Expedia CruiseShipCenters’ 2019 Year In Review

2020 marks Expedia CruiseShipCenters’ 33rd year of franchising. As a company, we have always been proud of the fact that our Franchises are the go-to cruise experts in their communities. Each location, although specializing in cruise, offers a full range of travel products from air, hotel, and car, to all-inclusive vacations and customized getaways. Our diverse group of knowledgeable, professional, and service-oriented Franchisees and Vacation Consultants hail from a variety of backgrounds but all have one thing in common – they are experts at navigating spectacular vacation experiences for travelers.

With each year that passes we like to reflect upon, and highlight, the milestones, and growth that we have experienced throughout the year. We are excited to announce that 2019 was another successful year with new innovative programs, key wins, and many new beginnings for our Franchisees.

Reflecting on 2019

2019 brought tremendous growth for Expedia CruiseShipCenters as we awarded a record 33 new franchises and opened 22 locations. These 33 franchises helped us reach, and surpass, the milestone of 300 retail Expedia franchises awarded! This is a promising step towards our long-term goal of 500 Expedia franchise locations over the next several years. The expanded reach of our Centers also resulted in the expansion of our network of spectacular Vacation Consultants to 6,800!

While we did grow our reach in Canada, with a few Franchisees expanding their Canadian market, most of our growth has been and will continue to be, in the United States. With lots of room to grow in the US, our Centers are working to capture a major portion of the 32 million people expected to cruise in 2020, as estimated by CLIA.

Multi-Unit Offers

Expedia CruiseShipCenters began offering multi-unit franchise agreements in 2018 and, following our initial multi-unit deal that year, we awarded an impressive 5 multi-unit agreements in 2019. These agreements ranged from 2 units to our very first 4-unit agreement! This offer is presented to entrepreneurs who are motivated, with an impressive work ethic and want a more aggressive approach to business ownership.

As a leading seller of cruises in North America, we have a proven business model that is affordable to start and extremely scalable. This allows potential Franchisees the ability to invest in multiple locations at once, and the support of 140+ corporate staff members will assist them every step of the way.

Expanding Coast to Coast

The continued demand for travel and cruising has fueled the growth of Expedia CruiseShipCenters. In 2019 we expanded, yet again, from coast to coast awarding franchises in Washington, California, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Florida. With a booming travel industry, that is showing no signs of slowing down, there has never been a better time to open an Expedia Franchise. According to CLIA, 80% of cruisers are likely to book a cruise as their next vacation, and with repeat customers being this high, we expect 2020 to be another memorable year.

Celebrating Our 100th US Location

2019 marked one of our best years in franchising history! Not only did we break our record for the most US locations awarded in a single year, but we hit many milestones along the way. The most profound of these milestones was the opening of our 100^th US location in Jacksonville, Florida.

Opening a 100 locations in a span of 9 years is no small feat, and we are thrilled at the growth experienced, not only in Florida but across the US. We truly believe that Expedia’s massive brand, paired with a proven business model and our commitment to exceptional customer service, has helped us grow into a leading seller of cruise travel in North America. It’s an exciting time at Expedia CruiseShipCenters and with our eyes set on a record-breaking 2020, we are more driven than ever to find Franchisees who share the same vision as us.

Award-Winning Year

Each year Expedia CruiseShipCenters continues to make waves in the cruise industry by strengthening our partnerships and expanding our reach. We are honored to have received the following awards in 2019:

Franchise Awards

Entrepreneur Franchise 500® 2019
Franchise Business Review’s Top Multi-Unit Franchise

Industry Awards

Celebrity Cruises: North American Partner of the Year
Royal Caribbean International: President’s Award for Overall Achievement
MSC: Canadian Consortium Partner of the Year
Carnival Cruises: Retail Travel Partner Excellence Award
Crystal Cruises Sales Award Gala Top Producer 2018
Carnival Cruise Line: Ted Arison Founder’s Award (Expedia Group)
Holland America Line: Chairman’s Award
Cunard: Franchise Agency Network Excellence Award
Princess Cruises: Retail Travel Partner Excellence Award
Norwegian Cruise Line: 2019 Elite Partner of The Year

Center Awards

Carnival Cruise Line: Retail Travel Partner Excellence Award (Expedia CentrodeCruceros)
Norwegian Cruise Line: Partner of the Year: Southeast (Expedia CruiseShipCenters Venice)

For more details about the Expedia CruiseShipCenters franchise opportunity fill out the form below or take a look at this six-step overview of our retail travel agency franchise opportunity here.