David Wright, Director of Sales for Ontario, Atlantic Canada, Sunwing Travel Group
Sergi Ruiz Piqué & Valerie Ward, BDM Canada, West
Ensemble's Chris Lackstrom & Flight Centre's Jason deSautoy
Sergi Ruiz Piqué & Erin Kemp, Kemp Travel Group
You can never go wrong with Riu. That was the sentiment expressed at a recent TO luncheon where top producing retailers were treated to a jazzy lunch, courtesy of the Sunwing Group.
Riu's Sergi Ruiz Piqué, V.P. Business Development, welcomed the group with a rousing appreciation of travel agent support: “Without you, we don’t exist”. Indeed... without you and a little help from Signature Vacations. The resort company has increased penetration in Canada almost 2 fold since joining forces with the orange team 5 years ago.
Sergi placed special emphasis on the $300 million renovations Riu has implemented over the last 2 years, adding, “We don’t only open new hotels, we renovate existing properties to maintain our standards”.
Those standards are the secret to the Riu formula. Give consumers what they expect at each and every property, no matter the destination. And by all accounts, it works. Particularly in the Mayan where, according to Timo Wittkopf, Sales Manager for the region, properties run at 90% capacity most of the year.
And then there’s the service aspect. A retailer at my table said he’s been a fan of Timo’s for years, but it’s the first time he’s met him. “Whenever, wherever, I have an issue, he fixes it. Even if it’s in Aruba. So yes, I support the brand.”
It was a full house at the event, so I asked a few of the agents why they took time out of a busy day to attend yet another luncheon. According to Marco Cianfarani of Cianfarani Travel, “You can never go wrong selling Riu. Clients want it. Groups want it. So it’s really important to cultivate these relationships.”
Flight Centre’s Jason du Sautoy said that this kind of recognition is extremely important in the business. “I’ve brought some of our top sellers with me here today, and for them it’s motivating to be acknowledged for your performance. Everyone likes to be appreciated.”
Before running off back into the cold December afternoon, I had the opportunity to ask Sergi about the increasingly competitive landscape with respect to all-inclusive resorts. His response reflected a man clearly comfortable with the product he has to sell: “We know who we are. We are not the most opulent resorts. We offer affordable luxury and we do it an extremely efficient way. As a family-owned and operated business we have a very streamlined decision making process. We move fast. And, not wanting to sound smug, we are not threatened by what’s out there.”
Well said, Sergi.
