Sandals Chairman The Honourable Gordon 'Butch' Stewart & Air Canada Vacations President Zeina Gedeon
WestJet's Leah Irvine; St Lucia Tourist Board's Alison Theodore & Sandals Robert Smith
The Sandals & Beaches folks recently completed their cross-country tour whipping travel agents into a frenzy of enthusiasm at a series of Marketplaces & Dinners. Hundreds of agents turned out in Halifax, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Toronto to join in the celebration of everything Sandals & Beaches offers agents and their clients.
Sandals Chairman, the Honourable Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, worked the crowd like the pro he is, succinctly stating, “If you want to get rich... you’re going to have to sell more Sandals.” And the crowd roared in agreement.
When V.P. Sales Gary Sadler took to the podium with his impassioned message that Sandals delivers “More of Everything”, I fully expected to hear a chorus of Amens from his dedicated flock.
Sandals entered the travel industry promoting the fact that all of their rooms featured hair dryers and coffee makers, but now... they boast more inclusions than anyone else and more of everything:
- More pools
- More restaurants – up to 16 dining options at Turks & Caicos
- More bars & premium liquors
- More land sports
- More unique suites
- More butler service
- More scuba diving
- More theme parks
- More wedding options
- More luxury included
And, more importantly, agents earn commission on all of it – on everything their clients do, eat and drink.
New developments will see a Beaches resort adjacent to Sandals Whitehall in Jamaica as well as over-the-water suites in St. Lucia and Ocho Rios.
With little prompting from the Chairman, several agents took to the podium to deliver heartfelt testimonials about their own experiences at the Luxury Included resorts they had visited and were rewarded with another trip for their efforts. And, as a grand finale, all 500+ agents in the room were offered a complimentary 7 night vacation at a Sandals or Beaches resort. The crowd went wild! To top that off, Air Canada Vacations kicked in $99 return air fares to any Sandals or Beaches destination. The crowd was standing on their chairs and screaming!
Canada is obviously a good market for Sandals - Canadian sales up 35% - it is their fastest growing market – not really surprising news following the evening’s performances.
The chain enjoys a 45% repeat factor – and they’re always looking to help you bring back the other 55%.
