Extra Holidays lets agents offer condos to clients while earning commission
Ann Ruppenstein
Extra Holidays has an offer Canadians can’t refuse.
To entice the local market, Extra Holidays is offering discounts of up to 25% off its Canadian properties while offering protected commission to travel agents.
“The commission protection program that we have for travel agents allows us to make sure that even if we have to cancel a reservation or close down a property dealing with the current environment with COVID-19, we want to make sure our travel agent population still gets the credit of that booking,” Heena Patel, Vice President of Extra Holidays tells Travel Courier via a Zoom interview with one of its Canadian properties — WorldMark Canmore – Banff — in the background.
Patel says the company specializes in providing condo vacations at hotel prices, which caters to the needs of travellers today.
“I think that’s where we offer a different experience — that word condo gives them the peace of mind of having more space — there are larger living rooms, separate bedrooms, bathrooms,” she says. “Having the amenities of having a full kitchen right there and laundry services so that you can choose to stay in your suite and get that experience of being away from home or having a home away from home or dine in and cook while you’re there.”
We definitely want to make sure our Canadian customers get a chance to still travel with the borders being closed and get an option to experience some of the resorts that are right there within driving distance.”
Heena Patel
Part of Wyndham Destinations, Extra Holidays gives agents access to hundreds of vacation club resorts like Club Wyndham, WorldMark by Wyndham and Margaritaville Vacation Club. In Canada, properties include Carriage Ridge Resort & Carriage Hills Resort, Mountainside Lodge, WorldMark Canmore – Banff and WorldMark Victoria.
“We actually have a great program out there for travel local in Canada and it includes discounts of up to 25% off and it allows Canadian residents to experience resorts that are right in their backyard,” she says. “We definitely want to make sure our Canadian customers still get a chance to still travel with the borders being closed and get an option to experience some of the resorts that are right there within driving distance.”
To help regain consumer confidence in travelling, the company has also introduced Vacation Ready, enhanced resort cleaning protocols developed in partnership with ECOLAB.
“What this does is it has set rigorous standards including implementing enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures, social distancing measures and really just engaging every aspect of the guest experience and the new procedures exceed the CDC’s recommendations for complete owner and guest confidence,” she says. “I think it’s really important because we want everyone to come back and enjoy the experience but in a safe way and our standards are in accordance with local and provincial regulations so we’re really trying to make sure everyone has that confidence that travelling now at our locations is a great way to do it.”
As for why agents should register with the company, she points out that they will get to take advantage of 12% commission along with gaining access to 700 locations globally including newer additions in Bali and Australia.
“What you get with Extra Holidays and that affinity of being a travel agent registered with us is the opportunity to provide condos to your customers that are all over the world,” she says. “Agents can register with us and use us through the back portal and that portal will give them access not only to our resorts and our booking engines, but all of our affiliations with any tour provider, car providers, airline provider and also customize any content they want to with their individual clients so they’ll get access to content related to the product that they are booking, but also imagery so that they can really customize that experience for the customer.”
For clients seeking an alternate to hotels or AirBnB, she says this provides an opportunity to increase bookings both near and afar.
“I think it’s really exciting that we have the opportunity to give travel agents exposure to condo locations across the world and I also think it’s really exciting that we have the ability to open up local travel in Canada and give them access to seeing what’s in their backyard and getting the chance to vacation, even if it’s only a couple of days in a drive away,” she says. “We have a niche market when it looks at condo rentals and I think you can travel with us with the safety and confidence of knowing that.”
