year in review year in review
Transcription
year in review year in review
W E I V E R N I YEAR 5 1 20 Wow! Has a year gone by already? 2015 was the best year on record and full of a lot of positive changes! We’ve created new tools to help you grow your business, offered more training and support than ever before, and let’s not forget we couldn’t do this without LOTS of CruisitudeTM! newest marketing addition, the “Cartoon Doodle Video,” is getting rave reviews! As always, our main goal is to help you communicate to your customers—we’ll take care of the high-tech, while you take care of the high-touch! Everything we do out of Home Office is for you and is inspired to make you more successful, and it’s working. We have more Millionaires, Mega Stars, and Rock Stars than ever before, which means you are growing your businesses. So, what is your New Year’s Resolution? Calling your CP HO Coach and having a 2016 plan to jump to the next star level? The HO Team was out and about this year; CP on the Road hosted many regionals and boot camps from coast In 2015, we invested heavily in our in-house to coast, and we loved seeing the “CP Sea of team, and I’m sure you will all agree, we’ve got the best Home Office Team in the industry! They Bling & Green” and your CruisitudeTM along the way. Thank you for showing your support— understand the challenges and opportunities our network of franchise owners is a strong that you face each day, which has allowed us community of which we are so proud. You truly to create tools designed specifically for your embrace the positive attitude we strive for, and success. The amazing technology, marketing, you rely on each other and the Home Office and training has made Cruise Planners a travel Team as your extended family! powerhouse. More than 97 percent of you are using one of the most well-received tools we ever launched, the Triggered Email Campaign! It has created a turn-key, unique customer experience for your clients. This year, we have many other new launches including eRez Mobile, which allows you to book and manage your clients right from the palm of your hand from anywhere in the world, and Smart SelectSM, which has revolutionized the way we select your Full Sails direct mail recipients and has positively impacted sales by 52%. Plus, the Our primary focus always has been and will continue to be the success of our franchise owners like you. Thank you for taking this journey of travel entrepreneurship with us. It’s been a fun ride, and we look forward to the adventures ahead with the CP family. From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to extend a very happy holiday to all of you. May 2016 bring you joy, happiness, and lots of success! Michelle,Vicky, Tom,Brian,and theHomeOfficeTeam ONBOARD CREDITS SPECIAL AMENITIES 2015Awards 2015 Advisory Board Kelley Austin Andrea Campbell Melissa Haefele Peter Himmelberger Cathy Hoffman Debra Kerper Sherry Leybovich Christopher Lingren Monique Minnick Anoop Mittra Roberta Schwartz Maria Tilton Ronda Zeneri 2015 LGBT Advisory Board Leadership Awards • Michelle Fee named Godmother of AmaWaterways’ AmaSerena • South Florida Top Workplaces from Sun Sentinel • Vicky Garcia named among Florida’s Most Powerful & Influential Women by the Florida Diversity Council • Brian Shultz named to the 40 Under 40 List by the South Florida Business Journal Partner Awards Earmarked from Walt Disney World Travel Company • Platinum Apple Award from Apple Vacations • Pacesetter Award from American Express Travel • Franchise Partner of the Year from Norwegian Cruise Line • Home-Based Agency of the Year from MSC Cruises • Sea Side Salute Award for Veterans from MSC Cruises • Field Sales Account of the Year from Celebrity Cruises • Three Awards from Sandals Resorts International: - Top Host Travel Agencies in the USA - Best of the Best in the USA - Top Host Travel Agencies in the Southeast Best of the Best Agency from Travel Impressions TOP HOST TRAVEL AGENCY BEST OF THE BEST IN THE USA Michelle Allen Dale Arroyo Amy Baker Nancy Bogert Monica Brown Carl Bruno Merci Cantwell Michael Consoli Angela De Domenico Pauline Finocchio Eric Garcia Sue Goodboy Julie Irovando Kathy Kennedy Rebecca Krupski JJ Kuykendall Sherry Leybovich Paula Lhotsky Tony Lostumbo Ken Madden John Manning Lisa Marmon Jodi Moore Monica Russel Pollack Kristi Sharp Maria Tilton Pammy Tyler Sharon Viotto Irene Waitzman Mathy Wasserman Joel Wilder Bob Zweig HO TEAM ANNIVERSARIES 5 Years Franchise Awards • No. 1 in category and ranked no. 22nd in Entrepreneur 500 franchise rankings from Entrepreneur magazine • No. 2 Home-Based Franchise to own by Entrepreneur magazine • No. 3 Fastest-Growing franchise from Entrepreneur magazine • No. 1 in travel category from Franchise Business Review • 2015’s Hot Franchises for Veterans (Top 12) from GI Jobs • 2015’s fastest-growing private companies in America on the Inc. 5000 list by Inc. Magazine Magellan Awards from Travel Weekly • Gold Magellan Award for CP Hub Customer Relationship Management Tool • Gold Magellan Award for Triggered Email Campaign • Gold Magellan Award for “Picture Your Selfie Here” Campaign • Gold Magellan Award for “Make Someday Today” Campaign • Silver Magellan Award for “Love is Love” Event • Silver Magellan Award for “The Game of Travel” Campaign • Silver Magellan Award for in-person training event Laura Blanco, Mark Eccleston, Debbi Dunn, Phill Guerra, Dan Hicks, Cathy Kusuma, Mirna Plana, Diana Riel, Cynthia Shobe, Gary Spadaccini, Patrick Verrier 10 Years Ali Colombo FRANCHISEE ANNIVERSARIES 5 Years Brittney Armstrong March, Jennifer Axness, Arlene Bartolome, Patrick Bitzer, Deborah Blanar, Kim Bostrom, Angela Brumbaugh, Sara Buchner, Lorraine Campbell, Gene Chin, Connie Chuisano, Jack Cooley, Lynden Cope, Mary Pat Cornish, Deborah Cross, Heidi Dawson, Wendy Duffy, Shay Evans, Pauline Finocchio, Mark Fisk, Carol French, Christine Gillen, Nadia Gilman, Jose Gonzalez, Joan Greene, Bonnie Guidry, Tracy Gyr, Helene Handler, Lourdes Henesy, Joyce Hosier, Betty Houston, Linda Kemmerer, Justin Kief, Jeff Kneller, John Knochel, Sheila Korte, Walter Kuriger, Michael Laudonio, Dan Lindner, Kathleen Lockner, Jerry Logue, Debra Lunt, Oscar Martins, Annette Mcauliffe, Bret McElroy, Julie Mendonca, Gary Miller, Sylvia Molbury, Ellen Monaghan, Jodi Moore, Gwen Morris, Bunny Muter, Sheryl Nudds, Susan Palenik, Tapan Parmar, Michael Peirson, Amelia Picatto, Lou Ramos, Marisol Rangel, Roberta Schwartz, Jim Shelley, Lois Stilwell, Dale Strough, Tony Tascione, Maria Tilton, Tracy Trewick, Kathy Trolli, Priscilla Tubbs, George Tway, Helene Verdile, Tracy Washington, Mikki Watson, Terry Wick, Kim Wilbanks, Beth Witte, Ken Zhang 10 Years Pamela Agard, Phillip Archer, Emily Bailey, Jessica Becker, Katheryn Biel, Justina Cattaneo, Abby Cognetti, Wendy Cushing, Christine Davenport, Jennifer Derrick, Albert Dobles, Guy Drobny, Miki Durand Schnackel, Gerry Eide, Sally Eng, Patrick Fisher, Debra Ford, Linda Ford, Jennifer Gaar, Lori Guerin, Gaetana Mary Graves, Cindy Husbands, Ricardo Hernandez, Patricia Iovine, Barbara Jacobson, Gary Jones, Joann King, Kelly Kirkpatrick, Jennifer Klingsmith, Kathy Lunceford, Daryl Mason, Patricia Maurillo, Ray Mason, Anoop Mittra, Sandra Moore, Mary Anne Paulat, Joe Polovoy, Donna Richards, Kimberly Riemer, Jeffrey Roberts, Barbara Seidel, Valerie Shipley, Robert Snead, Judy Walters, Joel Wilder, John Winkowski, Bob Zweig 15 Years TRAVEL MULT0315FS Over 20 years of planning memorable family vacations! Barbara Jacobson Tim Krafnick Robert Kusserow Tammy Lackey John Layton Sherry Leybovich Jo-Ann Moss Jenny Reed James Williamson 2015 Millionaire’s Club • • Phillip Archer Sandy Christiansen Sandi Dawkins Tim Dodson Dave Fowlie Don Fuchs Jr Jeff Gunvaldson Sabine Harris Steve Haunschild Michael Henshaw FREE UPGRADES ONBOARD CREDITS SPECIAL AMENITIES REDUCED RATES AND MORE! today MAKE SOMEDAY DON'T WAIT TO TAKE YOUR DREAM VACATION! Amy Baker, Marlene Battle, Carol Bracken, Diana Bogart, Michael Bruciak, Carl Bruno, Merci Cantwell, Linda Conner, Melissa D’Augustinis, Jamie Davison, Angela De Domenico, Georganne Dougherty, Lori Dvores, Richard Hodes, Elaine Isaacs, Esther Ruth Knopfmacher, Patricia Lyon, Allison Read, Arlene White, Raini Williams, Teri Yaskowsky, Donna Zegarelli 20 Years Dana Allensworth, Cheryl Bramhall, Michael Gelman, Loni Hairston, Janet Johnson, Gayle Peavy INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGY Wow, what a year! The IT department has been as busy as ever bringing innovation and features to the products for you, our valued agents. Throughout 2015, we’ve focused on enhancing several aspects of eREZ and your websites, while also working hard to produce brand new products such as eREZ Mobile. All-in-all, we’ve had over 73 major enhancements in 2015 alone. But don’t worry, we won’t stop there! We have major things on the horizon and our commitment to delivering the BEST technology in the travel industry remains as strong as ever. So with that, let’s go over some of this year’s technology highlights: CP Hub HUB CP Hub, our homegrown client relationship management system in eREZ, rolled out in late 2014. While we were ecstatic about the first version, we quickly began working on new features to make it even more valuable. Features such as marketing efforts were added to allow you to track your expenditure for marketing (e.g. trade show booths, mailers, etc.) back to the opportunities you created. In addition, we linked several of our most popular tools like Cruise Sheets and Email Builder to CP Hub sales opportunities so you can more easily keep track of all the materials you are sending out to your clients, making CP Hub an even more integral part of your sales process. Premium Associate Program As more and more associates have joined the Cruise Planners family, the need to add more tools that support them has grown. In order to meet these needs, we released the Premium Associate Program. This program allows you to enroll your associates in a new system that gives an unprecedented level of features for your associates. Associates can now have their own web space on the franchise website to promote themselves. Associates enrolled in the Premium Associate Program now have access to their own Web Program Dashboard. And if that wasn’t enough, the Premium Associate Program also provides you the ability to set access level controls for your associates. Now whenever you need an associate to help with the franchise (e.g. if you will be out of town traveling), you can set the exact permissions your associates can have in order to help. This has been an evolutionary step for owners with associates, and we see this program continuing to expand. Website Chat Ok, this was a biggie. Late in 2015, we launched website chat, which gives ALL of you the ability to chat with visitors on your website. Available on both franchise and associate websites, website chat is an amazing innovation which opens up a ton of new opportunities to communicate with new and existing clients. We’re continually seeing statistics and studies showing that website chat is becoming the preferred method of interacting with folks via the internet. We knew how important this was to get right, and we knew how important it was to fit into the way that you, as Cruise Planners, work. That’s why we are so very proud of our new website chat system. And you are loving it, too! The amount of positive feedback has been overwhelming. And, just like with all things we create, we have lots of plans on how to leverage this system even further. Stay tuned! eRez Mobile We’ve all seen the move towards mobile throughout virtually every industry. Travel is no exception. Accessing key parts of your business while on-the-go is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity. So we got to work on building a solution that would meet your needs, launching eREZ Mobile for both iPhone and Android devices. With eREZ Mobile, downloadable from the app stores, you have access to clients, reservations, calendar, CP Hub, and even the ability to find and book a cruise right from your smart device. This product, although relatively new, has been one of the most successful launches we’ve ever had with a staggering 30% of our agent base using it within the first 2 weeks of launch. We couldn’t be prouder of this first-in-industry product, and we know that by adding more features to this in the coming years, we are setting you apart in the marketplace and positioning you for greater success. Be on the lookout for our Tech Updates throughout the New Year and keep on sending in those suggestions. We in the IT department love hearing from you and putting your ideas into our systems! TOPAGENTS2015 Top Luxury Cruise & Land Sales John Manning Eric Garcia Nancy Bogert Sherry & Ron Leybovich Dora Deemer Julie Irovando Carl Bruno Christopher Cardona Angela Brumbaugh Linda Ford Michael Consoli Kathy Lunceford Suzanne Gordon Betty Haas Patti Steele CP Cares Charity Contest Top River Cruise Sales Ken Madden & Sheila Bennett Jessica Algas Rebecca Strecker JJ Kuykendall Kelly Brewer Michael Consoli Nancy Bogert Kristi Sharp Elliott Stoll Julie Irovando Michael Consoli Becky Krupski Nancy Yoffe Rick Carlson Margarita Navarrete Biggest Percentage Growth Year Over Year Nancy Bogert Paula Lhotsky Dianne Resos Carl Bruno Celeste Belyea & Holly Marocchi Dawn Haney Monica Pollack Jeremy Lee Carol Bracken Christopher & Julie Lingren NEW S TAR Bob Zweig Curtis Kettman Nancy Bogert Julie Irovando Merci Cantwell Michael Consoli Julie Irovando Carl Bruno Merci Cantwell Pauline Finocchio STAR RIS ING S TAR SU PE R S TAR Monica Pollack Maria Tilton Patricia Gonzalez Jodi Moore Kelley Austin Stephanie Vogelsong Cathy Bilinski Dave Rodrigues & Dan Rowley Michael & Kelly Graham Top Land Vacation Sales Maria Tilton Monica Pollack Melodie Williams Patricia Gonzalez Linda Cahill Jessica Algas Priscilla & Michael Tubbs SHOOT ING MEGA STAR Kelley Austin Pauline Finocchio #1 Global Sales Producer named by Viking Cruises Michael Consoli MARKETING Our Home Office Marketing Team has been growing, and the new faces have helped us to continually provide you with award-winning creative and strategic marketing pieces to help you build your business. We are creating more tools and marketing pieces than ever before to keep you top of mind with your clients and to recruit new prospects. Full Sails Direct Mail Program FREE AMENITIES • REDUCED DEPOSITS • ONBOARD CREDITS Over 23 direct mail pieces were created with offers and themes that covered every type of travel, not just cruising! We even did a dedicated land piece this year! Almost 1.3 million Full Sails mailers went out in 2015, and that included the spectacular October World’s Largest Cruise Event (WLCE) campaign. World’s Largest Cruise Event Campaign We wanted to do more than make our WLCE piece look great. This year, we took to texture and made it a sensory experience with multiple coatings to really give this piece impact. This year’s WLCE campaign told travelers that there’s always time to cruise with a time-themed, 24-page mailer featuring exclusive offers and content along with a hashtag so readers could engage with and spread the campaign on social media. In addition to the printed piece, we included 4 weekly Travel Deals, flyers, postcards, eCards, social media posts, and Facebook cover photos. CP Cares is our charitable giving arm since we believe in giving back. This year, we showed that commitment in a big way. In addition to giving our time, service, and donations to charities throughout the year, we did something new. For the first time ever, the Home Office Team selected five charities, nominated by YOU, to award a $1,000 donation. At the 2015 Convention, 5 winners were announced based on their amazing stories of giving back, and many tears were shed. Congratulations to the CP Cares Charity Contest winners: • America’s VetDogs, nominated by Sherry Leybovich • Ukulele Kids Club, nominated by Mary Glynn • Coffee County Community Advisory Board for Foster Children, nominated by Evelyn and Lane Curlee • Domestic Abuse Shelter, Inc., nominated by Cynthia Grant • Amputee Coalition, nominated by Debra Kerper Thank you to everyone who entered and nominated a charity. We were overwhelmed with the entries, and it just shows how much the Cruise Planners family loves to give back!!! We took it a step further for this year’s contest, and all charities that were nominated were awarded $100. Forgotten Soldiers Outreach This year’s convention was right around Veteran’s Day, so we also collected thousands of items to create “We Care” packages to send to our troops overseas. Each package full of snacks, toiletries, magazines, candy, and more helps boost the soldiers’ morale. Additionally, we raised $5,000 toward shipping the packages to Forgotten Soldiers Outreach. The Travel Planner Magazine The Travel Planner Magazine should be a staple of each agent’s marketing plan. This year, we printed over 250,000 copies of the Travel Planner Magazine! With exclusive offers, videos, and rich editorial content, this is much more than just a promotional piece—it sets you apart as a travel expert and gives your franchise credibility. The July 2015 issue focused on 100 reasons to travel, and we literally provided 100 reasons your clients should call you to book their next vacation. Now, we know there are infinite reasons to travel, and a ton of travel options to choose from, so the January 2016 issue is focusing on the Art of Travel. You, the travel planner, are the artist who designs a masterpiece for each of your clients. This issue of the Travel Planner will paint a picture that is sure to get your clients ready to book their next vacation. Digital Magazine 2016 is almost upon us, and here at the Home Office Marketing Department, we are geared up for an exciting year. Our grand kickoff to the New Year will be the addition of a digital version of The Travel Planner Magazine! Any order over 500 magazines (either Ship to Your Door, Direct Mail, or a combination of both) will also receive an interactive, digital version of your customized magazine to share on social media and include on your website. Just another way we take your franchise marketing to the next level! We look forward to the New Year and new and exciting marketing pieces to come! LandVacations Congratulations on another stellar year for selling land vacations! You have continued to shine and sell your hearts out. We have a number of suppliers for whom we have not just met our goals, but exceeded them. We are so excited to see what is in store for 2016. By the looks of it, you are on the way to another amazing year. There are so many facets to land travel and so many tools and vendors to help you book the best trip for your clients. It is important to always work with suppliers that are true partners and work equally well with you. We believe we have truly found some of the best suppliers out there for all your clients’ travel needs. A common question is, “what all-inclusive hotel should I sell?” We thought it would be cool to point out the top 10 all-inclusive hotel chains that you are selling. 1. Sandals and Beaches 2. Palace Resorts 3. Hard Rock All-Inclusive Collection 4. Karisma Hotels and Resorts (El Dorado, Azul, and Generations) 5. AMResorts (Zoetry, Secrets, Dreams, Breathless, Sunscape, and Now Resorts) 6. Couples Resorts 7. Riu Properties (Mostly all Riu Palace Properties) 8. Iberostar 9. Barcelo 10. Playa Hotels and Resorts - Hyatt Ziva and Zilara Escorted tours has also had a huge increase this year. It is important to understand the VALUE of the escorted tours. It makes life easy for you and your clients and leaves the planning to the company that you book it with. With average commissions around 18%, this is a surefire way to pad your pockets. We are starting to work more with Contiki (escorted tours for 18-35 year olds) and G Adventures. Check out these two brands for more information. You will be surprised at what they can offer your clients. Our top escorted tour companies are as follows: Tauck, Globus, Insight Vacations, Trafalgar, and Collette. We have done a number of FAM trips this past year. They included Sandals Jamaica, Italy (Top Producer trip), Aruba, and Avalon Waterways. Stay tuned for the 2016 schedule. It will be coming out shortly. There is more to come, the world is a big place. Remember you CAN sell it all! trainingdepartment WHAT’S NEW? New CPU Channels* Cruise Planners added more than a dozen new CPU partners to bring you additional education, marketing tools, resources, and value-add options for you and your clients. Here are some of the partners that we added to CPU in 2015: • Cruise Partners: Hapag-Lloyd Cruises, Celestyal Cruises, Voyages to Antiquity, Blount Small Ship Adventures, Un-Cruise Adventures, Le Boat, Fathom • Tour/Land Partners: ARC Marketplace, Celtic Tours, Experiencias Xcaret, Clipper Vacations, Swain Destinations, Universal Orlando Resort, Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi, G Adventures, Accessible Travel Solutions • Hotel Partners: Exclusive Hotels/Total Stay Group • Destination Partners: Sud de France, Israel Ministry of Tourism • Lead Generation: Quick Pick Travel *Some of the above channels are under construction and will be coming soon. Webinars In 2015, we hosted 298 webinars (that’s 43 more than 2014) with over 23,000 attendees. Besides walking away with some new travel information, 164 agents won some amazing prizes, including bonus commissions, gift bags, beach towels, brand apparel, $2,770 in gift cards, 9 hotel stays, and 2 FAM trips. Register for webinars via your calendar within eREZ or sign up via the links provided in Home Office News weekly emails and CruisiNews listings. Travel Partner Information What’s important is the information that helps you sell. In 2015, we worked hard to bring you travel partner information that could help you become an expert on products and destinations. The Training section of CruisiNews featured 99 articles from our travel and valueadd partners. Over 100 eBlasts about travel sales, specials, and events were sent on behalf of our partners. Value-Add Programs Some new partners were added to the growing list of Cruise Planners value-add program in 2015. Our partnership with these companies gives you and your clients access to exclusive offers, coupons, discounts, and benefits that help set your services apart from the competition. 2016 New Agent Training Classes January 19-24 March 29- April 3 May 10-15 July 18-24 September 20-25 December 6-11 A Big Thank You! Bob Zweig Rick Carlson Paula Lhotsky Angela DeDomenico We’d like to send a BIG thanks to the following fabulous Millionaire Club Members and Rock Stars who were featured Guest Franchisees this year: If you were a Millionaire Club Member, Mega Star, or a Rock Star in 2015 and are interested in being a Guest Franchisee at one of our future classes, please email training@cruiseplanners.com for more information. Please note that all spaces have been filled already for 2016, but we do have a back-up list in case someone isn’t able to make it. We are also looking ahead at training dates for 2017. We’d love to have you! Save the Dates! Upcoming Events for 2016 & CP on the Road: NY Regional – January 7 Boston Regional – TBA New Orleans Regional/FAM – TBA (All Boot Camps include an optional day of training!) Las Vegas Boot Camp – March 23-25 Atlantic City Boot Camp – May 2-4 Fort Lauderdale Boot Camp – May 10-12 Convention 2016 – November 3-10 NEWFACES Eleonor Acosta – Franchise Service Specialist Eleonor is a native New Yorker who relocated here about 3 years ago to escape the cold weather, broaden her horizons, and seek a better future. She has worked in an administrative capacity for over 15+ years in several industries including legal, medical, and education. When not working, Eleonor is usually enjoying time with her daughters. She loves being on the go, whether to the park, library, or zoo—being active is fun! Eleonor loves traveling and seeing new places; it’s definitely one of her favorite things to do. Mariah Baker – Training Programs Specialist Mariah is from Marlborough, Massachusetts! She moved to Florida a little more than a year and a half ago upon graduating from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. She received her Bachelor of Science in Travel Tourism/Hospitality Management. Once she got to Florida, she accepted a job with Starwood Hotels working at the Westin Beach Resort & Spa right on Fort Lauderdale Beach! She is now in the process of completing her Masters in Hospitality Management at FIU. She is a fitness addict who loves to work out and stay active! She loves to travel, and is a huge foodie who loves watching Bravo reality shows such as Real Housewives of NJ! Anthony Burke – Business Development Specialist Prior to accepting his new position here at Cruise Planners, he was a Personal Vacation Planner with Carnival Cruise Line and was the Quality Assurance Administrator for Celebration Cruise Lines. He is quite intrigued by the spirit and dynamics of this organization. When he is not working, he enjoys playing the piano, going to the beach, spending time with family, and occasional trips to Jamaica to relax. Melissa Caballero – Business Development Foundation Coach Prior to Cruise Planners, Melissa was the Brand Manager for an economy hotel chain. She is an experienced travel professional, having worked for Liberty Travel and then GOGO as a Wholesale Travel Consultant. Melissa was born and raised in England, and has lived in Florida for 7 years now. She loves to travel, visit new places, and go on adventures. In her free time, she likes to swim, hike, and just be outdoors. Charlene Camp – Front Desk Receptionist Charlene just moved here from Amherst. Amherst, Ohio is west of Cleveland, Ohio, and YES that means she is an Ohio State Buckeye Fan and a Cleveland Browns fan! Charlene previously worked in a Law Firm for 15 years, so she is ready for a little humor in the work place. She has two children that are the light of her life. Charlene enjoys being outdoors, traveling, cookouts, and going to the beautiful beaches of Florida! Louis Conserve – Business Intelligence Specialist Louis has a great passion for data. He completed a Master’s degree in Management Information System in 2010 at Florida International University (FIU). He worked as a Business Intelligence Analyst at Digicel Group prior to accepting his position at Cruise Planners. Louis enjoys traveling and learning about other cultures. His goal is to visit many countries and make friends all over the world. He likes being active, running, and playing volleyball. He also enjoys spending time with family and friends. Michelle Del Valle – Regional Sales Coach Michelle is from Hemet, CA, and joined Travel Impressions in 2003, representing the Riverside call center as a supervisor. She then moved to South Florida in 2008 to represent the American Express call center as part of the Business Development Team. Michelle has an 11 year old daughter who means the world to her. She loves sports: basketball #GoHeat & football #NewEnglandFan. She loves staying healthy and going to the gym. She is very energetic and passionate about what she does, especially travel. Tina El Farissi – Manager, Groups & CP Vacations A native of New York (the state, not the city), Tina relocated back down to South Florida and is THRAAARILLED to be here! Most of her experience was with GOGO Vacations and GOGroups! Tina graduated from FIU in Hospitality and recently earned her CTC certification. She loves to learn, grow, and add value to anything that she is involved in...passionately! Tina has a busy family life with her Tennis Instructor husband and her two babies. Tina is a BIG fan of ... THE VOICE! Montana Fee – Operations Coordinator Montana Fee is a recent University of Central Florida graduate and moved back to Coral Springs this May. Montana has a passion for travel and a case of wanderlust. She is always looking forward to her next trip and loves to learn about new cultures. In her spare time, you can catch her hanging out with her family and friends, shopping, or going to the movies. She is a true reality TV junkie with her favorites being The Bachelor and Big Brother. NEWFACES Continued Harley Fischel – Software Developer Harley has lived in Florida and has been a programmer most of his life. He has always had an interest in and an eye for technologies. Harley started programming at an early age and has made software development his career. His specialty is in business management applications and online central management systems, and he enjoys developing solutions that allow a business to operate securely online. Over the years, Harley has stayed active playing soccer, airsoft/paintball, and going skydiving, kayaking, and doing some traveling. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends. Alina Hernandez – Business Development Specialist Alina has been in the Hotel Industry since high school with 20+ years representing Casa de Campo and most recently Occidental Resorts & Hotels, where she was Key Accounts and Business Development Manager for Florida. South Florida has been her home since she was 5 years old, and even though she loves traveling and getting to know all different destinations, as the saying goes, “there’s no place like home.” Alina is a people person, and her goal in life is to treat all as she would like to be treated. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with family and her four-legged ones. Matt Kruszewski – Corporate Director of Finance Originally from South Florida, Matt has spent the last 5 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. With 10 years of experience in the financial services and technology industries, he has recently held management level positions at Oracle and Ernst & Young. Matt attended UF and FAU, and currently holds CPA and CISSP designations. He really enjoys traveling, learning Portuguese, and supporting the Florida Gators. Alva Lee-Carroll – Franchise Compliance Coordinator For the last 17 years, Alva has worked as a Workers’ Compensation Contract Processor/Audit Analyst at Lynn Insurance. Prior to that, she began her career in the hospitality industry with an Associate’s degree in Hospitality from Broward College and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management. Alva has always enjoyed being in the service industry, and has been employed at The Chart House, Palm-Aire Hotel/Spa, Radisson Bridge Hotel, and Boca Woods Country Club. Alva was born in the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Being from a multi-cultural country, she enjoys cooking and sampling foods from various countries. Alva also likes to spin cycle, kayak, travel, and shop…especially for shoes! Julianne McDermott – Training & Sales Coordinator Julianne McDermott is a South Florida native who recently moved back to the area. She spent four years in Orlando earning a degree in Event Management and a minor in Hospitality Management from The Rosen College of Hospitality at the University of Central Florida. Julianne has experience in planning non-profit events and can’t wait to learn more about the tourism industry. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and spending time with her friends and family. Ron McElhone – CP Vacations Coordinator Ron moved to Florida from South Jersey in 2001. The following year, he started at Florida Atlantic University, where he got his degree in Marketing. All through college, Ron worked behind the bar at Gatsby’s in Boca before eventually being a manager at the Davie location. The past 7 years, he has been with Carnival Cruise Line, first as a Personal Vacation Planner and most recently as a Cruise Vacation Specialist. In his free time, Ron enjoys spending time with his wife, Stacey, and his 2 year old son, Lucas. They are big sports fans, especially hockey (Let’s Go Flyers!), which he played since he was 5. Mercedes Ortiz – IT QA Specialist Mercedes received a Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering from USF. She moved from Tampa to South Florida about 2 years ago and is still exploring the area. Her latest jobs were working as a Test Engineer at TracFone and BlackBerry. When not working, Mercedes enjoys spending time with family, going to the movies, hanging out with friends, doing yoga, dancing, taking a walk at the park, and going to the beach. She also loves sightseeing and traveling (including cruises, of course). Maja Palmer – Staff Accountant Maja is a Chartered Certified Accountant with over 18 years of experience in Accounting working in the hospitality, manufacturing, and retail industries. She migrated to Florida from Jamaica 7 years ago. Since then, she has worked in the retail industry as a Staff Accountant. When not working, Maja likes to read, watch TV, and spend time with her family. Ibis Penate – Franchise Compliance Manager Ibis has 8+ years of experience working within the legal field. She attended the Paralegal Studies program at FIU. Ibis was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Miami. Besides her professional career, Ibis is also a Dance Teacher at her Mom and Sister’s Dance Studio and a Makeup Artist. She decided since she wasn’t going to be a professional dancer, she can at least make them look fantastic when they perform. After perfecting her art in makeup, she expanded her clientele and has done makeup for music videos, fashion shows, weddings, proms, and special events. She says it’s her escape and stress reliever, aside from her other passion of Crossfit and fitness. NEWFACES Continued Carlos Perez-Villa – Business Development Foundation Coach Carlos is a lover of travel, sports, and good cuisine. He was born and raised in Las Vegas, moved to South Florida for high school, and went to college in Iowa for 4 plus 1 years (he says don’t judge him, they paid for school as long as he played soccer and football). He majored in psychology and communication and minored in Spanish. (He figured if he could learn how the mind works and how to communicate with it he could take over the world! Anyone care to join him?) He hails from Oceania Cruises, where he was a Cruise Specialist for 2.5 years and helped start their Business Development department in sales for 3.5 years. Wilfred Pusey – IT Jr. Business Systems Analyst Wil was born in Manchester, Jamaica, then later migrated to Florida in 1996. He graduated from Florida Atlantic University in 2001 with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. Prior to joining Cruise Planners, Wil worked at Campus Management in various capacities including Data Analyst, Implementation Consultant, and Business Analyst. Wil enjoys cooking, traveling, and is an avid NBA fan. He also enjoys watching movies and attending sports events and concerts. As a Jamaican, most people are surprised that his playlist is not all reggae, but mostly country. He lives in Coral Springs, and is married with a six year old son. Elvis Rosado – IT Specialist Although his name is Elvis, he’s a very lousy singer. And don’t expect a performance, as his singing is left for the shower! He was born and raised in Puerto Rico and lived there for 9 years, then relocated to Florida. He served in the US Navy, where he got the wonderful opportunity to travel. Elvis was stationed in Japan, and from there deployed to various places via aircraft carrier. He has his Bachelor’s in Information Technology and just graduated yesterday! For fun, he enjoys gaming, scuba diving, bowling, going to the movies, and relaxing at home. Jennie Sander – Assistant Controller Jennie has 12+ years of Accounting experience and is an Army veteran. Prior to Cruise Planners, she worked in different industries including property management, auto financing, retail, and even a cemetery. Jennie is a lover of many sports including football, hockey, and baseball. She loves spending time with family and friends, traveling, and reading. Jennie truly believes in the work hard/play hard attitude and prides herself on being very friendly, approachable, and “the cheerleader” of any team or organization she is a part of. Andrew Stoneking – Business Development Specialist Andrew is from Atlanta, Georgia, and before working at Cruise Planners, he worked for JP Morgan as a concierge/travel advisor for their Palladium and Ritz-Carlton card holders, and before that was also a cast member for Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort. Andrew absolutely loves to travel and even spent his first year of college playing football in Iowa before ending his career at Georgia Southern—“HAIL SOUTHERN!!” Other fun cities that he has lived in include San Francisco, Hilton Head, and Chicago. Outside of traveling, other things he loves include sports, movies, and anything to do with the beach. Vivian Talavera – Accounts Payable Specialist Prior to accepting the position at Cruise Planners, she was working at Windsor Jet Management as an Accountant Assistant. In 2014, she graduated from the University of Phoenix obtaining her Bachelor’s of Science in Business. This position will give her the opportunity to achieve her career goals. When she is not working, she enjoys going to the gym, reading a book, going to the beach, and spending time with family and friends. Eric Vasil – Technical Customer Support Eric recently moved to South Florida from New Jersey looking for a change of scenery and advance his career. He has previously worked as an IT support analyst for a law firm. In his spare time, he enjoys going to the gym, beach, and relaxing. Eric is also a movie buff and a big football, baseball, and hockey fan. CPsocial SM CPsocial: Sophie Bujold Social Success Program A year-long program that consisted of 4 webinar sessions, 30-day challenges, and a private Facebook group to help demystify social media and show how a little effort can bring in leads and help grow your business. The webinars are currently available on CPU. Topics included: 1. Social Kickstart 2. Better Content 3. Network Builder 4. Business Booster email. We are confident that you will find Sendible’s software to be user-friendly and will make your social marketing to multiple platforms and blogs much easier. For more information on the program, please visit eSource > CPsocial Facebook Program. It is imperative that your FACEBOOK PAGE NAME is compliant. Need to update your page name? Simply go to the ABOUT section and hover to the right until “Edit” appears. See below for an example: August brought on a new change in our social media partner Sendible is a social media management, monitoring, and analytics platform that will help you manage your social media presence more efficiently. The social dashboard makes it easy for you to compose and share content, monitor your brand, and engage with your audience. Some exciting features for CPpro users include but are not limited to: • User-friendly dashboard • Connect up to 20 social profiles • Calendar to oversee scheduled posts with edit feature and drag & drop functionality • Pulls in posts and comments from sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr so that you can respond from one place • Ability to create a list of posting to multiple social media accounts • Analytics and reporting features • Free APP for IOS and Android – post or schedule content to all of your social media accounts, blogs, and mailing lists from the palm of your hand We are asking all existing and new participants to enroll/reenroll so that we can ensure that accounts are transitioned properly. Please go to eSource > Franchise Profile in order to do so. Although we are taking enrollment, we have yet to start publishing to accounts. We are hoping to start this in the next few weeks. In the meantime, we are providing the supplemental posts on eSource > CPsocial Facebook Program. CPpro users can start using the new platform as soon as your enrollment is completed and you’ve received a welcome For more information about Cruise Planners brand guidelines for all your marketing efforts including social media, please visit eSource > Brand Guidelines. Thank you all for your patience. By popular demand, we have new LGBT friendly Facebook images! It’s no secret that Facebook loves photos. We’ve created a few LGBT friendly ones you can use in your next Facebook updates. Stop by eSource > LGBT Travel > Facebook Images and simply select, download, and create your next update. We have 6 fabulous images to choose from. All created professionally by our Marketing Team and made to meet Facebook ad requirements. • Diverse LGBT Group • Gay Couple • Lesbian Couple • Inclusive Collage • LGBT Family • Generic Wedding OtherPrograms Announcement: Travel Document Service from CIBT visas In January, we announced our partnership with CIBT visas, the preferred provider of travel document service for Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative. CIBT is the leading global provider of travel visa and passport services and the same service used by American Express Travel. The agreement with CIBT provides several benefits to your clients requiring visas, passports, passport renewals, or other travel document services. • A discount on service fees and discounts on rush fees • Market leader: 75% of Fortune 500 companies trust CIBT • Global reach, local expertise: 15 North American offices, over 40 offices worldwide • Wholly owned and operated, no outsourcing, no data selling • FCPA compliant • Secure technology, safe transactions • Dedicated account management • Live customer care 12 hours, Mon-Fri; e-support Sat-Sun On the heels of SCOTUS’ historic ruling about same-sex marriages in July, we enhanced and relaunched our Destination Weddings Program to – Sea of Love Weddings and Events. We’ve always believed love is love, and our destination wedding packages continue to celebrate ALL LOVE, ALL CULTURES & ALL WISHES! Packages start at $795 and are completely customizable with a wide selection of enhancements to further celebrate each couple’s personality. Marketing has created various collateral on CPpod to help you grow your weddings and events business. • • • • • • • • Destination Weddings Generic Flyer Destination Weddings Inclusive Flyer Sea of Love Generic Flyer Sea of Love Inclusive Flyer Free Honeymoon Registry Flyer and Display Flyer Love Happens Destination Weddings & Events Brochure Love Happens Generic Banner (pull-up and horizontal) Love Happens Inclusive Banner (pull-up and horizontal) Growthin Business Development The Business Development team continued to see growth this year. • The Regional coaches made over 5,000 calls this year. And from the feedback we received, they are helping you GROW YOUR BUSINESS and learn about our tools. • We added 2 additional Foundation Coaches for a total of 3: West, South, and North Regions. This will help our new franchisees get their new business jump started. • We added new faces to our Inbound team. We now have 4 Business Development Specialists to help answer all your questions. • And our Regional Coaches Corner is certainly newsworthy! Groups Did you participate in our Group Webinar Series? If not, they are recorded and available on CPU. This year our webinar series focused on selling Home Office groups, finalizing your private groups, and understanding your group invoice. We also continued to provide some great savings on our Home Office groups. The weekly sales focus highlights the many dates available with great savings for your clients. Enhanced Webinars Home Office Webinar Series We • • • • • added a few more webinars to assist you: Triggered Emails Client Address Verification CP Hub How to Create a Marketing Plan Comparing All-Inclusive products CPVacations What a value! And more and more agents are taking advantage of it. Want to earn commission on the entire package price? Here’s your chance! This year we have made several changes: • Added new destinations such as Australia and New Zealand • Added team members to help you service your clients better • Customized more packages to help you compete against online travel agencies • And we now deliver current, more dynamic pricing AmericanExpress Programs Agent Tools/Programs In 2015, Cruise Planners processed over 120 MILLION points! That was an increase of over 20% over 2014!!! Congratulations to all for making that happen. And here are just a few programs that have been added or enhanced this year: • AmaWaterways was a new addition to the Cruise Privileges Program this year. Imagine offering your Platinum clients these amenities on a river cruise: • $300 shipboard credit per stateroom • $100 spa voucher per cabin • One extra Membership Rewards® point earned on each eligible dollar spent per booking • Launch of the new Card Verification Tool within the Membership Rewards Pay with Points system to help you determine the type of card your client has and the benefits you can offer them. • Effective June 25, 2015, no additional Mariner Club sailings will be added. The final departure will be December 1, 2016. American Express Learning Forum We had over 220 agents attend the annual American Express Learning Forum in Washington, DC this year. It was the highest attendance amongst all of the Rep Network agencies! Next year’s Learning Forum will be held at the Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, Arizona from October 5-9, 2016. So, save the dates and check out the Axtraweb and RepReporter for upcoming details and information. 2015WrapUp 2015 was another AMAZING year for Cruise Planners agents. Cruise Planners agents were engaged and used the tools made available exclusively for them. As a result, Cruise Planners grew their businesses. • In 2015, 54% of American Society of Travel Agents reported year over year growth. However, due to your hard work, CP exclusive promotions, training, cool marketing, CP technology, and all the fantastic tools available to you, 69% of Cruise Planners franchises had year over year growth in 2015! • Cruise Planners franchisees had 157,000 vacation departures during the year. Because of this growth in the number of departures, the average Cruise Planners agent who had year over year growth grew his or her business by 63%. One way successful franchisees grew their businesses was by adding associates. 69% of Rock Stars have at least one associate, as do 80% of Mega Stars, and 88% of Millionaire Club Members. • Cruise departures were up 20%. • Land vacation departures were up 35%. • Travel insurance sales were up 22%. A higher percentage of your bookings were insured in 2015 compared to last year. • Air, car, and hotel departures were up 27%, 21%, and 49%, respectively, in 2015. • Due to this uneven growth in the different travel categories, the sales mix for the average franchisee in 2015 was: cruises 68%, land 22%, travel insurance 4%, air 3%, hotel 2%, car and other 1%. • With all these departures, Home Office paid out $30 million in commissions to you in 2015 (compared to $23 million paid out in 2014). • Due to the large increase in 2015 purchases for departures in the following years, you are “front loading” your businesses. These purchases have increased by 37% year over year! • The number of Millionaire Club members is expected to grow by 32% based on 2015 departures (compared to a growth of Millionaire Club members of 12% at the beginning of this year based on 2014 departures). • With regards to training opportunities: • 600+ CPU modules were available in 2015 • 52,000 courses were taken during the year • 4-5 live webinars were offered weekly • On average, there were 150 participants per webinar in 2015 • With regards to marketing opportunities, 86% of the Cruise Planners agents who grew their businesses in 2015 participated in the Full Sails program. 76% of the Cruise Planners agents who didn’t grow their businesses in 2015 didn’t participate in this program. • Launched in July 2014, Smart SelectSM was a relatively new tool for Full Sails. It identifies clients in your database that best match upcoming initiatives. Using Smart Select, sales were up every month in 2015. In some months sales were up 54%! • When CP promoted exclusive deals, your customers responded. During those exclusive promotions, you showed huge sales spikes (52%, on average, for those suppliers). CRUISE SALES WORK! • With regards to tools available exclusively for Cruise Planners, eMail Builder and eCards were used 225,000 times in 2015. 97% of the Cruise Planners agents who grew their businesses in 2015 participated in the eMail Builder and eCards programs. 79% of the Cruise Planners agents who didn’t grow their businesses in 2015 didn’t participate in these programs. • 87,000 Cruise Sheets were created by franchisees in 2015. 90% of the Cruise Planners agents who grew their businesses in 2015 created Cruise Sheets. 68% of the Cruise Planners agents who didn’t grow their businesses in 2015 didn’t use this tool. • 74,000 bookings were made through eConnect in 2015. 81% of the Cruise Planners agents who grew their businesses in 2015 used eConnect. 97% of the Cruise Planners agents who didn’t grow their businesses in 2015 didn’t. • 14 million Travel Deals were sent out in 2015. Open rates for Travel Deals increased by 2.5 times in the last two years. Opt outs were only 0.02%. That’s because Marketing made Travel Deals more personalized, added a newsletter, and added more land vendors. • In 2015, you created 3,000 Brochure Racks that had 88,000 hits. 5,000 of those Brochure Racks were shared via email and another 1,000 were shared on social media. • Two cool tools you had access to in 2015: Cruise Watcher (which notifies you when sailings become available that match criteria you set for each watch list you’ve created) had 1,800 notifications set up in 2015, and Value Tracker (which notifies you when the price of sailings dip below what you sold them for so that you can be the “hero” for your clients) had 5,000 notifications in 2015. • In 2015, there were 130,000 logins on Cruise Planners Mobile (the mobile app for your customers). • In 2015, there were 300,000 emails sent out as part of Cruise Planners Trigger Email campaign. 35% of your customers clicked on at least one element of those emails. HOMEOFFICETEAM Executives Michelle Fee CEO and Co-Founder Brian Shultz CIO Vicky Garcia COO Tom Kruszewski CFO Dan Hicks VP of Franchise Development Accounting Operations Matthew Kruszewski Corporate Director of Finance Louis Conserve Business Intelligence Specialist Karen Lucas Controller & Director of Accounting Jennie Morejon Assistant Controller Lisa Ann Dunkley Senior Accountant Maja Palmer Staff Accountant Lidia Perez Accounts Payable Vivian Talavera Accounts Payable Specialist Ibis Penate Franchise Compliance Manager Kat Reiher Franchise Compliance Specialist Alva Lee-Carroll Franchise Compliance Coordinator Eileen Lisnoff Agreements & Maintenance Fee Specialist Jocelyn Smith Franchise Services Manager Kelsey Zeidner Franchise Services Specialist Eleonor Acosta Franchise Services Specialist Rae Ann Quimby Franchise Services Coordinator Laura Blanco Director of Sales Caitlin Murphy Director of Public Relations Teresa LeClair Associate Director, Creative Programs Cynthia Shobe Travel Service Manager Montana Fee Operations Coordinator Charlene Camp Receptionist Franchise Sales Don Luria Franchise Sales Manager Laurie Martin Franchise Sales Manager Dan Chiafair Franchise Development Specialist Diane Chiafair Franchise Development Specialist Tony Bello Franchise Development Specialist Meche Roeder Franchise Coordinator Susan Speranza Franchise Coordinator Marketing Danielle Spano Director of Marketing Jerusha Benjamin Marketing Manager Dhara Patel Marketing Specialist Chrissy Fee Senior Graphic Designer Sandra Strasser Graphic Designer Sherdean Rhule-Rheaume Graphic Designer Candace DiChiara Marketing Coordinator Business Development Diana Riel Director of Business Development Ali Colombo Manager of Business Development Gary Spadaccini Business Development Sales Manager Mirna Plana Special Programs Manager Beverly Brean Regional Sales Coach Pedro Jaimot Regional Sales Coach Nick Desantis Regional Sales Coach Mauricio Ponce Regional Sales Coach Michelle Del Valle Regional Sales Coach Kathy Bardaji Business Development Specialist Anthony Burke Business Development Specialist Andrew Stoneking Business Development Specialist Alina Hernandez Business Development Specialist Melissa Caballero Business Development Foundation Coach Carlos Perez-Villa Business Development Foundation Coach Justin Roland Business Development Specialist Human Resources Lisa Granata Human Resources Manager Information Services Olaf Olen Network Administrator Eric Vasil Network Administrator Fifi Amonte Web Program Manager Phill Guerra Director of Technology Patrick Verrier Lead Software Developer Jeffrey Payanis Software Developer Kevin Munnelly Software Developer Harley Fischel Software Developer Dan Alvarez Software Developer Brandon Sachs Software Developer Petagae Butcher Project Manager Mercedes Ortiz Quality Assurance Specialist Mark Eccleston Quality Assurance Michael Wain Mobile Apps Developer Jaron Hunter Project Manager Wilfred Pusey Jr. Business Systems Analyst Elvis Rosado IT Specialist Training Groups and CP Vacations Cathy Kusuma Sr. Director, Training & Strategic Partnerships Debbi Dunn Training Operations Manager Ashley O’Ryan Training Content Manager Julianne McDermott Training & Sales Coordinator Mariah Baker Training Programs Specialist Tina El Farissi Manager, Groups & CP Vacations Francisco Vargas Groups Manager Sonia Duenas Groups Manager Miriam Gonzalez CP Vacations Supervisor Ron McElhone CP Vacations Coordinator 9