Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection’s 2024 “Confidant Connect LIVE”—a weekend of networking, workshops, site inspections, a slew of updates from the brand’s executive team and, yes, plenty of fun, wrapped up Sunday night at Secrets Tulum Resort & Beach Club with the “Icon Ball,” a swanky evening emceed by Mark Benson, Associate Vice President, Sales & Strategy for Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection, which celebrated the cream of the crop of an already stellar gathering of 100 travel advisors from the U.S. and Canada. The Mona Lisa, Barbie, 007 and other icons such as the MIB, Elle Woods and more walked the red carpet on their way to a sit-down dinner and an awards ceremony at the resort’s Jaguar Ballroom that marked the closing of Hyatt’s signature event.
Recipients of the yearly humanitarian “Confidant Cares” awards included Joshua Harrell, CRO of WorldVia Travel Group; Dan Smith, owner of Destination Wedding Travel; Sharon Benoff, co-owner of Vacationeeze; and Canadians Dawn Rzepka, Senior Director of Luxe Destination Weddings, and Vikas Malhotra, Travel Expert at Travel 2000.
Two additional awards were handed out during the general assembly: This is the event’s fifth year, and two advisors—Mike Schelhase from Travel Haus and Trudy Lagerman from Liberty Travel—were recognized for having attended all five.
Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection Weekend Update
On Saturday, advisors gathered in the Jaguar Ballroom for a morning of updates that included several panels and a fun “The Morning Show” presentation. Of note: 2025 will see Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection’s Field Sales aligned under the new Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region, a recent development. This will allow the teams to hone in on the properties in the region, leveraging their B2B relationships. It has also resulted in expanded teams, thus providing more services, education, training and support to advisors.
Inclusive Collection execs offered product updates such as deep dives into Hyatt’s newest brand, Hyatt Vivid (check out the onsite review of the first of its kind, the Hyatt Vivid Grand Island, in the January/February edition of Recommend), the Hyatt Ziva and Hyatt Zilara brands. During “The Morning Show,” they presented Confidant Connect by the numbers: Year-over-year increases included a 15 percent increase in travel advisors reached (45K+) and over 1,150 in-person sales calls made, a growth of over 35 percent. FAM trips, a favorite of advisors, increased by over 54 percent. The Confidant Collective has over 42,000 advisors enrolled, with a 19 percent increase in registered bookings.
For end of 2024 and 2025, “The Morning Show” panel pointed to a slew of new luxury and lifestyle resort openings for 2024/2025, including Il Mare (Curaçao December 2024), Secrets St. Lucia (March 2025), Secrets Playa Esmeralda (Dominican Republic April 2025), Dreams Playa Esmeralda (Dominican Republic 2025), Dreams Grand Island (2025), and Secrets Baby Beach (Aruba March 2025). The latter received its own presentation by Irene Prado, Regional VP LATAM & ENCA, Ricardo Portillo, Director of Sales for the property, Mary Ellen Burke, National Director of Sales, and Carolina Bellina, Senior Director, Canadian Sales. Currently under construction, it will be the first Hyatt’s Inclusive Collection and the only luxury all-inclusive in the destination. It’s also the first hotel opening on Baby Beach on the island’s south side, a departure from the High-Rise section in the northern part of the island.
Confidant Collective Gains
B2B Marketing Director Eileen Herncane, Director of Sales Support & Strategic Compliance Christine Echelman, and Director of B2B Loyalty & Data Strategy Melissa Carvajal took to the stage to talk about Inclusive Collection’s travel advisor platform, which Herncane stressed was created 100 percent with input from advisors like you. “This is the best way for us to reach you and it’s the easiest way for you to get information,” she added. “I know I say login every day, and I truly mean login every day.” The site, she said, is updated every day. The platform, a one-stop-shop for education (new), advisor travel, niche and group travel, and all the resources you need for marketing to clients, including ready-made social media posts, also offers a comprehensive advisor loyalty program where you can earn rewards and benefits including travel to over 100 resorts, cash, merchandise and more. And, of course, top certified Confidants are invited to the yearly Confidant Connect LIVE event.
Partners and Special Guests
Partners presenting during the event included United Airlines, with Senior Manager Leisure Sales, Michael Scott, and Manager, Sales Support, Mykie Kim, sharing updates on the airline’s investment in employees, customers, infrastructure and technology over the past four years to the tune of $32 billion. This includes one of the largest aircraft orders in commercial aviation history, modernized terminals and gates in their hubs, an app that allows passengers to connect with an agent at the moment and a favorite, industry-leading WiFi. They also gave attendees a peek at the future filled with sustainable travel.
Partner Amstar provided transportation before, during, and after the event and was also present. Sr. Business Development Manager, North America, Rosy Rodriguez, shared details about the evolution of the brand, which began its soft launch in October of this year with changes to its website and social media channels and brand engagement sessions with advisors. The destination implementation will start in January 2025, when you and your clients will see new uniforms and vehicles across all of Amstar’s destinations. The full-scale implementation is expected to be completed by March 2025.
Special guest hospitality expert, author and one of the leading concierges in the world, Sarah Dandashy, was on hand with an engaging presentation that gave attendees insight into what makes a Clef d’Or concierge so unique and how the knowledge could be put to use as a travel advisor. Her advice? Think like a concierge: focus on the WOW factor, anticipate needs, offer unparalleled service during the journey and build lasting connections post-journey. She also offered tips on creating a signature toolkit with handwritten notes, curated welcome gifts and more.
On-Sites
Advisors were treated at an on-site visit of Secrets Tulum and the newest addition, Casa Zamna, a 21-room luxury addition to the property, located 15 minutes away at the Zamna Beach Club. The property includes the five-bedroom ultra-luxe Villa Zamna, with private chef and butler service and access to all the beach club amenities and Secrets Tulum. Casa Zamna is also home to the new Rosewater restaurant, a full-service option for Casa Zamna and Villa Zamna guests. Guests of both also have access to the Preferred Club and all the amenities of the main resort.
Stay tuned for an interview with Mark Benson with more insights.
For more information, visit confidant.hyattinclusivecollection.com.
