Hyatt CEO Addressed Travel Agents At The AMR Collection Event

The timing couldn’t have been better for AMR Collection’s second annual Amazing Agent Celebration in Cancun, since AMR Collection’s parent business, Apple Leisure Group (ALG), was bought by Hyatt Hotels Corporation in November.

The Amazing Agent Celebration, held Dec. 1-4 at Dreams Vista Cancun Golf & Spa Resort, allowed high-producing AMR Collection travel advisors to discuss business issues and hear from top executives, including Hyatt President and CEO Mark Hoplamazian, who addressed travel advisors during the general session.

“Coming together with ALG was enormously strategically critical from our perspective because it has established marketing positions in new business areas – and specifically in luxury all-inclusive resorts,” he said, adding that the company’s product line is very much in keeping with Hyatt brands, which include Park Hyatt, Andaz and Thompson Hotels.

Hoplamazian noted that like Hyatt, ALG and AMR Collection “believe in the value and the power of nurturing relationships.”

While some of Hyatt’s competitors focused on direct booking channels, the business focused on developing its relationships with agencies. Hoplamazian said. “We said no, we need to go toward the advisor community because you are an essential element to our business.”

 Throughout the epidemic, Hoplamazian voiced sympathy for the suffering of travel counselors.

“I come here with a new sense of gratitude and a really sincere appreciation for how hard this has been and what you’ve gone through,” he said.

He urged travel advisors to stay the course. “Keep it going,” Hoplamazian said.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of AMResorts, which established the AMR Collection as a master brand in August to allow travel advisors and their customers more easily identify the resorts that best match their specific needs.