Minnesota, January 15, 2020 -- Romance Travel Group was announced a winner of the 2020 WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards, an accolade representing the top wedding professionals across the board in quality, service, responsiveness, and professionalism reviewed by couples on WeddingWire.

A leader in the global wedding planning industry, WeddingWire continues its celebration of local wedding vendors with the announcement of its twelfth annual WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards winners. To determine these distinguished wedding professionals, WeddingWire analyzed reviews across more than 20 service categories, from venues and caterers to florists and photographers and of course, travel experts, to find the most highly rated vendors of the year. These winners exhibit superior professionalism, responsiveness, service, and quality when interacting with the millions of consumers who turn to WeddingWire to help ease their wedding planning process each month.

Wedding professionals who win WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards are members of WeddingPro, the leading B2B wedding brand. As the largest marketplace and community for wedding professionals, WeddingPro connects businesses with more than 13 million visitors per month who are planning weddings on WeddingWire and The Knot, as well as with hundreds of thousands of pros in the industry. Through its online marketplaces, educational programs and community-building events, WeddingPro is dedicated to helping wedding professionals build relationships with couples and pros that grow their businesses. Romance Travel Group is honored to be one of the top wedding businesses on WeddingWire.com. For more information about Romance Travel Group, please visit us on our website. To learn more about the WeddingWire Couples' Choice Awards, please visit www.weddingwire.com/couples-choice-awards.

AIC Hotel Group, the experiential brand breaking out of the sea of sameness in the hospitality industry offering unmatched vacation experiences, recognized Romance Travel Group for its outstanding achievement at the Fourth Annual Showstopper Awards recently held at the all new Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos. With over 250 travel partners in attendance, Romance Travel Group proudly took home several awards, including the award for Triple Platinum Agency. Individual agents receiving awards include Tiffani Inserra, Shelli Nornes, Camille Sanders and Kate Breiter.

Exclusively created to honor those travel professionals who exemplify excellence in every aspect of production for the company’s brands, AIC Hotel Group’s Showstopper Awards recognize Tour Operator, Online Travel Agency and Travel Agent partners throughout the US and Canada for their loyalty, dedication and production to the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels of Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and UNICO 20˚87˚ Hotel Riviera Maya. Each winner was carefully selected based on production in 2018, with the Top Overall Sales category recognizing the top producers for the company’s brands.

“Year after year our travel partners show us their unwavering support and dedication to our growing portfolio of brands,” says Carilis Felipe, AIC Hotel Group’s director of Field Sales. “The Showstopper Awards are a way for us to not only express our gratitude, but also recognize them as a key asset to the company’s consistent growth and success. We are thrilled to see what the future has in store and look forward to more years of outstanding achievements alongside our travel partners.” This year, attendees also had the opportunity to be part of the grand opening celebration for Hard Rock Hotel Los Cabos. Those who made monetary donations to Casa Hogar, a local organization that provides physical and emotional care for kids and teens in a camp-like environment, were able to receive a guitar and protective gear to participate in Hard Rock’s iconic guitar smash alongside A-list celebrities and key stakeholders while contributing to a great cause.

“It is always a proud moment to see so many of our hardworking travel agents on stage receiving recognition for their achievements,” says Shelli Nornes, President and CEO of Romance Travel Group. “I know and appreciate the level of dedication it takes to reach these goals and I commend each one of them!”
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For more information on Romance Travel Group, visit www.RomanceTravelGroup.com or call 507-237-6133.

Fourteenth Annual Best of Weddings Awards Honor the Top Wedding Vendors Across America

Romance Travel Group pleased to announce that we have once again been selected as a 2020 winner of The Knot Best of Weddings, an accolade representing the highest and top-rated wedding professionals as reviewed by real couples, their families and wedding guests on The Knot, a leading wedding planning brand and app.
 
For 2020, only five percent of hundreds of thousands of local wedding professionals listed on The Knot received this distinguished award. In its fourteenth annual year, The Knot continues its longstanding tradition of supporting local wedding vendors with The Knot Best of Weddings 2020, an annual by-couples, for-couples guide to the top wedding professionals across the country. To determine the winners, The Knot analyzed its millions of user reviews across various vendor categories, including venues, musicians, florists, photographers, caterers and more, to find the highest rated vendors of the year. These winners represent the best of the best wedding professionals that engaged couples should consider booking for their own unique wedding.
 
“Our teams works extremely hard to be helpful, kind, fun and supportive with all of our wedding and honeymoon couples, so it is exciting to receive this recognition to share with everyone!” says Shelli Nornes, President and CEO of Romance Travel Group. “It is definitely a team effort, and I can’t wait to share this with them!”
 
The Knot has inspired 25 million couples (and counting!) to plan a wedding that’s uniquely theirs. With a rich history of providing high-quality content and inspiration, The Knot makes it easy for couples to connect with and book the right wedding professionals to create their perfect wedding day. On The Knot Marketplace, couples can get connected to any of the hundreds of thousands of local wedding professionals across the country. The Knot Best of Weddings gives couples the confidence to find and book the best local vendors to bring their wedding visions to life. In combination with years of trusted content, The Knot’s innovative technology makes planning one’s wedding celebrations easier and more enjoyable.
 
Wedding professionals who win The Knot Best of Weddings are members of WeddingPro, the leading B2B wedding brand. As the largest marketplace and community for wedding professionals, WeddingPro connects businesses with more than 13 million visitors per month who are planning weddings on The Knot and WeddingWire, as well as with hundreds of thousands of pros in the industry. Through its online marketplaces, educational programs and community-building events, WeddingPro is dedicated to helping wedding professionals build relationships with couples and pros that grow their businesses.
 
For more information about The Knot Best of Weddings and this year’s winners, please visit https://www.theknot.com/vendors/best-of-weddings.
 
About Romance Travel Group
Romance Travel Group is your key to a successful destination wedding, honeymoon or vacation getaway. As industry recognized leaders in the art of destination wedding and travel planning, our team of agents has dozens of awards and accolades, and thousands of very happy brides, grooms, couples and guests. Our specialists are seasoned pros who want the best for you. We can’t wait to help you plan the perfect wedding day, honeymoon or tropical vacation! Call us today to start planning the trip of a lifetime! 507-237-6133

Minnesota, January 28, 2019 -- Romance Travel Group was announced a winner of the renowned WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards®. WeddingWire, Inc., a leading global online wedding marketplace, annually celebrates the top wedding professionals on WeddingWire across more than 20 service categories, from venues and caterers to florists and photographers. These distinguished vendors exhibit superior professionalism, responsiveness, service, and quality when interacting with the five million monthly consumers who turn to WeddingWire to help ease their wedding planning process.

Romance Travel Group received this esteemed award based on their outstanding experience working with real newlyweds. WeddingWire features more than three million reviews, and these notable vendors all received prompt, reliable, and quality feedback. "We are celebrating our 11th annual Couples’ Choice Awards, where we honor our vendors who help make millions of couples’ big day one to remember," said Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire. "Not only are these hardworking and distinguished wedding professionals, such as Romance Travel Group, a fundamental part of the wedding planning process for engaged couples, but they help make WeddingWire a trusted source for wedding planning. We congratulate everyone on this well-deserved achievement."

Romance Travel Group is honored to be one of the top wedding businesses in the country on WeddingWire.com. For more information about Romance Travel Group, please visit us on WeddingWire or www.RomanceTravelGroup.com.

Romance Travel Group, (www.romancetravelgroup.com), a leading destination wedding travel agency, has been recognized by Travel Impressions (www.travelimpressions.com), one of the country’s largest tour operators selling destinations worldwide, as a “Best of the Best” travel agency. The honor is bestowed on a limited number of agencies and consortia partners whose knowledge and expertise planning and executing memorable vacation experiences on behalf of clients has contributed to their status as a top performer for Travel Impressions.
 
Romance Travel Group received the award at Travel Impressions’ 23rd annual “Best of the Best” gala event, held at Breathless Riviera Cancun on an elegant stretch of the Riviera Maya coastline in Mexico.
 
“We are honored to be recognized as one of Travel Impressions’ ‘Best of the Best’ travel partners,” said Shelli Nornes, President/CEO of Romance Travel Group. “We work closely with Travel Impressions to ensure our couples receive the highest quality destination wedding and honeymoon experiences with premium amenities at attractive price points,” said Nornes. “The partnership allows us to maintain our high level of customer satisfaction and exceed clients’ expectations at every turn.”
 
Travel Impressions President Scott Wiseman adds, “I look forward every year to congratulating our most powerful partners in person at this extraordinary event. We value all of the agencies that make up our CommuniTI, but Best of the Best honorees are the backbone of our industry. They are the anchor agencies that put customer service at the forefront as they shape transformative experiences for our travelers.”
 
Travel Impressions “Best of the Best” conference and celebrations were attended by 300 delegates, including travel agents, journalists and representatives from some of the most in-demand and newest hotel and resort brands. The multi-day event featured insightful presentations by senior Travel Impressions leaders and industry experts, business-enhancing educational opportunities, hotel site inspections and other local excursions, including a charity drive hosted by Amstar DMC in conjunction with Huellas de Pan, a non-profit civil association that works to provide nutritious food to vulnerable people in the Cancun’s urban area.
 
For more information, contact Shelli Nornes at 507-267-4857 or visit www.romancetravelgroup.com. ​

Again, travel agents have proven how important their contribution is to Jamaica's tourism industry by selling thousands of room nights worth millions of dollars.in revenue to the country.

The top 50 producing agents were recognized by the Jamaica Tourist Board at their all-white Travel Specialist Rewards ceremony at Moon Palace Jamaica in Ocho Rios, St Ann, earlier this month. The agents, representing the United States, the island's largest source market, Canada and the United Kingdom combined, sold over 130,000 room nights, earning US$39 million for the country.

“We love Jamaica!” exclaimed Shelli Nornes, President/CEO of Romance Travel Group, and one of the 50 top producing Jamaica specialists. “Our first Caribbean vacation was to Jamaica and we’ve been coming back each year ever since. We love that you know the minute you step off the plan that you’ve landed in Jamaica. The music, the food and the language all welcome us home. We love sharing our love for Jamaica with our clients.”​

Romance Travel Group is a destination wedding and honeymoon focused travel agency based in the Midwest. Their focus on the all-inclusive resort experience lends itself well to the island of Jamaica. To learn more about Nornes and Romance Travel Group, visit www.romancetravelgroup.com. 

Minnesota-based travel agency, Romance Travel Group, was honored earlier this month at the Karisma GIVC Awards at the El Dorado Royale Resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

Karisma Hotels has been a longtime partner with Romance Travel Group, and the agency is extremely excited and honored to be recognized by them for their achievements this year.
Romance Travel Group took home several awards for tops sales in destination weddings. Specifically, they received the Top Sales Growth Midwest Award (way to go, Lisa Ruchti!), the Top Generations Sales Award, The Top El Dorado Weddings Award, The Top Azul Weddings Award, a Diamond 2 Award, and two Diamond 4 Awards. Wow – that's quite the list, guys!

Karisma Hotels is a major leader in hospitality management and operates award-winning properties in Mexico, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Additionally, Karisma focuses on providing exceptional services to their customers, and received worldwide recognition for its creative approach in hospitality management and innovative products.
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Here's to a lifetime of partnerships! To book your expertly planned destination wedding to gourmet inclusive vacation today, visit www.romancetravelgroup.com or call 507-267-4857.

For the third year in a row, Romance Travel Group was recognized for Travel Impressions' "Best of the Best" Award Gala, where invitations are based on travel sales, partnerships, trust, and loyalty. Romance Travel Group was one of only 35 travel agencies across the world that were honored with the highest achievement, the Globe Award, which was awarded at Secrets Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic on November 16th -19th.

Travel Impressions' "Best of the Best 2017" Award Gala provided travel agents with three full-days of exciting presentations, educational opportunities, and other fun activities in celebration of another successful year of partnerships.

Keynote speakers highlighted powerful marketing tools that can become an asset in running a travel agency, as well as the power of a creative branding strategy. The conference also discussed additional opportunities for partnerships and developing long-lasting relationships.

Romance Travel Group president and CEO, Shelli Nornes, had previously mentioned in 2016 that Travel Impressions' "appreciation of their top partners is very apparent not only by the amazing events they put on, but also by their efforts and willingness to go above and beyond for us throughout the year." She continues, "we are already on track for Best of the Best 2017!" Looks like Shelli was right. Way to go, Romance Travel Group! Here's to "Best of the Best 2018!"

For the best of the best travel and destination wedding planning, visit www.romancetravelgroup.com or call 507-267-4857.

2017 TRAVEL WEEKLY MAGELLAN AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED

Secaucus, NJ (September 8, 2017) – Travel Weekly announced the winners of the 2017 Magellan Awards. With entries from across the U.S. and around the world, the Magellan Award winners represent the best in the travel industry and salute the outstanding travel professionals behind it all.

The Magellan Awards honor outstanding design, marketing and services in a broad range of industry segments including Hospitality, Travel Destinations, Cruise Lines, Online Travel Services, Airlines and Airports, Travel Agents and Agencies, Tour Operators and Ground Transportation.

“This year’s winners represent the most talented and creative people in not just the travel industry but of any industry,” said Arnie Weissmann, editor in chief of Travel Weekly. “They continue to raise the bar, to inspire travel and enhance the travel experience. Their work leaves a lasting impression on our expert judges and readers.”

Romance Travel Group has received the 2017 Magellan Award for best Marketing/Web Design. “We put a lot of thought into how we design and maintain our online image and website. We want it to be informative and helpful, while still showing off our personality and expertise,” comments Ross Nornes, COO and technology engineer for Romance Travel Group. “Winning this award is confirmation that we are doing things right.”

The Magellan Awards are judged and overseen by a one-of-a-kind panel of top travel professionals representing the best names and most accomplished leaders from the industry. In determining winners, entries do not compete with one another, instead they are judged against a standard of excellence based on the long experience of Travel Weekly. To uphold this high standard of excellence, a category may have multiple winners, or may have no winners at all.

For a complete list of silver and gold winners, please visit www.travelweeklyawards.com.
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To view the site, please visit www.RomanceTravelGroup.com. 

AIC Hotel Group— the experiential brand offering an unrivaled vacation experience with limitless service and style—recognized Romance Travel Group for its outstanding achievement at their Second Annual Showstopper Awards recently held at UNICO 20˚87˚ Hotel Riviera Maya. With over 150 travel partners in attendance, Romance Travel Group proudly took home the Double Platinum Agent, Triple Platinum Agency, Top Wedding and the coveted Gamechanger Awards.
 
Reserved for top producers that exemplify excellence in every facet of production for the company’s properties, AIC Hotel Group’s Showstopper Awards acknowledges the company’s Tour Operator and Travel Agent partners throughout the US and Canada for their production to the all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels of Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Winners were carefully selected based on production achieved for 2016, with the Brand Ambassador category recognizing best overall support of the hotel.
           
“AIC Hotel Group has always considered travel partners a critical part of the company’s growth and overall success,” says Ash Tembe, VP of Sales for AIC Hotel Group. “Their dedication to our hotels is widely acknowledged and valued by our sales team, as well as the properties and their staff. We look forward to an even brighter future together, and many more years of continued success.” 
 
“We are so excited to have received these awards! Our agents work extremely hard at creating the perfect destination wedding, honeymoon and travel experiences for our clients, and it is an honor to be recognized for that,” says Shelli Nornes, President and CEO of Minnesota-based Romance Travel Group. “Our close partnership with the AIC Hotel Group means the world to us.”
 
For more information on Romance Travel Group, please visit www.RomanceTravelGroup.com or call 507-267-4857.

Romance Travel Group was chosen to attend the travel industry's most prestigious event in New York City. The 14th annual Travel Weekly Reader's Choice Awards was held at The Conrad on December 15, 2016. For the ninth year in a row, Karisma Hotels is voted Best Boutique Hotel Chain. Congratulations to our friends at Karisma! Well deserved!

​For the second year in a row, Minnesota-based Romance Travel Group has been recognized by Travel Impressions, one of the country’s largest and best tour operators, as a “Best of the Best” travel agency.  This designation follows an announcement earlier this year that named Romance Travel Group "Partner of the Year." These prestigious honors are given to agency partners that are considered Travel Impressions’ top performers and expert travel planners.

In November 2016, Shelli and Ross Nornes, owners of Romance Travel Group, traveled to Secrets Playa Mujeres to receive the award at the Travel Impressions’ 21st annual “Best of the Best” gala event. "Travel Impressions hosts such a wonderful event for their Best of the Best agencies!" says Shelli Nornes. "Their appreciation of their top partners is very apparent not only by the amazing event they put on, but also by their efforts and willingness to go above and beyond for us throughout the year. This industry is all about partnerships, and we have an incredible one with Travel Impressions."