Cruise Holidays Franchise Opportunity Review
If you are an entrepreneur looking to start your own business, then you can think about Cruise Holidays. This is a travel-based franchise business which provides you with an opportunity to be a part of an 11 billion dollar industry.
Background: Cruise Holidays, started in 1984, is the largest cruise-specialty travel agency chain in North America. It has its agencies in Canada and the U.S. In 2001, Carlson Travel Group, Inc. acquired the agency. It is one of the prime and most esteemed travel franchisers all across the world.
Pros: There are lots of benefits to a home-based opportunity. One does not need to buy or rent an office. It is possible to begin your own home travel business while keeping overhead costs very low. For this business, you need to have a website, access to the Internet, and some minor office equipment including business phone lines. Besides this, the company does offer the following as well-
Initial and ongoing support and training
Better client experience with a customized technology
Superior Marketing Tools
No need to buy special equipment or inventory
Convenience
Travel Agent Credentials for economical travel
Cruise Holidays offers initial, as well as on-going, support and training with various online lessons. In addition to this, mid-year meetings and annual networking conventions are there to provide support. When one starts the business, he will get the support and tools to promote his new Cruise Holidays franchise in the local market. There is no need to be worried if you are a little unsure of doing this yourself. With great support from the Cruise Holidays franchise, you can get answers for all your questions. You can contact them through phone or email.
Investments: Cruise Holidays can prove to be a golden chance for an entrepreneur who wants to make money in the travel industry. There are two options; people can either go for a traditional “brick and mortar” franchise or, a home-based opportunity. For a traditional option, one needs to invest about $75,000, however, for a home-based version, you will only need to invest $9,000.
Cons:
• In the case of the home-based version, you need to have knowledge about Internet marketing, you will need to master these skills. It is essential that you should be aware about branding and how to direct traffic to your business online. It is essential to invest your time and money for learning methods of marketing. This may cost as little as a couple thousand dollars. However, you can get not only quantity but also quality traffic with little investment.
• For the brick and mortar option, you should have strong marketing skills. With a professional-looking office and a solid marketing plan, you can do very well in this business. Again, in this case, you need to dominate your local search engine.
In short, it is possible to make money with a legitimate franchise business opportunity offered by Cruise Holidays. However, you should have the certain skills mentioned above as well as a sound financial position to make a relatively large investment. You can be successful in a franchise business if you have solid marketing and offer quality service through massive actions.