Meet The CEO Of My Kind Of Cruise, The Airbnb Of Cruises

28.02.2024 - 19:53 / forbes.com

Sefton Monk is a British tech guru and CEO of the world's first fully bookable cruise app, My Kind of Cruise, with over 125,000 downloads and an average customer age of 38.

You can search, compare, and book a cruise in less than two minutes on the cruise app, with repeat customers booking even faster, at just 45 seconds.

With 65% of downloads generated via social media and 30% of users coming from TikTok, this is a true 21st-century revolution for the cruise industry.

I sat down with Sefton to discuss how My Kind of Cruise came to fruition, his upcoming plans, and his predictions for the future of cruising.

"My Kind of Cruise is the world's first cruise app that seamlessly integrates search, comparison, and booking for cruises, all within a super user-friendly interface.

But what I think truly sets us apart is our traveler demographic sweet spot, with a 38-year-old average booking age," said Sefton.

"Half of our users are cruise newbies, and the other half are firmly rooted in the millennial and Gen-Z demographic — and that's not just a coincidence.

My Kind of Cruise understands that the cruise industry has a perception problem among younger holidaymakers. We're shattering those outdated stereotypes by making cruise booking accessible and convenient," he added.

"My conversations with major cruise lines and online travel agencies revealed quite a startling truth — that they're struggling to attract new blood, especially with millennials and Gen Z.

These kinds of tech-savvy travelers crave convenience, personalization, and transparency, and sadly, those qualities are glaringly absent in the traditional booking model," said Sefton.

"While over 90% of cruises are still sold over the phone through call centers, 66% of millennials use apps to book their vacations.

Realizing this convinced me that a cruise booking app could solve these problems for the cruise industry, similar to what Airbnb did for the holiday rental sector," he added.

"The bottom line, Lewis — I want My Kind of Cruise to become the de facto place to search, compare, and book your cruises.

I want to increase the overall travel market share for cruises and widen the cruise traveler demographic even further, making cruises more accessible for holidaymakers," said Sefton.

"As we speak, we have 320,000 users across both the app and website, with an average age of 38.

Initially, we targeted a younger traveler, with millennials and Gen Z making up around 50% of our users. But our user base has actually proved to be surprisingly diversified with more traditional cruising age groups loving our easy-to-use technology too," said Sefton.

"Our booking users have ranged from 21-year-olds all the way to 91-year-olds, and most excitingly, half of our