Andrea Zelinski
Steve Odell, the new chief sales officer for Regent Seven Seas Cruises, has done a bit of traveling lately.
After leaving his post as senior vice president and managing director of the Asia Pacific market for Regent and Oceania late in 2022, he said he had to wait a year for his noncompete to run out before landing somewhere new. So, he traveled for seven or eight months and hit the bucket list hard.
He rejoined Regent about a month after the line debuted the Seven
Seas Grandeur, a 746-passenger ship that is the sixth in the fleet. The
ship is a sister to the Seven Seas Splendor and the Seven Seas Explorer,
and features a crew of 548 for what the line contends is the highest
staff-to-guest ratio in the industry.
"You learn a lot from traveling and staying in different places," he said. "We did some cruises; we stayed in some nice hotels and did some hikes. I think you collect experiences and it helps you really to put your mind in a different place when you think about business again, and luxury in particular."
Those experiences have shaped his return to the cruising business (and to Regent), namely by bringing to the forefront ultraluxury cruising's value for money, he said.
Steve Odell is the new chief sales officer for Regent Seven Seas Cruises.
"When we were on a cruise, the credit card was pretty flat. And then as soon as we hit land again and started staying in luxury hotels and buying everything from lunch and dinner to transfers and theaters, the credit card spiked all the time," he said.
Not only have hotels become more expensive since Covid, but staying in them reminded him how the service differs from that on a cruise ship, where the crew lives where they work. Crew who know guests' names or bartenders who remember what they drink "can't be matched in hotels," he said.
Regent has tried to insert that concept into their marketing to attract hotel guests, he said. And it seems to be working this Wave season. The line has had a "great January, and February has opened up in a similar fashion," he said, adding there is a particular strength in Northern Europe and Alaska bookings.
One of the reasons he believes Wave season is strong this year is Regent's easy-to-use promotions, one of which includes a reduced deposit.
"I think people really liked that ability to lay out less to start with before their final balance is due, so we get a lot of commitment from that," he said. "Compared to last year, same time, we're doing extraordinarily well."