Luxury hotels can serve as a source of inspiration as well as competition for luxe cruise lines. In the case of Explora Journeys, it's also where the line found its newest president. Anna Nash, formerly chief commercial officer of Aman who now leads Explora, spoke with cruise editor Andrea Zelinski about what drew her to the cruise industry and what cruise lines can learn from her Aman experience.
Anna Nash
Q: Why shift to the cruise sector?
A: When I look back at my career, which is over 20 years, it's always about creating deeply transformational experiences for our guests, putting our guests at the center of everything that we do. I think cruising offers that platform to do that on a global scale.
The other thing which would have been part of my decision-making process is the cruise industry is definitely in a period of significant growth. It seems like the right time to join this industry and for me to learn something different and put all that I've learned in land-based hospitality on the high seas.
Q: What have you learned at Aman that you can plug in at Explora to attract traditional land-based guests?
A: Aman, in a way, is the destination more than the destination itself. It has this incredible sense of solitude and sense of belonging. Hospitality at its core is about people. For me, it's first and foremost building connections with my team. It's building connections with our partners, our trade partners, and, of course, our guests.
At the end of the day, we're selling emotion. We're selling time. That's what vacation is, right? It's people's time. I think there has to be an empathetic sense of marketing, sense of sales, when we're dealing with people's time. It's not about money, it's about time.
Q: Had you cruised before joining Explora Journeys?
A: I'd been on many cruises. It's actually a way of travel, a lifestyle, that resonates with me. I think there's a generation that still thinks that it's aimed at a narrower demographic and a particular type of consumer. My friends would often look at my husband and me and say, "You're going cruising?" As if to say, "Wow, you're so young. What are you thinking?" They're also, at the same time, probably deeply curious.
I think for those who haven't cruised, it's seen as a sector they don't know much about. It's perhaps seen as overcomplicated; I want to try to challenge that narrative. It's a way of travel that I deeply enjoy, and I think it has massive potential to reach a new market that perhaps hasn't cruised before.
Q: How do you do that at Explora Journeys?
A: My goal is to elevate brand awareness in general but also to deepen the connection that we have with our existing guests and look at those land-based hospitality guests who don't know what they're missing out on. It's trying to let them understand how cruising really provides you with the ultimate adventure but with ease. Nothing brings me more joy than actually unpacking, putting my suitcase either under the bed or with the butler, and it's gone for the week. When it comes to hotels, rarely do you stay in one hotel for that long a period of time. That, to me, is the greatest freedom. It's that ability to think, "Right, I'm here, I've got all these amenities for me to enjoy. I can really switch off and not think so much about what's going on in the outside world or work pressures."
Q: What's your relationship been like with travel advisors and the advisor community?
A: Very strong. I've come from brands where it's absolutely important that we have open, meaningful and constructive relationships with our travel partners. Ultimately, we're in it together. Their success is our success and vice versa.