Hey, it's
Amanda Morris!
BDM, Ontario, Playa Hotels & Resorts
How have you been coping during the last few months and how have you been keeping busy?
To be honest with you, it has actually been a busy six months for me. I mean, let’s start by saying I have had a six year old and an eight year old at home 24 hours a day for 194 days straight (which is 4,656 hours in case you were wondering)! All kidding aside, I am very grateful to have been among the small group in our industry who has continued to work full time. I am temporarily covering Canada as my territory including sales support for Destination Weddings for Canada.
Staying engaged and communicating with the Canadian travel agent community continues to be my top priority. Not only by being available to offer support and assistance during this extremely difficult season but to provide regular updates on new developments within Playa Resorts such as our Playa SAFE STAY Initiative. Many advisors have taken this time to create new goals and strategies and have invested a lot of time into educating themselves and their teams. So needless to say virtual learning has become a much bigger part of my day-to-day with meetings, training webinars and virtual consumer events. And as always for me, Facebook has been a great way to stay in touch with our agents. We have strongly encouraged them to stay engaged with their clients/potential clients during this time and I have made sure to regularly post useful and shareable content such as our consumer friendly YouTube resort videos, promotion details and social media images. Canadian travellers may not be traveling like they usually do but they want to. It is my responsibility to continue to provide Canadian travel advisors with all the tools they need to better sell Playa Resorts when their clients are ready.
On a personal note, although I joke about all the hours I have had with my family, it has truly been a gift especially with the precious age of my kiddos. We have spent our mornings snuggling, our evenings playing boardgames or going on family walks and our weekends either on the water kayaking or at our trailer which has been a new and very welcomed change of scenery for all of us. For “me time” I try to move my body for at least 30 minutes a day with a run or a work out and in the evenings I can be found with either my head stuck in a book or watching a PVR’d Hallmark movie (with a glass of wine, of course).
“Staying engaged and communicating with the Canadian travel agent community continues to be my top priority. Not only by being available to offer support and assistance during this extremely difficult season but to provide regular updates on new developments within Playa Resorts such as our Playa SAFE STAY Initiative. Many advisors have taken this time to create new goals and strategies and have invested a lot of time into educating themselves and their teams.”
Amanda Morris
Playa Hotels & Resorts
What do you miss most about travelling?
There are really so many things. To start, I actually miss having a half packed suitcase in my bedroom at all times getting ready for either my next overnight or trip down south. I miss grabbing a coffee and people watching while I wait to board my flight and I miss chatting with complete strangers — I actually met a very good friend of mine on a flight from Houston to Toronto. And of course I miss so much about flying down south in particular. I miss the way the familiar heat hits me when I step outside the airport terminal, seeing my name on a sign from my airport transfer and I really miss the sound of the tree frogs at night in Jamaica and the sound of the ocean hitting the sand. More than anything though, I miss my friends and colleagues at each resort. Normally when I leave a resort I already know when I will be back so leaving isn’t as hard. I am 99.9% certain I will cry tears of happiness on my next flight!
Where’s the first place you want to go and why?
Let’s be honest, at this point I would take pretty much ANYWHERE! But in all seriousness, I would say I hope my first trip is back to Jamaica. I think it will certainly be our first family trip so we can visit a very special family member who we all miss. Jamaica is a very special place for our family and will forever hold a piece of my heart.
Is there anything you want to share with travel agents?
First and foremost I want to thank each and every travel agent out there. I have spent a big chunk of my travel career as a consultant and I have seen a lot of the industries bumps over the years but I have never, ever experienced anything like this. I empathize with each and every one of you and appreciate the hours and hours of work you have put in over the past several months including the days you have worked around the clock to ensure that your clients are taken care. The travel industry is resilient and we will rebound from this and when we do consumers will be turning to Travel Agents, YOU are our Industries Heroes!
Oh, and I do always have to remind you to visit our travel agent portal AgentCash+ www.agentcashplus.com for so many great tools including our NEW certification course, our Wedding Specialist program and packages, our Media Library and of course our Agent Incentive program to name a few. #reportyourbookings #playalovestravelagents
What kind of feedback have you heard from guests or any of the agents who recently experienced your properties?
The feedback we have received has been absolutely phenomenal. Both travel agents and our guests who have experienced our properties since re-opening have been very impressed with the safety measures we have put into place as part of our Playa SAFE STAY promise. On numerous occasions I have heard that our guests feel even safer on property than they do at home. Guests continue to be amazed by our food & beverage options, the incredible services and amenities available to them but most importantly what continues to stand out to guest and travel agents alike is our staff and the incredible service our clients receive.
What’s something not a lot of people know about Playa?
In September 2019 at the 17th annual Stevie Awards, Playa Hotels & Resorts was named hospitality and leisure employer of the year. This Award recognizes the world’s best employers taking into consideration a number of factors. More than 60 judges from around the world participated and selected Playa Resorts for this prestigious award with 600 nominations from 24 nations being considered.
There’s been a lot of talk about the industry coming out better on the other side of COVID-19. What are your hopes?
The travel industry is resilient and I am certain it will recover. Do I think it will happen overnight? No, I think some markets will recover more quickly than others including the All Inclusive space. With some airlines now including COVID medical coverage I think that when the 14-day mandatory post travel quarantine is lifted we will see a surge of business. I think there are many travellers ready to travel now who are just waiting for that and I think there are many who will then have more confidence in planning for future travel. My hope is that agents have taken this time while things have been slower to educate themselves and align themselves with partners who they can rely on and who have strict safety protocols in place to ensure the safety of their clients. I also hope that all agents across Canada know that I am always available to help them in any way that I can at: [email protected].
