Cruise Planners

Cruise Planners is a home-based travel agent franchise network.[1] The company is headquartered in downtown Coral Springs, Florida. The company's travel agency franchisees specialize in booking luxury vacations, cruises, tours and travel to destinations around the world.[2] The company has more than 2,500 franchise owners in all 50 states.[3][4]

Cruise Planners
TypePrivately held company
Founded1994
Headquarters
Downtown Coral Springs, FL
Key people
Michelle Fee (CEO)
Theresa Scalzitti (COO)
Brian Shultz (CIO)
Scott Koepf (Chief Strategy Officer)
ServicesTravel agency services & travel franchises
OwnerMichelle Fee
Websitecruiseplanners.com cruiseplannersfranchise.com

The company is a licensed travel agency, and a member of CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association),[5] IFA (International Franchise Association), and ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents).

History

The company was co-founded by Michelle Fee in 1994 in Coral Springs, Florida. Just prior to the retirement of the company's original co-founders Lynn Korn and Marvin Davis in 2007, their shares in the company were purchased by Palm Beach Capital.[6][7]

In 2013, CEO Michelle Fee,[8] the late COO Vicky Garcia and CFO Tom Kruszewski together purchased the company from Palm Beach Capital.[9] In May 2022, Fee became the sole owner of Cruise Planners. The company continues to be privately held, and has approximately 115 employees at their headquarters in Coral Springs, Florida.[10]

In September 2022, Cruise Planners announced it would join Signature Travel Network, one of the travel industry's largest travel agency networks.[11]

Awards and recognition

Cruise Planners is the most awarded travel franchise company in the industry. Franchise Business Review awarded Cruise Planners "Best in Category" in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and Cruise Planners has been listed on Entrepreneur’s Annual Franchise 500 List since 2004.[12] Cruise Planners was named #20 on Travel Weekly's 2023 Power List.[13]

In 2019, the Broward County Commission proclaimed January 29th as "Cruise Planners Day" in recognition of the company's economic and positive impact on tourism and the community.

References
  1. Taylor, Kate (7 August 2014). "Franchise Players: How a Travel-Loving Cosmetologist Became a Franchisee". NBCNews.com. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  2. Dempsey, Bobbi. "Cruise Planners Offers Innovative Solutions". TravelPulse. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  3. CNBC.com, Bob Woods, special to (2016-05-11). "9 low-cost franchises that can make you a millionaire". CNBC. Retrieved 2016-10-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Sheivachman, Andrew (26 October 2016). "Travel Agents Struggle to Market Against Online Travel Giants". Skift. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  5. Biesiada, Jamie. "Across industry, bonuses and accolades for National Travel Agent Day". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  6. "Ultimate CEO Fee on building a business in a technology-driven world". South Florida Business Journal. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  7. Norton, Theresa. "Cruise Planners CEO Fee to Christen AmaSerena". TravelPulse. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  8. Dunn, Laura (26 June 2014). "Women in Business: Q&A with Michelle Fee, CEO & Co-Founder of Cruise Planners". Huffington Post. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  9. Covey, Claudette. "'The Model Has Completely Evolved:' One-On-One With Cruise Planners' Michelle Fee". TravelPulse. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  10. Stieghorst, Tom. "Succeeding with the Cruise Planners formula". Travel Weekly. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  11. "Cruise Planners Joins Signature Travel Network". www.travelmarketreport.com. Retrieved 2022-09-01.
  12. "Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative - Franchises & Business Opportunities". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 23 September 2017.
  13. Martins, Jenn. "Travel Weekly Power List 2023". www.travelweekly.com.
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