Growing trend in travel franchising: Established advisors are buying in

When Covid-19 struck four years ago, sales of Cruise Planners franchises fell by about 50%. Those sales are now back to 2019 levels, CEO Michelle Fee said, but there has been a shift: More seasoned advisors, as opposed to those who are new to the industry, are interested in the franchise model.

“They saw it’s a lot more structured,” Fee said of the Cruise Planners model, which she described as a “host franchise.” 

“When we go out, we’re one brand. We’re a team,” Fee said. “By attending our events, you feel that you’re part of the team. We’re not just independent contractors working under some host.”

Before the pandemic, Fee estimated that 85% of new Cruise Planners franchisees were also new to the industry. Today, that number stands at around 60%, with the remainder being experienced agents. 

Outside of cohesive branding, she said, experienced advisors are attracted to the “business in a box” model that Cruise Planners (No. 22 on Travel Weekly’s Power List) offers. That includes a proprietary customer relationship management system, social media and marketing, among other resources and training.

“Because we’re handling all that heavy lifting, they realize, ‘Oh my God, I could actually sell more travel because I’ve got all this support and I’ve got all these tools that make me more efficient,'” Fee said. “I think that’s why we’re now seeing more people flock to our host franchise model.”

While host agencies and consortia have similar offerings in the realms of marketing, technology and beyond, Fee argued that Cruise Planners, which has around 2,900 franchises nationwide, offers “more per agent than you would get if you’re one of a thousand or 10,000 people in a consortium.”

Experienced agents are often surprised by the technology offered as part of their franchise, she added, and find themselves asking, “Why didn’t I find this a few years ago?” Fee believes word of mouth among those advisors and their peers is also part of the shift of new franchise owners.

New franchisor Vacation Planners, which was launched in March by Travel Planners International (No. 35 on the Power List), solely targets experienced advisors, not those new to the industry, said Jenn Lee, Vacation Planners president. 

Lee said she has five verbally committed franchise sales with another 140 or so interested. She said she’s well on her way to filling Vacation Planners’ founders circle, which will consist of 50 franchisees, by this fall. This has come without a big advertising push, she said, and speaks to experienced advisors’ interest in the franchise model.

“What’s intriguing them the most is the fact that they realize all they really want to do is curate experiences, make an impact in their community and scale their business,” Lee said.

Advisors interested in franchises are “tired, they’re maxed out” from the requirements of running an agency, from technology to legalities and beyond, Lee said.

“They’re looking for someone to take the heavy stuff off their shoulders — more of the operational stuff off their shoulders,” she said.

Most of Lee’s interested advisors come from Travel Planners, she said, because they’re familiar with and trust the brand. She has also seen interest from others in the industry who have read about the new franchisor in trade publications or heard about it on podcasts. Applications are currently being accepted, with training for new franchisees to begin in November.

Bucking that trend is home-based agency franchisor Dream Vacations and CruiseOne, part of World Travel Holdings (No. 16 on the Power List), where new-to-industry advisors still make up the majority of entrants, said Drew Daly, senior vice president and general manager.

Daly said that around 70% of new franchise owners are new to travel, a number that has held steady over the years. Dream Vacations has close to 2,100 independently owned franchises and recently celebrated the opening of its 2,000th franchise location. 

And sales of franchises are up. According to Dream Vacations, for the past three years, including 2024, its number of franchises have grown “roughly 15%” compared to growth from the prepandemic period of 2017-2019.

While franchise sales are up for Dream Vacations and have recovered for Cruise Planners, both said they are more focused on strengthening their existing franchisees than bringing on new recruits.

“We grow the network by helping to grow existing network sales and then, more importantly, adding team members in our headquarters office to have the support,” Daly said. “Because that support is why our franchises have seen the growth that they get.”