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Cruise Planners Franchising LLC/American Express

Cruise/tour travel agency

Year began: 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, FL 33065 Phone: (888)582-2150/(954)227-2545 Fax: (954)755-5898	Franchisor has 40 employee(s); 3 employee(s) in franchise department.

Franchise Growth

Year

2008
2007
2006
2005
2004

U.S. Franchises

737
730
680
632
474

Canadian Franchises

0
0
0
0
0

Foreign Franchises

0
0
0
0
0

Company
Owned

0
0
0
0
0

Where Seeking Franchisees

Nationwide

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.

Costs & Fees

Total investment: $1.9K-19.6K
Express/kiosk option available
Franchise fee: $495-9.99K
Ongoing royalty fee: 3-0%
Term of agreement: 3 years, renewable

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

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 & Support

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

Rankings in Entrepreneur magazine 2004-2008

Franchise 500® rank:
#114 (2008); #79 (2007); #91 (2006); #118 (2005); #104 (2004);

Ranked #1 in category in:
2008; 2007; 2006; 2005; 2004;

Fastest-Growing Franchises:
#45 (2007); #29 (2006); #55 (2005); #75 (2004);

Top New Ranking:
#5 (2004);

Top home based franchises:
#24 (2008); #20 (2007); #18 (2006); #27 (2005); #23 (2004);

Low-Cost Franchises:
#25 (2008); #25 (2007); #21 (2006); #30 (2005); #26 (2004);

Last Updated: 8/25/2008 12:00:00 AM