Sandals & Beaches Showcase Group & MICE Capabilities at Toronto Event

Sandals and Beaches, in collaboration with the Jamaica Tourist Board, recently hosted a small gathering of BDMs, resort representatives and travel advisors at The Vue, near Pearson Airport.

The evening was designed to showcase and promote the resort chain’s group offerings, with a particular focus on its capabilities for corporate meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE). 

While the resort representatives did a good job outlining meeting-room capacities and unique venues for corporate dinners and receptions, the strongest reaction from attendees came in response to the remarkable recovery of Sandals and Beaches resorts — and Jamaica as a whole — following last year’s devastating Hurricane Melissa.

Dan Hamilton, Jamaica Tourist Board District Sales Manager, opened the presentation with a detailed and heartfelt overview of the recovery efforts, not only at Sandals and Beaches properties but throughout Jamaica. More importantly, he spoke about the resilience of the Jamaican people in the aftermath of the storm.

Jamaica’s recovery has gone beyond simply restoring what was damaged. Resorts, infrastructure and communities have not only bounced back, but a number of projects have been completed or accelerated to improve the visitor experience and make Jamaica an even stronger destination for international travellers.

Among the examples highlighted were additional e-gates at Sangster International Airport, a new road network designed to bypass Montego Bay for travellers heading toward Negril and the South Coast, and expanded airlift to both Montego Bay and Kingston.

The Jamaica Tourist Board also reminded attendees that it can assist MICE organizers with a range of requirements, including negotiating fees and tax deductions, customs brokerage, venue selection and connections with local DMCs.

And while Jamaica’s return to full health was clearly the evening’s central theme, there were also updates on other Caribbean destinations. These included Treasure Beach in the Turks and Caicos, the growing popularity of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, upgrades in St. Lucia and Antigua, soft renovations in Grenada, the conversion of Exuma from a Sandals to a Beaches resort, and the impending completion of the new Beaches resort in Barbados.

The update from Unique Vacations Canada reinforced Sandals and Beaches’ $200-million Caribbean recovery and growth plan — a commitment that will be further bolstered by the recent announcement that Royal Caribbean Group has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in the company.

Carnel Smith, Director of Sales, Groups and Conventions at Sandals Dunn’s River, then detailed the resort’s group facilities and some of the property’s recent “reinventions.”

Among the more distinctive additions are sky terraces on the resort’s signature rondovals, complete with telescopes for nighttime stargazing; Blum Café; Dunn’s Rum Club; and, perhaps most intriguingly, a 5:30 a.m. bicycle cart travelling along the beach and serving Blue Mountain coffee.

For MICE groups, the newly opened Louis Grant Conference Center offers 8,000 square feet of dedicated meeting and event space. It can accommodate up to 360 guests for a banquet and as many as 600 in a cocktail-style setup, providing considerable flexibility for corporate groups and events.

C.J. Smith, Director of Sales for Unique Vacations Canada, capped off the evening with an update on the reinventions and renovations underway at the three Jamaican resorts that sustained the most significant hurricane damage: Sandals Montego Bay, Caribbean Cay (formerly Sandals Royal Caribbean) and Sandals South Coast.

The rebuilds include new pools, greener common areas (lots of new palms and coconut trees), additional dining options, lighter and airier colour palettes, and repositioned venues designed to improve the overall flow of each resort.

The audience broke into light applause when C.J. announced that Sandals is also experimenting with two-bed room configurations for travellers who are not necessarily couples travelling together. The initiative is starting at South Coast, with the possibility of expanding to other resorts if guests embrace the concept and demand proves strong.

For a company whose Jamaican resorts were tested so severely by Hurricane Melissa, the message from the evening was clear: recovery is not simply about rebuilding what was lost. In many cases, it is about coming back with something better, namely Sandals 2.0.