Cruise Planners is helping its travel advisors target more land-based vacation opportunities.
The travel franchise has launched a series of virtual events to help its advisors up their game when it comes to selling land.
"Many may be surprised to learn that Cruise Planners has dominated as a top producer in land sales for several years. Let me dispel the myth that Cruise Planners is only a large volume cruise seller," said Michelle Fee, CEO and founder of Cruise Planners. "Our advisors are full-service travel advisors, and Cruise Planners' land business currently makes up half of our sales."
Fee noted that land vacations are taking off due to the ongoing pause within the cruise industry.
"That is without a doubt," she said. "Don't let the name fool you. Cruise Planners sells a large volume of land travel. We have always been more cruise-focused, but we are top producers with all the major companies. The fact that cruise lines are not yet sailing, you can imagine, our land sales have soared this year."
Cruise Planners is the number-one global seller of Sandals and Beaches Resorts in the world; however, while many of the company's franchises were largely focused on cruising, Cruise Planners recognized the need to provide additional training on land-based options to keep up with the demand.
"Some of our advisors were very much in tune with land vacations," said Fee. "But a lot were very cruise-centric. We have had to do a really good job this year making sure that they were trained."
The company really stepped up for its advisors during the pandemic with robust tools to assist them, particularly in selling land-based travel, and that investment is ongoing.
Some of the initiatives for advisors include:
All-Inclusive Resort Tool: Robust database of all-inclusive resort options with filtering capabilities to help narrow down selections to the best resorts to fit client's needs
CP Partner Hub: Centralized database of travel supplier partners' important information such as the latest covid policies, flexible cancellation policies and recently added a Ratings and Reviews section, which has been handy as both agents and consumers submit reviews for land-based vacation options
Vacation Wizard: Tool for Cruise Planners advisors to identify relevant recommendations for client-specific requests based on destination to find various travel supplier partners offering tours or services in those destinations
Resort Sheets: Property sheets for the advisors to email price quotes for clients and include resort photos, details and other sales-related information
Cruise Planners has also done a lot of outreach to consumers as well. Its Where2Next virtual consumer event series engages travelers through presentations from leading travel providers.
The series has included presentations on all-inclusive resorts featuring Karisma and Sandals, theme parks featuring Universal Studios and Disney World Resorts and domestic rail offerings with Yankee Holidays, Amtrak Vacations and Railbookers.
Cruise Planners' top destinations for clients right now include Mexico, Hawaii, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Fee also noted that a lot of clients are vying to be on one of the first cruises once the pause is lifted.
However, while cruises may be on the verge of a restart, Fee doesn't see the land-based portion of the business slowing down anytime soon.
"Land sells much closer than cruise," she said. "Short cruising is an uncertainty right now but, in 2022, the world cruises, the European cruises, the Alaska cruises, those are on fire. People are booking so far out that we are selling 2023."
Travelers are ready to hit the road right now, and they want someone to help them book.
"I think what we are seeing is all those consumers that were booking direct and they got left behind and we as advisors are seeing more new customers who want the travel advisor to help them sort out what they need," said Fee.
Travelers are looking for new options for their vacations in a post-pandemic world, and land-based travel is going to continue to grow.
"With summer travel right around the corner," Fee said. "Cruise Planners advisors are extremely well versed in curating the perfect vacation for all of their clients."
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
