Dive Resort Jobs: Working In Paradise

Finding out that scuba diving is not almost as well paid as one would assume shocks many recent industry entrants. For people who work in resorts especially, this is true. Usually, resorts call for a more diverse skill set than only instruction and diving direction. This could be running the retail store, advising clients, boat captaining, or maintenance and repairs.

Dive Instructor

Many believe that the key to a lifetime of trips on isolated beaches and island life is training to teach diving. But the outdoor business is not a leisure one, hence the duties of a dive instructor go much beyond mere instruction. You could be filling a lot of documentation, getting clients ready for their diving trip, verifying gear before you let it be used, and providing the boat and dive briefings. Before the divers arrive at their diving site, you also have to arrange all the equipment. At the conclusion of a day you pack everything once more, check and tidy it, and arrange it for the next day. You will have to share your responsibilities with others since often the resort employs more than one instructor. You will most likely be under a manager as well, which occasionally irritates you. Particularly in a high-stress situation like the dive company.

Boat Crew

Whether on a RIB or a full-on liveaboard boat the crew has to load and unload gear bags, pull them to and from the boat, conduct dive briefings, help divers get in and out of the water and generally keep everyone safe and happy. One of the main components of this is being able to predict and satisfy divers' wants before they ever express them! They certainly deserve a bit extra for this. Customarily, one tips the boat crew. Leaving tips in a message, card, or envelope instead of merely cash on the boat makes sense. This gives the experience more human touch and helps the money to be more accountable to people who earned it. Employers find crew members more appealing also for any additional abilities outside of their normal responsibilities. From a deckhand who understands how to play piano to a scuba instructor able to teach yoga, anything that enhances the client experience is great.

Tank Filler

Someone else is back at the resort fixing tanks, repacking air, cleaning and washing cylinders while divers stare at puffer fish and reef sharks. The quality of the diving experience depends on these behind-the-scenes tasks, as does the safety of every diver. Usually off the beach or in water shallow enough to stand, resort courses consist of a brief lecture, some pool time to get acquainted with equipment, then a quick dive. This is significantly less than the open-water certification programme provided by PADI or other organisations, which calls for 25 to 30 hours in the classroom and pool plus numerous test dives. Certain diving resorts provide all-inclusive packages, therefore enabling a diver to come and go as he likes. This lets him concentrate on his dives and avoid the pubs, restaurants and souvenir stores.

Marketing

Your responsibility in the marketing department is to highlight the resort's offerings. You handle all client contacts and grow leisure and group business. You also negotiate and set rates for every service and try to satisfy income targets. To succeed in this line of work, you have to be rather good in sales and human relations. After spending thousands of dollars on a holiday in paradise, divers are intelligent visitors who want to be handled with respect and expertise. One must have a thorough grasp of market research including consumer segmentation and competitive analysis. Another crucial component of marketing is price; appropriate pricing will result in good earnings; poor pricing will cause a dive-business to collapse. You have to be able to evaluate all the elements influencing price and act based on your analysis.