On Location: "Simply The Best" – ACV@Home honours top advisors with first recognition trip in Cancun

“You’re simply the best…better than all the rest,” as the late and great singer Tina Turner once sang.

The legendary anthem has long celebrated strength, loyalty and standing above the crowd.

Now, it's the inspiration behind Air Canada Vacations' (ACV) "Simply The Best" Awards, an annual event that honours the home-based travel advisors who consistently rise to the top.

This week, for the very first time, those accolades have moved beyond the computer screen.

From June 29 to July 3, ACV@Home's top performers from across Canada have gathered at Meliá’s Paradisus Cancun for the program's inaugural "Simply The Best" recognition trip—a celebration that combines professional development, networking and well-earned relaxation under the Mexican sun.

PAX was exclusively invited to cover this week’s festivities, which welcomed seven of the ten Canadian travel advisors, representing various host agencies, who earned top honours.

(While all winners were invited, scheduling conflicts prevented some from attending).

The event marks a milestone for ACV@Home. Previous "Simply The Best" events was held virtually, but organizers had long envisioned rewarding their highest-achieving advisors with an unforgettable experience in a destination.

“We wanted to do something outstanding for our top-performing agents,”  as B.C.-based Marigold Frontuna, general manager, sales, for Air Canada Vacations and ACV@Home, put it.

That plan was originally scheduled for Jamaica, last year, as part of Air Canada Vacations' 50th anniversary celebrations.

However, the Air Canada labour disruption in August, followed by Hurricane Melissa in October, forced ACV to postpone the trip.

As a result, this year's Cancun gathering serves as both ACV@Home's first-ever destination recognition event and a celebration of advisors' 2024 sales performance.

“It’s better late than never,” said Frontuna. “For the ones who were able to join us in Cancun, we're so pleased to celebrate their success.”

Empowering home-based advisors

Launched in 2023, ACV@Home was created specifically for Canada's growing community of independent, home-based travel advisors.

The program equips advisors with innovative booking tools, expert training, marketing resources and personalized support designed to help them grow business while working remotely.

Today, ACV@Home's network includes approximately 6,000 travel advisors across 12 host agencies: The Travel Agent Next Door (TTAND), Trevello, Envoyage, Fareconnect, Go With Hippo, Go Travel, Centre Holidays, Nexion Canada, Tier One, TravelOnly, Transat’s Agent@Home and Travel Best Bets.

Supporting advisors who join the program are two award-winning key account managers: Andrea Arkell, who oversees Ontario and Atlantic Canada, and Tina Kensett, who supports Western Canada.

Frontuna says the independent advisor community has evolved dramatically in recent years.

"We’ve seen so much growth from independent consultants,” she said. "Many of them are entrepreneurs who have really scaled their business. They're go-getters. They’ve taken the initiative to reach out to suppliers and get the training."

The industry's shift toward home-based advisors accelerated after the pandemic, said Frontuna, prompting ACV to create a support system that was flexible and tailored to their needs.

Whether selling travel full-time, or pursuing it alongside another career, Frontuna says ACV@Home empowers advisors with the education and resources needed to thrive.

"We want to empower them with the right tools and resources so they can really be successful at selling travel,” she said.

Education at the core

A cornerstone of ACV@Home is its Masterclass Training Program.

Available only to ACV@Home advisors, the self-paced curriculum features 11 modules covering ACV’s products and sales strategies.  

Advisors must achieve a minimum score of 80 per cent before earning certification and receiving a “Passport to Benefits.”

The booklet includes approximately $750 in ACV&Me points plus additional perks, such as complimentary seat selection or travel protection.

"It really gives them an advantage and sets them apart when they're making a booking with their customer," said Frontuna.

Beyond its air offering, Air Canada Vacations’ expanding portfolio – spanning Sun destinations, Europe, South America, Asia, Oceania and cruises – makes the proposition even more compelling.

“We're the one-stop shop,” said Frontuna.

Not a FAM

While this week’s Cancun experience certainly resembles a familiarization trip, it’s not exactly a FAM in the traditional sense. (The F-word, in fact, hasn’t come up once!)

Instead, it's a live extension of ACV@Home's virtual awards – an experience that balances meaningful business sessions with ample opportunities for advisors to chill out.

Tuesday morning (June 30) saw advisors sporting matching white Air Canada Vacations "Simply The Best" t-shirts as they gathered inside one of Paradisus Cancun's conference rooms for a workshop centred around an informal theme: "Everything is easy when you know how."

It was more of a masterclass. ACV’s Marigold Frontuna, Andrea Arkell and Tina Kensett each took the floor to share the latest tools, tips and expert insights designed to simplify bookings and help agents boost sales.

The morning highlighted the many tools available to advisors, including ACV's Europe Toolkit, Cruise Promise, its 24-hour Options hold feature, travel protection offerings, group loyalty program and Air Canada's expanding network, including new routes to Catania, Palma de Mallorca, Shanghai, Budapest and Prague.

One particularly eye-opening statistic underscored Europe's growing importance: ACV’s Europe packages generate 347 per cent more commission than a typical sun booking, the team said.

Advisors also explored opportunities surrounding Aeroplan, including encouraging clients to redeem points for gift cards, while learning that 54 per cent of Aeroplan members spend on travel outside Canada and 24 per cent are more likely to upgrade, spending an additional $400 to $500 on ACV vacation packages.

Representatives from Meliá, a 70-year-old brand founded in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, introduced advisors to the company's hotel brands, including Paradisus and its “Destination-Inclusive” philosophy, which combines luxury accommodations with authentic local culture, cuisine and nature-based experiences.

Participants also heard presentations from Air Canada Vacations' destination team and DMC, World2Meet (W2M), which handles logistics like transfers and excursions.

The key message from Manuel Yanes, Air Canada Vacations' key account manager in Cancun for World2Meet, was for travel advisors to trust ACV’s in-destination team when sending clients to Mexico.

“We’re your family,” Yanes said. “We’re here for you. It’s a huge country, but we know how it works. We’re the local experts.”  

But the morning wasn't all PowerPoint presentations. Interactive team-building exercises cleverly reinforced the day's message.

In one challenge, advisors raced between workstations, placing colourful beads, one at a time, onto an aircraft illustration within a three-minute time limit.

Each bead represented a different customer profile, requiring advisors to strategically "fill" the aircraft and calculate its overall revenue.

Another activity challenged teams to recreate an aircraft using building blocks based solely on a photograph.

Once participants received the actual instruction manual, the task became dramatically easier – a reminder that leveraging available tools makes both business and everyday work far more efficient.

Canada Day, Cancun style

On Wednesday (July 1), the group traded workshop attire for red-and-white Canada Day apparel before heading out for site inspections.

Visiting Secrets Mirabel, Hyatt Ziva Cancun and Meliá Casa Maya, the advisors proudly showcased their Canadian spirit throughout Cancun's Hotel Zone.

There was no mistaking that Canada had arrived!

At the 478-room adults-only Secrets, agents learned that "ocean view" rooms truly live up to their name—there are no partial ocean views.

They also discovered that 30 per cent of the resort's accommodations are Preferred Club rooms, an upgraded category, and that a brand-new 16-storey tower features exclusively Preferred Club suites.

The 547-room Hyatt Ziva Cancun caters to both families and adults. Of its three towers, the Turquoize Tower is reserved exclusively for guests aged 18 and older, who also enjoy access to a dedicated rooftop infinity pool.

Meanwhile, the 248-room Meliá Casa Maya offers a relaxed, family-friendly escape with calm, shallow waters and minimal seaweed thanks to its location facing Isla Mujeres, which helps shield the shoreline from seaweed flow.

The intimate resort also features a water park, spacious accommodations and sits next to the ferry terminal, making day trips to Isla Mujeres especially convenient.

All three all-inclusive resorts impressed with diverse culinary offerings, featuring multiple restaurants and dining experiences to suit a wide range of tastes.

Inside the pyramids

Meanwhile, the newly-renovated Paradisus Cancun has been an impressive setting for the trip.

The five-building resort, crowned with soaring glass pyramids that pay homage to Mayan architecture (and known as Gran Meliá, years back), recently completed a €50-million renovation before reopening this past April.

The transformation unveiled 773 redesigned luxury suites overlooking either the Caribbean Sea or Nichupté Lagoon.

Rodrigo Motavelazco, Paradisus Cancun’s director of sales, is “very proud” to host ACV@Home’s inaugural recognition trip.

“Canada represents a lot of our occupancy,” Motavelazco told PAX. “We're very grateful to Canadian advisors for pushing us year-round, but also to Air Canada, which we’ve had a partnership with for many years.”

Motavelazco described Paradisus Cancun as “an iconic property” that Meliá Hotels International has owned for three decades.

One of the resort’s most striking design elements (which existed before the reno) is its seamless blending of nature and architecture.

Beneath each soaring glass pyramid, expansive atriums evoke the feeling of natural cenotes, where fountains, meandering waterways, wooden docks and ramps, hanging vines and abundant greenery create tranquil indoor landscapes bathed in natural light pouring through the glass above.

Each atrium is home to its own collection of cafés, lounges and restaurants, creating the sensation of bringing the outdoors indoors.

The redesign, however, extends throughout the resort with nine culinary concepts (including Sal Steak Cave for guests 18-plus), seven bars, expanded meeting facilities spanning more than 32,000 square feet, an Aquazone splash park, Kidsdom children's club and refreshed wellness experiences.

Families will also appreciate the resort's sprawling, serpent-shaped swimming pool.

One of the resort's clever design advantages is that, regardless of where guests are staying, they're never far from the pool or the beach.

Because the property (which sits 15 minutes from Cancun International Airport) stretches the length of its beachfront rather than extending deep inland, every section offers similarly convenient access to both.

“Every single room has a pretty good view,” noted Motavelazco.

Among the visual standouts is a new Japanese restaurant, Kao, where a series of striking box-like semi-private dining rooms appear to be crafted from oversized chopsticks, rising dramatically from the centre of one of the lush atriums. It’s an architectural showpiece.

Premium accommodations remain a major focus through the resort's Family Concierge and The Reserve categories.

Family Concierge caters to multigenerational travel with spacious suites, dedicated concierge service and exclusive family amenities, while The Reserve offers an elevated adults-only experience complete with private pools, lounges, beach areas and exclusive dining.

Guests staying in both categories also enjoy exclusive, included off-site experiences, including sunset cruises on Nichupté Lagoon.

One evening, several of us joined roughly 80 fellow guests for a sunset cruise through the lagoon, gliding past mangroves and along Cancun's coastline.

The highlight? A charismatic, roaming saxophone player who brought infectious energy to the voyage, moving effortlessly through a playlist that ranged from RAYE's "Where Is My Husband?" and "Golden" from KPop Demon Hunters to the Backstreet Boys classic "I Want It That Way."

Between electric solos, she surprised the crowd with powerful vocals, turning the cruise into a lively singalong that had guests enthusiastically joining in.

Dining at Paradisus Cancun has likewise received a significant refresh with new concepts including Vibra (gourmet flavours), Zesty (comfort), the expansive Gastro Hall and the aforementioned Kao, while returning favourites Blue Agave (Mexico) and Santé continue to impress (although Mediterranean-inspired Santé remains exclusive to The Reserve).

The hotel’s customer profile? Couples, honeymooners, wedding anniversaries, families, groups and conventions.

“We have 22 ballrooms on the property, including one brand-new boardroom for over 200 people in a secluded area of the hotel,” noted Motavelazco.

A Sandals top seller

ACV@Home's "Simply The Best" awards recognize excellence across a wide range of travel categories, from land vacations to cruises.

Halifax, N.S.-based Kim Hartlen of Kim Hartlen Travel, an affiliate of Trevello, received this year’s award for top sales performance with Sandals and Beaches Resorts.

“It's a great honour,” Hartlen told PAX.

She highlighted the longstanding relationship between Air Canada, Air Canada Vacations and Sandals, noting that over the years, the airline consistently worked alongside the late Gordon “Butch” Stewart, Sandals’ founder, to ensure passengers could reach whichever island destination the hotelier was operating in.

Additionally: Sandals and Beaches “work really well with travel agents,” said Hartlen.

“They have a love affair with travel agents. So does Air Canada Vacations. It all goes hand in hand. They want to work with the right people and so do I.”

How did Hartlen become a top Sandals seller? It didn’t happen overnight.

She’s been selling the all-inclusive, adults-only brand for 30 years, but business “really took off” 18 years ago when she hosted her first Sandals group.

Those high-value group bookings have since become an annual tradition.

“I bring all of my clients together,” explained Hartlen. “I'm the common denominator and they are all friends. It's repeat business and I'm absolutely honored that I can still do it. I’m proud of what I bring to it.”

As for what Hartlen appreciates about ACV@Home, it’s the dedicated support for remote-working, independent travel advisors.

“[Home-based advisors] don't work with other people a lot of times. We're working on our own, so that support goes a long way.”

Additionally: ACV@Home’s work ethic “is exactly like mine,” said Hartlen.

“When I send a message, it could be at 10 o'clock at night, and I’m not expecting a reply that late, but I often get one,” she said. “They work like I do.”

Between the flexible support, training and exclusive client perks, it’s a win for home-based travel advisors, Hartlen said.

“If you really want to take care of your clients, you have to be part of ACV@Home,” she said.

Relationships matter

But the message behind "Simply The Best" extends beyond sales numbers.

It's about celebrating advisors who continuously invest in themselves, embrace education and build meaningful relationships with both clients and suppliers.

Frontuna believes that's exactly what separates exceptional advisors from everyone else.

"Never stop learning," she said. "Our industry is always changing. There's always something happening that we can't control. Continue to make yourself relevant to your customer…The right advisor will always sell on value."

Ultimately, ACV@Home’s recognition trip (which, by the way, will return in 2027) represents much more than an awards ceremony.

It's a reminder that strong partnerships are built long before the booking is made.

"I'm just so thankful we're doing this," Frontuna said. "I really want agents to see what can come out of being a top performer with ACV. Relationships are everything in this business.”

“People support who they trust and who they know are dedicated to their success. I strongly believe our team is built on that."

And the winners are...

Which ACV@Home agents secured spots at this year’s Simply The Best trip? See the list here!

• Sales Overall - Janice Bell (Envoyage)
• Highest PAX Growth – Ruth Guiry (TTAND)
• Top Groups Agent – Lise Anne Brazeau (Trevello)
• Top Diversity Agent – Bessie Petrou (TTAND)
• Top Diversity Agent (Runner Up) – Jody Strauss (Fareconnect)
• Top Cruise Agent – Natalia Zawierucha (Trevello)
• Top Cruise Agent (runner-up) – Rachel Hong (Nexion Canada)
• Rising Star – Imran Ali (TTAND)
• Social Media – Annelise Roberts (Envoyage)
• Top Sandals – Kim Hartlen (Trevello)
• Winner (Spin the Wheel) – Rafa Sanchez

Stay tuned for more of PAX’s exclusive coverage from ACV@Home’s Simply The Best recognition trip in Cancun, Mexico!

To see more pictures from the trip, click and "like" PAX's Facebook page here. 

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