Royal Caribbean’s Chairman on Why Travel Advisors Should Focus on Continuous Improvement

After more than three decades in the cruise industry, most of it leading Royal Caribbean Group through phenomenal growth and success, Richard Fain, the former chairman and CEO (and current chairman) of Royal Caribbean Group, is a fount of advice when it comes to running a business. In his new book, “Delivering the Wow,” Fain identifies several key themes that are of particular importance to business success.

In part one of this two-piece series, TMR talked with Fain about the importance of intentionality. Here we dive into why advisors should chase continuous improvement.

In “Delivering the Wow,” Fain writes: “In its simplest form, continuous improvement is the process of relentlessly seeking new and better ways to accomplish something.”

It’s a practice Fain told TMR he believes is “fundamental” to running a business because it “reflects the striving for excellence.”

“There’s no such thing as perfect in any endeavor, but you can always do better,” he said, adding he likes to use the North Star as a metaphor for this constant effort to improve.

“The North Star is something we all use to navigate by as mariners, but the true North Star is thousands of light years away. Nobody ever expects to reach the North. They’re using it as a goal. The same thing applies to excellence. You always want to do better and you always can do better.”

Part of the reason Fain believes in a mantra of continuous improvement is because its so easy to become complacent, especially if you’ve already reached a goal.

“There is a tendency to set a goal for oneself that’s a near term goal. Then you reach it and you say, okay, I’m done…”

That’s a normal reaction, he added. “You’ve worked hard on something and you’ve made it and you’ve got a big improvement. It’s now really great and you want to rest on your laurels and revel in the victory.”

A focus on continuous improvement, Fain said, means taking a minute to appreciate what you’ve accomplished, but then asking yourself, what else can I do to take what I’ve just done to the next level.

“That’s what drives success. In this world, you can’t stand still.”

We asked Fain for ideas on how travel advisors can implement continuous improvement. Should advisors be asking their clients what they could be doing better?

“I definitely believe you should be asking your clients what can you do better… that’s a necessary condition, but not a sufficient one,” he said.

He emphasized that continuous improvement isn’t about fixing something you did wrong. It’s about taking something you’re doing right, something that’s working, and making it work better.

In talking about ways that advisors can implement continuous improvement, the topic of AI came up, first because AI is changing the role travel advisors play in the travel planning process, and second, because AI can be used as a tool to help with continuous improvement.

Fain didn’t offer any specific ideas for how to use AI, but he suggested that generative AI in general can be used as a tool to help advisors continually improve what they do for clients.

[Learn more about using AI for travel advisors in TMR’s White Paper: AI-Powered Travel: Strategies for Travel Advisors to Maximize Sales & Operations]