SANDALS’ LOVE AFFAIR WITH CANADA CONTINUES
As the opening of Sandals LaSource Grenada draws closer, Sandals Resorts Chairman Gordon “Butch” Stewart (pictured) took time to reflect on 20 years of success and support with the Canadian travel trade. Sandals, Beaches and Grand Pineapple Resorts’ love affair with the Canadian trade formalized its relationship 20 years ago in 1993 with the opening of its first Canadian office in Toronto, and has flourished into a force to be reckoned with. Sandals now has the largest and most established sales force in the industry, with more full-time business development managers (BDMs) on the road dedicated to agents than any other hotel group.
Also in 1993, Sandals Regency La Toc Beach Resort and Spa opened in Saint Lucia, and the Canadian market was instantly enamoured by the resort. Twenty years have passed and Sandals is still evolving and innovating. Sandals LaSource Grenada — the resort of tomorrow — will open on Dec. 12. This newest addition to the Sandals chain is already creating a buzz amongst consumers and the travel trade, not only because, say officials, it will boast the highest level of luxury and the most elaborate accommodations to date, but will also be situated in a breathtaking new destination. As a result, Sandals LaSource Grenada is seeing the best pre-launch sales figures of any resort in the history of the company.
“Today our promise continues, we will never stop improving, never stop dazzling the customer. Our love affair with Canadian travel agents started over two decades ago and we are grateful for all we have achieved together and look forward to an even more successful and exciting future. We understand the importance that their hard work has on our continued success,” said Stewart. “We still ensure that agents are overwhelmed by giving them more than they expect. The exciting part is… we’re always innovating. We will never sit back and rest on our laurels; we do the hard work in order to make selling Sandals the easy part.”
The Sandals company philosophy is to give guests more than they expect, and that extends to agents — providing them with more support, more marketing and more earning opportunities than any other hotel chain. Sandals invests heavily in a dedicated team of BDMs coast-to-coast in Canada who work with travel agents day in and day out to ensure they maximize every opportunity to grow their business and achieve agency and personal goals. In addition, a dedicated inside sales department in Toronto is available to assist. Sandals’ training program consists of up to 50 workshops across the country in English and French, as well as opportunities for agents to experience the resorts first hand through individual stays and mega fams.
“Sandals is hands down the most profitable all-inclusive for agents to sell. We include items that competitors forget. Agents earn commission on every last portion of the vacation and being the resort that offers more quality inclusions that any other resort on the planet, this signals fabulous earning potential for agents and incredible value for their clients. Everything we include is commissionable even on the simple things like transfers and gratuities,” adds Stewart. “Not only that, we are the brand you can trust. Agents can sell us knowing that we will provide a bullet-proof vacation. We are proud to have one of the highest returning guest rates in the industry and we will always strive to give your clients unforgettable vacation experiences so they keep coming back and securing you future bookings.”
Sandals has also been awarded the biggest and best awards in the industry from both peers and consumers — awards that include Baxter Travel Media’s Agents’ Choice Awards in which Sandals has won Favourite All-Inclusive Resort 14 years in a row, Favourite Hotel Chain, seven years in a row and Favourite Environmentally Friendly Company six years in a row. (http://www.sandals.com/tas)
