"Their business values align with mine": Meet the "Travel Queen" who owns Canada's first Sandals-wrapped RV

That's a wrap! 

A travel advisor with Travel Professionals International (TPI) is turning heads with her larger-than-life and mobile approach to marketing the luxury-included joys of Sandals Resorts. 

Ottawa, ON-based Kim Paquette, a.k.a. "The Travel Queen" who operates Travel by Kim, recently covered her RV with a Sandals-branded wrap, turning her vehicle into a moving, grooving Sandals billboard. 

The free Sandals Car Wrap program, which is typically used for cars, has been utilized by hundreds of Canadian travel advisors from coast to coast during the pandemic, Sandals said in a release on Monday (Sept. 20). 

Driving a wrapped vehicle brings many benefits, the company said, "namely, increased visibility as a trusted travel expert and aligning themselves with the power of the Sandals brand." 

Sandals' values "align with mine"

Tasked with setting up her travel agency for future success, Paquette understood the assignment (and then some). 

Sandals says the TPI advisor is the first person in Canada to wrap an RV with a Sandals covering. 

Speaking to PAX, Paquette said her RV initiative is a "joint venture" with Sandals and representative of a "way of me future proofing my business."

"I believe Sandals products have all the protocols in place for me to feel comfortable with sending my clients to an all-inclusive," Paquette said. "In rebranding my business, I’m narrowing it down to a handful of suppliers that have supported travel agents through this time of pause." 

"I’ve watched Sandals constantly reach out to agents, offering support, and they have invested hugely into their properties when business was down. I feel their business values align with mine." 

Paquette, who specializes in group travel, said she has been quoting Winston Churchill since last March to “never let a good crisis go to waste." 

Paquette added that Sandals has implemented a plan for her to recoup the costs of wrapping her giant vehicle. 

"They simply offered this unexpectedly and this also shows loyalty to me," she said.

The Sandals Car Wrap Program is "proven to work in generating bookings to Sandals and Beaches Resorts," Sandals said in a statement. 

It’s a USD $3,000 value at "no cost to the travel advisor." 

Advisors have full control over the images they want to adorn their vehicle, allowing them to showcase any of their niche markets such as weddings, family travel and golf.  

"In addition, vehicle wraps are not limited to just cars and trucks.  Think boats and golf carts, too!" Sandals said.    

For more information on the Sandals Car Wrap Program, Canadian travel advisors can contact their local Sandals BDM or call Inside Sales at 1-800-545-8283 or visit taportal.sandals.com. 

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