CruiseOne & Cruises Inc. report a 35 percent spike in land sales versus the same period last year. Citing a growing interest in diversifying amongst agents, the sister brands recently launched a new Land Certification Program, which has welcomed nearly 200 agents. More than 70 have completed the program.
“While cruising will always remain the core of our business, we know that it is important to continue evolving our offerings to the agent community,” said Dwain Wall, senior vice president and general manager for CruiseOne & Cruises Inc.
“Many consumers cruise annually but there are some who don’t, seeking other options. We are committed to helping our agents become true full-service travel professionals who are able to plan every imaginable type of dream vacation, and we expect for our land sales to continue to grow into 2013 as a result," Wall said.
The new Land Certification Program helps interested agents become comfortable selling multiple product types, Wall reports. Designed as a flexible self-study program, it gives agents the opportunity to learn at their own pace, based on their own timeframe.
The program features ten modules focusing on various aspects of land sales, including courses on navigating online hotel training programs, land vendor product sessions, destination-specific training and more. The course covers everything from air – a new offering as part of CruiseOne & Cruises Inc.’s SelectAir program – to travel insurance, increasing overall agent commissions and thus, profitability.
“One of the biggest obstacles agents face in selling more land is understanding all of the product options available,” said Drew Daly, VP of sales performance. “As a result of our extensive Land Certification Program, agents now have a better understanding of all that is associated with a land vacation in order to assist them in choosing the right vacation for their customer’s individual needs.”
CruiseOne & Cruises Inc. report they will include land curriculum during their first-ever joint land and sea National Conference, October 14 to 21 with four nights at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort and three nights aboard Disney Dream.
Marking the companies’ 20th and 30th anniversaries, respectively, this year’s CruiseOne & Cruises Inc. National Conference will include interactive general sessions, sales-building workshops, power networking opportunities and a keynote presentation by Jon Wolske of Zappos. Together, the companies’ 1,200 agents are part of World Travel Holdings (WTH).
Visit www.CruiseOneFranchise.com or www.SellCruises.com