As its latest resort is about to open, Sandals lauds travel advisors

02.04.2024 - 22:57 / travelweekly.com / Adam Stewart

The luxury all-inclusive landscape may be rapidly evolving, but Sandals Resorts International remains committed to one of the cornerstones of its long-term success: travel advisors.

"We work for the travel advisor business -- they are key to our growth, development and our future," said Gary Sadler, executive vice president of sales and industry relations at Unique Vacations, Sandals' sales and marketing arm. "I often joke by saying, 'We promise to defend the travel advisors against all enemies, foreign and domestic,' [but] if you are truly a believer in travel advisors, you have to take every aspect of their business very seriously."

Central to Sandals Resorts' advisor-centric efforts are its close ties to ASTA, he said, as well as a pledge to pay higher-than-average commissions. And on all of Sandals Resorts' marketing collateral, the company encourages customers to 'Call Your Travel Advisor.'"

"Our [strong bond] with travel advisors is certainly something that we protect, and we will always keep it at the forefront of what we're doing," Sadler added.

Solid advisor relationships are especially relevant when it comes to weathering industrywide challenges, he said. And while Sandals has yet to see any slowdown in demand this year, the company is keeping a close eye on any potential 2024 pullback.

"Whenever there is an election year [in the U.S.], it creates a sense of anxiety," Sadler said.

Advisors have also helped insulate Sandals from impact related to the U.S. State Department's decision to reissue its Level 3 and Level 2 travel advisories for Jamaica and the Bahamas, respectively, in late January. In an early February interview with Travel Weekly, Sandals Resorts International chairman Adam Stewart said that while cancellations spiked immediately after the advisories were reissued, the situation quickly stabilized, thanks in part to efforts made by travel advisors to keep reservations on the books.

Stewart called advisors "our greatest advocates," a sentiment Sadler echoed.

"Whenever there is any form of global crisis [or] challenge, the one group that always is able to keep us in business is the travel advisor," Sadler said.

Coming soon from Sandals

Sandals this month will open its first property in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, its ninth Caribbean destination.

Debuting March 27, the 301-room Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines will be the 18th resort for the adults-only Sandals brand. Its opening comes on the heels of the Sandals Dunn's River debut in Jamaica last May, marking a return to an Ocho Rios site that was once home to a Sandals resort.

Sadler said accommodations innovation is a priority, such as the first two-story, overwater villas at the St. Vincent and the