TravelOnly hosts Annual Distinction Awards

TravelOnly awarded its top producers and industry high achievers at the company’s Annual Distinction Awards held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Mississauga.

The event, which featured a keynote speech from the Ensemble Group Co-President Lindsay Pearlman, was attended by over 150 TravelOnly associates and preferred suppliers.

Manulife Insurance, Norwegian Cruise Line, Sunwing and WestJet were also presented with TravelOnly Outstanding Partner Awards for 2016 by the executive team.

Speaking after the ceremony, TravelOnly president and CEO Gregory Luciani reflected on a strong year for the company, while also highlighting the increasing role of technology and anticipating a year of change in the industry in 2017.

“Companies like TravelOnly, if they want to be around in the next 40 years, mobile is the place to be,” he commented. “Collaboration software is the key. We’re going to further invest in the collaboration environment. We’ve completely revolutionized it and now we’re taking it one step further and mobile rendering all the technology as well, so everything through TravelOnly will now be available on your mobile and your tablet.”

Company chairman Patrick Luciani, meanwhile, took the chance to emphasize that while technology has played an increasingly influential role in the industry, the company retains a strong focus on its personal relationships and trust. “People still want to have that personal touch,” he said. “The evolution of the internet and social media is important, but you can’t take away that relationship that, as you can see here tonight, resonates.” Nevertheless, he recognized the growing significance of technology in the industry. “We’ve embraced technology,” he added, “because our consumers have embraced technology.”

The supplier top producers included:

• Manulife Insurance: Dashnor Hasku, Bujar Zejnullahu, Pat Probert, Glenda Brown, Helen Graf
• WestJet / West Jet Vacations: Cathy Wiechnik, Barb Scrocco-Rizzo
• Sunwing: Pauline Blacoe
• Norwegian Cruise Line: Tammy Durocher
• Hard Rock Hotels: Holly McBean
• Ama Waterways: Rose and Glenn Warnica
• Royal Caribbean International: Rose and Glenn Warnica
• Travel2: John Potter
• Globus: Kevin Visser
• TravelBrands: Dashnor Hasku and Bujar Zejnullahu
• Karisma Resorts: Karen Gill
• G Adventures: Lyanna Kinniburg
• Transat: Brian Kendrick
• AM Resorts: Karen Gill
• Air Canada Vacations: Pauline Blacoe
• Carnival Cruise Line: David Smith