The viability and success of the cruise concept in today's incentive travel market is proof of Landry & Kling’s impact on both the travel and meeting and incentive industries. The company, which was founded by two female cruise line executives, pioneered the corporate cruise concept in 1982. This year the meeting and incentive industry celebrates a milestone as it marks the 20th Anniversary of Landry & Kling.
“They found a niche that wasn’t there back then,”
said David Morris, senior vice president, sales for Crystal Cruises. To this
day, Landry & Kling still really hasn’t been matched by any other
company,” added Morris. “They used their experience in the cruise industry
and filled a need of the meeting/incentive market in a very non-traditional
way.”
When they formed their company,
Joyce Landry and Josephine Kling used
their knowledge, contacts and experience in the cruise industry to identify a
unique opportunity as the first and only company specializing in incentive
cruises, meetings and business at sea. Prior to the company’s inception,
Landry held various sales positions including working for Delta Queen Steamboat
Company and Holland America Line, and Kling worked in marketing and advertising
throughout her career including several years at Royal Viking Line and Holland
America Line. It was at Holland
America Line that the two joined forces--despite
advice from their mentors in the cruise industry who said, “it couldn’t be
done.” Landry and Kling made their vision a reality and introduced corporate
cruise specialization to the travel and meetings/incentive markets.
“At the time Jo and I started our business, there was only
one cruise line that even had a department to handle corporate business,” said
Joyce Landry, president & CEO. “Our
industry
In
the last two decades, Miami-based Landry & Kling has handled group cruises
and charters for a blue-chip list of clients.
The company has operated corporate programs ranging in size from
50-10,000 people and its staff collectively has more than 200 years cruise
experience.
“We feel honored that nearly 60
percent of our business is from repeat clients,” said Josephine Kling,
co-founder. “We invest our hearts
in each program to ensure our client’s expectations are totally fulfilled.
That may explain our company’s longevity while others have come and
gone.” Kling added.
Landry & Kling has had a
number of “firsts” in the incentive cruise market including, the first
dockside charter, or “floating hotel,” for Digital Equipment Corporation
(now Compaq Corporation) in 1987. More
than 15,000 people were accommodated in a 10-day period.
Most recently, Landry & Kling was named by the Jacksonville Super
Bowl Host Committee as the exclusive management company for chartering
“floating hotels” dockside in Jacksonville, which will provide more than
8,000 rooms for corporate sponsors over a four-day period in February 2005.
Landry & Kling will be responsible for bringing in approximately 8-10
cruise ships for Super Bowl XXXIX—an unprecedented event in sports or for the
cruise industry.
In
2000, Landry & Kling, Inc. produced a “how to” video for planner’s
titled, Business at Sea, which
provides insights from corporate and independent meeting planners, and cruise
line executives on how to accomplish business objectives on a cruise. Business at Sea, is the meeting and incentive industry’s first
video to showcase actual meetings and award presentations aboard a ship.
Over
the last two decades, Landry and Kling have been regular cruise experts for the
media, including NBC’s Today Show, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Fortune
and numerous travel and meeting/incentive trade publications.
The company has also published two guide books for meeting planners: A
Planner’s Guide to Business at Sea (1998) and Sail
to Success (2001).
Landry & Kling offers ship
selection or complete program management service for corporate cruise programs
and full-ship charters worldwide. In 1997, the entrepreneurial company was
acquired and is now a subsidiary of MyTravel Group, plc.
Although, they are now a part of one of the world’s largest cruise
travel conglomerates, Landry & Kling hasn’t let expansion affect their
service-oriented business philosophy. They
still maintain the one-on-one client repoire for which they became known.
In fact, to this day, a warm friendly receptionist (who most know by
first name) still answers the phone—they have chosen not to trade in a human
voice for automation--and Landry still personally welcomes all new clients
“aboard” with a phone call.
For more information on Landry & Kling--the most experienced cruise resource for business events at sea.
Visit: www.landrykling.com
or email: inquiry@landrykling.com
