Becoming a Certified Sandals Specialist

Becoming a Certified Sandals Specialist

<Please check out my latest 2018 blog post on becoming a Certified Sandals Specialist HERE>

To my readers who are interested in entering the Travel Agent world, you will need to become a Certified Sandals Specialist so you can sell Sandals Resorts. In order to gain this certification, you will need  to attend a workshop in person. You must attend this once every year. Unfortunately for me, I missed out on the Virginia workshop, so the closest one that was available was a drive to Maryland. Gotta love that DC traffic.

meeting

The workshop was overall very organized. From the minute you walked in, they have all of the materials you’ll need for the lesson. The training was from 7:30a-12:30p and breakfast was provided. The workshop was broken into 3 sections:

  1. What Sandals Offers as a whole (luxurious accommodations, Kids camp, Spa & Fitness, Professional Imaging, Gourmet Dining, Watersports, Caribbean Adventures)
  2. Caribbean Products
    1. Sandals Montego Bay
    2. Sandals Royal Caribbean/Sandals Carlyle
    3. Sandals Negril / Beaches Negril
    4. Sandals Whitehouse
    5. Sandals Ochi Beach Resort
    6. Sandals Royal Plantation / Beaches Ocho Rios
    7. Beaches Turks & Caicos
    8. Sandals Royal Bahamian / Sandals Emerald Bay
    9. Sandals Regency La Toc
    10. Sandals Grande St. Lucian / Sandals Halcyon Beach
    11. Sandals Grande Antigua
    12. Sandals La Source in Grenada
    13. Sandals Barbados
  3. SELL SELL SELL
    1. Loyalty program, Utilizing social media (focusing on Millennial clients), Groups, Wedding Moons), and how to work with your BDM (Business Development Manager)

The different CSS Levels are as follows:

1-25 bookings = CSS
26-75 bookings = CSS SILVER
76-249 bookings = CSS GOLD
250+ bookings = CSS PLATINUM

*Bookings are lifetime status (not per year)

Here’s the lowdown for the partnership between Sandals and Travel Agents:

  • For every 6 room nights you sell, you earn yourself 1 free room night
  • Earn an extra 2% by booking directly on the Sandals website (usually ends up being about 15%)
  • They offer Caribbean Nights where they will reimburse up to 50% of your food/beverage expense for you to host a night to bring out potential Sandals clients to come and learn about the resorts. Your BDM will attend and help you close sales

Overall, the training is very useful. Learning about what is coming up, such as the over the water bungalows opening up in Jamaica this November (2016). Rumor has it, these babies are filling up quickly and almost already sold out for 2017. So let me know if you’re interested in booking!

At the end of the training you get to walk away with a fabulous paper certificate of achievement. Fridge worthy or nah?

cert


Cassandra Chichester

10 COMMENTS
  • Anne
    Reply

    Hi Cassandra,
    Did you already have an IATAN number in order to go to the training? I’d like to become a specialist, but when I contacted the District Manager in my area she asked for the number. I’m just starting in the travel industry and would like to be exclusive to Sandals.

    1. Cassandra Harris
      Reply

      Hi Anne!

      Yes, I already had an IATAN number with my retail agency, which is what I used to register for the training. So, if you are not working at a retail agency I suggest checking out some different online host agencies to work with. They will provide you with an IATA accreditation. You will need that in order to book sales and make commission anyway. Are you sure you want to be exclusive to Sandals? There’s so many suppliers out there that offer great commission packages. Would hate for you to limit yourself to just 1. While Sandals offer great products, they are sometimes out of clients’ budgets and it’s nice to be able to have other properties to offer.

      1. Justyna
        Reply

        Hi Cassandra,

        Was there a cost to become a Sandals Specialist? If so what was the cost?

        1. Cassandra Harris
          Reply

          Hey there!

          It only cost $35.00 to attend the yearly in-person CSS training which is mandatory. Usually those trainings are done in the spring. Other than that, there is no additional costs associated with the certification. Depending on how many bookings you make, you will be given money in the form of marketing dollars to put towards marketing trade shows, expos (like bridal expos) and more.

  • Jeannie Garard
    Reply

    Hi Cassandra
    I am very interested in becoming a certified Sandals specialist as I love to plan travel and am looking for an added income. I have no formal experience in the travel industry only my love for adventure, travel, and party planning. I do not have any travel agent certification or IATAN. Is this an appropriate level one start for me? I am eager to learn and willing to put the time and finances in to become successful. I just am unaware as how to start. Any advice would be so helpful.
    Thank you
    Jeannie

    1. Cassandra Harris
      Reply

      Hi Jeannie. Thank you for your comment. Apologies for the delayed response as I was in Peru while you commented this. I think the first step would be working with a travel agency that will offer you the IATAN accreditation. Then yes, definitely check in with your local Business Development Manager so they can give you the schedule for the mandatory CSS Workshop. The one in Virginia just happened in May (not sure where you’re located). Once you work with an agency, they should give you all the training and contact info to your local Business Development Managers. Sandals Resorts is certainly a great place to start. Honeymoon business is BIG business. I would also look into AM Resorts (Dreams, Sunscape, Secrets, Breathless, and Zoetry) and begin that training to become a Master Agent. Disney training of course will be critical and cruise lines. Then from there you can branch out to other areas besides Caribbean and Disney.

  • Hope Strite
    Reply

    Hi!
    I’m looking to become a CSS but need to get my IATA number. How do you suggest I do that and do you recommend a specific travel agent host? I’m new to the travel agent world and just trying to get started!

    1. Cassandra Harris
      Reply

      Hey Hope!

      Sorry for the delay. It’s been nuts! The best (and cheapest way) to getting your IATA number is by simply working with a travel agency who already has an established IATA number. The longer an agency has been making bookings, the higher their commission percentage will be with the suppliers. I work for a brick and mortar location, however, from what I’ve heard the absolute BEST host agency to work for is Outside Agents. You can see their glowing reviews here: https://hostagencyreviews.com/hosts/outside-agents-com. They seem to have a fair commission split and offer training (which is most important when starting out). Let me know if you have any additional questions!

  • Lita Biske
    Reply

    Hi Cassandra could I take courses online since I live in ct I’m very interested in becoming a Sandals Agrnt

    1. Cassandra Harris
      Reply

      Hi Lita!

      They may have changed to online courses due to the pandemic, however I’m not aware of any. I would check with your Business Development Manager for Connecticut territory to see the steps for becoming a Sandals Agent. Best of luck and sorry for my delayed response.

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