Hotels
On The Road & Dressing Up
Let the games begin … or rather, let the game begin … golf that is … as the 21st Annual Canadian Travel Industry Golf Tournament – hosted by Baxter Travel Media – gets underway at the Sandals Ochi Resort in Jamaica. Day One of the tournament is “Dress Up” day, with some healthy competition between the participating teams to bring some style to their game. Seen here sporting a great look, and representing Canada, are Addie Smith, David McClung, Paul Leon and Jackie Smith. Go team...
Starwood Unveils Member Favourites
Drum roll... Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) has unveiled the winners of the 2015 Member Favorites Hotels & Resorts List. In this annual ranking, SPG is highlighting the Top Thirty Hotels and Resorts from around the globe. For the first time ever, SPG unveiled a new “Wish List” feature which allows its well-travelled members to seamlessly create and share their ultimate hotel bucket list. Among the highlights of SPG’s fifth annual Member Favorites List: Newcomers include Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers, known for its views of Victoria Harbour, and the St. Regis...
Beaches Introduces Planetarium Experience
Lost in space, Caribbean-style. Beaches Resorts has debuted the region’s first resort-based portable planetarium experience at Beaches Negril Resort & Spa in Jamaica and Beaches Turks & Caicos Resort Villages & Spa. Discovery Dome is a transportable air-conditioned, full dome theatre that surrounds guests with a panoramic interactive experience. Within the Discovery Dome, children and families will view “One World, One Sky: Big Bird’s Adventure,” a show that launches this fall and will remain year round as part of the Caribbean Adventure with Sesame Street...
Melia On A Roll
Melia Hotels International is on a development roll, with a company that now has more than 350 hotels worldwide preparing to open additional properties on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. Melia will open a Jamaica resort in December, with the one-time SuperClubs property found in the Montego Bay area. Among Melia brands is Innside, now found in Germany and Madrid, and which will appear in New York City in 2016. A ME hotel – another of Melia's brands – is slated to open in Miami next year. ME properties are billed as contemporary lifestyle resorts. “Sometimes people...
Club Med Celebrates
Club Med celebrated its 65th anniversary in fine fashion last night at an industry function at The Old Mill in Toronto, highlighted by the launch of its 2016 Trident brochure. Carolyn Doyon, senior vice-president of Club Med Canada and Mexico, kicked off the evening by inviting guests to “press pause” – the name of the 2016 Trident brochure. “Overall, 2015 was a very successful year and for that you should be congratulated. In Canada, we experienced a 12% increase in individual activity over the winter season and a 5% increase during the summer,” she said, adding Ontario...
Winter’s On Its Way And RIU’s Ready
RIU sounds a little bit like “renew,” which is perhaps just a coincidence for the mega-all-inclusive chain, which is forever building, renewing and renovating, writes managing editor, Michael Baginski in this week's digital edition of Travel Courier. Reportedly the 30th largest chain in the world, with over 100 hotel/resorts in 16 countries, there's always something new at RIU, prompting the company's VP of sales & business development Oliver Kluth to visit Canada regularly to update the trade on the company's latest developments. In familiar surroundings at the Toronto...
Sailing To Gold
TravelOnly is busy these days, providing its member agents with in-depth training and earning honours from its key suppliers. In Halifax, the agency group brought its East Coast associates and potential travel guests to join them at the Halifax Cruise-a-thon which showcased top cruise lines. TravelOnly also hosted a live training seminar with Celebrity, Carnival, Crystal and Uniworld that included pre-booked, on-board ship inspections. As well, three of TravelOnly's top agents – Pat Probert, Kelly Neonakis-Morash and Reese Morash – discussed the benefits of cruising before...
Sandals Takes Home 17 World Travel Awards
Sandals Resorts International (SRI) was in the winner's circle as it was honoured at the 22nd Annual World Travel Awards’ Caribbean & The North America Ceremony (held Oct. 17 at Sandals Emerald Bay Golf, Tennis & Spa Resort) with 17 awards. In addition to this distinguished accomplishment, SRI once again received the notable recognition of Caribbean’s Leading Hotel Brand, thus earning the title for 22 consecutive years. New to the winners’ circle was Sandals Barbados, which was awarded Caribbean’s Leading Resort after recently opening this past January. “We are...