Celebrating its 40th year in business, Destination Hotels & Resorts, the nation’s fourth largest hospitality management company, has found success in owning, managing and operating independent hotels. Destination Hotels & Resorts comprises a portfolio of 40 properties with more than 9,600 guest rooms nationwide.

In addition to traditional hotels, Destination also sells condos, casitas, homes and villas. This year, the company pledged a promise to travel agents: Every rate it loaded in the GDS is commissionable. Destination also stands by its promise to pay commission within 30 days of a guest stay.

We sat down with Jamie Sabatier, president and chief operating officer, to discuss the company’s future.

Explain to agents what Destination Hotels & Resorts is and how they can sell its portfolio of hotels.

Destination Hotels & Resorts is the country’s fourth largest hospitality management company with a portfolio of extraordinary hotels and resorts that span the nation, from exhilarating alpine adventures to stunning beachfronts to vibrant urban destinations.

We manage 40 independent, luxury and upscale hotels and resorts and a collection of spas and golf clubs, each offering authentic, enriching experiences for the discerning traveler.

Agents can appeal to different segments that they are selling. For instance, they can place an emphasis on family/multi-generational travel because of family programming or kids clubs at certain properties.

Also, Destination has a unique collection of condominium and residential-style resorts that can accommodate larger parties – including 4 and 5 bedroom homes, villas and condominiums.          

I think that is one of our key differentiating factors -- not only do we have classic hotel rooms to offer, but our collection features condominiums, casitas, homes and villas -- depending on the type of experience, we truly offer a great variety.

This year we created a brand promise for agents: Every rate we have loaded in the GDS is commissionable – rate and package. We also promise to pay commission within 30 days of a guest stay. Finally, we offer travel agent discounts at all of our hotels and resorts and encourage agents to visit our properties to both enjoy them and to build their knowledge and expertise in promoting them.

Our goal is to enhance this promise in 2014. There will be a travel agent incentive program introduced, something we have historically not done this in the past. Stay tuned for that news in upcoming months.

What’s new with the company?

We’ve just celebrated our 40th anniversary. Destination was founded four decades ago with the development and management of The Gant in Aspen in 1973, an iconic condominium resort. 

Today Destination comprises a portfolio of 40 distinctive properties coast to coast with more than 9,600 guest rooms nationwide, 113 unique restaurants, lounges and bars, 18 golf courses, 17 full-service spas and six IACC certified conference centers.

We assumed management of the legendary Eden Roc Miami Beach this summer, formerly known as the Eden Roc Renaissance Hotel.

The repositioning of Eden Roc Miami Beach as an independent luxury property will attract the discerning local, domestic and international leisure traveler, as well as the premium group and event customer who seeks an authentic, enriching experience in a stylish setting.

We hired Marie Torres as our new vice president of branding and marketing and in her new role she will focus on building the Destination Hotels & Resorts consumer brand identity, one that continues to showcase and celebrate the distinctive flavor of each destination.

How’s business?

Business is good. Based on recent statistics, 62 percent of our business across the portfolio is generated from the transient segment versus 38 percent group, which demonstrates a 15.5 percent increase in transient room revenue over 2012.

PHOTO: The Stowe Mountain Lodge in Vermont, a Destination Hotels & Resorts property.

How important are travel agents to your business?

They are vital. We could not operate fully without the assistance of travel professionals! Three percent of our entire revenue is generated from the GDS and 5.25 percent of that is transient. On top of that, we also have agents that call or email requests to properties directly, which is not accounted for via GDS revenue.

In an effort to extend our relationship with key industry partners/leaders in the travel community, we started hosting annual advisory councils five years ago.

We wanted to hear directly from these important professionals so that we could build/improve our business based on their feedback. It’s essentially a scorecard for Destination Hotels & Resorts and from there, we can implement changes that directly improve guest experiences.

We also have 28 sales managers across the portfolio that focus specifically on transient travel.  

What’s your outlook on the future of home-based travel agents?

In the past two years, we’ve seen a significant increase in home-based agents, particularly with American Express. Many of our travel partners have started to close their brick and mortar offices in lieu of this.

As a result of the work-at-home audience growing, it’s increasingly more challenging for our teams to get in front of agents, so as a result we identified the need to be more creative in our outreach.

We know where there’s big hub of agents, in larger cities, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, Denver, New York. Through our contacts at American Express Travel, we’ve been able to plan special events in these key cities and host private dinner/interactive events for agents that have been selling Destination.

As a result of these events, we can provide further insight into the Destination Hotels & Resorts portfolio, cultivate relationships and add travel agent names to our database so that we can market to them throughout the year. Now that we’ve started this series with American Express and seen its success, we will move onto other companies.