Susie Grewal, ACV area sales manager for BC, Justine Cheema, AIC’s business development manager for Western Canada, and Marigold Frontuna, ACV general sales manager for Western Canada.
Hank Oostveen, vice president supplier & agency relations at Uniglobe with Bee Prangchan, director of partner relations at Uniglobe, and Kelly Revell-Drdul, general manager at Uniglobe Specialty Travel.
Dean Malik of Marlin Travel Aldergrove and Chris Rollinson, co-president at Escapes.ca.
After a hard day’s work selling travel, what could be better than someone handing you a nice, cool glass of sparkling Champagne?
That’s exactly how 130 of Western Canada’s travel agents were greeted at AIC Hotel Group and Air Canada Vacations’ ‘Green Light 2018 Tour’ event at the Portside Pub in Vancouver’s trendy Gastown district this week.
AIC Hotel Group — which boasts the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya, Hard Rock Hotel Cancun, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana, Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta, Eden Roc Miami Beach, UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya and Nobu Hotel Miami Beach in its impressive portfolio — was in town to share the excitement about its two new properties in Los Cabos.
“We have a Nobu in Los Cabos that is opening soon, as well as a Hard Rock in Los Cabos,” explained Justine Cheema, the brand’s exuberant BDM for Western Canada. “It’s the first Nobu in Mexico ever, and the Hard Rock is one of our first new-builds, so we’re really excited about that. We’re going to do really well in the Los Cabos market because we’re a celebrity-driven brand and its a celebrity-driven location. We’re really stoked about it all!”
The beachfront Nobu Hotel Los Cabos is part of the dining and hospitality empire helmed by Robert De Niro and chef Nobu Matsuhisa. It is set to open its elegant doors in early 2019. Also located on the shores of Cabo San Lucas, the Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos is due to debut next spring, with the aim of becoming THE place to be seen in Cabo.
Cheema was particularly excited about the potential for Western Canada’s travel agents to tap into Indian-style wedding business at the Los Cabos Hard Rock property.
“We’re a pioneer in Indian destination weddings,” she enthused. “There’s a big Indian population here in Western Canada, so as a brand, we’re spearheading Indian weddings. We’re really taking on that market.”
Cheers to more destination wedding business from Western Canada!
Vickie Sam Paget Western Correspondent
Hailing from the UK, Vickie Sam Paget is a travel and tourism storyteller located in Vancouver, BC. When she’s not on the road, creating engaging travel content or gazing at the North Shore Mountains, you can usually find her curled up with a good book or sipping a pint of the good stuff in her local Irish bar.
