Global hospitality group Accor invites the world’s travel professionals to join the HERA Challenge, an initiative recognising the performance and expertise of the best travel advisors.
Open to members of HERA, Accor’s global loyalty and rewards programme for travel advisors, the Challenge will see 33 top advisors flown to Colombia to stay at the luxurious Sofitel Legend Santa Clara Cartagena and the Sofitel Barú Calablanca Beach Resort.
Pascal Visintainer, Accor Luxury & Lifestyle’s global chief sales officer said: “The HERA Challenge is our way of recognizing and rewarding the extraordinary advisors who bring our brands to life for guests around the world. We believe that it is incredibly important for us to celebrate the expertise, commitment, and the human connections that are at the heart of truly memorable travel. With the introduction of HERA last year, we take great pride in our ability to provide travel advisors with the tools and opportunities to thrive in their profession and, now, a chance to be honoured among the best of the best.”
A great new way to get with the programme
The HERA Challenge offers a new way for advisors to engage with the program, with the top three advisors in each of the 11 categories earning an invitation to an exclusive hosted trip in Cartagena, Colombia from 9th to 12th March 2026.
With this challenge, Accor poses the question:what if the experts who design journeys for others were invited on a dream trip of their own?
Participants may vie for a slot in the following categories:
- Performance Champions: Top 3 HERA members by total revenue on HERA.Accor.com, and Top 3 by revenue on one reservation;
- Regional Stars: Top 3 HERA bookers in revenue respectively in The Americas; Europe, Africa, and Turkey; and the Middle East, Asia, and the Pacific;
- Brand Experts: Top 3 HERA advisors in revenue respectively for Orient Express, Fairmont, Raffles; Sofitel, Sofitel Legend, and MGallery; and Ennismore lifestyle brands; and
- Destination Diversifiers: Top 3 HERA bookers with the most diverse range of destination countries booked.
The trip itinerary for winning agents will feature meaningful local encounters and community integration, aligning with Accor’s long-standing commitment to sustainable, culturally sensitive travel.
All bookings made with the travel advisor’s HERA number from 15th November 2024 to 15th November 2025 will count towards the HERA challenge, with the final winners notified in December 2025.
