Bonnie Summers of Stockton Travel Service Inc. was selected in a random drawing of more than 1,000 travel professional sat the StarwoodPro booth during the Luxury Travel Expo and won a four-night vacation to the W Retreat & Spa – Maldives. Summers has 42 years of experience as a travel professional, and is a home-based independent contractor with a specialty in exotic destinations, cruises and small groups. A long time agency owner, she has been home-based since 2006.
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“I have never won anything in my life, and this is just so exciting," she said. "Starwood is an excellent partner to the travel professional community and I can promise you they will be my first choice for my best customers.
Located in the Indian Ocean, W
Retreat & Spa – Maldives offers simple pleasures like a swim-up bar, and more adventurous opportunities to discover
marine life amongst the beautiful coral, or a chance to rejuvenate the
body at the AWAY Spa.
Summers is the first in a series of winners awarded by StarwoodPro. Building on its reputation with travel agents, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide announced this week its new “Book and Win BIG” sweepstakes opportunity for its travel professional partners. Each time a reservation is confirmed at any Starwood hotel or resort property, travel professionals are eligible to submit an entry into the StarwoodPro “Book and Win BIG” sweepstakes. The winning travel professional will receive 1 million Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints to redeem on travel to more than 900 hotels and resorts in 95 countries across nine world-class brands.
Starwood says 1 million Starpoints could buy a travel professional two weeks in a suite at the St. Regis Bora Bora, which was just voted top luxury resort in the South Pacific by Luxury Travel Advisor. Other examples include 50 nights at the Royal Hawaiian, which reopens as a Luxury Collection property next month, or the new St. Regis Princeville opening next summer. The winner could choose a month long stay at the legendary St. Regis New York or every single weekday for an entire year at a Four Points by Sheraton. Travel professionals can explore and start dreaming by checking out the redemption rates today at www.spg.com/redeem.
“Starwood wants to reward its travel professional partners for satisfying their customers and supporting us,” said Chris Austin,
vice president of global customer partnerships leisure luxury sales for
Starwood Hotels & Resorts. "By creating this 1 million Starpoints
sweepstakes, we can make their dreams come true, too. In fact, we would
love travel professionals to share their dreams with us by first
submitting their entry and then submitting their dream.”
Travel
professionals can visit the “Book and Win BIG” site today and tell
Starwood what they would do with 1 million points so Starwood can share
those dreams with the rest of the industry. Any confirmed reservation
at a Starwood property made via the GDS, any of Starwood’s branded
websites, a Starwood call center or through a tour operator or
wholesaler is eligible for an entry.
Each confirmed reservation must be followed by the completion of an entry form. Travel professionals just need to visit starwoodpro.com,
click on the “Book and Win BIG” link to register or add their bookings.
Each booking added is another qualifying entry. The “Book and Win BIG”
sweepstakes will run throughout 2009 and the winning entry will be
drawn in January 2010.