Canadian members were recognized at Travel Leaders Network’s annual international conference in Washington DC, while TRAVELSAVERS Canada leaders learned about Sandals Saint Vincent; also, in the Round-Up, Playa Hotels & Resorts honoured its top agents, including a number of Canadians.
Travel Leaders Network (TLN)
Travel Leaders Network’s wrapped up its sold-out annual international EDGE Conference this week in Washington DC with over 2,000 travel advisors and suppliers, including 100 Canadian member agents from across the country and about two dozen Canadian supplier delegates. Among the Canadians, several were honoured with Power of partnership (POP) Awards, in recognition of their superior performance in the last year. They include
President’s Awards
- Cruise Holidays/Be Our Guest (Small Agency)
- Vacations Yorkton (Midsize)
- KVI Travel (Large)
Other winners included:
- Most Engaging Member Award – Kyle Oram of KVI Travel
- Chairman’s Elite Award – Northstar Travel (largest percentage in annual growth)
- Chairman’s Pinnacle Award – The Travel Agent Next Door (largest sales)
- Host Agency of the Year Award – Centre Holidays
- New Member of the Year – VIP Travel Group
- Member of the Year – Travel Best Bets
“Our Canadian membership is thriving, and these awards demonstrate that,” said Christine James, Vice President, Travel Leaders Network Canada. “We offer agencies of any size and niche the opportunity to soar as members, and all the POP Award winners may be very different, but they have one thing in common: excellence. I look forward to watching their future success and partnership with our Network.”
TRAVELSAVERS Canada
The stylish new Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines resort was the site of a TRAVELSAVERS Canada leadership networking event recently (banner photo), with the organization celebrating 95% growth in business in 2023.
Forty selected attendees including seasoned agency owners and recently transitioned new agency owners, tourism board representatives and special guests were among the first travel agency network to experience Sandals’ newest all-inclusive resort in Buccament Bay, Saint Vincent – the 18th property in the brand’s portfolio.
“Hosting our Leadership Networking Event here was the perfect setting for agency partners to experience the island and celebrate our successes,” said Jane Clementino, Sr. VP and GM of TRAVELSAVERS Canada. “Agency owners, both established and new, were able to network and share valuable feedback with our executive team. We were delighted to announce that we’ve experienced incredible growth in the last 18 months,” she added.
“At TRAVELSAVERS Canada, one of our areas of focus is luxury properties because our agency members have the clientele that aligns with upscale vacation travel.” said Clementino. “I really wanted Sandals Resorts to become part of our consortia’s portfolio as it is such a well-recognized and respected brand. We were able to secure our partnership based on our Sandals support and growth since the pandemic.”
The event was sponsored by Air Canada Vacations.
Playa Hotels & Resort
Playa Hotels & Resorts hosted its 2024 Spotlight Awards recently at the luxurious beachfront Hyatt Ziva Cancun. The event honoured the outstanding achievements of the all-inclusive chain’s most successful travel agent partners with more than 100 attendees.
“We’re incredibly proud to bring back our annual Spotlight Awards and honor the remarkable commitment and partnership of our travel agents,” said Dean Sullivan, Sr. VP at Playa Hotels & Resorts. “In 2023, USA and Canada travel agents were responsible for 20% of Playa Hotels & Resorts business, contributing more than $206 million. Based on their year-to-date performance in 2024, this sector is on track to exceed last year’s performance, suggesting significant growth and a bright future for Playa.”
Spotlight Award winners for Canada included:
- Top producer for Mexico: Filomena Punzo Dunn, Travel Masters
- Top producer for Dominican Republic: Joanne Moore, The Travel Agent Next Door
- Top producer for Jamaica: Micaela McFarquhar, Intimate Affairs & Escapes – TTAND
- Top producer for Suite categories: Lindsey Adler, Flight Centre
- Top wedding agent: Micaela McFarquhar, Intimate Affairs & Escapes – TTAND
- Momentum award: Trevello
- Top producer for Western Canada: Cindy Gaudet, Fareconnect
- Top producer for Ontario: Vikas Malhotra, itravel2000
- Top producer for Eastern Canada: Richard Kelly, Voyages Synergia Aquaterra
- Top selling agent: Vikas Malhotra, itravel2000
- Top selling agency: The Travel Agent Next Door
- Social media award: Mahla Pourshamsa, The Eventeur – Trevello
- Ambassador award: Angie Brevetti, The Travel Agent Next Door
For more information about Playa Hotels & Resorts and their annual Spotlight Awards, please visit Agentcashplus.com.