For Immediate Release
Expedia CruiseShipCenters Revolutionizes the Travel Industry
Integrated Technology Benefits Travel Agents and Customers Alike
February 15th, 2010 
A long time vision for Expedia CruiseShipCenters came to fruition during the company’s annual Presidents Circle Awards Gala. The crowd of over 400 attendees broke into applause as President, Matthew Eichhorst, held up his Blackberry and announced that Cruise Consultant, Judy Schut, had just booked her clients on a Mexico cruise while she was sitting at the gala enjoying her dinner.
“This moment is an incredible milestone for our company,” said Eichhorst. “We can now say that our online cruise booking tool truly connects customers with agents. Whether our Consultants are eating, sleeping or away on a cruise, their clients can now book online anytime and know that they’ll still receive the same high level of customer service.”
The company’s new and improved booking engine, is now live on over 2,500 Expedia CruiseShipCenters agent’s personal websites – including Judy’s. The technology allows customers to book cruises online, while all credit and commissions go back to their designated Cruise Consultant who will continue to manage the client relationship.
“Customers are showing incredible confidence in the system,” says Eichhorst. “With bookings averaging around $3,000, we’re already seeing the difference it makes for a customer to know that their own personal Cruise Consultant is overseeing their booking and available to call any time.”
When a customer makes a booking on their agent’s personal micro-site, the system will immediately alert the Consultant via email that an online booking has been made and assign them the commission. The customer invoice and activity reminders for insurance follow-up, shore excursions, final payment date, bon voyage and welcome home calls will also be automatically populated in their CruiseDesk customer relationship management system.
The company’s strategy is to create Customers For Life by providing outstanding customer service which they intend to uphold, even for bookings made online. “The Internet doesn’t have to be a travel agent’s enemy,” explains Eichhorst. “Our new booking engine combines the efficiency of technology with the peace of mind and outstanding customer service offered by a real person. Both agents and customers get to enjoy the best of both worlds.”
- Click here to see a demo of the online booking tool in action!
- Click here to watch Expedia CruiseShipCenters' Founder & CEO, Michael Drever, speak about the technology in an interview with OpenJaw.com.