“We don’t think for a minute that any of these resorts doesn’t want to work with us,” says John Hawks, president of the Destination Weddings and Honeymoon Specialists Association (DWHSA). “No one meant to cause trouble. But since Covid, they have made little changes here and there that have become a thicket for agents planning groups.”
Hawks offered up that gentlemanly and conciliatory introduction at a webinar he hosted last week to discuss the ongoing—and apparently growing number of—issues between his group’s members and the resort industry with whom they work.
Since Covid, the large hotel chains entering the all-inclusive space—and their tens of millions of loyalty program members—have undermined the negotiating power of travel advisors and meeting planners. But it can be done, says the DWHSA. The key to success lies in communicating with the resorts and educating planners and their guests.
Before a series of meetings with the 16 biggest hotel brands that will begin in February, the webinar was a first step, outlining the issues. An in-person meeting between DWHSA and representatives of the hotels is set for Feb. 26 in Miami. And DWHSA will partner with the hotels to develop a training program to address the issues, which will be available to all US and Canadian agents.
For Now, Advisors Find Strategies
“Whatever you heard about groups in 2019 doesn’t apply anymore,” Cheryl Bailey of Yellow Umbrella Events said on the webinar. “Nothing is really the same.”
Indeed, the webinar speakers highlighted a number of new issues as the mega hotel companies quickly have come to dominate the all-inclusive scene, and how group planners can mitigate and explain them to clients.
She shared how she spent Thanksgiving 2024 canceling a wedding party of 31 after her group contract was undercut by one Riviera Maya resort’s sudden pop-up sale offering 40%-60% off. By noon of the day the sale was announced, a dozen attendees had emailed Bailey asking her to cancel their reservations. While the president of her tour operator, Classic Vacations, personally got on the phone with the resort, she could not convince them to match the new price for the group (though they did promise to look into it and get back to her). Afraid to wait and miss the deadline for the sale, the new couple told Bailey to go ahead and rebook everyone as FITs, though it cost them their free cocktail party and their comps. They also lost their deposit, but the new 60% discount on the honeymoon suite covered that.
For travel advisors and event planners, the first job now is to make sure clients understand that group contracts can bring great perks, “but it’s a trade,” she says. “With great perks come responsibilities.”
Michael Goines of Michaels Destinations Luxury Travel in Winston-Salem, NC, says he reaches out to wedding attendees to explain that while they will not get loyalty points if they book through the group contract, they can get almost as many points by charging the room to a branded credit card. He also reminds them that booking through the group is a gift to the couple and the other attendees.
Goines said another deal-breaker for many potential group attendees is the four-night minimum in group contracts, where guests can stay just three nights if they book direct. In four recent weddings, he says, he often has seen loyalty club member rates lower than his; in that case, he often eats the cost of private transfers just to keep guests from booking outside his block.
It’s also important to understand that the policy on deposits differs from one property to the next within a single chain, he notes; one property might charge a flat $500 fee for 25 rooms, while another charges 10%—which can add up to as much as $25,000 on a big wedding. It’s worth shopping around to sister properties, though he would much prefer it if the chains would standardize their policies.
Kim Goldstein of Journeys Inc. suggested carefully explaining what your price includes—ground transportation and insurance, for example—as she did for a group that had booked seven two-bedroom villas, only to discover that their rates were much higher than the one being advertised. But she could not explain away the four-day cancellation clause or early final payment, which the guests said meant not only paying for an extra night they didn’t need but also for travel insurance. In the end, six guests canceled, she said, undermining the wedding couple’s comps.
For Shelli Nornes, owner of Romance Travel Group, though, the biggest issue is the single supplement. Often a contract for a block of 30 rooms will come with a maximum of 20% single rooms, or 6 of the 30, which usually fill up quickly. So if a double room cancels at the last minute, the number of single rooms allowed in the block drops to five—and the sixth now must pay the single supplement. “Hotels don’t have that policy when you book direct,” she notes, “and there’s no way I’m going back on a price to the client.” So she pays it herself.
Coming Together
Everyone on the webinar expressed optimism about working with the resorts to forge a new partnership. “The resorts we’ve spoken to have been great,” Nornes said. “We see the big picture. We understand that hotels are negatively impacted by excessive room blocks, and we want to try to fix it at its core, teaching agents to be more responsible about the rooms they are holding. We recognize that the agency community needs to do its part. But the hotels need to meet us in the middle.”
Indeed, said Bailey, the big companies buying up all-inclusive resorts appear to be more focused on profits for shareholders than on partnerships with advisors. “You may not realize that travel advisors built this space, and don’t appreciate that. When things are going great you may think you can live without us.”
The DWHSA has put together a list (Microsoft Word – DWHSA’s Primary Group Booking Issues list FINAL Oct 5 2024.docx), topped by three primary concerns:
- Establish new standards for group contracts so that negotiated group room block rates will always be the best available rates for group guests (particularly when compared to “member” rates offered by resorts). If lower rates become available later for the same room categories in a contracted group, adjust the group rates automatically (without onerous price-matching steps) so that they remain on par or lower.
- Ensure that guests who book directly with properties should not benefit from bonuses, perks, or rules (e.g., very-last-minute cancellation vendors) that are better than those available to group guests.
- Charge “event fees” to guests who book outside their group leaders’/couples’ room blocks—but find ways to charge those guests directly upon check-in. (Or, prohibit those “rogue” guests from attending any group activities such as the wedding ceremony.)
“It’s going to be a little painful for both sides, but that’s the sign of a good negotiation,” Nornes said. “So getting these hotels on a Zoom call with us, and in Miami with us, is so important. I’ve been so impressed with the conversations we’ve had so far. Nobody has shut the door on us. Now we have to figure out the next step.”
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.
