What’s a reporter to do when she’s sailing Norwegian Prima with 3,000 travel-industry insiders, including iconic travel companies like American Express and Expedia? Why, ask a couple of them to sit down and chat about what’s new in 2023, of course.
Making headlines while we were cruising, Signature Travel Network announced the addition of Cruise Planners, which has been looking for a home since American Express announced it will be ending its representative network at the end of 2022.
And while I was I was on the subject of franchisees, I couldn’t resist reaching out to Expedia Cruises, whose CEO sat with me in Prima’s beautiful Haven area to share some thoughts on the state of the industry.
Cruise Planners Goes to Signature
Signature CEO Alex Sharpe was in a buoyant mood over the “17 great businesses” with which he has been in talks since the American Express announcement in May.
“It’s always great to learn about different businesses and people. And we’ve found that as a whole, American Express agencies fit really well with our network,” he said. “They are great soldiers, good business people; they have a great culture and they get great results. It’s an opportunity for us because our technology and marketing are a great fit for their leisure business. And they have strong agency brands, which can remain front and center with our white labeled solutions.”
With more than 2,500 home-based travel advisors, Cruise Planners was #18 on Travel Weekly’s 2022 Power List, with sales of $545 million, and among its top 10 leisure agencies. In an amusing choice of words foreshadowing things to come, CEO and co-founder Michelle Fee said at the time that Cruise Planners is “looking forward to 2023 and excited to unveil our signature list of new initiatives and innovations.” (Okay, I’m easily amused.)
In the press release announcing its new affiliation with Signature, Fee said the two companies share “the essence of the pillars we hold ourselves to,” and Signature’s technology, marketing and training programs “will elevate the Cruise Planners brand and give advisors an extra edge to propel their business.”
Despite being competitors for years, Sharpe has gotten “dozens of emails” from member agencies congratulating Signature on signing Cruise Planners and welcoming them to the fold.
“Our family is growing, it’s an exciting time!” he said.
Expedia Sees the Light at the End of the Tunnel
Also sailing with a smile was Expedia Cruises president Matthew Eichhorst, who is seeing “more and more searches for a cruise, and more and more interest in the shorter itineraries” in which the online side of the business excelled pre-pandemic. Almost a third of customers are interested in last-minute trips, departing in less than 90 days.
More than ever, he said, travel advisors provide that vital link of keeping customers informed and their expectations met. “We’re all in recovery mode, and we all have a role in the recovery—the suppliers and the trade, we’re all working hard to ensure we are communicating what’s the same and what’s different.”
And while there is “a little more friction in traveling this year, and I spend a little more time in the airport than I used to, it’s wonderful” to be back out there seeing the world. Sales are “a little softer but very very solid; everybody is pretty eager to travel again, and the optimism of our franchise partners is far better than it has been all year. All indications are that we certainly are on the path for recovery for 2023.”
The closure of many US ports last year shifted much of the business to Europe, exotic destinations, and river cruising. But now the Caribbean, which really didn’t open until last July and even then was a little soft, now is seeing “huge interest.”
Unlike its online travelers, Expedia’s travel-advisor customer base is higher-end, “more premium and upper premium, more traditional cruisers that go over and over again,” with a very high repeat rate even during the pandemic. While the first timers paused a bit, “we’re seeing them come back now,” he said. “If you weren’t a traveler you weren’t eager to start—but if you were a traveler you couldn’t wait.”
Looking ahead, Eichhorst is feeling positive about the return to cruising in 2023. The industry is evolving quickly; the products are better than ever; even the older ships are fresher and newer. And while many customers tried an all-inclusive land vacation in the period when cruising was suspended, “the value in cruising is so high that even if the mix doesn’t shift completely back, I think companies that are focused on cruise will recover,” he said.
Internally, Expedia Cruises has been improving the value it provides to agents, adding marketing content and ways to distribute that content, and educational programs for franchisees and technology to streamline processes.
Expedia expects to sign up “double-digit” numbers of new franchises in both the United States and Canada in the next few months. In the hunt for new franchisees, “we look for people who are entrepreneurial and also want to follow a system.” Firemen, policemen, teachers all make good travel advisors—“they don’t all have corporate experience, but they have a passion for travel.” The Expedia franchise system provides a structure and marketing support but leaves “lots of room for creative execution, plenty of room for a local feel.”
And more than ever, travel advisors provide that vital link of keeping customers informed and their expectations met.
“We’re all in recovery mode, and we all have a role in the recovery—the suppliers and the trade; we’re all working hard to ensure we are communicating what’s the same and what’s different. No matter who you are, whether you are an expedition person or a floating in the Caribbean person, I’m pretty sure there’s a cruise out there that you will love,” he said.
“For travel advisors, it comes down to picking the right cruise for the right customer. You really have to know your ships.”
Cheryl’s 40-year career in journalism is bookended by roles in the travel industry, including Executive Editor of Business Travel News in the 1990s, and recently, Editor in Chief of Travel Market Report and admin of Cheryl Rosen’s Group for Travel Professionals, a news and support group on Facebook. As an independent contractor since retiring from the 9-to-5 to travel more, she has written regular articles about the life and business of travel agents for Luxury Travel Advisor, Travel Agent, and Insider Travel Report. She also writes and edits for professional publications in the financial services, business, and technology sectors.