A great dinner for agents, plenty of networking, great prizes, and a few silly hats.

Sunwing celebrated Travel Agent Day in style in Toronto on Wednesday with a Sunwing “Vacation Better” event north of the city that featured hundreds of agents and lots of great information.

Suppliers from Hard Rock Hotels, RIU, Iberostar, Jamaica, Fort Myers/Sanibel Florida, The Bahamas and other destinations were on hand to chat with agents prior to a fine dinner that featured a lucky agent, Tanja Steinbock, win a million Sunwing STAR agent reward points; worth a tidy $1,800 CAD.

Deana Murphy, Vice President Retail Sales for Sunwing, told agents the company has the best loyalty program in the industry. She noted that agents can spend their STAR points on everything from African safaris to trips to Asia, as well as appliances, dance lessons, groceries, gas and even wedding dresses.

“One agent bought winter tires,” she told assembled travel advisors. “One said she used her points to pay for all her tattoos.”

Other options include giving points to clients or donating them to charity, which is a lovely idea.

Agents heard presentations from top sponsors, including platinum sponsors Riu Hotels and Resorts and Blue Diamond Resorts. A spokesperson for Blue Diamond said the Royalton Antigua will open Friday, May 3, while the Planet Hollywood Cancun/Costa Mujeres is slated to open in early 2020 with nine bars, four swimming pools, a trampoline park and other features.

A spokesperson for RIU Hotels and Resorts noted they have 37 properties in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.

Sunwing officials said destination weddings and vow renewal trips are on the rise, as health and wellness/sports holidays.

One great feature with Sunwing is their flex program, which allows agents to earn commissions and book hotels in destinations where Sunwing doesn’t fly, including Hawaii.

Officials also encouraged advisors to use the sunwingagents.ca portal to manage bookings, book seats for PAX and even learn about great Sunwing products via their special webinars.

Yet another great feature is their worry-free cancellation waiver, which gives agents a tidy 15% sales commission and allows guests to cancel up to three hours prior to a flight.

Presenters encouraged agents to check out the Sunwing YouTube station for great videos.

“Showing your clients a video definitely helps you sell better,” advisors were told.

Sunwing officials pointed to a number of new destinations and hotels that are coming up, including the Spice Island of Grenada and the new Royalton Grenada, slated to open in December. Sunwing also will be returning next winter to Saint Maarten now that the hurricane damage has been mostly repaired. Other great destinations include Tobago and Bonaire. Sunwing is the only Canadian airline that flies directly to Bonaire, a great Caribbean destination for divers and folks looking for great weather and an island where they can get away from it all.

Wednesday night’s program was the second of a whopping 18 events Sunwing is putting on for agents across Canada between now and the end of May.