Vacation.com Honors Top Agents, Suppliers

Vacation.com executives John Lovell, vice president of sales and industry relations, and Stephen McGillivray, vice president of marketing and public relations, presented the Power of Partnership (POP) awards, which honor top member agencies and Preferred Suppliers. The awards were presented during the closing General Session at the 11th International Conference and Trade Show at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.

“Vacation.com’s goal is to succeed together, and these awards are a celebration of achieving that goal,” said Lovell. “Even though awards were handed out to only a few top producers, every agency and supplier deserves recognition for making Vacation.com the biggest, most successful travel marketing company in the industry.”

The 2009 Agency Awards were presented first to eight agencies in two categories: Chairman's Award for the highest preferred supplier sales, and President's Award for the largest Preferred Supplier sales growth in three revenue categories.

2009 Chairman's Award:
U.S. Agency – Crucon Cruise Outlet Plus, Inc.
Canadian Agency – Newwest Travel

2009 President's Award
•    U.S. Agency – American Discount Cruises
•    U.S. Agency – Young Travel
•    U.S. Agency – Take Me On Vacation Travel
•    Canadian Agency – Travel Last Minute
•    Canadian Agency – Sahara Travel
•    Canadian Agency – BMQ Travel Group

The supplier POP awards recognize those Preferred Suppliers that consistently meet and exceed the needs of member agencies. The awards are voted on solely by Vacation.com members.

"The POP awards give our members a chance to recognize suppliers for being reliable, committed partners,” said McGillivray. “Like the results of previous years, the voting was very tight across each category, and every Preferred Supplier received excellent overall scores.”

The 2009 POP awards were bestowed upon 15 companies in eight categories as follows:
•    U.S. Air/Air Consolidator Partner of the Year – Air New Zealand
•    Canada Air/Air Consolidator Partner of the Year – Intair
•    Car Partner of the Year – Hertz
•    Contemporary Cruise Partner of the Year – Royal Caribbean International
•    Premium Cruise Partner of the Year – Celebrity Cruises
•    Luxury Cruise Partner of the Year – Crystal Cruises
•    Specialty Cruise Partner of the Year – Viking River Cruises
•    Hotel/Resort Partner of the Year – Marriott
•    U.S. Insurance Partner of the Year – Travel Guard
•    Canada Insurance Partner of the Year – RBC
•    Rail/Ground Operator Partner of the Year – Amtrak
•    U.S. Escorted Tour Operator Partner of the Year – Globus family of brands
•    U.S. Packaged Tour Operator Partner of the Year – Funjet Vacations
•    Canada Escorted Tour Operator Partner of the Year – Globus family of brands
•    Canada Package Tour Operator Partner of the Year – Signature Vacations

New POP awards were also handed out to recognize the top agencies that have demonstrated a commitment to EZguider, Vacation.com’s leisure-booking platform that allows members to search, compare and book tours, cruises, air and insurance from one source.

EZguider General Manager Ron Cole took the stage to present the Charter Booker Award to the top agencies that are transacting a substantial amount of their overall business through EZguider, and the 1,000 Club Award to an agency that has made at least 1,000 bookings through the tool.

EZguider Award Winners
•    1,000 Club Award – Online Vacation Center
•    Charter Booker Award – Classic Travel
•    Charter Booker Award – St. Lucie Travel
•    Charter Booker Award – Advantage Cruises and Tours
•    Charter Booker Award – Global Tours and Travel

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