Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association (DWHSA) Newsletter

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Shanna Arnold
6 years ago
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1 orkspace Webmail :: Print 1 of 5 8/5/2013 1:03 PM Print Close Window Subject: News From the Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association From: Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association <info@dwagents.com> Date: Mon, Aug 05, :02 am To: john@dwagents.com Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association (DWHSA) Newsletter Thursday, August 1, 2013 Mark Your Calendars Now for Our Upcoming Webinars Here's our list of confirmed webinar topics (with more speakers being locked in over the next few days): - "Breathless and Zoetry Resorts" (Thursday, August 1, 2013) - "Outrigger Hotels & Resorts" (Tuesday, August 6, 2013) - "Half Moon, Rose Hall Jamaica" (Thursday, August 8, 2013) Sign into DWHSA.com to view the rest of the webinar schedule - which now includes brand-new webinars booked for Aruba, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Mexico! Finally, please help us by sharing the specific questions or issues you'd like us to address in the next webinars we're planning about Facebook and Pinterest - here's a quick survey: The Latest Travel Industry News Here's a roundup of the latest travel industry news! Remember: This list is designed to help you "catch up" on headlines you may have missed this past week, but it doesn't replace your other daily sources of news such as TravelPulse.com and TravelMarketReport.com: Majestic Resorts in the Dominican Republic will give your clients free honeymoon bonuses - ranging from a free in-room breakfast and a free beach restaurant dinner to a fruit platter and bottle of Champagne on arrival - for travel through Dec. 31, Also, the company offers a free wedding package (with at least 15 rooms booked for seven nights) that includes the basic ceremony plus a free couples massage and other features. Pleasant Holidays is promoting its DW promotions for agents. The company will pay you a $25 bonus per booking when guests of the DW couple book their trips to attend the wedding. You can use the bonus as a

2 2 of 5 8/5/2013 1:03 PM gift toward the couple's reservation or keep it as extra commission. Here's the link for a customizable flyer that you can give your clients. Also, Journese (the luxury division of Pleasant Holidays) unveiled a new promotion called "Suite Moments" with $200 discounts and other amenities on new suite bookings made at more than two dozen upscale resorts around the world (from Lizard Island in Australia to the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa in Tahiti). You must book Aug. 1-Sept. 30 for travel on selected dates through March 31, Outrigger will give you $50 bonuses for booking stays (five nights minimum) at the new Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort Aug. 1-July 31, 2014, for travel Aug. 1-Dec. 31, A new study says Hawaii could gain $217 million in new tourism spending through 2016 if same-sex marriage were legalized in the state. Legislation is pending there to allow same-sex marriages as early as the end of this year. Riu reopened the 507-room Riu Yucatan in Mexico's Riviera Maya region after a $20 million makeover that included new guestroom furniture and upgraded public spaces. The all-inclusive property (part of a complex that houses five other Riu hotels plus the Playacar Conference Center) offers a new Italian restaurant and swim-up bar as well. MLT Vacations rolled out an "early booking sale" with airfare deals and hotel discounts for trips booked to the Caribbean, Costa Rica, Hawaii, and Mexico booked by Sept. 1 for travel Jan. 1-April 30, Also, the company added more air capacity and departures from Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and New York for its Costa Rica packages. Sandals is renovating the 174 junior suites in the Windsor building at its Sandals Royal Bahamian resort in Nassau (Bahamas). The project (due to be done next January) will include upgraded bathrooms and new furniture (including four-posted bed). The ABC TV program "The Bachelorette" will feature three Elite Island Resorts properties in Antigua as it wraps up its ninth season on Aug. 5: the Galley Bay Resort & Spa, the St. James's Club & Villas, and the Verandah Resort & Spa. Carnival Cruise Lines announced group booking promotions for August on almost every sailing from Dec. 1 through May 31, 2014, including discounted group rates and a 1:10 rate for free cruise berths (vs. the usual one free berth for every 15 full-fare-paying guests). The line's group department will be open on the weekends this month as well. Royal Caribbean will invest $70 million in a new cruise terminal at the Cape Liberty port in Bayonne, N.J. The new terminal will debut in the fall of

3 3 of 5 8/5/2013 1:03 PM Cape Liberty is the homeport for the "Explorer of the Seas" and the "Celebrity Summit," and the "Quantum of the Seas" will be based there starting November Also, Royal Caribbean and its sister line Azamara Club Cruises rolled out deals for free cabin upgrades on selected sailings (booked Aug for Sept. 1-April 30, 2014 travel for Royal Caribbean, or booked Aug. 1-Sept. 30 for 2014 travel for Azamara). The 235-room Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza will open next May as the brand's first location in Europe. Two former Fiesta properties (the Club Don Toni and the Hotel Don Toni) will be converted for this project. The 525-room San Juan Marriott in Puerto Rico will refurbish all of its guestrooms by December, including new TVs and balcony furniture. Also, Marriott will welcome the 250-room Moscow Marriott Hotel Crocus City in Russia in 2016, next to the city's biggest trade show center. And, the dual-branded Courtyard by Marriott/Residence Inn Syracuse Downtown at Armory Square is now open in New York with a main restaurant and bar and an indoor heated pool. Brendan Vacations is promoting its upscale honeymoon and romance packages to Ireland, including stays in castles and unique properties. Princess Cruises announced "Fall Savings Spectacular" deals on selected autumn departures (including onboard credits and discounts up to 55 percent off brochure rates). You must book July 31-Aug. 20. Palace Resorts named two new business development managers in Canada: Julie Golding will work with Atlantic Canada and Quebec, while Diana Winters will serve Manitoba and Ontario. (Peter Tran will continue representing Palace in western Canada.) Air Canada will launch weekly seasonal flights between Halifax and Fort Lauderdale (Dec. 14 through the end of April 2014) and between Toronto and Vail, Colo. (Dec. 14-April 5, 2014). WestJet Vacations unveiled an interactive brochure that agents can customize with destination and hotel information plus additional details tailored for each client. WestJet plans nonstop daytime flights on a seasonal basis (Dec. 13-April 26, 2014) for three Hawaii routes: Calgary-Honolulu (twice weekly), Edmonton-Maui (three times weekly), and Calgary-Maui (four times weekly). The 79-room Wyndham Cusco Sawsayhuaman debuted in Cusco, Peru, with a balcony bistro, a spa, a lounge, and an oxygen bar. Omni will develop a 330-room hotel (opening in 2015) that will be part of

4 4 of 5 8/5/2013 1:03 PM the USA Place complex in downtown Tempe, Ariz. Delta Air Lines will add more domestic flights from Los Angeles this fall, including new daily service to Portland (Ore.), Jackson Hole (Wyo.), Kalispell (Mont.), and Missoula (Mont.) and more departures on nine other routes. Also, Delta will add seasonal nonstop flights (starting Dec.21) to Aspen, Colo., from both Atlanta and Minneapolis. JetBlue announced a new codeshare deal with South African Airways for seamless ticketing and baggage handling across their networks. Next May, Turkish Airlines will launch service to Boston from Istanbul. Starwood turned the Sheraton Delfina Santa Monica Hotel in California into the 310-room Le Meridien Delfina Santa Monica. Now closed for renovations, the hotel will reopen this fall with refurbished guestrooms and public spaces. The Point Yamu by COMO resort will open this fall in Phuket, Thailand, with 79 guestrooms and 27 private pool villas plus two restaurants and a spa. The first section of the 1,100-room Grand Ho Tram Strip resort in Vietnam is now open. The resort sits a few miles from Ho Chi Minh City. Four Seasons will manage the Westcliff hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa, when it reopens (after major renovations) in the middle of next year. The property will add an outdoor pool, a fitness center, and a spa. The first Twentieth Century Fox Theme Park will debut in Malaysia in The 25-acre park will feature characters and settings from movies such as "Ice Age," "Night at the Museum," and "Rio." Thanks - have a great week! This was sent to john@dwagents.com by info@dwagents.com Update Profile/ Address Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe Privacy Policy. DWHSA - Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association POB Nashville TN THIS IS A TEST ONLY. This was sent by the author for the sole purpose of testing a draft message. If you believe you have received the message in error, please contact the author by replying to this message. Constant Contact takes reports of abuse very seriously. If you wish to report abuse, please forward this message to abuse@constantcontact.com.

Destination Wedding Group Rates: Departing Toronto (As of Feb 14, 2014)

Destination Wedding Group Rates: Departing Toronto (As of Feb 14, 2014) *All rates/details are subject to change without notice. Please inquire for more information. *All rates include roundtrip airfare & airport transfers and 7-nights all-inclusive accommodations. Min 10