The pandemic and lockdowns upended the travel industry but no segment was impacted as much as cruises. Prior to the pandemic, the industry contributed to more than $154B for the economy, employing nearly 2M individuals.   Despite the popularity of cruises, the industry has long focused on in-person travel agencies for distribution with less than 25% of reservations made online.  Cruisebound is a tech-enabled online travel agency, focused exclusively on cruises, that is looking to bring the industry online with an experience built specifically for cruise bookings.  Focusing on first-time cruisers, the platform serves as a one-stop destination that provides comparisons, prices, itineraries, and accommodation choices in a simple, navigable, mobile-friendly experience.  Traditional cruise bookings would require hours of research for the traveler and interaction with travel agents.  As the industry charts its path for recovery, hoping for calmer seas, Cruisebound is focused on bringing the experience of cruising to a fresh, new, and younger audience.

AlleyWatch caught up with Cruisebound CEO and Cofounder Pierre-Olivier Lepage to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, and much, much more…

Who were your investors and how much did you raise?

Cruisebound closed a $10M Series A, bringing total funding to date to $12.7M. The Series A round was led by former Booking Holdings Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeff Boyd and PAR Capital Ventures. Boyd joined the Cruisebound board. Additional investors represent the top thought leaders in the online travel and technology industries, including Steve Kaufer, cofounder of Tripadvisor; Steve Singh, founder of Concur; Dave Blundin, founder of Link Ventures and Cogo Labs; Flybridge Capital Partners; venture investors Ryan Moore and Jeff Fagnan; Alumni Ventures; the Joel Peterson family office; Plug & Play Ventures; and additional angel investors.

Tell us about the product or service that Cruisebound offers.

Cruisebound is the simplest way to find, compare and book the best cruise deals on a mobile device or desktop. The brand is targeting young travelers and first-time cruisers who are searching for deals on their mobile device.

Cruisebound compiles deals from all major cruise lines so users can easily compare prices, itineraries, ships and cabin types. The service helps travelers find the best possible price by displaying personalized discounts based on demographics and other factors including residence, age, military service, past cruise reservations, memberships, available promotions, and more. Average savings for eligible customers range from 15-30 percent.

What inspired the start of Cruisebound?

When booking my first cruise, I was surprised at how difficult it was to research and book online–and nearly impossible on a mobile device. My go-to travel sites for booking flights and hotels are not designed to sell a complicated cruise product. This is clearly a leading factor in the divide between cruisers and non-cruisers. We designed Cruisebound to sell cruises and only cruises. We offer an easy-to-use site that is optimized for mobile, which is where younger travelers prefer to research and book vacations. Then we combine the instant booking of an online travel agency with the live customer service of an offline agent.

How is Cruisebound different?

Cruisebound is designed to solve the pain points of researching and booking a cruise online. The startup’s features are unique in the industry and characteristics of differentiation include:

• Designed with the first-time cruiser in mind. Cruisebound leads travelers through the complicated process of booking a cruise. The site displays the relevant content users need to make an informed decision including sailing descriptions, itinerary maps, destination highlights, deck plans, amenities, dining, activities, entertainment, inclusions and cruising FAQs. Filters narrow down options based on date, departure port, duration, cruise line, cabin type and price.
• Mobile-first approach appeals to Millennials and Gen Z travelers who prefer to research and book travel on their mobile device. During a year of testing, 91 percent of Cruisebound purchases were made on a mobile device. The average age of the Cruisebound customer is 36 years old, significantly younger than the average age of today’s cruise customer.
• Finds eligible deals resulting in savings ranging from 15-30 percent. Travelers are eligible for promotional rates including residency and senior discounts, without even being aware.
• Combines the customer service of an offline agency with the price comparison and instant booking of an online travel agency (OTA). Every reservation is backed by the Human Support Guarantee, ensuring world-class, live, post-booking customer service. A Cruisebound Cruise Consultant is available via phone, text and email. Customers can hold a reservation for free (hold times vary by cruise line and sailing) and buy now or pay later via Uplift.
• First multi-cabin booking capability for an OTA. Cruisebound is A/B testing multi-cabin bookings. Users can efficiently plan a vacation with friends and family by adding multiple cabins to the shopping cart for a quick and seamless checkout experience.
• No booking fee. Unlike most travel sites, Cruisebound does not charge a booking fee.

What market does Cruisebound target and how big is it?

• Cruise market is estimated at $41B in 2022 (95% of 2019) and growing 6% annually, Estimated by CLIA 2022 State of The Cruise Industry Outlook.
• Between 2017-2021: global retail m-commerce sales grew from $1.4 trillion to $3.6 trillion, a CAGR of 27%. Skift predicts mobile travel sales will account for 30-40 percent of online travel sales and is 15-25% of total sales globally. —Skift Mobile Commerce in Travel

What’s your business model?

Cruisebound makes money from booking commissions.

How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?

First, we had to ensure that we had sufficient capital to build our business – this fundraise enables that. From here, our number one priority, regardless of the economic landscape, is to build an efficient and profitable business. In an uncertain environment, remaining lean and focusing on building the best possible customer experience is the best way to ensure success.

What was the funding process like?

Fundraising in 2022 was very different from the seed round in 2021. With market uncertainty, investors focus a lot more on unit economics and a lot less on top line growth.

What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?

The biggest challenge was fundraising as the economic landscape was changing.

What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?

“Technology companies have improved the travel planning and booking process for consumers in flights, hotels, vacation homes, and tours and there is an opportunity for our experienced and innovative team to build scale with a single-minded focus on building the best consumer experience in cruises,” said Jeff Boyd, Cruisebound investor and former Chairman and CEO of Booking Holdings Inc. “The founders of Cruisebound have a proven track record of solving customer pain points by leveraging data science and experimentation to build great products. I am confident that Cruisebound will drive new customers to an industry recovering from the pandemic and launching record levels of new ships.”

What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?

Our goal is to build an efficient and profitable business. We’ll do this by focusing on improving the unit economics and growing our customer base. By targeting first-time cruisers and young travelers with an easy-to-use mobile booking experience, Crusiebound hopes to convert non-cruisers into first-time cruisers.

Our goal is to build an efficient and profitable business. We’ll do this by focusing on improving the unit economics and growing our customer base. By targeting first-time cruisers and young travelers with an easy-to-use mobile booking experience, Crusiebound hopes to convert non-cruisers into first-time cruisers.

What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?

Without fresh capital in the bank, I believe the focus should be on extending the runway of your business as much as possible and showing future potential investors that you have a path to positive unit economics.

Where do you see the company going now over the near term?

Our goal is to build an efficient and profitable business by focusing on improving the unit economics and growing our customer base by solving the pain points of the first-time cruiser through technology.

What’s your favorite coffee shop or location in the city to hold a meeting?

Cruisebound works out of and meets in coworking spaces. Outside of those coworking spaces, Soho Works in the Meatpacking district is my favorite location to hold a meeting.

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• Source: https://www.alleywatch.com/2023/01/cruisebound-cruise-online-travel-agency-direct-booking-comparison-engine-pierre-olivier-lepage/