Dream Vacations and CruiseOne advisors are diving headfirst into the world of artificial intelligence (AI), transforming their businesses with tools designed to save time and enhance productivity. Just a year ago, AI seemed like a distant concept to many of these advisors. Now, it’s become a cornerstone of their daily operations.
At last year’s Dream Vacations/CruiseOne National Conference, AI was still a new and somewhat abstract topic for most attendees. Questions centered around the basics: What is AI, and how could it possibly fit into their workflow? Fast forward to this year’s conference aboard the Celebrity Ascent, and the story has shifted dramatically. Advisors were polled on their AI usage, and nearly every hand went up when asked if they used AI daily.
Alicia Linden, vice president of consumer and recruitment marketing at World Travel Holdings, described this transformation as a natural evolution fueled by necessity. Post-pandemic, home-based travel advisors have been busier than ever, juggling client inquiries, trip planning, and marketing efforts. “They are constantly looking for tools and resources to save time,” Linden explained. “What was once confusion about AI has now turned into enthusiasm and full-fledged adoption.”
AI is primarily being leveraged for tasks like copywriting, a time-intensive activity that has been significantly streamlined. Crafting emails or social media posts, which used to take upwards of 45 minutes, can now be completed in just a few minutes. This newfound efficiency allows advisors to focus on high-impact activities, like client interactions and securing bookings.
Sandi Szalay, vice president of information technology, highlighted another area where AI has been a game-changer: building itineraries. For destinations that advisors are less familiar with, AI tools can quickly generate comprehensive and personalized itineraries, enhancing the client experience while saving advisors hours of research.
Dream Vacations and CruiseOne have long provided their advisors with AI-powered tools, but this year they took a significant step forward by consolidating these resources into a unified suite of AI products. The goal, as Szalay put it, is simple yet powerful: “We want to help advisors be more profitable.” These tools include advanced marketing campaign creation capabilities, enabling advisors to design entire campaigns from blog content to a series of cohesive social media posts at the click of a button.
Additionally, a new AI-powered learning tool has been introduced to streamline training and content discovery. Advisors can now query the platform to find specific resources more efficiently, with the system even suggesting related content. It also offers summaries of key events, such as webinars, distilling essential talking points into digestible formats.
To ensure advisors feel confident and empowered in their use of AI, Dream Vacations and CruiseOne have ramped up training efforts. At the National Conference, expert Dave Birss emphasized that while AI won’t replace travel advisors, those who fail to embrace it risk being outpaced by competitors who do. The message resonated: embrace AI now, integrate it into your workflow, and use it to create efficiencies that free up time for what truly matters building relationships and booking dream vacations.
The shift to AI is more than just a technological advancement; it’s a mindset change. Advisors are realizing that AI is not here to replace the human touch but to enhance it. By automating routine tasks, advisors can devote more energy to personalized service, ensuring every client feels cared for and valued. In the fast-paced world of travel planning, AI has become an indispensable partner, helping advisors turn dreams into reality more efficiently than ever.
