HotelPlanner.com Announced the Winners of the 2018 American Group Travel Awards
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (PRWEB) November 13, 2018 -- Last night, HotelPlanner.com, a leading online provider of group hotel bookings and individual hotel stays worldwide, proudly announced the winners and runners-up of the 2018 American Group Travel Awards (AGTA).
The fifth annual awards gala, hosted by documentary film producer and former MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan, was held on November 12th at TAO Downtown in New York City. Twenty-four award categories were presented throughout the evening, recognizing those organizations offering the highest quality of group travel experiences and outstanding services across hotels, airlines, cruises, convention centers, travel agencies, media organizations and more.
“On behalf of the entire team at HotelPlanner.com, I would like to extend my most sincere congratulations to the evening’s esteemed winners and runners-up. This year’s nominees continued to raise the bar for the group travel industry, and it’s an honor to celebrate their terrific achievements,” said Tim Hentschel, Co-Founder and CEO, HotelPlanner.com.
Over 300 of the industry’s top executives, travel organizers and journalists attended AGTA. Guests enjoyed music throughout the evening by New York’s DJ Dalton and special performances by Jennie Harney and Mike Longo, stars in some of Broadway’s hottest shows: Hamilton; The Broadway Revival of The Color Purple; Beautiful: The Carole King Musical; Kinky Boots; and Disney’s Aladdin. The evening also featured a Diamond raffle giveaway for a one-carat diamond and magnum bottle of champagne with all proceeds going to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the official charity of the 2018 AGTA.
The evening was generously sponsored by Best Western Hotels & Resorts, Choice Hotels, Expedia, Get a Room, Iberostar, Kolter Hospitality, PNC Bank, Radisson Hotels, Splash That!, SuperShuttle, TravelPort, Westgate Resorts, WNS Global, and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts.
Images from the evening by BFA can be found here: https://bfa.com/events/25994
The winners and runners-up of the 2018 American Group Travel Awards include:
Best Hotel Brand – Full Service
Winner: Wyndham Hotels & Resorts
Runner-up: Marriott Hotels & Resorts
Best Hotel Brand – Limited Service
Winner: Holiday Inn Express, an IHG Hotel
Runner-up: Hilton Garden Inn
Best Hotel Brand – Luxury
Winner: Park Hyatt
Runner-up: Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts
Best Hotel Brand - Boutique
Winner: Vib by Best Western
Runner-up: Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Best Destination Resort Brand
Winner: Iberostar
Runner-up: Sandals Resorts International
Best Sports Team Travel Hotel Brand
Winner: Country Inn & Suites by Radisson
Runner-up: Comfort Inn by Choice Hotels
Best Casino Hotel
Winner: Ceasars Palace Las Vegas
Runner-up: Treasure Island
Best Wedding Hotel
Winner: InterContinental New York Barclay
Runner-up: The Park Lane – New York
Best Independent Hotel Brand
Winner: Westgate Resorts
Runner-up: Denihan Hospitality Group
Best Extended Stay Brand
Winner: Suburban Extended Stay by Choice Hotels
Runner-up: Residence Inn by Marriott
Best Golf & Spa Resort
Winner: The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, Naples
Runner-up: Pinehurst Resort
Best New/Emerging Hotel Brand
Winner: Arlo Hotels
Runner-up: Hyatt Centric
Best Convention Center
Winner: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Runner-up: Las Vegas Convention Center
Best Airline
Winner: Southwest Airlines
Runner-up: Delta Airlines
Best Ocean Cruise Line
Winner: Carnival Cruise Line
Runner-up: Royal Caribbean
Best Ground Transportation
Winner: SuperShuttle
Runner-up: Gray Line
Best Beach Destination
Winner: Miami Beach, FL
Runner-up: San Diego, CA
Best City CVB
Winner: NYC & Co.
Runner-up: Visit Orlando
Best Live Stage/Theatrical/Musical Performance
Winner: Wicked
Runner-up: Aladdin
Best Group Registration Company
Winner: Splash That!
Runner-up: Eventbrite
Best Travel Media Outlet
Winner: Travel + Leisure
Runner-up: Premier Travel Media
Best Group Tour Operators
Winner: American Tours Internationals
Runner-up: Trafalgar
Best Housing Company for Citywide Events & Meetings
Winner: Experient, Inc.
Runner-up: Connections Housing
Best Online Travel Agency
Winner: Expedia
Runner-up: TripAdvisor
Best Emerging Technology Award
Winner: Nextpax.com
About American Group Travel Awards:
The American Group Travel Awards (AGTA) was created by Tim Hentschel, CEO of HotelPlanner.com, and Peter Stonham, Editorial Director at Landor Travel Publications. Mr. Hentschel and Mr. Stonham organized the AGTA to recognize all the effort and dedication that organizations in the United States put into providing group travelers with exceptional travel experiences.
The concept was introduced into the marketplace by Peter Stonham who, with Group Travel Organiser, have been providing group travelers with information and ideas for group travel trips since 1988. The event in London, called the UK Group Travel Awards, is attended by nearly 500 attendees and awards are provided in 23 categories.
HotelPlanner and Landor Travel Publications also launched the European Group Travel Awards which took place in Berlin, Germany on March 9th, 2017 at the Intercontinental Hotel Berlin. The European Group Travel Awards recognizes the finest suppliers on the continent that specialize in group travel.
HotelPlanner and Group Travel Organiser believe that the group market will continue to grow. Shared travel experiences with family and friends and by corporations and businesses help build more productive relationships and memories that last a lifetime.
Courtney Dolan, HotelPlanner.com, http://www.HotelPlanner.com, +1 917.951.9027 Ext: 220, [email protected]
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