Cruise Planners Urges Agents to Expand Beyond Cruise

What are the best ways for cruise-selling agents to grow their bottom lines?

Focus on booking more summer cruises, expand into land-based vacations, and make selling travel insurance a priority.

Those were among the tips that Cruise Planners’ CFO Tom Kruszewski had for agents attending the Cruise Planners-American Express Travel 2012 National Convention in Hollywood, Fla., last week.

This year proved to be a strong one for Cruise Planners, with franchisees doubling the number of land vacations sold, along with solid increases in overall cruise sales.

Expanding focus beyond cruise
Like other cruise-focused agency groups, Cruise Planners has increasingly expanded its focus beyond cruise sales. (See story “Land Vacations in Spotlight at CruiseOne Conference,” October 18, 2012)

Earlier this year, Cruise Planners launched CP Vacations, a new packaged vacation program that has helped to increase the home-based franchise network’s share of land-based bookings.

“Our pie has gotten bigger – we’ve just developed more of a focus on being a full-service type agency than being just a cruise agency,” said Michelle Fee, Cruise Planners co-founder and CEO.

Tips for agents
Kruszewski analyzed Cruise Planners data to show when agents were the most profitable in 2012.

“When we looked at average cruise fares, by month, for the last three years, they were consistently highest for summer sailings,” said Kruszewski.  “That’s also when NCFs, as a percentage of total fares, were consistently lowest.”

He also encouraged agents to focus on selling travel insurance, especially to skeptical clients.

“Insurance has the highest commission rate of all the segments,” said Kruszewski.

Kruszewski urged agents to take advantage of the upcoming 2013 Wave Season, after a tumultuous 2012 season following the Costa Concordia incident.

“In times of uncertainty, continue focusing your efforts on selling cruises in January through April,” said Kruszewski. “You’ve got a short window of opportunity. If you miss it, you’re going to have to wait another year to ride that wave again.”

Strong outlook for 2013
For 2013, Cruise Planners’ internal data shows a growth in bookings and a lengthening booking window.

“Advance bookings for April through June 2013 sailings are up 50% compared to advance bookings from a comparable period last year,” said Kruszewski. “The further out in time we go, the higher those percentages become.”

He cautioned agents to be on the lookout for price fluctuations throughout the year, as a longer booking window often leads to shifting prices closer in.