To provide improved travel agent marketing and sales support, Celebrity Cruises has updated its sales structure, according to Dondra Ritzenthaler, senior vice president of sales for the Americas; and Keith Lane, vice president of sales for the Americas.
“Our trade partners have always been the most critical part of Celebrity’s distribution model, and we remain vitally important to one another’s future success as we re-emerge from the post-shutdown world,” Ritzenthaler said. “This new structure leverages our very talented sales team to uniquely support our national and key accounts with more frequent and consistent points of contact at every stage of the sales process to drive win-win results for everyone.”
Enhancements include the alignment of inside sales with national accounts as led by Jennifer Suarez, associate vice president of national accounts; supplying top field accounts with key account manager support; and encouraging incremental trade business in crucial cities by bolstering field sales managers with marketing and social media tools, such as Branch Up.
“We know that rebuilding marketing plans and programs is a critical need for so many of our trade partners,” Lane said. “I’m especially excited about deploying our regional marketing managers to literally swoop in and leverage their expertise to help our travel partners reignite their marketing and attract first to cruise and first to brand.”
What’s more, the line’s regional marketing managers will utilize resources to grow sales via the Marketing Assistance Program 2.0 (MAP), which is available at CruisingPower.com. MAP comprises educational modules, webinars and ideation workshops that help improve marketing endeavors.
“I’m so excited to bring our collective shared passion and commitment for serving our guests and clients even more closely together,” said Lisa Lutoff-Perlo, CEO and president of Celebrity Cruises. “This new structure will allow us to leverage each other’s strengths to create a unique Celebrity product and sales experience that will take all of our rebuilding efforts to new levels. And I can’t wait to see the results.”
The latest development from Celebrity follows the line’s other efforts, such as FlexPay, which customizes how and when booking balances are paid, and a new Future Cruise Credit redemption option that can apply amounts directly to outstanding balances.
