TravelPulse Canada and 17 of Sandos Hotels and Resorts top agents are in Mexico this week, discovering the PlayaCar, Caracol and Cancun properties on a FAM in partnership with Canada Jetlines.
The FAM is part of a stronger effort to raise awareness of the brand in Canada which the company is achieving with an intense, “boots on the ground” strategy led in Ontario / Manitoba by BDM Juan Carlos Ruiz. Ruiz has been actively engaging agents since starting his role last year, both on social media and through a series of in-person events he’s held jointly with other hotel and travel suppliers.
The strategy appears to be working: the PlayaCar property was at 100% capacity for our stay, and winter sales are also solid.
“Our winter sales are far beyond what we expected, they’re very good from Canada”, Ruiz tells TravelPulse Canada. “All of us are working very hard to be everywhere so everyone knows who we are, which is why you’ll see MaryAnne (Dube), Emily (Spadafora) and I so active in our markets.”
In a trend that’s not unique to Sandos and something agents should ensure clients are aware of, last-minute offers that existed pre-pandemic are now few and far between.
“It's not that anymore at all,” says Ruiz of last-minute deals. “One of the biggest things I’m reminding agents is that a long lead time is necessary. Take for instance March Break; some of our rooms are still available, but a lot of categories are already sold out. If clients are thinking about booking but haven’t yet, they may be already too late; we might still have rooms but not necessarily the ones they want.”
Sandos PlayaCar is popular with families as it offers a chance to experience the best of both worlds; adults and children can each have their own experiences during the day with a supervised Kids Club for ages 4-10, open from 10am-6:00pm and Lite Teen Club for ages 10-17 that’s open from 3-11pm.
Renovated Riviera Room in the family section at Sandos PlayaCar (Photo Credit: Marsha Mowers)
The property’s 819 rooms are spacious and include a mini-bar that’s stocked daily with beer and soft drinks, regardless of category. Room service is available 24/7 though there is no alcohol delivery to rooms.
The resort is updating its rooms; the Hacienda and Riviera Maya categories have been renovated, while the Select category is scheduled to be done in 2024.
The Garden which is used for wedding ceremonies and receptions at Sandos PlayaCar (Photo Credit: Marsha Mowers)
Groups are popular at all Sandos properties, which Ruiz says is driven by the fact they offer “unique venues” for weddings. At Sandos PlayaCar, there are no ballrooms or typical banquet-style rooms; instead wedding ceremonies and receptions are held outside in the garden or on the beach (backup options in case of bad weather are the restaurants).
Private pool and hot tub area of a Hacienda at Sandos PlayaCar (Photo Credit: Marsha Mowers)
There are 17 Haciendas which hold 6-8 rooms each and feature a private pool and hot tub for use by guests of each Hacienda. The rooms are Junior Suite or One Bedroom Suite and can be adjoining. Unfortunately, there is no guarantee when booking Haciendas – even with a wedding lead time of one year or more – that rooms can be connected, meaning in theory, a group booking could have a random guest in between their rooms. It’s something the Sandos team is aware of and are working on a solution.
Ruiz stresses the agent / BDM relationship and says agents should never hesitate to reach out to their BDM at any time and says the company pays an additional 10% commission for wedding add-ons, even if not arranged in advance.
“We work hand in hand with our partners in Canada and our agents,” says Ruiz. “We give 15% commission on our weddings, with an extra 10% on add-ons. There’s also the occasion that clients have reward redemption and want to go direct to buy their tickets. They can still do that with a travel agent, and we will still give the commission on those transactions as well.
That’s our whole idea of how we support and value agents.”
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