Ensemble Travel Group honored its top-producing members and suppliers in the United States and Canada at the organization’s Circle of Excellence Gala during the 2017 Ensemble Travel Group International Conference at the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion.
“2016 was the best year in our company’s history from a North American profit-sharing perspective, and this elite circle of members was a driving force behind that success,” said Ensemble Co-President Lindsay Pearlman in a written release. “A huge congratulations to them for this outstanding achievement and for supporting our preferred partners in such a significant way.”
Top U.S. Members
The organization’s top producers in the U.S. based on 2016 sales of Ensemble preferred partners (in alphabetical order):
- AffordableTours.com of Stafford, TX
- Alice Travel & Personality Tours of Fairfield, NJ
- Altair Travel & Cruises of St. Louis, MO
- Crown Cruise Vacations of Princeton, NJ
- Go Travel Inc. of Longwood, FL
- Incentive Connection Travel Inc. of Phoenix, AZ
- Professional Travel, Inc. of North Olmstead, OH
- The Cruise Web of Calverton, MD
- Travel Network/Vacation Central of Englewood Cliffs, NJ
- Travel Planners International of Maitland, FL
The “Agency Excellence Award,” based on member engagement of the organization’s events, technology, marketing, and specialty partners was awarded to Custom Cruises & Travel of Omaha, NE. In addition, the “Highest Growth Award” went to the following U.S. members for achieving the highest year-over-year growth (regionally) based on 2016 preferred partner sales compared to 2015: Colony Travel of Deptford, NJ; Chima Travel Bureau, Inc. of Akron, OH; Lindale Travel, Inc. of Asheville, NC; Jackson Travel Agency, Inc. of Medford, OR; and Travel Wizards of Burlingame, CA.
“Beyond Boundaries,” a new awards category introduced in Dallas, was established to recognize members who exemplify many of Ensemble Travel Group’s core values. Winners of the Beyond Boundaries award from the U.S.: MEI-Travel of Issaquah, WA; Cruise Elite of Ormond Beach, FL; Burton Travel of Owings Mills, MD; Cruise Consultants Company of San Antonio, TX; and Travel Advisors of Los Gatos.
Top Canada Members
The organization’s top producers in Canada based on 2016 sales of Ensemble preferred partners (in alphabetical order) are:
- Cruise Connections Canada Ltd. of Vancouver, BC
- CruisePlus Management. Ltd of Lantzville, BC
- Escapes.ca/Skyland Travel Inc. of Vancouver, BC
- Ixtapa Travel of Saskatoon, SK
- Jubilee Tours & Travel Ltd. of Burnaby, BC
- TierOne Travel Inc. of Calgary, AB
- Travel Masters of Vancouver, BC
- TravelOnly of Brantford, ON
- Tully Luxury Travel of Mississauga, ON
- Ucruising of Unionville of Markham, ON
The Canadian “Agency Excellence Award” winner was Orion Travelinx of Burlington, ON, while the Canadian winners of the “Highest Growth Award” were: MPH Travel, Inc. of Toronto, ON; Top of the World Travel of Yellowknife, NT; The Great Canadian Travel Company, Ltd. of Winnipeg, MB; and Voyages Encore Travel, Inc. of Montreal, QC. “Beyond Boundaries” award winners in Canada were Cruise Vacations of Winnipeg of Winnipeg, MB; Agence de Voyages La Para Travel of Montreal, QC; and Departures Travel of Victoria, BC.
Top Suppliers
The following preferred partners were honored in the annual awards program, based on U.S. member votes and input:
- 2017 Cruise Partner of the Year – Holland America Line
- 2017 Outstanding Agency Support (cruise) – Royal Caribbean International
- 2017 Outstanding Marketing Partner (cruise) – Oceania Cruises
- 2017 Tour Partner of the Year – Globus family of brands
- 2017 Outstanding Agency Support (tour) – Abercrombie & Kent
- 2017 Outstanding Marketing Partner (tour) – Delta Vacations
- 2017 Air Partner of the Year – Emirates
- 2017 Outstanding Agency Support (air) – Delta Air Lines
- 2017 Business Services/Insurance Partner of the Year – Allianz Global Assistance
- 2017 Business Services/Insurance Outstanding Agency Support – AIG Travel
The following preferred partners were honored in the annual awards program, based on member votes and input from Canada:
- 2017 Cruise Partner of the Year – Oceania Cruises
- 2017 Outstanding Agency Support (cruise) – Regent Seven Seas Cruises
- 2017 Outstanding Marketing Partner (cruise) – Holland America Line
- 2017 Tour Partner of the Year – Globus family of brands
- 2017 Outstanding Agency Support (tour) – TravelBrands
- 2017 Outstanding Marketing Partner (tour) – WestJet Vacations
- 2017 Air Partner of the Year – Air New Zealand
- 2017 Outstanding Agency Support (air) – Singapore Airlines
- 2017 Business Services/Insurance Partner of the Year – Manulife
In addition, 11 North American awards, reflecting the input of both U.S. and Canadian members, were announced at the Circle of Excellence gala:
- 2017 Transportation Partner of the Year – AvisBudget Group
- 2017 Transportation Outstanding Agency Support – Vitesse Worldwide
- 2017 Ensemble On Location Partner of the Year – TFL Tours (Italy)
- 2017 Hotel Partner of the Year – AccorHotels
- 2017 Hotel Marketing Partner of the Year – Hyatt Hotels & Resorts
- 2017 Boutique Hotel Brand Partner of the Year – Red Carnation Hotel Collection
- 2017 Cruise Specialty Partner of the Year – Windstar Cruises
- 2017 Land Specialty Partner of the Year – Rocky Mountaineer
- 2017 River Cruise Partner of the Year – Uniworld Boutique River Cruise Collection
- 2017 Experiential/Adventure Partner of the Year – UnCruise Adventures
- Above and Beyond Award – SilverSea Cruises
Members based their selections on three key performance areas: quality of customer service (timeliness and accuracy of communications and documentation, ease of the booking process, and overall problem solving), level of agency support (local sales rep, co-op funds, group support, marketing guidance, product training, and commitment to agency sales channel), and client satisfaction (product delivery, fulfillment of client expectations, and repeat bookings).
In addition to the annual recognition program, Ensemble Travel Group officials use the member feedback as a tool for ongoing supplier dialogue and benchmarking purposes.
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