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Below is an in-depth analysis and side-by-side comparison of Cruise Holidays vs Travel Leaders including start-up costs and fees, business experience requirements, training & support and financing options.
Start-Up Costs and Fees |
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Investment | $9,500 - $72,800 | $2,270 - $17,910 |
Franchise Fee | $9,500 - $30,000 | $0 - $2,500 |
Royalty Fee | up to 3% | $474-995/mo. |
Advertising Fee | - | - |
Year Founded | 1984 | 1888 |
Year Franchised | 1984 | 1984 |
Term Of Agreement | 5 years | 5 years |
Term Of Agreement | 5 years | 5 years |
Renewal Fee | none | $1K |
Business Experience Requirements |
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Experience | - | - |
Financing Options |
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In-House/3rd Party | In-House/3rd Party | |
Franchise Fees | No/Yes | Yes/No |
Start-up Costs | No/Yes | No/No |
Equipment | No/No | No/No |
Inventory | No/No | No/No |
Receivables | No/No | No/No |
Payroll | No/No | No/No |
Training & Support |
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Training | - | - |
Support | E-Newsletter, Annual Convention, initial and ongoing training opportunities, Toll-free phone line and e-mail support, Field operations/evaluations, Purchasing cooperatives | Newsletter, Meetings, Toll-free phone line, Internet, Field operations/evaluations |
Marketing | Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National online marketing, Direct on Demand marketing, "On Your Behalf" marketing | Co-op advertising, Ad slicks, National media, Regional advertising |
Operations |
Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 1 for home-based; 2 for storefront
Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. (100% of current franchisees are owner/operators) |
22% of all franchisees own more than one unit
Absentee ownership of franchise is NOT allowed. |
Expansion Plans |
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US Expansion | - | - |
Canada Expansion | No | No |
International Expansion | Yes | No |
Founded in 1984, Cruise Holidays is North America's largest cruise-specialty retail franchise, with more than 200 locations in the United States and Canada. As our name suggests, our retail travel stores as well as our home-based franchise owners specialize in cruise travel, providing unparalleled expertise in matching clients with the cruise ships and destinations that are right for them.Cruise Holidays' parent company, Travel Leaders Group, is a travel agency powerhouse with approximately 1,300 franchised and wholly-owned agencies under a variety of brand names. Cruise Holidays is based in Minneapolis, MN, with a Canadian head office in London, ON. Because of the size of the Cruise Holidays network, the proven expertise of its owners and agents and the unparalleled strength of its industry connections, Cruise Holidays is considered by many of the world's best cruise lines and travel suppliers to be a distribution system of choice. As a result, Cruise Holidays can offer its clients an amazing array of cruise vacations at highly competitive prices. And since Cruise Holidays agents can arrange travel on any cruise line in the world, the list of destinations seems endless. Cruise Holidays is also a distinguished provider of land-based vacations.
In 1872, Georges Nagelmackers began his company, Wagons-Lits, to install sleeping compartments in European trains. A few years later, he created the Orient Express. In 1888, Ward G. Foster founded Ask Mr. Foster, a travel agency based in St. Augustine, Florida.
Each company expanded'Wagonlit throughout Europe and Africa, Ask Mr. Foster across the United States and Europe. Carlson Companies Inc. purchased Ask Mr. Foster in 1979; the company changed its name to Carlson Travel Network in 1990. Carlson Travel Network and Wagonlit Travel merged in 1997, forming Carlson Wagonlit Travel. The new company serves travelers in more than 140 countries.