After a pandemic-related hiatus, the AIC Hotel Group Showstopper Awards are back.
From May 1-4, the Dominican Republic’s sunny shores played backdrop to the awards, which recognize top-producing travel advisors who sell the company’s properties in Miami, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Some 205 advisors and 20 tour operators gathered on the island’s east coast at the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana for the event, which honored award winners from the past three years to make up for lost time.
Following such a tough few years for our industry, we knew that our comeback to the Showstopper Awards after three years had to be grand.
"Following such a tough few years for our industry, we knew that our comeback to the Showstopper Awards after three years had to be grand,” said Carilis Di Donato, director of field sales for AIC Hotel Group, which oversees sales and marketing for brands including Hard Rock Hotels, Eden Roc, Nobu Hotels and UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya. “We are so grateful for our travel partners who have displayed unwavering loyalty for our brands as we all navigated the path toward our industry's return. Having everyone present and enjoying themselves was worth the wait.”
Several of the award-winning travel advisors agreed with the sentiment.
"This kind of event is one of the things we’ve missed over the last couple years,” said Tom Varghese, owner of Travel Tom in Rockville, Maryland. “We love celebrating our victories with colleagues who really understand the business and get what good properties and relationships are all about.”
Andrea Norfolk, president of Shoreline Destinations in Finksburg, Maryland, praised the organizers for providing a space to reconnect.
This kind of event is one of the things we’ve missed over the last couple years.
“It's always nice to be recognized, but this year's awards event meant so much more to both the agents and suppliers in attendance,” she said. “For me, it was way more than winning an award; I was thrilled to be reconnected to peers I haven't seen in years. I was just as excited to see their names displayed as much as my own. We have worked so hard to stay positive, and this was a celebration much bigger than individual awards.”
The Importance of Partnership
While the rockstar-themed opening event, lip-sync battle and gala beach party imbued the Showstopper Awards with a festive ambiance, the event also facilitated meetings between advisors and suppliers, business development managers (BDMs) and representatives from various AIC properties.
"Being in the AIC Hotel Group portfolio is great, because we have BDMs all over, and they connect advisors with me,” said Victor Martinez Baez, leisure sales manager for UNICO 20°87° Hotel Riviera Maya. “Our partners feel good about having me on-property, because if something happens, they know they can reach out to me. Being part of AIC and having this big team makes it a lot easier.”
Multiple attendees reiterated these themes of teamwork and partnership.
"We’d rather be a large player in small ponds,” said Travel Tom's Varghese. “We don’t book everybody. We work with hand-selected partners who ‘get’ us and our business, and who know our clients will be taken care of. If anything happens with one of those brands, we know the staff and the people really well. And they know our clients.”
Norfolk of Shoreline Destinations agreed that strong partnerships are key.
"There is nothing more important than building relationships with hotel brand representatives and the tour operators that carry brands like AIC,” she said. “Some of AIC's properties are among my favorites for destination weddings, and the competitive wedding packages fit just about all my couples’ budgets. The AIC product will continue to be a part of my proposals for both weddings and individual FIT travel.”
We work with hand-selected partners who ‘get’ us and our business, and who know our clients will be taken care of. If anything happens with one of those brands, we know the staff and the people really well. And they know our clients.
Chris Lee, owner of I’m On A Boat! Cruises & Travel in Irvine, Calif., believes the personal connection has been especially crucial during the pandemic.
“We’ve had to move bookings multiple times,” he said. “Because of the relationship I have with people I know by name, it worked. I always stick to products I know and people I know. I don’t sell outside my bubble; I only sell what I’ve been to and who I’ve worked with, and I add onto that slowly and cautiously. I have to stay at a property to really sell it.”
The Showstopper Awards are just one example of how AIC Hotel Group works with the travel advisor community. The company provides a variety of resources, including All in Agents, a trade-facing portal that provides access to property flyers and other promotional materials; Amped Agents, a Facebook group where advisors can find news and property updates; See the Show, an incentive program that invites top travel partners to concerts in various U.S. and Canadian cities; and Weddings on the Water (WOW), a Facebook group for the company’s destination wedding specialist program.
