CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. Aug.19, 2022 – Cruise Planners recently hosted their highly anticipated Land and Luxury Symposium at the Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic. The event began as two separate conferences in 2014 and in recent years, merged to become the premiere, industry-leading event with eminent land and luxury suppliers offering training and resources to help advisors sell their products successfully. Cruise Planners has evolved from being a cruise- dominant company to a leading sales contender in the luxury and land sector in the past years.
The Land and Luxury Symposium shared best practices when it comes to boosting travel sales, and how to attract, service and retain luxury clients.
“The demand for luxury travel is at an all-time high, especially after the last few years,” said Michelle Fee, CEO and co-founder of Cruise Planners. “Our advisors are ready to hit the ground running and want to be able to offer the best vacations for their clients and we want to equip them with the knowledge and products that will take their sales to the next level.”
Cruise Planners continues to develop top-notch, immersive and upscale training opportunities for travel professionals to drive more high-end sales. The four-day event was hosted by Fee, Scott Koepf, Vice President of Strategic Planning and Laura Blanco, Director of Sales.
“This event gave me the opportunity to further solidify my relationships with some of my key suppliers as well as learn about other suppliers,” said Kelley Mundi Austin, a franchise owner who also presented to fellow advisors. “Relationships are key in this industry and being able to spend a few days creating or strengthening relationships is immeasurable. ”
Executives from leading travel partners showcased what made them unique and met with Cruise Planners travel advisors in one-on-one networking meetings. Mark Conroy, Managing Director of the Americas, Silversea Cruises, made the keynote speech while Dawn Campbell, Visit Anchorage; Tim Behn, Allianz; Olivia Hernandez & Liz Purkey, Sandals; and Susan Lang, AMR all participated in fireside chat sessions titled “Supplier Hot Seats”.
In addition to trade shows, the Land and Luxury Symposium comprised of several panel discussions with topics such as:
Destinations In Depth
- River
- Hot Trends in Resorts
- Think Outside the Box
- Unique Cruise Experiences
Advisors also heard from fellow franchisees who are top producers for both land sales and luxury sales. They shared their advice and first-hand knowledge on how they became successful in these niche markets.
While the main event was held at the Hyatt Zilara, Cap Cana, the “Night Out” was sponsored by the new Margaritaville Island Reserve by Karisma resorts. Advisors were able to experience a walk though of the resort as well as a dinner with music and dancing. In addition, advisors also brought supplies for local charities to distribute to children before the schoolyear begins.
“The CP Land and Luxury Forum is the go-to conference to grow your business,” said Nick Pena, a top-producing luxury franchise owner. “Having one-on-one appointments with our partners and listening to our speakers for updates is invaluable. I am back and energized to grow my luxury sales.”
Company Background
Cruise Planners was founded in 1994 and is the nation’s largest home-based travel agent franchise network. As a leader in the travel franchise industry, Cruise Planners positions a nation-wide network of 2,500 franchise owners for success by providing innovative marketing programs, proprietary and cutting-edge booking and technology tools, as well as professional development and hands-on training with the industry’s top executives. The company continues to be an industry leader and was named the No.1 travel franchise by Entrepreneur magazine for 18 consecutive years and awarded by Franchise Business Review as “Best-In-Category” for 2 years.
Franchise Business Review also ranked Cruise Planners #3 OVERALL on their list of Top 200 Franchises of 2022. Cruise Planners was recently featured in Entrepreneur as one of the top 30 franchise innovators in technology, has been consistently named as one of the Top Women-Owned Businesses by the South Florida Business Journal, is on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America, and was recognized as one of the Top Workplaces by the Sun Sentinel.
Visit our website, www.cruiseplanners.com, for more information or to view the complete list of awards and honors. For those interested in becoming a franchise owner, please visit https://www.cruiseplannersfranchise.com/.