Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (May 25, 2015) – Home-based travel franchise CruiseOne®, which is part of World Travel Holdings — the world’s largest cruise agency and award-winning leisure travel company,celebrates Military Appreciation Month in May with the launch of its fourth annual “Operation Vetrepreneur: Become Your Own General” contest. Military veterans can enter the contest beginning on Memorial Day, which is Monday, May 25, 2015, until the contest’s deadline of Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. Five deserving U.S. military veterans will each receive a CruiseOne home-based travel franchise, a total value of $63,500.
“Military veterans are the most distinguished American heroes and we thank them for serving our country and making the U.S. truly a land of opportunity,” said Debbie Fiorino, senior vice president of CruiseOne. “With approximately 250,000 service members transitioning out of the military each year, we strive to make their return to the civilian workforce as seamless as possible by offering the Operation Vetrepreneur contest and an award-winning training program in preparation for franchise ownership.”
The CruiseOne franchise contest is open to former members of any of the five branches of the U.S. military (Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard) who are retired, off active duty and/or honorably discharged prior to the contest start date. To participate, candidates must complete an online entry form by Friday, Aug. 7. The form and all contest details can be found atwww.OperationVetrepreneur.com or on CruiseOne’sFacebook page,www.Facebook.com/CruiseOneFranchise.
There will be three rounds of judging as part of this contest. First, candidates will participate in a phone interview with a CruiseOne franchise development specialist. Semi-finalists will be required to submit a franchise application, business plan and resume, all of which will be scored by the CruiseOne executive team. Final candidates will be invited to participate in follow-up phone interviews before winners are selected.
Five winners will be announced in August 2015. Valued at $12,700, each grand prize includes a complimentary CruiseOne franchise with a waived $9,800 initial start-up fee and monthly service fees. The new recruits will report for active duty in October, when they participate in weeklong franchise training at CruiseOne’s state-of-the-art world headquarters in Fort Lauderdale. Winners will be reimbursed up to $500 for their travel and provided with complimentary accommodations during the training program. Once training is completed, winners will be armed with all the tools and knowledge they need to start their own CruiseOne franchise.
“We understand the needs and expectations of military veterans who are considering franchising and have developed a nationally recognized extensive program that enables them to simultaneously be successful and maximize their family time,” said Tim Courtney, vice president of franchise development and ambassador of veteran affairs for CruiseOne. “Our military veteran owners appreciate the flexible work-life balance owning a home-based cruise franchise affords them, as well as the inherent support system offered from other franchisees and our corporate office.”
A member of the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) VetFran initiative, CruiseOne is committed to giving back to the military community and offers many incentive programs including a 20 percent discount off the franchise fee and additional discounts for hiring former members of the U.S. military or immediate family as associates. CruiseOne’s military veteran ownership has a 90 percent success rate with more than 150 veterans opening a franchise since 2010. In addition, more than 30 percent of the home-based cruise franchise system are military veterans or immediate family.
“The U.S. Air Force provided my family and me a sense of camaraderie. No matter where I was around the world, I had a supportive group of men and women that became my family. This is what makes the military great and this is what makes CruiseOne great,” said Cory Hardy, CruiseOne Franchise Owner in Columbia, S.C. “When my wife and I were deciding to join CruiseOne, the selling point was the support that we would receive. At CruiseOne, a man or a woman is never left behind. Once we joined this family, I can truly say I have brothers and sisters that I can call anytime and they will be there to help.”
Consistently recognized by leading industry publications as a military-friendly franchise, CruiseOne’s accolades include a number one ranking Military Times in its “2014 Best for Vets: Franchises” list, recognition as a “Top 10 Military Friendly Franchise” by Forbes, “Top Veteran-Friendly Franchise” byEntrepreneur and U.S. Veterans magazines and inclusion on USA Today’s “50 Top Franchises for Military Veterans.” For the past five years, CruiseOne was named to G.I. Jobs magazine’s Military Friendly Franchises® list, which represents the top 10 percent of the nation’s franchises that are doing the most to support military veterans.
Military veterans with a passion for travel and entrepreneurism who are interested in opening a CruiseOne travel franchise, please visit www.OperationVetrepreneur.com or call 888-249-8235.
