Cruise Planners (No. 22 on Travel Weekly's Power List) unveiled two new in-person training events for 2025: River Cruise Academy and R&R -- Refresh and Reboot.
The River Cruise Academy will be held on the Tauck Savor just before the ASTA River Cruise Expo. The expo's popularity of actually led to the Cruise Planners event, said chief strategy officer Scott Koepf. More than 100 Cruise Planners advisors went to ASTA's expo last year, spurring the franchisor to do more with river cruising.
Cruise Planners chartered the Savor, Koepf said. There will be training sessions over the course of the four-day sailing, which will end in Vienna just before the ASTA River Cruise Expo, set for March 12-16.
Refresh and Reboot was inspired by Cruise Planners' Star University trainings, six-day training programs held six times a year in Fort Lauderdale for new franchisees. Refresh and Reboot was designed for franchisees who aren't new, and instead need to reset and refocus on their businesses.
"Maybe they're into it a couple of years and they just need a kick start," Koepf said. "Sometimes, it's somebody who maybe joined the franchise, started cooking, and then they had a life event."
Whatever the reason, the course will help them do what its name suggests: refresh and reboot their business. Koepf said it will cover everything from marketing to sales to business skills over the course of two days, likely to be held concurrently with Star University.
Cruise Planners plans to hold 25-plus in-person events in 2025.