For Palace Resorts, staying abreast of emerging trends is what provides the company with its competitive edge.

"We really keep our finger on the pulse of trends and make sure we stay very current," said Kathy Halpern, vice president of global marketing for Palace Resorts and Le Blanc Spa Resorts. "The best thing yesterday could be different tomorrow. We look at what’s coming rather than what is, and that really does set us apart."

Be it ecotourism, cultural activities or culinary experiences, Palace Resorts carefully assesses trends that are catching the eye of the consumer, which works toward ensuring that the company "offers amenities and programs that consumers are really feeling a passion for," Halpern said.

The Agent's Pivotal Role

And that where Palace’s travel advisor partners come into play. "Travel professionals who truly engage in all that we offer are not only brand ambassadors but the voice of the consumer," Halpern said. "We need those voices to best explain why our resorts are a great fit for their prospective clients. The agents are the ones disseminating that information. We need their support and we support them as a result."

Palace’s partnership with travel advisors has never been more evident than during the pandemic. "We were having a banner year in the first quarter of 2020, and low and behold out comes COVID-19 and all bets were off," she said. "Instead of throwing our hands up in the air," Palace turned to agents to assess the concerns of their clients.

Allaying Client Concerns

Those concerns centered around safety and ways in which to minimize the risk of COVID-19 exposure when traveling to a destination and its resorts. "That’s when we created Purely Palace and Purely Le Blanc, which enables us to offer 250 measures in terms of what we are doing on property not only for guests but our staff as well."

She added, "These are really very serious measures, including when the guest gets into their transfer vehicle, making sure it is completely sanitized and that when the luggage is removed from the transfer vehicle it is sanitized; that guests and staff not only wear masks but before they even head into the hotel they’re stepping on an area where their shoes are sanitized; and creating touchless technology so guests have the choice to check-in from the comfort of their smart device."

Palace created "shareables," which agents can use when counseling clients. "We created a video, because video is a great way to tell a story in terms of what Purely Palace and Purely Le Blanc mean," Halpern said.

Additionally, the company’s business development managers (BDMs) reached out to agents with extensive training – while also listening to advisors about their clients’ concerns.

An Appetite for Travel

"What we realized from communicating with those travel professionals is that their clients had an appetite for travel," Halpern said. "It was our job as a luxury all-inclusive hotel company to make sure we met those concerns with real answers. And we realized that sometimes offerings had to make the reward greater than the perceived risk.

We had to come out with offerings that were relevant to the times."

As an example, with the majority of the U.S. population working remotely, the company launched the Work and Study From Paradise Extended Stay promotion, enabling couples and families to extend their stays as long as 30 days. "Again, that was Palace seeing what was happening – everyone was going remote, schools were going remote – and we came up with a program that met that moment in time," Halpern said.

COVID-19 Testing

Fast-forwarding to January 2021 and the CDC’s requirement for negative COVID-19 tests for all air passengers entering the U.S., Palace responded quickly with onsite testing labs. "All our resorts throughout Mexico and Jamaica will offer easy, onsite COVID-19 antigen rapid testing," Halpern said. "Not only are we providing onsite testing with personnel designated to administer it, but also making sure when guests check-in they can schedule their departure tests so they don’t have to think about it during their vacation."

Tests are complimentary for up to two guests per room and results are available to guests within 30 minutes, along with documentation for the flight home. If a guest tests positive, Palace will cover the cost of quarantine for up to 14 days at no cost to the guest.

"Showing that we’re safe and communicating that across the board has made people feel confident to travel," she said. "The demand and appetite for travel is there."

Portrait of the Client

"Our product runs the gamut," said Kathy Halpern, VP of global marketing, noting that Palace and Le Blanc resorts offer vacation options for virtually any type of traveler. "Because our resorts are so different and the personalities appeal to so many different client bases, I would suggest that agents just make sure they’re familiar with our offerings and make sure they’re putting the glove on the right hand."

Going forward, she recommended that advisors target the family and multigenerational markets.

"When the vaccines become more readily available I think about Grandma and Grandpa in Florida and children in Long Island" who have not seen each other due to the pandemic and "will be extremely interested in reuniting on resort vacations," she said.

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