MIAMI -- There are all sorts of items deducted from employees'
paychecks: 401(k) contributions, health insurance and Social
Security, to name a few.
Add Carnival cruise vacation payments to that list.
Carnival Cruise Lines will become the first cruise line to
participate in what's called a voluntary benefit program, under
which participating companies give employees the opportunity to buy
a Carnival cruise through payroll deductions.
The cruise payments are deducted, automatically and
interest-free, from employee paychecks.
Carnival's payroll-deduction program is operated by Genesis
Travel, a former travel agency based in Delray Beach, Fla. Genesis
calls itself a payroll-deduction company "specializing in travel
and leisure." Carnival is its first travel client.
"This has been two years in the making, primarily because it's
been a niche in the growth market of employee benefits," said Simon
Reynolds, Genesis' CEO.
"For a lot of people who wouldn't have saved for a cruise or
might not be able to make payments, this is an easy way to plan for
a vacation," he added.
Genesis can attract employers to its program by going out and
soliciting companies or by signing up with benefit brokers who will
then package the cruise program with other employee benefit
options.
Cruise sales are fulfilled through National Leisure Group's The
Vacation Store call center.
Genesis' revenue is derived from "a very small margin" on each
cruise sold, Reynolds said.
Reynolds said he expected to educate 1.5 million employees about
the benefits of automatic payroll deductions for cruise vacations
within the next year -- and that a small percentage of those would
actually make a purchase.
The payroll program is "a wonderful way to retail to a new
audience," said Joan DiPietro, Carnival's vice president of
strategic marketing.
"Cruising's biggest challenge is to get consumers to consider
cruising as a vacation alternative, and we see this as a fabulous
way of doing it," she added.
To contact reporter Rebecca Tobin, send e-mail to [email protected].