27 August 2013
Sandals and Beaches Resorts' love affair with the UK began its journey twenty-five years ago, in 1988 when the first office opened, and has flourished into a force to be reckoned with. Sandals Resorts now has the largest sales force on the road dedicated to agents, with more full-time Business Development Managers than any other Caribbean hotel group.
Coincidently, in 1988 Sandals Negril Beach Resort and Spa opened, and the UK Market were instantly enamoured by the resort and the Sandals product. Over three decades have passed since the inception of Sandals and the company is still evolving and innovating, opening Sandals La Source Grenada - the resort of tomorrow - later this year.
This newest addition to the Sandals hotel chain is already creating a buzz amongst consumers and the travel trade, not only because it will boast the highest level of luxury and the most elaborate accommodations to date, but will also be situated on a breath taking new destination. Consequently, Sandals LaSource Grenada is seeing the best pre-launch sales figures of any resort in the company. The continued level of investment and product innovations ensures that Sandals continue to possess more quality inclusions than any other beach resorts on the planet.
MORE for Agents
The Sandals company ethos is to give guests more than they expect, and that extends to agents -providing agents with more support, more marketing and more earning opportunities than any other hotel chain.
"Sandals is hands down the most profitable all-inclusive for agents to sell. We include items that competitors forget.
Agents earn commission on every last portion of the holiday and being the resort that offers more quality inclusions than any other resort on the planet, this signals fabulous earning potential for agents and incredible value for their clients. Everything we include is commissionable even on the simplest things like transfers and gratuities" says Gordon 'Butch' Stewart, Chairman of Sandals Resorts International.
"Not only that, we are the brand you can trust. Agents can sell us knowing that we will provide a bullet proof vacation. We are proud to have one of the highest returning guest rates in the industry and we will always strive to give your clients unforgettable holiday experiences so they keep coming back and securing you future bookings"
Sandals Resorts invests heavily in a dedicated on-the-road sales team, who serve, educate, and build relationships with the retail stores and agents, providing them with a host of fantastic incentives. Sandals provides the most comprehensive training program in the industry and opportunities for agents to experience the resorts first hand through individual stays and mega fams.
It is not by chance that guest satisfaction rates are so high, Sandals has also been awarded the biggest and best awards in the industry from both peers and consumers -awards ranging from Bridal to Environmental. Sandals was again a success story at the British Travel Awards winning Best Luxury Spa Resort and Best All-inclusive Resort.
The ever-growing line-up of incentives and booking options for travel agent partners includes;
- Sell & Go
- Cash incentives
- Comprehensive on-line training programmes
- Marketing Concierge
- Sandals Master Class
- Familiarisation Trips
- Free Day Passes
- Image Library
- Free Weddings for Agents
- Powerful marketing collateral and support
- And the list goes on...
The introduction of 'Your Wedding. Your Style' last year means that agents can now work more closely with the wedding planning process, enabling them to offer a fully tailored and customisable service to clients. In addition exceptional new booking promotions and incentives have been introduced for group travel.
MORE for Customers
A Sandals Luxury Included® holiday is the most comprehensive holiday experience on the planet, offering MORE quality inclusions than any other resort company.
The Luxury Included® concept redefined the standard of luxury and is the embodiment of unrivalled, vibrantly unique hotels that can only be found at Sandals resorts.
- awe-inspiring beachfront locations with calm reef protected waters
- award winning lush botanical gardens
- unprecedented services and amenities
- lavish suites with private pools and butlers trained by the Guild of Professional English Butlers
- exemplary standards of service
- exceptional cuisine choices
- the highest guest to staff ratio in the industry
- complimentary branded alcohol and premium Beringer as pouring wines
- exceptional land sports including golf
- the largest water sports operation in the Caribbean including PADI scuba-diving for certified divers, glass bottom boats and snorkelling
MORE Partnerships and Innovations
No stone has been left unturned in order to set Sandals ahead of the game; to remain at the top Sandals has enlisted the help of brands at the forefront of their game that include the Guild of Professional English Butlers, Beringer Wines, Sesame Street, XBOX, Appleton Rum and Scratch DJ Academy . In addition to this, Sandals has introduced its own exclusive concepts such as;
Discovery Dining. Up to 19 restaurants in one resort, the highest restaurant to guest ratio in the industry
Your Wedding Your Style
Wedding Moons
Award winning Red Lane Spa
Club Sandals
Stewart summarises "Today our promise continues, we will never stop improving, never stop dazzling the customer. Our love affair with UK agents started over two decades ago and we are grateful for all we have achieved together and look forward to an even more successful and exciting future. We understand the importance that their hard work has on our continued success. We still ensure the agents are overwhelmed by giving them more than they expect. The exciting part is...we're always innovating! We will never sit back and rest on our laurels; we do the hard work in order to make selling Sandals the easy part"
