Frank DiMarinis, President & CEO of TravelBrand
Colour way to a new style of vacation!
Popular travel ladies Penny Martin of TAND and Franca Iuele of Ensemble
Used to be the mainstream tour operators believed in the credo: “Pile ‘em high and sell ‘em cheap”. No more, it seems, as they diversify into many upscale products.
Look at Sunquest. Once famed for their roast-beef-on-a-kaiser product launches, on Monday night the operator dished up elegant shrimp and trendy sliders to launch their new, upscale program.
Sunquest Experiences features an array of high-end hotels and cruises around the world created, Frank DeMarinis, President and CEO of TravelBrands said, to meet a new demand for luxury, unique experiences, cultural immersion and spectacular dining. “I challenged the product team to source new hotels and the results are amazing. We have already taken our first booking!”
From a yoga retreat near Puerto Vallarta to London’s elegant Claridge’s Hotel, there’s something for virtually any client looking for a special-occasion vacation or a bucket list treat. In all there are 109 air-inclusive packages, 85 new properties, 13 new destinations and 6 cruise lines, all with a choice of carrier. Two centre holidays such as Antigua/St. Lucia or London/Paris are also part of the program.
Along with the launch came good news for agents: Sunquest is paying 11% commission on the program, and FAMS and extensive training programs are on their way tout de suite. “We have been listening to you,” Erminia Nigro, Director of Sales for Ontario told the 60 retailer, tourist board, hotel and airline reps at the reception. “Agents tell us they need something ‘different’ – but that’s also easy to book. So we have been thinking outside the box while taking care of the details.”
And to show how much the company has its finger on the modern pulse, guests were also given colouring books featuring Experiences illustrations, complete with coloured pencils. No doubt they are hoping Experiences will become as popular as the whole new colouring-for-adults trend has!
TravelBrands’ Joe (left) and Enzo DiMarinis with Annika Klint of
The KAI Group
