Concept Description
North America’s Full-Service Leisure Travel Agency Franchise
Expedia Cruises boasts one of the best brand names in the world and expertise to match.
Expedia Cruises™ began franchising in 1987 and is a leading seller of travel in North America. Our network of retail travel franchises is rapidly expanding, with over 260 locations currently open or under development. Our growth is driven by three overarching factors:
- The power of the Expedia brand allows us to capture new shoppers and turn them into life-long customers. Plus, all cruise inquiries from Expedia.com and Expedia.ca are sent to our franchise locations
- Our proven business model is affordable to start and extremely scalable
- Our omnichannel approach, and deep integration with Expedia, makes for a seamless booking experience
As part of the Expedia Inc. family of brands, our franchisees operate as full-service travel agencies offering Cruise Vacations, All-Inclusive Resorts, Coach & Rail Tours, Vacation Packages, Homes & Villas, Insurance, Flights, Hotels, and Activities – all at Expedia prices. This allows us to serve all the needs of our customers.
With a strong leadership team and a support team numbering more than 100 strong, Expedia Cruises is fully dedicated to providing a world class system that will achieve our mission: To empower our franchisees with a proven system to grow a profitable and valuable business.
Testimonials
“I have always dreamed of owning my own business and had extensive experience in corporate America. The support of the Expedia Cruises franchise system allows me to capitalize on my experience while taking advantage of a proven system. I’m not left to re-invent the wheel.” Jon Harvill/Birmingham, Alabama – Franchise Owner
“The idea of a big digital company also doing brick-and-mortar locations to appeal to every segment of the market was attractive to me and I felt that it was very forward-looking. Expedia is a household name that has instant credibility and instant familiarity with our customers. That is a big differentiator from most of our competitors who don’t have a big brand for people to connect with.” Chris Meyer/Orange County, California – Franchise Owner
“We follow the system. We send out flyers, build our 7SEAS database, attend tradeshows, and host cruise nights to spread the word in our community. I think the most important and powerful way to find customers is by building your Consultant team because they bring family, friends, and friends of friends, to your agency – and that doesn’t cost you anything.” Shawn Friesen/Thunder Bay, Ontario – Franchise Owner (multi-unit owner)
“You could say that I live the brand and the business. The recruitment marketing that Expedia Cruises offers on my behalf that generates recruitment leads for me! Even my Consultants are out there promoting and recruiting for us, they believe in the brand and our team.” Tracy Codd/Venice, Florida – Franchise Owner (multi-unit owner)
Publicity
- Expedia Cruises Solidifies Position Amongst Best Franchisors with Recent Franchisee Satisfaction Survey Results
- Expedia Cruises Hosts Record-Breaking Meeting at Sea
- Cruise Industry Surges Toward Dollar Forty-Four Billion Milestone with Expedia Cruises Leading Innovation and Growth
- Expedia Cruises Sails into 2025 with Strong Growth and Expanded Reach, Surpasses 260 Units
- How Franchisees Can Overcome the Fear of Business Failure
Awards and Accolades
Unit Option
Single, Multiple
Background
FDD Franchised Units: 85
Corporate Owned Units: 0
Projected New Units: 19
Year Established: 1987
First Year Franchised: 1987
Type of Business: Franchise
Hours of Operation: Regular Business Hours
Number of Employees: Medium (6-20)
History:
Our humble roots began over 35 years ago as CruiseShipCenters. We thrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, and had grown to establish ourselves as the cruise vacation booking network of choice in North America. Concurrently, Expedia had become the world’s most powerful travel booking engine. CruiseShipCenters’ 20 years of consistent growth attracted Expedia Group® to invest in our franchise system in 2007.
Expedia knew that cruise vacations were more complex to book than other travel products being sold through their online subsidiaries like Expedia.com, Hotwire, Travelocity, and Hotels.com. They also knew that cruisers felt more comfortable booking with a trusted professional; a cruise specialist who could help guide the way. As a result, Expedia Group formed a partnership with CruiseShipCenters to tap into our network of brick-and-mortar locations that offered personal service to cruise customers. In 2008, CruiseShipCenters officially became part of the Expedia Group family; thereafter being known as Expedia CruiseShipCenters.
Fast forward to 2020, Expedia CruiseShipCenters embarked on its newest and most exciting brand voyage – rebranding to Expedia Cruises. With a tag line of “Air, Land, and Sea Vacations,” the shorter name is not only more impactful, but promises a much broader and enriching offer to our customers as well as additional lead generation channels for our franchisees. Deeper integration with the cutting-edge technology, powerful resources, and brand recognition of the Expedia name, has successfully positioned us to be the single solution to our travelers’ needs.
Expedia Cruises’ omnichannel business model ensures that its customers receive unrivaled travel expertise, exceptional value, and a seamless booking experience at every service touch-point, while providing franchisees with revenue streams and lead generation channels from one of the top travel platforms in North America – Expedia.
Availability
Territories: United States
Financials
Liquidity: $250,000
*Investment Range: $149,500 - $258,745
Minimum Net Worth: $250,001, to $500,000
6 Month Cash: $100,001
Franchise Fee: $49,000
Royalty: 9%
Royalty Description: 9% of commissionable revenue (not total sales)
Advertising: 4%
National Advertising: 4%
Ramp-Up: 7 to 9 months
Passive Ownership: Passive Ownership NOT Allowed
Passive Ownership means the owner is working 15 hours or less per week in the business.
Passive Ownership Explain: Franchisees are full-time owners and operators in a brick and mortar travel agency business. The main role of the franchisee is to continuously recruit, train and lead a large team of Vacation Consultants (travel agents) who work as Independent Contractors selling travel on behalf of the store. Expedia Cruises proprietary, web-based software (CruiseDesk) also allows Franchisees to support a large number of outside Vacation Consultants working from their home offices.
Available Discounts
- Veterans
- First Responders
Discount Description: Qualified Veterans and First Responders receive 15% off the initial franchise fee.
Training, Support and Assistance
Co-Operative Advertising: N/A
Site Selection Assistance: Available
Lease Negotiation Assistance: N/A
Length of Training: 4-9 months
Training Description:
Initial Training takes 4-9 months concurrently with store build-out. Franchisees will first learn how to sell travel as an agent before attending our 5-day Cruise Management Academy training in Vancouver, BC which will focus on business management and team leadership. Through the process of starting your travel agency, our Franchise Service Managers will guide you through every step, helping you select the ideal location for your store (with insight from a third-party real estate company), negotiate your lease, and begin to recruit your team of travel agents. Your dedicated start-up manager will have weekly check-in calls with you during this stage.
Sales Leadership Support – Since building a large team of agents is so important to the success of our franchisees, we provide comprehensive training for our Franchisees to help them recruit, coach and motivate their Vacation Consultants to sales success.
Operational and Marketing Tools:
Systems Support – By harnessing CruiseDesk®, our proprietary technology, we have revolutionized the process of booking travel. It seamlessly integrates industry-leading booking tools, a robust CRM, and a comprehensive reporting and lead management system. Moreover, within CruiseDesk, we have introduced our latest cruise booking path, powered by Odysseus, which streamlines and simplifies the way you work. This all-in-one solution empowers you to effortlessly search, book, and manage cruises, ultimately freeing up your valuable time. In addition to cutting edge technology, one of the things that makes Expedia Cruises special is that we do a lot of work at our corporate office in Vancouver. Our corporate support staff works together to secure promotional deals from cruise lines, build marketing campaigns and materials, and continuously develop new programs that will help our franchisees boost their profitability. Our goal has always been to equip our franchisees to be great leaders while making it easier for you to train your team of Vacation Consultants.
On-going Support will come from our 100+ Corporate Support team and a dedicated Franchise Performance Coach. On the day you open your doors, your Franchise Performance Coach (FPC) will be with you to help you get acclimated, to answer your questions, and to help you get off to a strong start. Expect your FPC to be in touch regularly after that to provide 1-on-1 support, communicate system enhancements, and ensure you’re on track to achieve the goals you’ve set for your business. Program specialists in key areas like marketing and recruitment are available to coach franchisees in aspects of the business that are most critical to their success. Mandatory meetings for all franchisees are held bi-annually, including our annual National Conference aboard a cruise.
Financing Assistance: N/A
