SANDALS AMBASSADOR ADVERTORIAL


JESSICA MATTHEWS MYRIAD TRAVEL


Sandals whisked six agents off to the Caribbean as part of its recent Ambassador campaign, run with Travel Weekly. Agent Jessica Matthews, ambassador for Beaches, reflects on her experience


Jessica


checks out the Sandals


and Beaches facilities;


below, with


fellow Sandals Ambassadors


SANDALS


AMBASSADOR FOR


BEACHES


I fell in love with the Sandals and Beaches concept when I visited one of the properties


last year on a fam trip. So I couldn’t believe my luck when Donna Brooks, business development manager, walked into my shop and said, “Congratulations, you’re one of our Sandals Ambassadors”. I was ecstatic! I wanted to represent a brand that I had the


utmost confidence in and where I knew my clients would be happy to go on holiday. By becoming a Sandals Ambassador I can target existing and new clients and boost my sales with the various initiatives and activities. In my pitch to become a Sandals


Ambassador I chose to promote the Beaches brand. In my shop in Liverpool we deal with a lot of families and I felt that the brand needed


a bigger push in our area – families need to see what they are missing out on. I knew the marketing spend won in the


competition could go a long way in educating our locals, and I decided to host a ‘Beaches Big Event’. In the build-up, we held social media competitions with prizes and invites to the event, put up a permanent Beaches banner in the shop window and handed out leaflets at schools and nurseries. At the event itself we decorated the venue with pop-up banners and balloons, and served canapés to the adults and hot dogs to the kids.


STUNNING PROPERTIES Getting to experience two properties – Beaches in Turks & Caicos and the stunning Sandals resort in Antigua – was amazing. I was overwhelmed by the choice, quality and fun on offer at Beaches. The staff were fantastic and we had a great time in the Japanese restaurant with the dancing and singing chef. The activities available to families are second to none; I can honestly say no resort does it quite like Beaches. Prior to the trip I was aware of how good Sandals properties were but I did think Beaches might be mayhem, with kids running riot! I was so wrong. The resort caters well for children of all ages from babies to teenagers, with ample amount of space. It never feels crowded. Discovering the adult-only area has given


me confidence to sell this property to couples and not just families.


Turks & Caicos is an absolutely stunning


destination and Beaches is on one of the best beaches in the world – I would really challenge anyone who says otherwise. Our next stop was Sandals Grande Antigua


and it’s not hard to see why this property is seen as one of the most romantic in the world. The resort is split into two villages – Caribbean and Mediterranean. It has a whopping 11 dining options yet only 373 rooms! I’m not sure any other resort can boast such a ratio.


WHAT NEXT, JESSICA?


1 We plan to use the remainder of the marketing pot to exhibit Beaches at a local school Christmas Fayre with a fun ‘Find the Cookie Monster’ game.


2 Becoming an ambassador has cemented my loyalty to the Sandals brand and given me the tools to enthuse about the product to clients.


3 Since my return from the fam I have trained my colleagues on the USPs of the brand, and I will be targeting clients to book now for next year. These resorts sell out fast – because they are the best at what they do!


40 travelweekly.co.uk 28 July 2016


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