Specialist channel manager Cruise Select launched

The firm is a joint-venture between Discover the World and Digital Travel Marketing Group

A channel manager and booking platform specialised for the cruise industry has been launched.

Cabin Select is a joint venture between US-based travel representation company Discover the World and Liverpool-based digital marketing agency Digital Travel Marketing Group (DTMG).

VIVA Cruises and new entrant Margaritaville at Sea were announced as the first two brads that have joined Cabin Select and will soon be available on the new booking platform. 

Cabin Select offers specialist cruise lines and charters the ability to provide fully bookable tactical promotions and content distribution in multiple currencies and languages to a global network of cruise sellers.

The firm said it will offer lower cost sales distribution and operational that the niche sector has not been able to offer in an automated distribution model to date.

Cabin Select is headed up by Graeme Ogston, a technology veteran with over 20 years of cruise tech experience, Troy Cranmer, head of cruise at DTW and DTMG chief executive Peter Whittle.

Of the more than 180 cruise lines operating in the global market, Cruise Select says only the top 30% have the ability to dynamically distribute product. 

“Cabin Select’s cloud-based platform and API provides a simple way for the remaining 70% of cruise lines that are currently not distributing their product electronically to capitalise on the growing digital booking trend of cruises, saving significant operational and call centre costs,” the firm said.

Ogston said: “We have worked very closely with our first cruise line partners to develop a channel management platform that gives the control, flexibility, and distribution capability to handle the most demanding specialist cruise line requirements.”

Whittle added: “Combining the opportunity of the growing DTMG Cruise Website and App cruise agency customer base along with the global reach of the DTW marketing network across emerging markets made perfect sense in the development of this proposition for the specialist cruise market sector.

“We have several new cruise lines joining the Cabin Select platform throughout this year. And as the market rebounds, it really is the optimum time for niche cruise lines across expeditions, small ships, river and charter providers to get on board and lower their distribution cost of sale.”

Patrick Ell, head of marketing and digital at VIVA Cruises, said “Cabin Select is a welcome entrant into the market for VIVA Cruises. 

“Automated distribution to new clients and markets, making our product fully bookable via Cruise Sellers websites and apps, just made perfect sense, opening up new cruise seller partnerships, country markets and lower sales distribution costs. 

“The go-live process has been professionally handled and it’s great to see our product displayed on leading European agent websites and look forward to widening the opportunity across the globe.”

Francis Riley, chief commercials officer at Margaritaville at Sea, added: “As we look to launch our new brand and broaden our distribution across Europe and Latin America, Cabin Select gives us an interesting opportunity to test new market propositions with a reach in distribution that we could not have easily done ourselves while delivering a cost-effective way to drive incremental sales”