May is National Travel Advisor Appreciation Month, kicking off with National Travel Advisor Day on Wednesday, May 3.
To celebrate the imperative work of travel advisors across the country, several leading suppliers are rolling out special programs and incentives to reward hard-working advisors while also educating the traveling public on the many benefits of working with a trusted travel professional in 2023 and beyond.
Here are some of the notable ways companies are celebrating National Travel Advisor Day and Travel Advisor Appreciation Month this May.
Sandals Resorts
Sandals Resorts International and the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA) are partnering to celebrate the integral role of travel advisors through exclusive programming and incentives.
The pair will host a Facebook Live on Wednesday, May 3 from 2-4 p.m. ET featuring a one-on-one session with ASTA President and CEO Zane Kerby and Gary Sadler, the Executive Vice President of Sales and Industry Relations at Unique Vacations Inc., an affiliate of the worldwide representatives for Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts. During the event, lucky travel advisors will have the opportunity to win a trip to Sandals Dunn’s River, which will open on May 24, 2023.
Even if they don't win, travel advisors can take advantage of special incentives this month as new bookings of six nights or longer at Sandals Resorts made directly with Unique Vacations, Inc. from May 4-31, for travel through December 24, 2023, are eligible for additional booking incentive up to $200.
Sandals Royal Bahamian's Barefoot Cay (Photo via Sandals)
"Travel advisors have been key characters throughout every chapter of our more than 40-year history and have played a leading role in the industry’s resurgence," Sadler said in a statement. "We’re proud to have them as partners in our joint success and to champion the critical work of ASTA in recognizing the incredible travel advisor community today, and every day."
ALG Vacations
ALG Vacations has devoted the entire month of May to celebrating its travel advisor partners.
With The Be Kind, Unwind giveaway, a dozen lucky travel advisors will win tickets on United Airlines for two with stays in Hawaii, Aruba, Cancun, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Las Vegas, Mallorca (Spain), and other destinations.
The Propel Your Growth giveaway is another way ALG is rewarding advisors. Ten travel advisors will win a kit designed to help their agency stand out on social media, including high-value items like iPads and more.
Travel advisors have three chances to win with every booking from May 3-31, 2023. Each booking earns one raffle entry, with a bonus entry for bookings including Travel Protection Plus and another for bookings made by ALGVPro-certified specialists.
“ALG Vacations is dedicated to the travel advisor community. We have gratitude for our advisors every day of the year, but May is when we take our appreciation to another level,” explained Jacki Marks, ALGV’s Global Head of Trade Brands.
Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Regent Seven Seas Cruises is celebrating Travel Advisor Appreciation Month with booking incentives, bonus commissions and sail-free opportunities.
For example, travel advisors can earn a $100 Gift Card plus an additional 2 percent bonus commission for every booking made in May during Regent's Spring Into Summer campaign. The bonus will be on top of the standard commission received for a Regent booking. Spring Into Summer offers travelers savings of up to 40 percent on a wide range of worldwide voyages in 2023 and 2024.
What's more, with Regent's Sell Three, Sail Free booking incentive, advisors who make three new bookings before May 31 on as many as 74 eligible voyages departing June 2023 to April 2024, can sail for free with a guest on any one of those same voyages. To claim their free suite, advisors can click here and complete the online form with the booking numbers of three qualifying sailings, as well as their own preferred sailing dates, by the May 31 deadline.
"Travel Advisors always have been, and always will be the key reason for Regent’s success, and we want to recognize and reward their incredible support," Andrea DeMarco, President of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, said in a statement. "Not only are we celebrating Travel Advisor Appreciation Month, but also our best-ever performance in Q1, all thanks to our incredible Travel Partners. We are delighted to provide them with a number of different ways to earn more with Regent and opportunities for them to create new memories on board by sailing with us."
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is giving away tens of thousands of dollars in prizes to celebrate advisors this May. Celebrity's 2X Europe $60K Giveaway Entries and Double Reward Points mean advisors can earn double entries for Celebrity’s $60,000 cash giveaway for each 2023 Celebrity Europe booking made through May 13, 2023, and earn double rewards points for bookings made between May 2-13, 2023, on any Celebrity sailing through April 30, 2025.
A rendering of Celebrity Cruises' Edge Series fleet. (Photo Credit: Celebrity Cruises)
Avanti Destinations
Avanti Destinations is celebrating travel advisors all month long by giving away a $25 gift card for each new booking (totaling $5,000 or more) made with Avanti between May 1 and May 31, 2023. There's no limit on the number of gift cards that advisors can earn but deposits must be received by the end of May for travel by December 31, 2023.
Avanti has also partnered with Visit Portugal to introduce an educational campaign that includes a 50-page e-brochure, "Paradise in Portugal," to help travel advisors create customizable vacations to the country. The campaign includes a $25 gift card for each Portugal trip advisors sell with a land value of $2,500 for bookings through May 31, 2023, for travel by December 31, 2023.
Karisma Hotels & Resorts
Karisma Hotels & Resorts is celebrating Travel Advisor Appreciation Month with the introduction of a travel agent advisory board, weekly scavenger hunts with prizes, incentives for new bookings, and seminars taking place throughout the month of May.
The travel agent advisory board, known as the Compass Committee, will provide valuable insight on key initiatives to help shape business decisions. Composed of agents, agency owners, and key executives, the committee will be hand-selected and will receive first-hand looks at new product development and innovation across the portfolio and participate in quarterly online meetings and annual on-site events. Applications opened on Wednesday, May 3 and a maximum of 15 people will be selected to serve on this year's board.
Full-time accredited Gourmet Inclusive Vacation Consultants (GIVC) and Gourmet Inclusive (GI) Rewards agents and agency owners are invited to apply at taadvisoryboard.com. To be considered, advisors must be enrolled and active in Karisma’s Gourmet Inclusive travel agent programs - GIVC or GI Rewards. Entries will close on May 30, 2023, and the committee selections will be announced on June 15, 2023.
Margaritaville Beach Resort Ambergris Caye, Belize. (photo via Karisma Hotels & Resorts) (Karisma Hotels & Resorts Media License)
Meanwhile, new bookings made for Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts and the Margaritaville brand between May 1 and July 31 for travel between May 15 and December 15, 2023, will receive Double Gourmet Inclusive points when registered by the advisor in their account via Karisma’s travel agent portal.
Virtual scavenger hunts will be held each week for a chance to win a $250 gift card. The questionnaire will be distributed weekly via email, closing each Friday at midnight. Each scavenger hunt will focus on different brands within the Karisma portfolio. Those who complete all four scavenger hunts will even be entered to win a $1,000 gift card grand prize.
Karisma will also hold live in-person seminars all month long focusing on updates to the brand's portfolio, including Summer of SpongeBob at Nickelodeon Hotels & Resorts and Summer of Music at Margaritaville Island Reserve Resorts. Each week, Karisma will surprise attending advisors in a select city with a three-night trip for two to a Margaritaville Island Reserve Cap Cana, Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Cancun, or Margaritaville Island Reserve Riviera Maya.
"At Karisma Hotels & Resorts, we have an agent-first commitment," said Marilyn Cairo, Vice President of Global Sales at Premier Worldwide Marketing, in a statement. "We pride ourselves on collaboration and building a community where everyone is empowered to succeed. We always want to be better partners, and this board will help ensure that. It's one of the many ways we plan to give back this month and beyond."
Silversea Cruises
Silversea Cruises is rewarding travel advisors this spring with incentives, the introduction of kicker commissions and suite upgrades.
When travel advisors make a new confirmed booking on any Silversea expedition cruise during the months of May and June, they'll automatically be entered into a weekly prize draw for a chance to win a gift card. One winner will be selected for each week in May and June.
Silversea Cruises' luxury expedition ship, Silver Endeavour. (photo courtesy of Silversea Cruises)
The cruise line also announced it's offering an extra 1 percent kicker commission on all expedition cruises, an extra 1 percent kicker commission on all new-to-brand guests and an extra 1 percent kicker commission on all new-to-repeat guests (guests who book for a second time with Silversea through the same agency), allowing travel advisors the opportunity to increase their commission by up to two extra commission points.
What's more, travel advisors can provide their clients with added value during Silversea's limited-time Suite Upgrades promotion for new bookings made by May 31, 2023. Available with door-to-door all-Inclusive fares on select voyages departing before May 31, 2024, the offer provides up to a two-category suite upgrade on select voyages, for selected suite categories and $1,000 shipboard credit per suite that can be used for spa treatments, specialty restaurants, premium wines and spirits, optional shore excursions and much more.
"Travel Partner Appreciation Month is a special time for us to show our appreciation and reward our travel advisor partners for their loyalty and efforts," said Massimo Brancaleoni, Silversea's Senior Vice President of Global Sales. "Though it kicks off in May, our incentives continue through June, marking our continued appreciation for our travel partners and the important role they have played in our success for nearly three decades. This appreciation campaign focuses on our expedition cruises, which provide clients with uniquely immersive travel experiences that can lead to repeat business and, due to the higher per diem fares of our expedition voyages, enable travel advisors to earn more in commission."
Seabourn
Seabourn is celebrating the travel advisor community during Global Travel Advisor Day and Travel Advisor Appreciation Month with a special commission bonus. The ultra-luxury cruise line is saying "thank you" by offering travel advisors a 5 percent bonus commission on select voyages booked now through May 31, 2023. The special commission is even combinable with the new Bon Voyage Event and The Finale Sail offering advisors' clients huge savings on airfare and select 2023 and 2024 itineraries.
Available now through July 10, 2023, the Bon Voyage Event offer includes an air credit of up to $2,800 AUD per person, a complimentary two-category Veranda Suite upgrade and a reduced 10 percent deposit on select Seabourn ultra-luxury voyages and expedition sailings in 2023 through 2024 while The Finale Sail offer unlocks savings up to 30 percent when guests book a fully non-refundable cruise fare for select suite categories on select 2023 and 2024 sailings.
AmaMagna sails the Danube (Photo Credit: AmaWaterways)
AmaWaterways
Award-winning river cruise line AmaWaterways is showing love to its travel advisor partners this May with cruise giveaways, rewards and more.
AmaWaterways announced seven new "Seminar on the River" cruises hosted by Business Development Managers as well as an early opening of 20 FAM cruises on dates extending until November. Travel advisors attending "Webinar Wednesdays" throughout the month will be entered into a weekly draw to win a European or Mekong river cruise for two and, on June 7, a balcony stateroom will be given away to one lucky travel advisor who attended all five sessions.
With the Sell Three Sail Free incentive, advisors have a chance to earn a free cruise after making three new FIT reservations on any 2023 sailing.
Advisors can register for May's Webinar Wednesdays and apply for AmaWaterways' upcoming Seminars on the River via the Travel Advisor Portal.
"Since the founding of AmaWaterways over 20 years ago, travel advisors have been at the heart of our company, contributing over 95 percent of our sales. We express appreciation to our travel partners all year long with special incentives, marketing support and training opportunities but the month of May is always a special time for our teams to go above and beyond and say thank you in other ways," Kristin Karst, co-founder and executive vice president of AmaWaterways, said in a statement. "We encourage all travelers to begin their planning process by connecting with their preferred travel advisor as the impeccable services that they provide make vacation planning easy, allowing guests to relax while knowing everything is taken care of."
TourRadar
Leading adventure booking platform TourRadar is launching a new incentive program to celebrate Travel Advisor Appreciation Month in May, giving away organized adventures to Peru, Italy, and any destination provided by Europamundo to three lucky winners.
To enter to win, travel advisors only need to register on TourRadar.com/agents, be a current agent who logs in during the month of May, be registered and attend one of TourRadar’s hosted webinars in May, refer two other advisors to register on the TourRadar Agent Portal or follow TourRadar on the TourRadar Agent Facebook page and TourRadar Instagram @TourRadar. To participate in the program, advisors must be registered with TourRadar and make bookings between May 1 and May 31, 2023.
(Courtesy of TourRadar)
"We appreciate the hard work and dedication of our travel advisors, and we want to show our gratitude by giving them a chance to experience the world on our organized adventures," said Travis Pittman, CEO and co-founder of TourRadar. "We hope this appreciation month will inspire our agents to continue doing what they love and encourage them to share their passion for travel with others."
Additionally, the first 50 new advisors who place their first booking will receive a $100 cash bonus.
Noble House Hotels & Resorts
Boasting a collection of 25 luxury and upscale hotels, resorts and experiences across North America, Noble House Hotels & Resorts is offering VIP Select Package exclusively for travel advisors and their guests.
Highlights include a $100 resort credit and breakfast for two at Estancia La Jolla Hotel & Spa, L’Auberge Del Mar, Hotel Terra Jackson Hole, Teton Mountain Lodge, Gateway Canyons Resort & Spa, Jekyll Ocean Club, LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, Ocean Key Resort & Spa and The Marquesa Hotel and a $25 resort credit on a one-night stay and a $50 resort credit for a two-night stay at The Edgewater, Argonaut Hotel, Hotel Zoe, River Terrace Inn, Portofino Hotel & Marina, San Diego Mission Bay Resort & Spa, Kona Kai Resort & Spa, Corazón Cabo, Jekyll Island Club, Pelican Grand Beach Resort, Inn on Fifth and Solé Miami.
Standard VIP Select Package amenities include a no-walk policy, an upgrade at the time of check-in (subject to availability) and a welcome amenity (upon request) and can be booked in the GDS (SEL-P) on Noble House property websites with the code "SELECT," or by emailing or calling the reservations teams. The offer is valid on the best available rate only and is not combinable with other packages.
Resilient Lady is expected to enter service May 14. Rendering courtesy of Virgin Voyages. (Virgin Voyages)
Virgin Voyages
Virgin Voyages is showing love for its travel advisor partners or "First Mates" with special perks, giveaways and nationwide activities. Advisors can enter to win an epic trip (including airfare) on Virgin's Aussie MerMaiden sailing out of Melbourne on Resilient Lady later this year. Advisors who want to enter the Australian contest can go to FirstMates.com for more info, or to sign up for the First Mates program.
Meanwhile, First Mates can also enter for a chance to snag special Virgin Voyages swag by following the brand's interactive SeaCiety page on Facebook.
Additionally, throughout the month of May, Virgin will be releasing a series of videos featuring special guests and regional sales managers will be hosting exclusive happy hours and lunch events in various geographic markets.
Atlantis Paradise Island
Atlantis Paradise Island is celebrating Travel Advisor Appreciation Month by offering a bonus commission for last-minute bookings between May 1-31, 2023. Qualifying advisors can earn $50 per booking at The Coral at Atlantis; $75 per booking at The Royal at Atlantis; $100 per booking at The Cove at Atlantis and $100 per booking at The Reef at Atlantis. Advisors can capitalize by logging their reservations and sending them to LeisureSales@AtlantisParadise.com
What's more, the advisor with the most booked revenue will be rewarded with a four-night stay at Atlantis Paradise Island.
Rental Escapes
Rental Escapes is celebrating advisors by offering its highest-ever commission, up to a $5,000 bonus commission for the entire month of May. The special offer is valid on bookings made between May 1-31, 2023, for stays between May 8, 2023 and December 31, 2024.
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
