Last year, companies spent nearly 750,000 million dollars on meetings worldwide. That figure is expected to reach nearly $850 billion this year, according to Fortune Business Insights, which forecasts that the market will grow to about $1.9 billion by 2034.
Europe currently accounts for 52% of the global meetings market. Although hotels and resorts host the vast majority of these guests, a new company aims to offer a different option by capitalizing on Europe’s increasingly popular rivers.
The MS Connect, which debuted in August, is the first of twelve riverboats being built for Transcend Cruises. These vessels are specifically designed for and dedicated to the charter market, where they will host meetings, incentive trips, affinity groups, celebrations, and even weddings.
The launch took seven years to come to fruition, partly due to setbacks caused by COVID-19. Now, with the arrival of the second and third ships next year, the line has hired Edie Rodríguez, a veteran executive in the luxury travel and cruise industry, as its CEO.
Before leaving Crystal Cruises, where she served as CEO from 2013 to 2017, Rodríguez helped the brand expand into several new segments of the luxury sector, including yacht cruises, private jet travel, and river cruises. More recently, she completed a five-year term on the board of directors of the Saudi Tourism Authority, which is tasked with transforming the kingdom into a global tourism destination with a particular focus on luxury and meetings.
At Transcend, Rodríguez says there are many opportunities for his product. During a phone interview, he lists more than a dozen use cases for these vessels. Golf course operators can charter them as a mobile base, which reduces costs and complexity for organizers, as well as the hassle of having to change hotels multiple times. “Golfers want to play golf, not worry about what time they have to check out of their hotel room,” he says.
With access to the Rhine, Danube, Moselle, and Main rivers, as well as the waterways of the Netherlands and Belgium, the opportunities are endless—from visiting wineries and breweries to castles, industrial plants, and much more. National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions has already chartered the ship for a series of cruises, which it will use for its own programs.
Rodríguez says that his boats will be very popular among alumni associations, interest groups, companies that organize meetings, product launches, or incentive trips, families planning weddings or gatherings, family-run businesses, and luxury brands looking to create an event centered around a specific destination or a special occasion.
According to her, a group could charter a boat for a multi-day corporate meeting or use it as a floating hotel during a major event, such as Art Basel, Formula 1 races, and other major sporting and cultural events.
River cruises are already a booming segment. According to Larry Pimentel, chair of the Executive Advisory Board for Cruises at the Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Florida International University and former CEO of several luxury cruise lines (Seabourn, Cunard, Azamara, and Four Seasons), the number of river cruise ships has risen from 150 in 2010 to more than 400 last year, with a 500% increase in the number of passengers.
However, European rivers impose height and width restrictions on riverboats. This means that the current fleet, built to cater to individual guests, can be impractical for large groups, creating challenges in common areas or when groups have to split up for meals or social events.
Rodríguez says that Transcend will not have those problems, although the ships will feature a luxurious design courtesy of Tillberg Design, whose portfolio includes the Four Seasons I and the Ritz-Carlton’s Evrima.
On the Connect, as on future river ships, the Forum is a “magnificent two-story theater” designed for presentations, live performances, and group experiences. It features state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment and unobstructed views, so that “every corner is the best seat in the house.” It can accommodate 120 guests, and—not coincidentally—each ship will accommodate up to 120 guests in 60 staterooms. At the same time, the cabins can be converted into 30 one-bedroom suites with a capacity for 60 guests. The Vine Lounge & Bar can accommodate at least 120 guests, as can the terrace, and yes, the restaurant seats 120 diners.
Rodríguez says that you might not even realize you’re on a Transcend boat, since the wall-mounted screens, other displays, and touch-screen and iPad controls allow event organizers to customize the boat as if it were their own.
Since only one group rents the boat at a time, he points out, the organizer controls the itinerary. They are the ones who decide which activities will take place on board and which will take place off the boat, as well as when they will be held. For example, if you’re planning a magical wedding at a European castle, you’re no longer limited to having to split your guests among several local hotels. You can align the departure and arrival points of your trip with your guests’ points of origin, which means you can start in a major city with direct flights from around the world and then travel to remote locations that would otherwise have required connecting flights or long bus rides.
Although river cruises in Europe have to adjust their itineraries based on water levels, Rodríguez points out that, while under other circumstances these disruptions might lead to the cancellation of a trip, Transcend’s ships can be rerouted to a different location.
Rodríguez estimates that the typical net price of a charter ranges from about $60,000 to $70,000 per night. According to her, this estimate includes standard meals, while the final price depends on the itinerary and the level of customization, such as premium beverages or specialized cuisine and entertainment.
Rodríguez states that the economic and logistical aspects can make this offer particularly attractive to groups that value privacy, exclusivity, and a customized itinerary.
The sailing season runs from late March through early January, totaling approximately 300 days a year. Transcend is headquartered in the United States and has offices in South Florida, Los Angeles, and Basel, Switzerland. The company has about 30 employees and partners with River Advice to manage onboard operations, including crew staffing and hospitality services.
Joyce Landry, whose company, Landry & King, specializes in chartering entire cruise ships, told the trade publication Travel Age West: “As soon as you step on board, you realize that the design and layout are completely different from those of traditional riverboats. From the perspective of the trip organizer, it offers great flexibility.”