OUTRIGGER Sales Teams in Chicago and China
Caring for Clients in Chicago
BY ANGELA MURPHY – On Monday, April 29, 2024, OUTRIGGER hosted a breakfast at the Public House Restaurant in the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center for 10 retail agency owners, managers, and sellers. We built relationships, explored new opportunities, and shared resources to help build sales.
Our team, comprised of General Managers Ceci Hamao (OUTRIGGER Waikiki Beachcomber Hotel) and Kiana Biemes (OHANA Waikiki East by OUTRIGGER), Carly Clement (VP, Hawaii Vacation Condos), and Gabriela Rojo (Director of Sales for Silverado Resort) did an amazing job to call on some important clients in Chicago ahead of the AHLA ForWard Conference.
Following breakfast we hosted an in-agency lunch at Cary Travel Express in Cary, Illinois. The agency is ALG’s top seller and the owner, Neelie Kruse, is an award-winning client who also serves on OUTRIGGER’s advisory board since its inception. They are also part of the MAST consortia which OUTRIGGER became a preferred partner of in 2024.
A special thanks to Cindy Cunningham, OUTRIGGER Global Account Director based in Illinois, for arranging the two meetings with the Chicago travel agents.
Kiana Biemes Shines on Emerging Leaders Panel
On Tuesday, April 30, Kiana Beimes (GM, OHANA Waikiki East by OUTRIGGER) proved to be an engaging and wise contributor on the “Wisdom from Rising Leaders” panel held at the ForWard Conference.
ForWard is an AHLA Foundation initiative to celebrate and elevate women in hospitality, provide attendees an opportunity to hear from industry leaders like Kiana, and network with peers.
OUTRIGGER Brand Promotion in Chengdu, China
BY JULIA ZHU — On April 26, we held an exclusive premiere of our OUTRIGGER brand in the vibrant metropolis of Chengdu with over 38 attendees from 35 travel agencies in southwest market. The event was focused on enhancing OUTRIGGER Resorts brand recognition and expressing our thanks to the China market distributors from various channels for their strong support for the first four months of 2024, especially at our OUTRIGGER Maldives Maafushivaru Resort (MAM).
The teamwork, communication and follow-up between the properties and the China team resulted in a remarkable 1,450+ room nights in 2024. The service excellence from MAM is a guaranteed win for travel agencies.
The OUTRIGGER team shared our strategic sales and marketing plan for the China market with increased market share expected by the end of the year. Our travel agency peers help to elevate our brand awareness by connecting with potential clients through influential social media (eg. WeChat and Little Red Book); and we look forward to our continued collaboration and growth in this important market.
