Business
Cash-stressed Maldives hotel sector set to evaluate over reliance on wholesalers
Hotel owners and operators in the Maldives are learning the hard way how quickly disruption can turn cash flow negative.
One key trend in global leisure destinations is a severe liquidity crunch of wholesalers and travel intermediaries, which in turn has created a domino impact on hotels. This has created difficulties for the tourism dependent Indian Ocean island nation.
Cash strapped hotels, who are owed significant funds for guests who have already stayed are being forced to negotiate payment terms or event contemplate write offs, are crying foul. Further stress from contracted allocations that cannot be fulfilled has become commonplace as advance deposits are being held by external suppliers.
The situation is expected to become worse should wholesalers become insolvent. In Thailand, hoteliers have sought government action with the TUI Group, as despite a 1.8 billion euro loan being approved by the German central government, they have yet to clear past payments overseas with are due.
As hotels look to the reopening journey ahead, a new survey of 1,100 qualified Chinese travellers in first tier cities by hospitality consulting group C9 Hotelworks and Delivering Asia Communications focusing on travel sentiment to the Maldives has pinpointed some key changes forecasted in visitor behaviour.

One of the shift dynamic shifts in the data saw 75 per cent of respondents prefer independent travel versus being part of a group. While 38 per cent wanted to book hotels and flights separately.
A rising tide of consumers also identified direct or social media channels to book a Maldives holiday with Fliggy, WeChat and hotel websites accounting for over a third of the expected share demand.
“Travel safety is a key post-crisis factor for all overseas travellers including Chinese. What is interesting from the China responses was that 67 per cent of those surveyed considered the Maldives to be a safer holiday choice compared to other destinations,” C9’s Managing Director Bill Barnett was quoted in a statement, as saying.
“While a lingering ‘fear factor’ is a Covid-19 consequence, the country is likely to be seen as a safe haven given its inherent island isolation.”
Summarising the learning from the survey, Delivering Asia Communications CEO David Johnson voiced a call to action for hotel operators and owners alike.
“There is a clear opportunity for hoteliers to more directly control their business stream, create healthy segmentation with increasingly influential social media channels and stay relevant in a fast-evolving travel scene that is all part of how the industry can take back control of its own destiny,” he said.
“The single use business model of leveraging business with wholesalers looks to be past its ‘used by’ date.”
These issues and more will be discussed in a far-reaching webinar on Thursday June 4 at 1pm Maldives time called, “Maldives: tourism in the age of escapism”.
Speakers include Sonu Shivdasani, CEO and Joint Creative Director at Soneva; Jesper Palmqvist, Area Director Asia Pacific at STR; David Keen, CEO at QUO; Dirk De Cuyper, CEO at S Hotels & Resorts; Ghaly Murthala, Founder and Managing Director at Morteza Capital; Bill Barnett, Managing Director at C9 Hotelworks; and Vanessa Zhu, China Director at Delivering Asia Communications.

For registration click here.
Business
Feydhoo Hall opens at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives as new event space
Dusit International, one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, has announced the opening of Feydhoo Hall, a landmark event venue at dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives, redefining the possibilities for meetings, celebrations, and destination events in the Maldives.
Designed to bring scale, flexibility, and creativity to island gatherings, Feydhoo Hall represents a bold step forward in positioning the Maldives as a dynamic destination for conferences, weddings, and large-scale social occasions.
Feydhoo Hall offers a versatile event complex designed to accommodate a wide range of gatherings, from corporate meetings and conferences to weddings and social celebrations.

At its core is the 390 sqm Main Hall, capable of hosting:
- Up to 300 guests in theatre-style setup
- Up to 240 guests for dining and banquet-style events
- Up to 200 guests for cocktail-style receptions
- Up to 144 guests in cluster-round configuration
Enhancing the flexibility of the venue are additional dedicated spaces, including:
- A 110 sqm Veranda Terrace, ideal for welcome receptions, breakout sessions, and pre-event gatherings, accommodating up to 100 guests for cocktail-style events.
- A spacious 1,000 sqm Lawn Space, perfect for large-scale outdoor celebrations, destination weddings, and open-air events, accommodating up to 400 guests for cocktail receptions and up to 350 guests for dining setups.
- The 55 sqm Ekugai Meeting Room, designed for smaller meetings and executive sessions, accommodating up to 30 guests in theatre or dining setup and 24 guests in cluster-round format.
Together, these integrated spaces create a seamless indoor-outdoor event experience, allowing planners to design dynamic and personalised event journeys.
True to the dusitD2 brand’s lifestyle-driven philosophy, Feydhoo Hall introduces a fresh approach to meetings and events — where productivity meets creativity in an inspiring island setting.
The venue offers flexible meeting formats designed to suit different event needs, including:
- Half-Day Meeting Package (4 hours) — ideal for focused sessions, executive meetings, and creative workshops.
- Full-Day Meeting Package (8 hours) — designed for immersive conferences, extended workshops, and large-scale corporate gatherings.
These thoughtfully structured packages provide planners with the flexibility to create impactful and seamless experiences, whether hosting intimate strategy sessions or dynamic full-day events.

Located just seven minutes by speedboat from Velana International Airport, dusitD2 Feydhoo Maldives combines accessibility with vibrant lifestyle energy, offering event planners and guests a rare balance between convenience and tropical escape.
With the introduction of Feydhoo Hall, the resort strengthens its position as a versatile destination — not only for leisure travellers but also for international conferences, creative retreats, luxury weddings, and large-scale social celebrations seeking something refreshingly different in the Maldives.
Business
BBM expands retail presence with new Hulhumalé outlet
Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) opened a new wholesale store in Hulhumalé Phase 2 on Monday.
The outlet is located on the ground floor of Lot 20286, Nirolhu Magu, and is intended to improve access to BBM’s imported goods for residents of Hulhumalé Phase 2 and for businesses operating in the area.
According to the company, the opening forms part of its plan to expand services closer to customers in line with population growth in Hulhumalé.
With the opening of the new store, BBM’s full range of imported and distributed products will be available at the Hulhumalé Phase 2 location. These include consumer goods from international brands such as Lifebuoy, Vaseline and Unilever.
The store will also stock wholesale food products from brands including Daily, Cavin’s and Redman.
BBM has supplied goods to resorts, hotels and retail outlets across the Maldives for several years.
Action
Ataraxis Grand & Spa hosts integrated work-and-dive corporate retreat in Fuvahmulah
Ataraxis Grand & Spa recently hosted a week-long, closed corporate offsite in Fuvahmulah for a US-based artificial intelligence company, highlighting the island’s growing suitability for integrated work-and-experience retreats. The retreat brought a group of 36 international professionals to the property, which was reserved exclusively for the programme.
Designed as a private company offsite, the stay combined structured daily work sessions with guided diving and beginner-friendly surf experiences, creating a balanced format that blended focused collaboration with physical reset.

A notable component of the programme was dive training and certification. During the retreat, 17 participants completed their Open Water certification, while a further six undertook the Advanced Open Water course, with training and dives scheduled alongside work sessions as part of the integrated itinerary.
Throughout the week, participants worked on-site using dedicated shared spaces supported by reliable high-speed internet, allowing meetings, informal collaboration and scheduled activities to take place within a single, uninterrupted environment. This setup enabled teams to move seamlessly between work periods and organised ocean activities without leaving the property.

Fuvahmulah’s natural and operational advantages formed a key part of the retreat’s appeal. As one of the Maldives’ largest inhabited islands, it offers immediate access to pelagic dive sites, internationally recognised shark diving and surf breaks suitable for instruction, alongside the infrastructure required to support extended group stays.

The offsite reflects a growing preference among technology and knowledge-sector teams for small-scale retreats that prioritise concentrated work environments and team cohesion over traditional conference formats. Such programmes typically involve longer stays and higher per-capita spend, aligning with sustainable, quality-driven tourism models.
The retreat also demonstrates how locally operated properties such as Ataraxis Grand & Spa are supporting this shift by delivering unified environments where accommodation, workspaces, connectivity and curated experiences operate as a single programme rather than separate services.

As organisations continue to explore alternative formats for strategy sessions, team resets and creative offsites, Ataraxis Grand & Spa’s experience positions Fuvahmulah as an increasingly viable destination for integrated corporate retreats.
Ataraxis Grand & Spa offers work-and-dive retreat programmes in Fuvahmulah that combine accommodation, dedicated workspaces, high-speed connectivity and organised diving and surfing.

Further information on retreat formats and dive-inclusive stays is available via the Ataraxis Grand & Spa website.
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