The charity gala hosted by HotelPlanner took place on November 12th at the Boca Raton Resort to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and to celebrate HotelPlanner’s 20th Anniversary and HipHop50
Grammy Award nominee and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Flavor Flav was honored as the World Hospitality Award winner, with Hip Hop legends Rob Base and Grandmaster Flash performing, and a special appearance by Cuba Gooding, Jr.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Nov. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Group Travel Awards, (AGTA) hosted by HotelPlanner, took place on November 12th at the iconic Boca Raton Resort to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The gala celebrated HotelPlanner’s 20th Anniversary in the travel & hospitality industry, as well as the 50th Anniversary of the founding of Hip Hop.
This year's World Hospitality Award was given to Grammy Award nominee and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Flavor Flav who was introduced by Academy Award winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. Gooding also did an impromptu break dance to Hip Hop artist Rob Base who performed during the dinner.
Other special guests included "The Queen of Versailles" Jackie Siegel; TV host Kavita Channe; media personality Kimberly Guilfoyle; Fox News analyst Gianno Caldwell; The Father of Digital Art Laurence Gartel; WBO Cruiserweight Champion Lawrence Okolie; record producer Paul Oakenfold; former U.S. Senator George LeMieux; and former MSNBC talk show host Dylan Ratigan who was the official Host of the night along with HotelPlanner Co-founder & CEO Tim Hentschel.
Professional photo galleries are available to view and download here and here. VIP interviews from the Red Carpet will be posted on HotelPlanner’s YouTube channel and on its social channels soon.
Honoring the Finest in Group Travel
The American Group Travel Awards (AGTA) recognized organizations and destinations that showcased the very best in group travel & hospitality in 2023. The winners are:
Destination Award Winners
Best Wedding Destination: Honolulu
Best Destination for Sporting Events: Tampa Bay
Best Destination for Youth Sports: Orlando
Best Destination for Music Festivals: Austin, TX for Austin City Limits & Chicago for Lollapolooza (co-winners)
Best Destination for Bachelor & Bachelorette Parties: Las Vegas
Hotel Industry Award Winners
Best Hotel Brand - Youth Sports Team Travel: Best Western Hotels & Resorts
Best Hotel Management Company - Groups & Meetings: Hotel Equities
Best Hotel Brand - Groups & Meetings: Wyndam Hotels & Resorts
Best Hotel Brand - Luxury Meetings & Events: The Ritz-Carlton
Best Hotel Brand - New Group Technology: Hilton Worldwide
“What a sublime evening! This year’s AGTA will go down in HotelPlanner history as our very best and most iconic event, and we’ve hosted a lot of incredible events over the past 20 years. Many thanks to our charity benefactor St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for all they do. Thank you to Flavor Flav, Grandmaster Flash, Rob Base and Cuba Gooding, Jr for helping us celebrate HipHop50 in style. Other special guests in attendance such as Gianno Caldwell, Lawrence Okolie, Jackie Siegel, Paul Oakenfold and Kimberly Guilfoyle also made the night a great success. Finally, thanks to all our amazing Platinum & Gold Sponsors. And congratulations to all our award winners,” says Tim Hentschel, Co-founder & CEO, HotelPlanner.
Thank You to our Sponsors
HotelPlanner is honored by the support of our diverse sponsors and thanks them for their financial commitments to our charity event.
- Platinum Sponsors included: Expedia; Prime Travel; Cohn Reznick; Laurence Gartel and The Gartel Art Museum; Buwelo; PNC Bank; KPMG; Amadeus
- Gold Sponsors included: Westgate Resorts & Hotels; Best Western Hotels & Resorts; Corpay; Gunster; Winners Circle Trophies; ABC Global Services; Hickory Global Partners; IPG 360; TBOHolidays.com; Eventsquid; Lucid Travel; Wyndham Hotels & Resorts; and Hotelbeds.com
About HotelPlanner
HotelPlanner is a leading travel technology company and hotel booking platform that combines proprietary artificial intelligence, and a 24/7 global gig-based reservations and customer service network. HotelPlanner is one of the world’s leading providers of individual, group and corporate travel bookings. Founded in 2003, HotelPlanner has enduring partnerships with the world’s largest online travel agencies, well-known global hotel chains, individual hotels, online wedding providers, ancillary lodging providers, corporations, sporting organizations from youth to professional, universities, and government agencies. HotelPlanner’s family of brands includes its flagship site HotelPlanner.com; its meetings & events-focused sites Meetings.com, EventConnect.com, and VenueExplorer.com; Lucid Travel, which focuses on sports team travel; Eventsquid which specializes in corporate and association event registration; and its latest acquisition Cleverdis, a mainstay within the trade show ecosystem. Learn more at https://www.hotelplanner.com/.
American Group Travel Awards (AGTA)
The American Group Travel Awards was founded in 2014 by Tim Hentschel, Co-founder & CEO of HotelPlanner. AGTA honors the finest in group travel with awards given to leading suppliers or premier destinations that deliver best-in-class group travel experiences across North America. This black-tie charity gala is held at a premium hotel in south Florida and is hosted by Dylan Ratigan. AGTA is attended by HotelPlanner senior executives, suppliers, customers and partners from well-known hotel chains, affiliate partners, the media, celebrity VIPs and entertainment. All net proceeds and donations go directly to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To learn more, visit www.americangrouptravelawards.com.
Actor Cuba Gooding Jr., Recording Artist and World Hospitality Award winner Flavor Flav, and WBO Cruiserweight Champion Lawrence Okolie at the 2023 American Group Travel Awards hosted by HotelPlanner.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3830f4f2-b60c-45d6-b063-f31d33e87647
MEDIA CONTACTS
Philip Ballard
Chief Communications Officer & Head of Investor Relations
HotelPlanner
Email: Philip.Ballard@hotelplanner.com
