#1 Travel Franchise for 15 Years on Entrepreneur's List

Cruise Planners is a low-cost, home-based travel powerhouse that does not require industry experience

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – January 11th, 2018 – Many people wait until retirement to travel the world, but smart business people are investing in the No.1 travel franchise to own, Cruise Planners®, and traveling as part of their career. For 15 years, Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, has ranked as the best travel franchise to own on Entrepreneur's Annual Franchise 500 list.

Cruise Planners continues its legacy as the No.1 Travel Franchise on Entrepreneur’s Annual List for the 15th consecutive year.

“Being the best in travel franchising for 15 consecutive years isn’t just an honor, it’s a legacy, especially as we approach our 25th year of connecting people with a passion for travel and their dream careers,” said Michelle Fee, CEO and founder of Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative. “Cruise Planners consistently blurs the boundary between franchisor and family and the meaningful relationships we have between our Home Office Team, franchisees, their clients and our partners – combined, of course, with the industry’s most innovative technology and marketing – is the secret to how we continue to sizzle.”

2017 was marked by many advances for the company, including a suite of technology all designed to provide highly efficient and targeted insight for franchise owners to market to and work with their clients. With all technology and marketing developments, Cruise Planners innovates with the franchisee in mine, providing high-tech solutions to strengthen the connection between travel agents and their clients. The most recent innovations include:

• Alexa Skills—The first-ever Artificial Intelligence for a travel franchise company was introduced by Cruise Planners and includes two voice-activated skills using Artificial Intelligence. One skill acts as a virtual personal assistant for Cruise Planners agents and the other is a hands-free way for customers to connect with their travel agent as they plan and countdown to their vacations.
• CP Maxx™—Cruise Planners’ next-generation booking and customer relationship management system for faster, streamlined results that “Maxximizes” business, efficiencies and profits
• CP Insights™—Highly-efficient and targeted insight for franchise owners to market and work with their clients to provide relevant marketing and customized travel offers.
• CP View™—Tool that curates data across the Cruise Planners network to anticipate client buying habits and target the right clients, leading to increased sales, brand credibility and stronger relationships.

“Even as the travel industry has gone through changes over the past two decades and even as people questioned the relevancy of travel agents, Cruise Planners has consistently remained a top franchise opportunity,” Fee said. “Franchise owners can feel confident when choosing Cruise Planners as we aren’t just the best today, we were the best yesterday and we won’t stop innovating to ensure we continue to be the best for decades to come.”