Sorry, no records were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again.
Sorry, unable to load the Maps API.
Thursday, April 17, 2025
Sorry, no records were found. Please adjust your search criteria and try again.
Sorry, unable to load the Maps API.
Preferred Travel acquires Anchors Away Cruises & Tours
Preferred Travel & Company, a family owned and operated full-service travel agency headquartered in Naples, announced the acquisition of Anchors Away Cruises & Tours.
The merger expands Preferred Travel & Company’s luxury travel offerings into Dunedin and The Villages and increases its total number of travel professionals to more than 100.
Established in 1995, Anchors Away Cruises & Tours provides a wide range of vacation planning services, including cruises, cruise tours, land tours, resorts and river cruising. The company will continue to operate under its current name as a division of Preferred Travel & Company. Its former owner, Edward Mass, Jr., will remain on through the transition, and no changes are anticipated in staffing.
“Anchors Away Cruises & Tours is a well-established agency that has focused on providing travel services to popular destinations worldwide for over three decades,” said Olga Placeres, president of Preferred Travel & Company. “By adding them to our family, we honor their foundation while strengthening it with our global network, elevated services and expanded luxury offerings.”
Both Anchors Away Cruises & Tours locations in Dunedin and The Villages will be maintained. However, the team at the Dunedin location on Heather Wood Boulevard will transition from their current office to a more spacious suite in the same building. This new space is larger than the previous office, enhancing the team’s ability to engage with clients and partners and providing the additional space needed for the agency to bring additional team members on board.
One of those new additions is luxury travel expert Monique Ross, who recently was appointed by Preferred Travel & Company as director of business development. Ross is a highly accomplished professional with more than 25 years of experience in the cruise and travel industry, including serving in business development roles with luxury lines like Crystal Cruises and Silversea Cruises.
Based in the Dunedin office, Ross will enhance Preferred Travel & Company’s travel offerings by cultivating strong partnerships, expanding market reach and fostering meaningful connections within the community.
The Anchors Away Cruises & Tours location in The Villages opened in 2012 and is located at 4085 Wedgewood Lane. It currently houses four professional advisors, providing travel services six days a week. That location also is anticipated to grow with more special events for clients and partners.
The acquisition of Anchors Away Cruises & Tours comes following Preferred Travel & Company’s acquisition of Landmark Travel, announced in 2023, as the company continues to expand its reach in Florida. Located in Fort Lauderdale, Landmark Travel is a luxury travel agency. It also has retained its name and currently operates as a division of Preferred Travel & Company.
For additional information, visit preferrednaples.com or call 239-261-1177.
STARability Foundation’s STAR Studio & Artisan Gifts launches new Spa Collection
STAR Studio & Artisan Gifts, part of STARability Foundation’s Social Enterprise program, announced it has launched a new line of specialty candles, the Spa Collection.
Hand-poured by participants of STARability Foundation at their STAR Studio, located in the Naples Design District, the fresh collection features a sleek ceramic tumbler and bamboo lid with three soothing scents, including:¦ Glam: Lemongrass, black currant and sugarcane¦ Glow: Bergamot, amber, gardenia and coconut¦ Gratify: White eucalyptus, mint leaf, marine and juniper
The bottom of each candle is uniquely signed by the STARability participant who created it.
Candles can be purchased individually for $32 each or $85 for three. The collection is available in person at the Studio’s artisan gift boutique, located at 106 10th St. N., or online at starabilitystudio.square.site. Wholesale pricing is available.
The STAR Studio is an inclusive, joyful space where more than 80 participants of STARability Foundation come together to create through vocational training, paid employment and recreational art classes. All gifts for sale in the on-site boutique were crafted, illustrated and packaged entirely by these STAR artists and artisans of all abilities. Handmade gifts include natural soy candles, hand-beaded bracelets, illustrated cards, tea towels, calendars, holiday ornaments and more. All proceeds from sales support STARability’s innovative and life-transforming programs and services to help people with intellectual and developmental disabilities gain invaluable skills to reach their goals of employment, engagement and independence.
To learn more about STARability’s social enterprises program, visit STARability.org.
Tamiami Hyundai initiates multi-million-dollar renovation
Tamiami Hyundai announced that it has initiated construction on a multi-million dollar renovation of its existing dealership located at 6780 Airport-Pulling Road N. in Naples.
Both the interior and exterior of the building will be completely remodeled with completion anticipated by the end of this year. e facility’s remodel includes a new
Th exterior façade, sales offices, an expanded showroom, freshly paved lot, service drive expansion and a customer lounge with complimentary snacks and beverages.
To accommodate the project, the dealership’s current sales and service staff, customer reception and sales areas have recently been relocated to temporary trailers on the property. The dealership will remain open seven days a week, and the sales hours will remain the same: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“This renovation represents the most extensive work on the dealership since the building was originally constructed nearly 20 years ago and is part of a larger rebrand by Hyundai Motor Corp. to new colors and designs,” said Tim Zellers, owner of Tamiami Hyundai. “When complete, this state-of-the-art facility will enable us to take better care of our existing customers as well as those new to the Hyundai brand.”
Tamiami Hyundai is owned and operated by the Zellers family, which also owns the adjacent Genesis of Naples location. The Genesis dealership is in the process of relocating to a brand new 30,000-square-foot building that will be built on 10.5 acres at the intersection of Pine Ridge Road and Interstate 75.
The new Genesis of Naples will join a growing number of new standalone locations being built in the U.S., offering service, parts and a premium selection of vehicles. It is anticipated that ground will be broken on the project in June, pending final approval from the South Florida Water Management District.
The Zellers family also owns Tamiami Ford at 1471 Airport-Pulling Rd. N. The Tamiami dealership brand has been a force in Naples since Arlie Zellers launched Tamiami Ford in 1973. Today, the Zellers family – Robert and Sheila Zellers, daughter Joy Zellers-Rautenkranz, and son A.J. Zellers – represent one of the last privately owned auto dealerships in Southwest Florida. Between the three dealerships, the family employs nearly 300 in Collier County with annual new and pre-owned sales surpassing 5,000 vehicles.
The Zellers acquired the existing Hyundai dealership from the O’Brien organization in 2008, just after the first Genesis model was introduced as Hyundai’s luxury counterpart. Genesis of Naples was born in 2017 as part of Hyundai’s rebranding, establishing Genesis as an independent premier division. Today, the growth of the Genesis brand requires its own showroom, service and maintenance department. ¦
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Click Here for Our Offices
Our Hometown DMCA Notices
Newspaper website content management software and services
