Recommend May2017 - 70

Celebrating 50 Years of Helping Travel Agents Sell Travel

Sandals Resorts International
Sandals South Coast

Recommend is not the only business
celebrating a big anniversary this
year. Sandals Resorts International is
marking its 35th, so we asked founder
and chairman Gordon "Butch" Stewart
what his company stands for and how
it's changing.
"There's much talk these days about
authenticity, and Sandals epitomizes
that," he tells us. "We are a local
Caribbean company that has built an
international brand that competes
against the most respected travel
companies in the world. We provide
an experience that exceeds expectations
and, in doing so, make life better for our
partner agents and the people of
the Caribbean. This is terribly
important to me."

Stewart also talked about Sandals'
part in the evolution of all-inclusives
over the years. "The term 'allinclusive' once meant compromising
excellence, but no longer. Innovations
we instituted 35 years ago, such as
coffeemakers and hair dryers in rooms,
were revolutionary at the time. Today,
Sandals continues to elevate the bar
with outstanding food and beverages,
unsurpassed service (like our butler
program in partnership with the Guild
of Professional English Butlers), and
singular suites, like the Caribbean's first
over-the-water accommodations."
He added, "We never claimed to have
invented the all-inclusive concept, but
we have elevated it, and in doing so,
we created a market hungry for luxury
all-inclusives."

"The Over-the-Water Villas have been a huge draw. Clients want
something they can't experience everywhere so this was an excellent
addition to the Sandals brand. The revamping of Sandals' TA portal,
too, was a most important change for agents. This portal has been an
incredibly valuable tool for selling these resorts."
- Kira Solomon, Owner and Top Sandals Resorts Specialist, My Paradise Planner
70 may 2017

As travel advisors know, it's
important to remind clients that
Sandals Resorts International is not just
adults-only Sandals Resorts.
"Beaches Resorts are for families but
also for everyone else," says Stewart,
and Fowl Cay is an experience unlike
any other, in a category of its own.
Grand Pineapple offers terrific value."
However, he points out, all three, as
well as the Villa Collection and Island
Routes Caribbean Adventures, share
the goal of offering "opportunities
to meet and engage with Caribbean
people and understand the warmth of
the region's hospitality-and in doing
so, to have the time of their lives. Our
partnership with Marriott to bring
the AC brand to Kingston is part and
parcel of this same philosophy: to
expand authentic Caribbean hospitality
beyond the beach."
The word "expand" is key, too.
"Nearly every year has been better
for us than the last, and 2017 is no
exception," says Stewart. "From our
new Over-the-Water Villas to our
preparing to cut the ribbon on Sandals
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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend May2017
