Cruise Planners Explained

Cruise Planners
Type:	Privately held company
Founded:	1994
Hq Location City:	Downtown Coral Springs, FL
Key People:	Michelle Fee (CEO) Theresa Scalzitti (COO) Brian Shultz (CIO) Scott Koepf (Chief Strategy Officer)
Services:	Travel agency services & travel franchises
Owner:	Michelle Fee

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]}

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 Marvin Davis, Michelle Fee, Lynn Korn in 1994 in Coral Springs, Florida. Prior to the retirement of Davis and Korn 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 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.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Taylor. Kate. Franchise Players: How a Travel-Loving Cosmetologist Became a Franchisee. https://web.archive.org/web/20160808134014/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/55808142/ns/business-small_business/t/franchise-players-how-travel-loving-cosmetologist-became-franchisee#.WeOOB_l97IU. dead. August 8, 2016. NBCNews.com. 15 October 2017. en. 7 August 2014.
2. Web site: Dempsey. Bobbi. Cruise Planners Offers Innovative Solutions. TravelPulse. 23 September 2017.
3. Web site: 9 low-cost franchises that can make you a millionaire. CNBC.com. Bob Woods, special to. 2016-05-11. CNBC. 2016-10-20.
4. Web site: Sheivachman. Andrew. Travel Agents Struggle to Market Against Online Travel Giants. Skift. 15 October 2017. 26 October 2016.
5. Web site: Biesiada. Jamie. Across industry, bonuses and accolades for National Travel Agent Day. Travel Weekly. 23 September 2017. en.
6. Web site: Ultimate CEO Fee on building a business in a technology-driven world. South Florida Business Journal. 15 October 2017.
7. Web site: Norton. Theresa. Cruise Planners CEO Fee to Christen AmaSerena. TravelPulse. 23 September 2017.
8. Web site: Dunn. Laura. Women in Business: Q&A with Michelle Fee, CEO & Co-Founder of Cruise Planners. Huffington Post. 15 October 2017. 26 June 2014.
9. Web site: Covey. Claudette. 'The Model Has Completely Evolved:' One-On-One With Cruise Planners' Michelle Fee. TravelPulse. 23 September 2017.
10. Web site: Stieghorst. Tom. Succeeding with the Cruise Planners formula. Travel Weekly. 23 September 2017. en.
11. Web site: Cruise Planners Joins Signature Travel Network . 2022-09-01 . www.travelmarketreport.com . en.
12. Web site: Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative - Franchises & Business Opportunities. Entrepreneur. en. 23 September 2017.
13. Web site: Martins . Jenn . Travel Weekly Power List 2023 . www.travelweekly.com . en.