CheapCaribbean.com has a new look and is rolling out a new booking platform, adding inventory and touting its staff as experts in their field.
"We say that our employees have BhDs," said Steve Dumaine, president and CEO. "The 'B' stands for beaches, and the advanced 'degree' is in beachology.
"Our res agents are U.S.-based, and they know the market they sell and serve," he said. "Many were independent travel agents before joining us, and they bring that agent experience with them to this job."
CheapCaribbean, No. 24 on the 2014 Travel Weekly Power List, rolled out phase one of its new branding in April.
In the company's research leading up to its website revise, CheapCaribbean's findings indicated that mobile use has become a much larger part of its traffic, with more than 40% of its customers using smartphones and tablets in some part of their destination research.
Steve Dumaine
"Customers initially come to us on their desktops or laptops, move to a phone or tablet later on and back to the desktop or laptop to book," Dumaine said.
That part of CheapCaribbean's new look and feel began in December and will be completed in stages by 2016.
Dumaine described it as a "full replatforming, a redesign not just of technology but also of our whole base system. It's a huge effort but another way to differentiate us in the market."
Currently, CheapCaribbean's customers have to complete their booking transaction by calling a sales agent. The new platform will offer singular service across all devices and the ability for a customer to do it all, from initial research to final booking, on every device.
CheapCaribbean.com offers a commission of 2.5% for bookings made by phone and 5% for online bookings for IATA/ARC/TRUE agents on all travel packages and land-only reservations to the Caribbean and Mexico.
"The travel agent program is a small part of our business," Dumaine said. "Our incentives are not as competitive as other alternatives in the marketplace."
CheapCaribbean's inventory includes between 500 and 600 properties. It also features "beaches in the thousands," according to Dumaine.
Core business is four-star hotels and above. "The 'Cheap' in CheapCaribbean stands for price, not experience," he said.
The company is adding inventory in Belize, Costa Rica, Haiti, Panama and Puerto Rico, destinations that Dumaine said are generating solid traffic this year.
Consistently strong sellers are Cancun, the Riviera Maya and the Dominican Republic. Also trending this year is Cartagena, Colombia, and Venezuela's offshore islands. "Cuba is waiting to explode," Dumaine said. "We're looking at that market; everyone is."
CheapCaribbean had a strong winter season, with March recording the highest growth since the company was acquired by Apple Leisure Group in 2013 It continues to operate as a separate, wholly owned entity.
"We're forecasting growth in the 6% to 8% range this year," Dumaine said. "Our biggest challenge is driving up brand awareness, but I am confident that our new website and the systemwide technology we're implementing will put us at new levels."