Company insight
From the blue skies to the blue seas
Columbia Cruise Services is preparing for the resurgence of the cruise market by launching a new leisure group to create luxury experiences that go beyond the familiar package. Managing director Olaf Groeger tells World Cruise Industry Review about the company’s innovative approach embodied in Columbia Blue.
D
uring a year of challenges, the cruise industry has had time to think hard about how to reshape itself for the future. In the post-Covid world, there will have been many changes, some subtle and others fundamental, which will affect the industry’s future. Some operators, among them Columbia Cruise Services (CCS), believe that this presents a golden opportunity to create an innovative guest offering. For more than 30 years, Columbia has built an international reputation for ship management. Cruise travel has continued to grow in importance for the broader Columbia group, which itself has an illustrious track record in maritime services.
“Our target was to grow in the luxury expedition market, and we have consistently been successful in achieving that,” says Olaf Groeger, managing director at CCS. “With the pandemic, everything changed but we have used that time to consolidate and improve the business, so that we can emerge stronger.” That strategy led Groeger and his colleagues to realise that the company not only has expertise in the aviation, luxury yacht and cruise markets, but also asset management, technology, concierge services, events management and hospitality training. Combining all of these strengths, it has created a new leisure group – Columbia Blue. The new venture puts all of Columbia’s business lines and brands in the super yacht and cruise sectors under one umbrella. Together, they allow Columbia Blue to deliver a 360° turnkey service solution for high-quality leisure experiences. “We can deliver anything between the blue skies and the blue seas,” says Groeger. “Blue enables us to find tailor-made solutions and be more diverse than ever in our approach to delivering luxury experiences that would not
The broader Columbia group has built an international reputation for ship management over the past three decades, and maritime services continue to grow in importance.
otherwise have found a natural home within our pre-existing business lines.” Merging proficiencies and resources to expand its portfolio of services puts Columbia in a position to realise many synergies, novel projects and exciting new partnerships. Now, cruise projects can also draw on the company’s yacht expertise. A guest might want to combine the services of a yacht, plane or private residence. In every instance, Blue can deliver a customised solution. “We can handle whatever you throw at us,” says Groeger. “We will provide you with a bespoke luxury experience and whatever you want, we can be your open and transparent partner for it.”
The art of synergy
Alongside his role in CCS, Groeger will work with Norman Schmiedl, director of the group’s luxury yacht management division Swiss Ocean, to enable Columbia Blue to pull together all of the group’s many resources and skills in leisure, lifestyle, asset management and hospitality. This includes the company’s state-of-the-
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art performance optimisation control room (POCR) as well as a suite of cutting-edge digital solutions.
“The POCR is our way of optimising safety and energy efficiency,” says Groeger. “It can monitor the performance of a vessel in any way you want, giving a maintenance overview from the shore and tweaking performance to be optimal. We are now migrating our brands to Blue and creating our own IT team to build efficiencies with the group, which we can pass onto our clients.” Sustainability, flexibility and high quality are priorities for Columbia’s clients, so they are high on the agenda for Blue. As the group delivers on the potential synergies for each individual brand, those goals will form a solid backbone for the services it offers. “We are convinced that Blue will make us stronger and enhance the Columbia reputation,” says Groeger. “It gives us the flexibility to be more diverse and to deliver whatever kind of experience our clients want. It is the model for the future.” ●
www.columbia-cs.com 45
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