One of the biggest success stories in the all-inclusive hotel space in the past two decades, the AMR Collection is once again celebrating the efforts of the travel advisors who sell its luxury products.
About 130 North American travel agents - including 15 from Canada - are at Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana for the third-annual Amazing Agent Celebration. Each was invited to bring a guest and TravelPulse Canada has the pleasure of being on hand to report on the event.
Jamie Milton of Saskatoon's Uniglobe Carefree Travel, Liz Moore of Liz Moore Destination Weddings and Marj Dejong, Transat Travel Peterborough at the AMR Collection's Amazing Agent Celebration. (Bruce Parkinson)
Participants are easy to spot at the 500-room resort. On the first day of the three-day gathering, invited agents wore t-shirts that read 'I'm Amazing,' while plus-ones showed their support by donning 'With Amazing' shirts.
The Amazing Agent Celebration takes up about a third of the property's rooms, while the rest are filled to capacity with vacationing families, couples and wedding groups. That makes for a very festive atmosphere at the property which made its debut on March 9, 2020, only to be shut down by the pandemic not much more than a week later.
Dreams Macao Beach is firing on all cylinders now. The property features 16 room categories, 12 of them at the Preferred Club level, which brings extra amenities and perks. There are also 18 2-bedroom villas that can host up to 10 guests.
A delicious rack of lamb from the Bordeaux French specialty restaurant at Dreams Macao Beach. (Bruce Parkinson)
Set in a U-shape and fronting on a beautiful beach, the resort features four pools, a waterpark with slides and a lazy river, nine different dining options and seven bars. There's also a third party-operated arcade, with VR games and a four-lane bowling alley.
Canadian agents are front and centre at the event, where the hosts include Carolina Bellina, Senior Director, Canadian Sales and Carlo Trinidad, the AMR Collection's business development manager for Western Canada.
"The Amazing Agent Celebration recognizes our top-selling producers. It's also a great networking opportunity where agents can share ideas," Trinidad said.
View from a room at the Dreams Macao Beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Bruce Parkinson)Marj Dejong, a long-time Transat Travel advisor in Peterborough, Ontario, is one of the Canadian agents invited to the event. She's also a member of the company's Travel Agent Advisory Board.
"What I enjoy about being on the advisory board is that they really listen and act on our suggestions," Dejong told TravelPulse Canada. "They have a product that clients really enjoy and they are constantly working to improve."
Coming off the tumultuous times of the pandemic, the AMR Collection continues to evolved and expand. A year ago, the hotel management company was purchased by Hyatt, and integration within that huge organization and its powerful World of Hyatt loyalty program is ongoing.
AMR Collection executives, including Senior Director of Sales Canada Carolina Bellina (third from left) at the third Amazing Agent Celebration. (AMR Collection)Over the next six months, the AMR Collection designation will fade, as its Dreams, Secrets, Breathless, Zoetry, Sunscape, Alua and Vivid brands become part of the Hyatt Inclusive Collection, which also features the Hyatt Ziva and Zilara brands.
The acquisition hasn't slowed growth at all for the AMR Collection brands, which now total 113 properties, 63 in the Americas and 50 in Europe. Secrets Impression is a line extension of the Secrets brand, offering the company's most 'elevated' luxury experience. Secrets Impression Moxche opened earlier this year on Mexico's Riviera Maya, and a second new-build will debut in March 2023 as Secrets Impression Isla Mujeres.
Several more openings are scheduled for AMR brands in 2023, including the much-anticipated Secrets Tulum Resort & Beach Club, set for a June 30, 2023 launch. Each of the invitees at the Amazing Agent Celebration were given three-night stays at the property, valid through 2024.
Justine Delaney, Vacations With Kids, and Shalene Dudley, Latitude Concierge Travels, are attending the AMR Collection Amazing Agent Celebration. (Bruce Parkinson)"This is a company that really values its advisor partners," says Shalene Dudley, owner of Toronto-based Latitude Concierge Travels. Dudley took part in a luxury travel panel on the first day of the Amazing Agent Celebration. "There is tremendous demand for luxury all-inclusive travel right now - we're having a hard time keeping up."
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