I met Donna Benton, the founder of the Entertainer, bright and early at 7.30 am on a Wednesday morning in the lobby of the Meridien Hotel. Her team looks just as tired as I feel. After all, there was the fabulous ‘Entertainer in Malta’ launch party the night before and they had actually just flown in that day from Dubai.
Donna, however, greets me with a chirpy attitude and a wide smile that instantly uplifts my mood. This is obviously a woman with a ton of energy and passion for her work and I can sense that this will be an interesting chat.
After ordering some tea and coffee, we start chatting and my first burning question is all about how she started up the Entertainer.
Q. Recently, offer products have become popular worldwide but the Entertainer was one of the first of it’s kind and has built up quite an international reputation. Where did that original inspiration come from all those years ago?
Donna starts to explain her situation back in 2001 - a 26-year-old Australian, living in Dubai, trying to ingrain herself into her new surroundings and find a job - it was tough. One night she was simply driving along one of the main highways, musing and looking at all these restaurants and attractions. She realised that very little was being done to attract customers, basically there were no incentives to drive people in. The idea for a buy one get one free incentive, valid 7 days a week was born that night.
Q. Many people have good ideas, but the hard part is making the idea a reality and turning it into a success.....
Donna is quick to credit her team here for all their hard work, she is also just as quick to admit that both her and her team have also made a lot of mistakes along the way but she wouldn’t change anything. Each success, each mistake was an opportunity for acquiring new knowledge and company growth.
It’s been a 14-year journey and she’s proud of every step of it.
Q. The product’s original format was as a physical book, but 2 years ago they also launched the digital app - have consumers been quick to make the move?
In the first year, only 12% of consumers were using the app but by year 2 the figures were 42% digital 58% person 12%. She explains that the digital app was launched because customers kept asking for it, so straight away they knew there was a market. The digital app also has some extra features like a GPS locator, a savings calculator and search functionality. Of course the two main benefits - the digital app is slightly cheaper than the book format and your phone is always with you :)
Q. The Entertainer is present in 41 different destinations - what made you pick little Malta as a next destination?
“Malta is a tourist destination and it's geographically close to both Cyprus and London, destinations we are already present in, there are good restaurants, fantastic attractions and great services. A good mix of locals and expats live here too, basically, Malta ticks a lot of boxes”
Q. The Entertainer offers range from restaurants to tourist attractions to spas and there’s even a dentist on board - how do you decide what to include and what to leave out?
Donna’s reply is to elaborate on one of the main philosophies behind the Entertainer -
To make luxury that little bit more affordable.
“Luxury can range from indulgent massages to eating out at nice restaurants to dental whitening. Then there’s also the idea of sharing or repeating such experiences. We want our consumers to enjoy a meal with their partner at an expensive restaurant without feeling guilty and worrying about the bill. We don’t want tourists to feel they have to choose which attractions to visit because they can’t afford them all. “
When it comes to beauty there’s the option of sharing the experience with a friend at 2 for 1 or buying two treatments for yourself and using the second one at a later stage.
Photos by Mark Cassar
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