AIC Vice President of Field Sales Ash Tembe on the event's presentation day (Source: Claudette Covey)
AIC Hotel Group’s annual Showstopper Awards was just that – a showstopper, with the company’s high-producing travel advisors singing the praises of the event itself, the company and its agent-friendly initiatives.
UNICO Montego Bay to Host 2027 Event
At the event, held at the 1,882-room Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, it was announced that the 2027 Showstopper conference will be held May 17-20 at the new 451-room UNICO Montego Bay Jamaica, which opens its doors on March 1 and is now accepting reservations.
Suffice it to say, the announcement met with considerable enthusiasm from advisors.
“2027 is going to be epic,” said Time for Travel Founder Sarah Kline. “The new UNICO Montego Bay will be a game changer for AIC brands.”
Networking and Brand Updates Drive Value
As to the Showstoppers event itself, Kline noted it is one of her favorites of the year. “It is always a great balance of fun, learning and networking and is vital if you are all in with AIC resorts.”
“The connections are priceless, and the updates help us promote the brand,” she added. “Having three days of face time with your business development manager (BDM), wedding team and executives builds lasting relationships that will grow your business,” she added.
Be All Inclusive President James Berglie shares that view. “The event itself was great – it’s always a great time for advisors, giving them the opportunity to connect and network with colleagues, supplier partners and host agency executives,” he said. “This industry is still about people – so nothing is more important than cultivating those relationships.”
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana served as the Showstopper host hotel. (Source: PHOTO: Hard Rock Hotels)
Furthermore, Berglie said that AIC Hotel Group provides some of the best incentives in the industry for advisors and their wedding clients. “It’s an easy choice for couples who are looking at their bottom line and comparing who gives the most bang for your buck.”
For her part, Lori Franco, a travel consultant at ISON Travel, said she finds Showstopper events to be extremely valuable in terms of “mixing and mingling with different agencies and management to hear different perspectives on how they’re addressing industry issues, including AI, which helps us figure out how we might want to go forward and what we’re looking at it.”
Experiencing the Host Property Firsthand
Another of the event’s assets is the opportunity to “get a more up-to-date feel for the level of hospitality provided and see areas of opportunity as well” at the host hotel, Berglie said.
“At a lot of conferences, participants just stay in the conference area, and they don’t see any of the hotel,” said AIC Hotel Group Vice President of Global Field Sales Ash Tembe.
Showstopper events let advisors familiarize themselves with the host property, offering experiences both within the property and beyond.
Attendees could participate in activities such as a Hard Rock dine-a-round dinner plan, allowing them to sample different restaurants; a “Beach Burn Yoga” class; 90-minute hydrotherapy sessions and 50-minute massages at The Rock Spa; and more.
The Showstopper event also provided attendees to participate in an off-property experience – “Good Vibes & High Tides Boat Day” – a sailing trip along the coast anchoring near natural pool sandbars, with a full bar serving drinks in the sandbar area.
Blending Business With Celebration
The Awards ceremony is meant to feel like an Oscars celebration. “It’s energy and music-filled,” he said, with top-shelf talent performing at the award after-party, headlined this year by Sky Blu of LMAO.
Advisors on an excursion that brought them to an ocean sandbar -- with a floating bar (Source: Claudette Covey)
“Showstopper represents a celebration for travel agencies that hit a certain level of bookings for that year,” Tembe said, recognizing and celebrating high-producing agencies by blending business with pleasure, Tembe said.
The focus on music isn’t just for Showstopper events at Hard Rock resorts, but for all the resorts that host the event, Tembe said.
AIC Highlights Competitive Advantage
One of AIC Hotel Group’s most competitive advantages is its business development managers,” Tembe said. “Our BDMs are very responsive, very well trained and highly empowered. “When I built this team, I wanted them to have the ability to make decisions on the fly versus having to call their boss.”
Never one to rest on its laurels, AIC Hotel Group is currently renovating Hard Rock Vallarta and Hard Rock Cancun, which are expected to reopen at the end of December
Other AIC Hotel Group brands include UNICO Hotel Collection, AVA Resorts, Nobu Hotels and Eden Roc Miami Beach.
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