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Monday,  November 11, 2024   5:09 AM
Preferred Hotels keeps expanding as 50th anniversary celebrations continue
Of Preferred Hotels & Resorts: Vanessa Gromer, director, global sales, Canada and Rick Stiffler, vice president, leisure sales at Toronto's Rosehill Venue Lounge

Preferred Hotels & Resorts hosted their annual Toronto summer showcase Wednesday night (June 20), giving travel pros an opportunity to learn more about the company’s growing collection of independent properties both in North America and around the globe.

Celebrating 50 years

The well-attended event was held at the upscale Rosehill Venue Lounge in midtown Toronto.

“The advantage of doing these showcases is that you get to see a lot of home-based agents and independent agencies face-to-face,” Rick Stiffler, vice president, leisure sales at Preferred’s New York, NY, office, told PAX.

IMG_9276.jpgArlien Dyer, assistant director of sales, Half Moon Resorts

Preferred Hotels & Resorts, which celebrates it’s 50th anniversary this year, has expanded its portfolio significantly over the past year, now surpassing more than 700 hotels globally, Stiffler said.

New hotels

Some of Preferred’s newest hotels include the The Dominick and The Maritime Hotel in New York City; Hotel Bennett in Charleston, South Carolina; Montage Los Cabos in Mexico; and Hotel Unique in Sao Palo.

Noting the growing success of Preferred’s loyalty program, iPrefer, which now serves 2.5 million customers, Stiffler said:

“We’re continuing to grow on a global level."

iPrefer gives customers access to complimentary internet, room upgrades and other special amenities.

Preferred is celebrating new hotels in the Canadian market as well, two of which reflect a strategic plan to expand in smaller cities: Hotel 71 in Quebec City and The Park Hotel in London, ON.

Ingrid.jpgIngrid Lemm, director of sales and public relations at Hotel 71, one of Preferred's newest Canadian hotels.

Also new to Preferred’s Canadian collection is Hotel Monville, a modern property in downtown Montreal that offers guests a self-serve check-in terminal and a delivery robot for room service (the first hotel in the country to do so).

What about travel agents?

Where travel agents will see significant growth in Preferred’s collection over the next couple of years is in the company’s Residences program, which offers clients a range of short and long-term accommodations, from beachfront bungalows to countryside cottages to contemporary apartments in city locations.

“What’s nice about our residency program is that the inventory is now available to agents, whereas before they would have to call the hotel to see if that two-bedroom was available,” Stiffler said. “It lets our agencies be a bit more competitive in the Airbnb market when serving clients who might want that residential feel.”

Vanessa Gromer, Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ director of global sales in Canada, cited a growing demand in the hotel residency market.

“With all the multigenerational travel that’s happening more and more, a lot of travellers are turning to residencies so the whole family can stay together,” Gromer told PAX.

Preferred Pride program

The Toronto stop of Preferred Hotels & Resorts summer showcase unfolded just as Toronto Pride kicked off in the city, giving the hotel brand an opportunity to highlight their Preferred Pride program, an initiative launched in 2011 to give hotels a platform to reach out to the LGBT community.

On celebrating Preferred’s 50th anniversary, Stiffler and Gromer have travel agents to thank.

“The travel industry community has always been such a strong part of Preferred Hotels & Resorts,” Stiffler told PAX. “We continue to grow that relationship with the community because we know it’s a significant part of our business,” he said.

Added Gromer:

“There’s a reason why Preferred has been around for so long – we have the support from the travel industry.”

Preferred Hotels & Resorts will conclude its summer showcase in Montreal tonight (June 21).

Get more information on Preffered Hotels & Resorts!

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