Cruise Planners/American Express

Founded: 1994 Franchising since: 1999
Since 1994, agents for Coral Springs, Florida-based Cruise Planners/American Express Travel Service have been connecting business and leisure travelers with the ideal cruise. Franchisees work from their homes, selling cruises full or part time.

3300 University Dr., #602 Coral Springs, Florida 33065

Phone: (888)582-2150/ (954)344-8060

Franchisor has 40 employee(s); 3 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year	U.S. Franchises	Canadian Franchises	Foreign Franchises	Company Owned
2009	823	0	0	0
2008	725	0	0	0
2007	730	0	0	0
2006	680	0	0	0
2005	632	0	0	0

Where Seeking Franchisees
In the U.S. Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North carolina, North dakota, New hampshire, New jersey, New mexico, Nevada, New york, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode island, South carolina, South dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, West virginia, Wyoming

Special Programs
Cruise Planners/ American Express Travel Service bases its annual renewal fee on gross commissionable sales from the previous year. Franchisees with sales of at least $100,000 in the first year have their renewal fees waived.

Total investment: $1.9K-19.6K Franchise fee: $495-9.99K

Ongoing royalty fee: 3% Term of agreement: 3 years, renewable

Express/kiosk option available

Type of Financing Available

	In-House	Third Party
Franchise Fee	No	Yes
Startup Costs	No	Yes
Equipment	No	No
Inventory	No	No
Accounts Receivable	No	No
Payroll	No	No

Qualifications
Net worth requirement: $17.1K
Cash liquidity requirement: $9.99K

Operations

• Franchise can be run from home
• 2-3% of all franchisees own more than one unit
• Number of employees needed to run franchised unit: 1 - 2
• Absentee ownership of franchise is allowed. (97% of current franchisees are owner/operators)

Training

• Training available

Ongoing Support

• Newsletter
• Meetings
• Toll-free phone line
• Internet
• Purchasing cooperatives

Marketing Support

• Co-op advertising
• Ad slicks
• National media
• Regional advertising

Franchise 500® rank:
#85 (2009); #114 (2008); #79 (2007); #91 (2006); #118 (2005);

Ranked #1 in category in:
2009; 2008; 2007; 2006; 2005;

Fastest-Growing Franchises:
#42 (2009); #45 (2007); #29 (2006); #55 (2005);

Low-Cost Franchises:
#23 (2009); #25 (2008); #25 (2007); #21 (2006); #30 (2005);

Top Home Based Franchises:
#20 (2009); #24 (2008); #20 (2007); #18 (2006); #27 (2005);