Written by: Serean Bechara

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We joined Hola Sun and their partners in Ajax, Ontario on October 18th for a beautiful brunch, incredible music, fantastic prizes and key insights into Cuba 2020. If you thought you had heard it all in our last article about the top stories coming out of Cuba then you are sorely mistaken!

We have a lot to cover so…

Let’s jump right into it!

 

Agent Appreciation

We started off the afternoon with a warm greeting by the lovely Hugo Rocha and Sabrena Dayle of Hola Sun Holidays. For those of you who have yet to meet them, let me introduce you!

Sabrena Dayle is the Sales & Marketing Coordinator for Hola Sun. She works hard to make sure that agents understand their products and are rewarded for their loyalty. If you have any questions about Hola Sun’s agent portal or their agent loyalty program, she’s happy to help!

You can contact Sabrena at sales@holasunholidays.ca

Hugo Rocha is the Sales Director of Hola Sun Holidays which basically means that he ensures that Hola Sun is, and will always be, The Cuba Specialist. Go ahead and ask him anything about Cuba! 

Better yet? Join me along with Hugo and Sabrena on Hola Sun’s 500th Anniversary of Havana FAM this November!

You can contact Hugo at salesdirector@holasunholidays.ca

 

Sabrena and Hugo

 

Cuba 2020

So what were the key highlights coming out of this brunch? We learned about more new resorts, great deals, agent portals, and a whole lot of poutine (I'll explain later).

Presentations begin with quite possibly the Queen of Presentations (I dub thee!), Brenda Bradley of Melia Hotels in Cuba. During her presentation, we learned that Melia has a new Wedding Specialist for Canada and her name is Julie.

If you’d like to contact Julie for your wedding needs, please email weddings@meliacuba.ca

Be sure to ask her about how your clients can get a free wedding at their properties in Cuba! Just to let you know, your clients can have free weddings at:

• Paradisus - with 12+ paying guests
• Melia - with 17+ paying guests
• Sol - with 25+ paying guests

See what you can earn when booking Melia properties in Cuba with their agent portal, TravelAgentsCuba.com

 

The most exciting news coming out of Melia? Their new resorts of course! We’ll let Brenda tell you herself in the video below (it’s like you were right there with us! Couldn’t join us in Ajax? Drop us an email about where you’d like to see these events held next year).

 

 

Following this, we had the ecstatic Gabriela Bendetto, an independent sales rep for Canada from La Coleccion hit the stage! This is where we learned that Fiesta Americana Holguin Costa Verde is one of the only hotels that are completely family-oriented.

In fact, it’s this very hotel that has the highest repeat clients in Holguin!

Wow! 

Along with being in a beautiful location, having an international gourmet experience and a strict one wedding per day policy, they make sure to take care of their travel agents.

Check out their agent portal here, and you can contact Gabriela at benedettocoleccionresorts@outlook.com

 

FUN FACT: Poutine is on the brain! That’s right, Fiesta Americana knows how much Canadians love to travel to Cuba so your clients can get a taste of home away from home.

 

Gabriela

 

Now it’s time for our grand finale of news, which of course comes from Hola Sun themselves! 

What’s new? Only an incredible amount of resorts being added to their catalogue, including:

• Gran Muthu Rainbow Beach (the very FIRST LGBTQ+ friendly resort in Cuba!) - Coming Soon
• Gran Muthu Imperial Cayo Guillermo
• Royalton Hicacos
• Valentin Cayo Cruz
• Kempinski Cayo Guillermo - Coming Soon
• Santa Lucia Planta Real
• Meliá Internacional 

 

 

 

Locations Hola Sun covers:

• Cayo Santa Maria
• Cayo Coco
• Cayo Guillermo
• Cayo Cruz
• Holguin
• Santa Lucia

• Santiago de Cuba
• Cayo Largo
• Cienfuegos
• Trinidad
• Varadero
• Havana

 

The Biggest Surprise of the Night!

Casas Particulares are new accomodations in Cuba provided by Hola Sun! These private houses will be available to rent in: Havana, Cienfuegos, Trinidad, Vinales, and more!

With these private houses your clients will be able to live among the Cuban people and enjoy a completely new authentic experience by renting a room or an entire house (Casas Particulares). Casas Particulares are affordable options that provide great value.

Travellers can enjoy Cuba on their own time with more freedom and flexibility than ever before!

Accommodations include a standard room equipped with a bathroom (either private or shared). There is no meal plan but travellers will have the option to purchase breakfast and/or dinner daily. These private houses are available with 2, 3, or 4 bedrooms. 

 

 

What are you most excited about for Cuba in 2020? I’m personally holding my breath to see this Gran Muthu Rainbow Beach Hotel and am excited to visit Labranda and Melia Internacional on Hola Sun’s FAM.

Questions? Comments? Feel free to email me at sbechara@globalagents.net