In The Big Chair - Felix Schneider of Dreamlines

Felix Schneider, CEO

Dreamlines is the largest online travel agency for cruises that is based outside North America. Founded in 2012, the company has operations in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Russia, Brazil, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Felix Schneider launched Dreamlines in 2012 and serves as the company’s CEO. Dreamlines has raised a total of €107 million in funding over seven rounds.  

How has the cruise business changed since you founded Dreamlines in 2012?

Since founding Dreamlines, we have seen a huge increase in cruise coverage by the mass media. This has been a major driver in opening up the market to new demographics.

We have also seen a slow but steady increase in online search volumes for information and booking purposes.

In May, Dreamlines closed more than $50 million in Series E funding. How are you using that new capital?

We used the funds to acquire one of the United Kingdom’s largest cruise portals, Cruise1st, thereby entering the U.K. market for the first time. Cruise1st also had a successful branch in Australia, so combined with our existing business there, we were able to become the market’s leading online travel agency for cruises.

This, together with the additional growth we achieved in 2018, made Dreamlines the largest business of its kind outside of the United States. Efforts to enter into the U.S. market have already begun.

The distribution landscape is different for cruises than for other sectors of travel. According to Phocuswright, more than two-thirds of bookings are handled by traditional agents or travel management companies and OTAs only control about 10% of the sector. How can you increase that share?

At Dreamlines we use the best of both worlds. We use a combination of an online cruise assortment for customers to choose from and an expert cruise sales team.

We use traditional agents as well because cruises can be a complex product to buy, with much to take into account, such as transfers, different cabin options and the additional services that you can book as a part of your final package.

Therefore, our cruise experts help our customers to create the best possible, personalized cruise packages for their needs.

What percentage of your sales are handled by your travel specialists versus through a fully self-service booking on your website? And do you foresee that ratio changing in the future?

We currently offer a full-service, but almost everything is handled by our agents, which is intended to ensure the best possible customer experience. Given our target market, we don’t expect our automation ratio to change dramatically in the near future.

We do believe in automation though, but only if it improves the customer experience and expect that in the long run, automation will be used at every stage of the booking process.

What are your thoughts on emerging technologies such as virtual reality and augmented reality and how they could be used in the search/discovery phase of cruise bookings?

These are very important. The market is diversifying and cabin and ship section are becoming more complex than ever before. VR is a great tool to help customers find the best possible product for their needs.

For this reason, our first physical store in Manchester already offers a VR experience, which has already proven to be very popular. 

All the major cruise lines are projecting substantial growth in the next few years and more than three dozen new ships will be introduced. What will it take for cruise lines to grow their customer base to fill this new inventory?

They need flexible, powerful global distribution and even better customer service experts to explain and find the right products for customers’ needs. Dreamlines addresses both of these issues well.

When we talk about future growth in the travel industry, all eyes turn to China. It has one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and its travel market is projected to grow 9-11% annually for the next several years. What are your thoughts on the Asian market as it relates to cruising?

Our goal is to become the global market leader in selling cruises. China is currently one of the largest cruise markets - and growing - so we have been looking into China for two years now.

...our first physical store in Manchester already offers a VR experience, which has already proven to be very popular.

Felix Schneider

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What impact is the growing interest in experiential travel having on the cruise industry? Do most excursion bookings go through the cruise line or through a third-party supplier?

The growing interest in experiential travel is having a huge impact on the industry. Our mission is to be the world’s best place for booking the perfect cruise experience.

This is why we created an operator business that organizes experiences before and after the cruise, round trips and more.

Where do you see Dreamlines 10 years from now?

We see ourselves as being the global market leader - the Booking.com of cruises. We also plan to offer many of our own cruise products by that time.

What are the most rewarding and challenging aspects of your job as CEO?

The most challenging aspects of my job also tend to be the most rewarding. These are the people we work with, the international nature of our business, successfully growing the company and being in the driving seat, shaping the cruise market.

What advice do you have for other entrepreneurs just starting out in the travel industry?

Firstly, I would say that it’s all about the people. Then, it’s a must to overcommunicate, especially with customers. Finally, it is absolutely essential to fully and deeply understand your customers’ needs.