Breakfast Bonus: Split level pricing

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Some tourist hotspots are introducing different pricing levels for locals and tourists to help ease the cost of living for the locals. Do we think this could work in Aotearoa?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Coast Breakfast Bonus Podcast with Tony Jason Sam.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
Thanks for listening to our Breakfast Bonus podcast Today. We're
talking about split level pricing like they're doing tourist towns
like Japan's all over this at the moment, and at
first people are like kicking back, going what you're charging tourists?
More so they're saying, no, we're not charging anyone anymore.
What we're doing is we're charging locals less.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
How do they get away with that? I just don't
think that would happen in New Zealand because where our
whole hospitality and tourism sector is bleeding at the moment
and they just simply couldn't charge us less.

Speaker 4 (00:30):
No, But I see from their perspective as well, because
when I was overseas, there is cities that have been
ruined by tourism and they can't turn them away, can they?
You know, like Venus is just overflowing with people, Rome
overflowing with people, and you can see the frustration on
the locals, the people that live there. They're just like, man,
I can't move in my own streets expensive.

Speaker 3 (00:52):
But I don't know if I agree with that either,
because what are we saying that, you know, you have
to be super rich to see famous places.

Speaker 4 (01:00):
I think that's where it's going to hit.

Speaker 2 (01:01):
That's what I don't think. New Zealand at one stage
talked about this too. They want to attract and they
call them the highend tourists, you know, the big spins,
And they talk that Queenstown might adopt the split level
pricing too, because if you live in Queenstown, you know
how expensive it is. We'd friends of us who live
there for a few years and they even though to
the supermarket of things, it's so expensive because it's geared
for the tourists.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
I think Queenstown might possibly be the only place in
New Zealand where that could work. But then I just
still don't think where our country is in a place
where we want to turn away tourists. They're not busy enough.

Speaker 4 (01:29):
They won't cripple us at the moment.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
But you talk the places like Japan, right, there's one
castle there. They have like four hundred and fifty thousand
visitors a year for one castle there, and so the
streets in Japan are crammed. And what they're doing is
they're also starting to hire English speaking staff and so
by charging locals lists, but tourists a little bit more.
They can cover the cost of hiring English speaking staff.
But then you start arguing, what is that the authentic
Japanese experience you're going for.

Speaker 3 (01:51):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (01:51):
I don't think. I don't think people will charge the
locals list. I think they would just charge the tourists more.
That's how it'll work well Japan. Reckon, they're not in Japan.

Speaker 2 (01:59):
They're saying, we're just charging locals lists.

Speaker 4 (02:01):
Yeah, it is a business model. That isn't that how
business works. It's all based on supply and demand. You
can charge people more, have less less people through and
lower your overheads. It's just a business model. Then all
of a sudden, you make the same amount of money
for the less amount of people, which means that the
terroist destinations are not overflowing, which means they're nicer for
the people that are there. But yeah, it will be
more expensive.

Speaker 3 (02:21):
What are we talking about in terms of what they're
charging for? So are we talking about charging someone to
go up the Eiffel Tower? This is charging them for
a bowl of pasta, Because it's quite different because most
locals aren't going to go up the Eiffel Tower, because
they've done it a million times.

Speaker 4 (02:36):
Maybe you know what I mean?

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Do you know?

Speaker 4 (02:38):
I have the ultimate example from my chip in Europe.
Whenever I saw a toilet that I had to pay for,
I was delighted to pay for it because, you know why,
it meant that it wasn't it didn't have a queue,
and it meant that it was clean. The alternative to
that was going to the other toilets you don't have
to pay for, and they were crowded. There's people everywhere
and they were disgusting. And my little girls touch everything
in bathroom. So I always prepared to pay a pounder pee.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
So the user pay could be a good thing.

Speaker 4 (03:05):
It's a good good thing.

Speaker 2 (03:06):
I think.

Speaker 4 (03:06):
I think it could.

Speaker 2 (03:08):
I could see how it could work again in busy,
busy places. Let your venuses like Japan's, like your Paris is.
I suppose because you were saying, even to go to
the Colisseum, you've got to book your spot.

Speaker 4 (03:15):
Now Vatican's the same Vatican, the colisseum you have to pay.

Speaker 3 (03:18):
Now.

Speaker 4 (03:18):
In the past you could just swe up, get a
spot and walk in. Now you have to book a slot.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
Right, I see, I know what this chat is meant
to be about, but I want to talk about the
fact that we don't have any paid toilets here and
how I would definitely pay in some situations to.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
What they had a super topal that you had to
pay for.

Speaker 3 (03:36):
Yeah. Yeah, they need to bring that back in because
sometimes you just do not want to use.

Speaker 4 (03:41):
The public I totally agree. Yeah, like the one in
San Jiminiano. There was people everywhere, and I tell you what,
I went in there and it was crystal clean. I
was like, that's the best pound I've ever spending notes Europe.

Speaker 3 (03:54):
Should we start it up a business to pay for toilets?

Speaker 4 (03:58):
Start out the business, we're gonna put your tool.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
I don't know many places you have to.

Speaker 4 (04:02):
Put it next to the filthiest, busiest toilet in.

Speaker 3 (04:05):
Town, beaches, beach toilets.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
True, yeah, yeah, so I could see how it would
work on those busy places. But I think you're right.
In New Zealand, we're not ready for that. We're we're
just begging people to come here. At the moment.

Speaker 4 (04:15):
It's a great business. I'm gonna call it ones and
toos And if you're going to need to go to,
you to because you've got all the.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
Poochees before we get to do it. Thanks for listening
to the Coast Breakfast Bonus podcast, Get your days started
with Coasts Feel Good Breakfast, Tony Street, Jayson Reeves, and
Sam Wallas