Guest’s post raises questions on Resort bias

April 15, 2025 10:03 pm | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Nicholas Mwai.

A recent post detailing a concerning experience at Aore Island Resort has sparked a wave of conversation across Vanuatu. The post was written by a guest who is an administrator of YTS News, a widely followed Vanuatu-based platform on Facebook.

In his post, the guest described taking his children to Aore Island Resort for a casual outing. They were served milkshakes and enjoyed the pool — until, partway through their visit, they were asked to leave. According to the guest, the staff explained that the resort was “fully booked,” although the premises did not appear crowded. More troubling were the disapproving looks from the owners, the lack of greetings, and the sense that they were not welcome as locals.

The guest, voicing his concern through YTS News, suggested that the resort may be unwelcoming to locals and claimed that calls made in Bislama were allegedly being screened out. He concluded his post with a call to action: “If you don’t want locals, put up a sign.”

In response, Aore Island Resort issued a formal statement expressing regret that the guest felt unwelcome and offering clarification.

“Our team welcomed this guest and their children and served them milkshakes without any issue — as we aim to do with everyone who visits,” the resort management stated. “Around 4pm, our staff politely informed them it was time to depart.

“This is in line with our publicly listed Day Guest Policy, which applies to all day visitors — both locals and international guests.”

The management explained that this policy was not about exclusion but about logistics: with limited staff and a focus on delivering premium experiences to in-house guests, day visitors are kindly asked to leave by a certain hour.

As for the comments allegedly overheard by the guest, the management said they were likely misinterpreted and that no request to leave was made before policy hours.

They firmly denied any racial or cultural bias and rejected the suggestion that language could be a barrier.

“The suggestion that we would deny entry to someone based on them speaking Bislama is completely false and deeply upsetting. Our team is made up of proud Ni-Vanuatu staff who speak both Bislama and English, and we would never allow language to be a barrier to hospitality.”

The incident and its fallout raise a broader question about how locals experience hospitality spaces in their own country.

For many, it is not just about milkshakes or pool time. It is also about the tone of a look, the absence of a greeting, or the way a policy is enforced that can leave someone feeling lesser in a place that should feel shared.

At the end of the day, there should be no room in Vanuatu for discriminatory attitudes — whether indirect or obvious. If locals feel unwelcome in their own country’s hospitality spaces, it points to a deeper issue that echoes colonial-era exclusion.

Any resort found to be practising or tolerating such behaviour must be called out and held accountable. Respect and fairness must be the standard, not the exception.