package.
In Response to Re: Suggestions for Punta Cana 2015 : Oh yeah... If I could be bUmMed to edit I may... but maybe you could see the brighter picture, or bright lights was it Sly Allen quote (ish) Plus, when did spelling become a part of harmonious people getting drunk?! oh, and poker.... Posted by samantha25
Must have been a great holiday for the winners. Relaxing on the harmonious beach, sipping harmonious cocktails, dipping their toes in the harmonious pool......sigh.
Yeah I think the main thing for next time is extending the time between when the package is won and the date you go just to give people a little more time to book travel arrangements. It certainly felt pretty last minute. Running the promo throughout September would have probably been more suitable or earlier still, perhaps through the summer months as this will give people more time as well as boosting numbers for Sky when traffic is at its lowest.
Even still it wasn't a huge issue and to be honest other than that the package was absolutely perfect.
In Response to Re: Suggestions for Punta Cana 2015 : I'm gonna hazard a guess that it wasn't part of the prizepool package. Just an extra perk to make the package look even more appealing. Think the flight money, tournament buy in, all inclusive accommodation for 2 for a week in a hotel like that plus return transfers is pretty much the bulk of the £3700 (or w/e) package. Posted by hhyftrftdr
It was though. Here are the details of the package taken from DTM's blog cos the promo page is gone now
• $1,500 + $150 buy-in to the main event with $500,000 Guaranteed.
• Hotel accommodation for 2 people at the 5-star Hard Rock Hotel & Casino from 4-11 November 2014 (7 nights)
• Ground transportation in Punta Cana PUJ (airport-hotel-airport)
• All-inclusive premium food and beverages
• 24-hour premium room service
• $1,500 Resort Credits to spend on spa, golf, upgraded wine and tours at the hotel
• £800 towards your travel expenses (credited to your Sky Poker account)
• A welcome gift bag
• Welcome Party
All of the monetary amounts above were combined to give the total value of the package. It was £700 + £70 in the final iirc and 1in5 because a package was £3500 so $1500 is a pretty decent chunk of £3500.
The BI is ~ £1k and the flights were £800, I'm assuming it wasn't almost £2k for just the hotel like... guess it's a grey area if the hotel says you HAVE to have those credits if you book but just bump up their price accordingly.
I wouldn't be surprised if the hotel was pushing close to £2k for a week. It was all inclusive and for 2 people. Chuck in return transfers and that leaves very little/no room for the £1k resort credits.
I know they list it there, but I'm sure they ain't part of the £3700, just like the welcome party wouldn't add £££ to the package price. It was an offer that the hotel were doing, you got the resort credits if you booked the exact same holiday/dates through BA for example.
And in the unlikely event Sky were adding the resort credits to the package price (I still very much doubt it going on the figures), then that's a low blow!
Yeah looking at the pictures of the hotel I wouldn't be surprised if that was pushing £2k for a week with all inclusive and 2 people. End of the day people know what they're getting when they try and win the package and that's all that matters!
I stayed longer in Punta Cana than the 7 days, and therefore had to arrange extra a few extra nights accomadation. As I recollect the Hard Rock wanted approx£280 a night that was with a 40% discount. Included in the price was hotel credits . As I said it is something run by the hotel to encourage you to buy things from them rather than somebody else. Instead of hotel credits they could just as easily called them discount vouchers giving you80% off the listed price.
In Response to Re: Suggestions for Punta Cana 2015 : That is pretty dreadful if that's the case (and I don't doubt you're telling the truth). Posted by Lambert180
the package included "hotel credits" worth $1500 so they say. in the event it is a scam. this sum should never be factored into to the total worth. i understand that it wasn't. the scam is that they offer credits that you can spend on golf, massage, better wine at dinner etc. but they levy a 20% service charge on top. all very well except they have inflated the prices of such things five-fold. would you pay $200 for a round of golf or $100 to get your nails done? i wondered about the good wine upgrade using credits and asked at dinner one night. they took away the wine list priced in dollars and replaced it with one priced in credits. a similar bottle was five times higher in credits than in dollars. $80 for a pinot grigio. so no, the house wine was just fine and all-inclusive. Posted by aussie09
It occurred to me that there will be another event next year yet without feedback the opportunity to improve the whole experience might be lost. It was a fine event and a prize worth playing for. It missed one key element which I hope is addressed next time. The whole promotion missed tikay's personal connection to the skypoker population. Not only would tikay have been the one to help the skypoker group bond in Punta Cana but also his blogs, interviews, reports back to the UK show, forum threads would have been of great interest for all. I think tikay was the one missing piece of the jigsaw. in hindsight, tikay should have been there. his presence this year would have heightened the profile of the promotion in 2014 and would have meant greater volumes next time in 2015. Posted by aussie09
Comments
Think the flight money, tournament buy in, all inclusive accommodation for 2 for a week in a hotel like that plus return transfers is pretty much the bulk of the £3700 (or w/e) package.
Wonder if they got their ironing done as well?
All of the monetary amounts above were combined to give the total value of the package. It was £700 + £70 in the final iirc and 1in5 because a package was £3500 so $1500 is a pretty decent chunk of £3500.
The BI is ~ £1k and the flights were £800, I'm assuming it wasn't almost £2k for just the hotel like... guess it's a grey area if the hotel says you HAVE to have those credits if you book but just bump up their price accordingly.
I know they list it there, but I'm sure they ain't part of the £3700, just like the welcome party wouldn't add £££ to the package price. It was an offer that the hotel were doing, you got the resort credits if you booked the exact same holiday/dates through BA for example.
as OP
this was my point really