LAS VEGAS -- Expedia
for the first time is putting its brand on a brick-and-mortar
operation, adding its name to CruiseShipCenters International, a
franchisor in Canada that is moving into the U.S. market.
Expedia last spring
became an investor in the Canadian company, which is now called
Expedia CruiseShipCenters.
In the U.S. market,
the company plans to open a shopping center location in Bellevue,
Wash., which happens to be the city where Expedia's headquarters is
located.
A company statement
said franchise opportunities will be available in the first
quarter, initially in Washington and Oregon.
"Home-based agents in
the U.S. who sign up as independent contractors can begin selling
Expedia CruiseShipCenters offerings in January," said
Expedia.
Michael Drever,
president and CEO of the agency network, said Expedia
CruiseShipCenters would be expanding nationally in the U.S., but it
is not yet clear how the U.S. locations will interact with
Expedia.com.
Under the co-branding
arrangement, Canadian consumers booking a cruise on a
CruiseShipCenters' site will be able to access Expedia's booking
engine for air or car without leaving the agency's site.
"We don't want our
agents in the air and car space, so we will leave that to Expedia,"
Drever said.
He added that the
companies were still discussing whether a parallel arrangement
would be available with Expedia in the U.S.
Meanwhile, a cruise
tab that links to the CruiseShipCenters will be placed on the
Expedia Canada home page.
The companies had
said in April that Expedia was making an investment in
CruiseShipCenters, but exactly what tangible form that investment
might take was unclear until now.
According to Expedia
spokeswoman Karmen Johnson, there are no plans for another
relationship with retail agencies. Expedia had previously opened
several kiosks, its only "physical" outlets until this
deal.
Drever said that
Expedia had not made any further investments in his
company.
Although the addition
of the strong Expedia brand would seem to add value to the
franchise, there will not be an increase in franchise
fees.
There are 104
CruiseShipCenters locations in Canada. Locations have four or five
staff apiece as well as between 15 and 20 home-based contractors
each. Contractors may use space in the store locations, most of
which are in strip malls.
Drever said his
20-year-old company does 20% to 25% percent of all agency business
in Canada.
While much of the
U.S. growth will be in home-based agencies, Drever said he could
see home-based contractors eventually opening stores.
Drever said he
expected both existing agents and newcomers to develop
franchises.
Drever said that
while CruiseShipCenters is cruise-focused, that segment constitutes
only two-thirds of all sales. He said the company also operated a
wholesale division.
To
contact reporter Harvey Chipkin, send e-mail to [email protected].