Building group biz: Transcend Cruises announces Jackie Coulson as first Canadian employee

A new river cruise company that’s focused exclusively on B2B sales and full-ship charters has expanded its North American sales team, hiring its first employee in Canada.

Ontario-based Jackie Coulson, who previously worked for tour operator Tauck, has joined Transcend Cruises, which operates river ships in Europe that are purpose-built for group and MICE travel. Her official title is North America Sales at Transcend Cruises. 

“I am excited to work with Transcend Cruises, a charter-only river cruising company. Transcend has introduced a business model that’s uniquely customized for group travel, filling a void in the market,” Coulson told PAX on Tuesday (April 11).

Miami-based Transcend, which has a diverse team based in the United States, Europe, and now Canada, launched about four years ago.

Their aim is to expand today’s groups market beyond the traditional hotel model with a dedicated offering in the river cruise space.

The company’s ships, for example, are being built for charter groups of any kind, such as weddings, meetings, events, family reunions, incentive groups and more, Coulson said.

Transcend’s ship design is also about delivering groups-oriented spaces, accommodations, flexibility and support “to solve the challenges” often experienced by group clients and event buyers, Coulson explained.

The company partnered with cruise and yacht interior firm Tillberg Design of Sweden and Den Breejen Shipyard, a specialist in building passenger river vessels, to engineer and build an initial order for two identical, custom-built 135-meter ships (for under 120 guests) in the coming months.

The new ships will set sail on European waterways, including the Rhine, Danube and Moselle, at the start of the 2025 river cruise season. 

But with “exceptional advanced interest and commitments,” charters with Transcend will begin as soon as this August, says the company, which has secured a river ship, once used by Crystal Cruises, to use in the meantime. 

Perfecting the process 

The retail structure for corporate or family groups, events and tour operators is a model that has worked “semi well” in the past, Matthew Shollar, CEO and co-founder of Transcend Cruises, told PAX, but “it is not optimized for charter customers.”

“We’re perfecting that process, and that product, for our clientele,” he said.

Transcend’s ships are about enabling group planners. The company's vessels, for example, are being designed for lower guest counts and will offer spaces for group activities, such as lectures, award ceremonies and banquets, with the right tech support. 

The signature venue will be the two-story Forum, an amphitheater that can accommodate all of a group’s guests in one location for large presentations or functions.

For smaller breakouts and events, the ships will feature up to ten additional spaces, including the main lounge, library, coffee bar, two private salons, and the workshop, a specialized charter-specific space on the first deck, among others.

The 60 cabins on each ship will be identical, but they can also be configured into suites.  

“For the first time, charter clients will be able to size a ship for their needs,” Shollar said.

The programs for charters, which have a three-night minimum, can be customized with specific onboard entertainment, as well as food and beverage offerings. 

The company doesn’t compete on pricing as it doesn’t sell to the retail market. Travel advisors, meanwhile, have the freedom and flexibility to build their own pricing model for clients, including their own commission rate.

“Instead of a fixed commission, we say, ‘Here’s the net, here’s the tools,” Shollar said.  

The travel agency community – especially those who are already booking groups at hotels and on cruise ships – provide a “real growth opportunity” for the company, Shollar added.

It’s also a good time for charter business. While Transcend launched before the pandemic, the post-COVID trend of travellers wanting spaces, exclusively for themselves, works in the company's favour.  

That trend alone has “magnified the value of Transcend,” Shollar said, noting those customers who “want tighter control” over where they are.

Setting sail this August

While Transcend’s own ships (which will have nature-inspired design and wellness facilities) are still under construction, the company will begin voyages this August, using the ex-Crystal ship Crystal Mahler, which will be renamed “Transcend Advance.”

It is set to carry groups on the Rhine and Moselle, with wider deployments (onto the Danube, for example) through 2024 on customized group voyages.

And while Transcend Advance won’t have the hardware attributes of Transcend’s future ships, “it has the flexible business elements of what we’re offering,” Shollar said.

Canada’s "robust" market  

Meanwhile, Transcend hiring its first employee in Canada is reflective of a greater strategy to grow group river business in a market that has strong potential. 

“The Canadian market is very robust for this type of product. It has not fully hit its stride, or has received attention, from the river cruise industry,” Shollar said. “Canada has a very strong MICE market and many companies are sending folks to Europe on a regular basis.”

“There are many verticals we touch that are impactful in Canada. It’s a great market and we’re happy to be represented there.”

And with Coulson on the team, it'll now be easier for Canadian travel pros to make a connection. 

“I am looking forward to working with travel agencies, agents, tour operators and meeting planners," Coulson said. 

Jackie Coulson can be reached at Jackie.Coulson@transcend.cruises. For more on Transcend Cruises, click here. 

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