Sandals Resorts cuts ties with Apple Vacations

A couple of years ago, Sandals announced that it would cease sales through Apple Vacations. Rumors were flying, at that time, about the reasons. Some said that since Apple owned a stake in AMResorts, the management company for Secrets, Zoetry, Dreams and Now properties, they were in direct conflict with Sandals. Now that Secrets has 2 properties in Jamaica, it is something to consider. Another rumor, back then, that Apple didn't want to classify or rank Sandals properties uniformly equally, as Sandals required. Again, these were all rumors back then. Now, we hear that as of Aug 2010, Sandals is again pulling their line from the Apple inventory:

"Unique Vacations International (UVI), the company that acts as the worldwide sales and marketing representative of Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts, terminated its wholesaler agreement with Apple Vacations. UVI said the move is part of an overall strategy to partner with fewer companies that give priority to UVI, particularly Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts. Sandals bookings that have already been made through Apple will be honored. The change only applies to new bookings going forward.

UVI said it is investing in the traditional distribution system and will continue to grow this sector and to richly reward wholesalers, tour operators and agents who share its goals. The company did not specify why Apple Vacations in particular would not be included as part of its distribution system going forward. A spokesperson from Unique Vacations told Travel Pulse that the decision to terminate the relationship was made by UVI, not Sandals.

In a statement from Apple Vacations, Tim Mullen, senior vice president, said Apple had been notified on July 20 by Sandals and Beaches Resorts that it would no longer be able to sell their properties. No reason was given, according to the statement. The move was puzzling, Mullen said, because “Apple Vacations continues to increase production to Jamaica each year. Specifically, Apple has increased its 2010 production by 34 percent over 2009 and advanced sales are up more than 20 percent for 2011.”

Mullen said Apple Vacations continues to be optimistic about the growth of business to Jamaica, as well as the continuing improvement in the quality of products at the destination. Mark Noennig, vice president and general manager of Apple, told Travel Pulse that UVI’s move had taken Apple by surprise. “There didn’t seem to be any particular reason for this to happen, but we’ve accepted it and are moving on,” he said. “Apple doesn’t want to speculate on it. Business to the Caribbean has been very good. There’s a lot of new product there. We’ve been doing a lot of business with Couples. Secrets does very well for us, as well as Iberostar, Superclubs and Riu. So we’re not going to feel a lot of impact. Apple has the most charters into the Caribbean of anyone, so we are very committed to the region and will continue to move forward aggressively.”

Will we see Sandals back up in Apple's inventory soon? Time will tell.