Fred Olsen Travel is set to launch a luxury sales division by the end of the year to boost high-value cruise bookings across the business.
The Suffolk-based agency soft-launched the Luxury Cruise Club with the help of former project manager Mark Schmitt, who recently joined AmaWaterways, after identifying “a massive opportunity” to grow luxury sales.
The Luxury Cruise Club currently features 11 lines, including Celebrity Cruises, Explora Journeys and Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
More: Fred Olsen Travel looks to expand and recruit
Ex-Tradewind Voyages sales chief joins Fred Olsen Travel
Head of commercial Paul Hardwick plans to add more lines, but warned: “We do not want to spread ourselves too thinly.”
He has recruited nine top-selling agents from within the business to join the Luxury Cruise Club.
Following the departure of Schmitt, Hardwick is now looking to recruit a product and sales manager to run the Luxury Cruise Club, and has received six applications so far since the advert went live last month.
“We think there is a massive opportunity to grow luxury sales,” he said. “Most of the luxury cruise lines say that we need to invest more on growing this side of the business.”
Hardwick hopes the nine-person team will increase sales through existing customers and by attracting new luxury cruise bookers.
“We’ve picked the best sellers of luxury cruise across the shops,” he said. “They’ve got a dedicated mailbox which services customers’ enquiries.”
Sales of all types of travel across the agency’s 17 shops are up 13% month on month, with some growth attributed to the new division.
“Some of the increase is because of Luxury Cruise Club but a lot is due to the new shops that we’ve opened during the pandemic,” said Hardwick.
“We currently have 17 shops, which is five more than we had in 2019,” he said, adding that he had brought in 20 retail staff – about five of whom had no previous travel experience.
Hardwick, who recently returned from the retail managers’ conference held on board Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ Bolette, revealed the cost-of-living crisis was having “an impact”.
But he added: “The high-end bookings are coming through every day – £20,000, £30,000 and even £40,000. The average booking value is £600 higher than in 2019.”