Modern resorts are becoming increasingly larger and larger. The days where guests sat around a simple rectangular pool within easy view of the bar are long gone. Nowadays it is common for guests sitting furthest from the bar to be many hundreds of meters away. This presents hotels with a simple logistical challenge of how to serve guests effectively when they are spread over a wide area, often many acres. It also results in slower order fulfillment as once the waiter has taken the guests order, they must walk some considerable distance to enter the order into the POS system.

As well as increasing in scale, resort layouts are considerably more elaborate nowadays. Resort designers appreciate that guests do not want to be “on top” of one another and want as much privacy as possible. This has resulted in complex layouts featuring numerous small “pockets” of loungers allowing guests to feel they are not surrounded by many other people. The downside of this approach is that it has made the job of the waiter far more difficult. It is now even harder for a guest to attract the attention of a waiter.

For waiters serving in a restaurant, they can approach guests at any time to ask if they require another drink etc. Around the pool or on the beach, guests are often asleep, reading or listening to music – and typically dressed in swimwear! For a waiter to interrupt a guest can be quite intrusive and, unless they wish to place an order at that exact moment, liable to irritate the guest. As a result, waiters tend not to disturb guests. This increases the chance of missing a nearby waiter when the guest does wish to order refreshments.

In order to provide even a barely acceptable level of service, wait staff must patrol the service area continuously and diligently, ensuring no guests are ignored. On many occasions, particularly during low season, they may not encounter any guests wishing to place an order. In this instance, their time spent patrolling has been wasted. Combine this with the hot and sunny conditions and it is not surprising that staff can rapidly become demotivated, prefering to remain in the shade. The opportunities for a guest to receive service are even further reduced.