The boss of Virgin Hotels says travel agents are “hugely important” for the brand, as it prepares to open the doors of its newest property: Virgin Hotels New York.
Bookings are now being taken, ahead of its official opening on February 1.
The 40-storey property is in the NoMad district and offers 360-degree views of the city’s famous landmarks.
James Bermingham, chief executive of Virgin Hotels, told a Travel Weekly webcast: “Agents love Virgin Hotels.”
He added: “Virgin Hotels resonates with the young and more importantly, the young at heart – anybody that’s looking for a great service experience that’s delivered with fun.
“We don’t take ourselves too seriously. But we take our agents very seriously and, of course, we take our guests very seriously.”
He said UK agents can book the 460-room hotel directly or as part of a package via a tour operator.
“Tour operators are very important to us, especially out of the UK,” he said.
He also highlighted the chain’s “great relationship and collaboration” with Virgin Atlantic.
“We have one of our directors of sales embedded in the Virgin Atlantic sales team, so they take care of all of our tour operators,” he said.
“Our travel advisors and travel agent community is hugely important to us.
“We have folks both in the UK and domestically here in the US taking care of those.”
He added: “New York, of course, is a very important market for anywhere around the globe, especially for the UK, which is the home of Virgin.
“It’s really, really exciting to have not just a hotel in one of the greatest cities in the world, but one of the bigger markets for Virgin Atlantic.”
He said that Virgin Hotels is also collaborating in several ways with sister company Virgin Limited Edition, which features retreats such as two private islands, a mountain retreat, a game reserve and safari lodge, a tented camp, a vineyard, a ski lodge and luxury villas.
“On the sales and marketing side, we are promoting both brands with both sales teams,” he said.
“We are looking for new opportunities for additional Virgin Limited Edition hotels with our business development team…another great example of collaboration between two great Virgin companies.”
Take a look around Virgin Hotels' soon-to-be-finished property in New York City!