Commercial Manager – SixStarCruises and River Voyages
A bit about us:
World Travel Holdings UK was co-founded in June 2008. We are one of the largest and fastest-growing multi-brand cruise distributors in the UK, based in the Lancashire town of Chorley. No matter what we are selling or servicing, our mission is to deliver a remarkable experience through providing superior customer service. It’s the personalised experience we provide that keeps our customers coming back and puts us in a league of our own.
We have a good thing going on at World Travel Holdings UK, with a strong sense of community and collaborative teams. We are driven and passionate, and care deeply about what we do and the goals of our business.
We value teamwork highly and expect everyone to be ready to cooperate and collaborate. We want all our staff to continuously strive to be better, looking for ways to improve not only themselves but our processes and ways of working too. Always looking to deliver, owning our individual commitments but also working to get the best result for our team and business.
Location: Chorley, Lancashire.
Salary: £35,000.
Reports To: Head of Product & Commercial.
Hours: 40 hrs per week (Monday to Friday).
Hybrid Working (2 x days office & 3 x days home) or fully remote.
About the role:
The Commercial Manager is responsible for driving the commercial performance of the business across SixStarCruises.co.uk and RiverVoyages.com. The role focuses on developing supplier partnerships, negotiating commercial agreements, maximising revenue and profitability, and ensuring the product remains competitive and aligned with customer demand.
The Commercial Manager works closely with cruise line partners, marketing, sales, finance, and operational teams to deliver growth through strategic planning, promotional activity, and performance optimisation.
Key Responsibilities:
Commercial Strategy & Growth
- Develop and execute the cruise commercial strategy to achieve revenue, profit, and market share targets.
- Identify growth opportunities across luxury and river cruise holiday markets
- Analyse booking trends, customer behaviour, and market conditions to inform strategic decisions.
- Support annual business planning, budgeting, and forecasting processes.
Cruise Line Relationship Management
- Build and maintain strong relationships with cruise line commercial and sales teams.
- Lead commercial negotiations including:
- Overrides and commission structures
- Marketing contributions and co-op funding
- Tactical promotions and exclusive offers
- Preferred partnership agreements
- Conduct regular business reviews with cruise partners to evaluate performance and identify growth opportunities.
- Management of customer and business-related escalation to get the best outcome with the business
- Manage ship visit and FAM trips, working with staff travel, and the cruise lines on achieving improved knowledge and customer engagement
- Represent the company at industry events, conferences, and supplier meetings.
Revenue & Profitability Management
- Monitor cruise sales, margins, conversion rates, and commercial income.
- Deliver revenue and profit targets through effective supplier and product management.
- Identify opportunities to improve yield and booking value.
- Manage supplier performance against agreed commercial commitments.
Product & Promotional Management
- Collaborate with cruise partners to secure competitive pricing, promotions, and exclusive deals.
- Ensure cruise content and product offerings remain relevant and competitive.
- Work with marketing teams to plan and execute campaigns that drive demand and conversion.
- Support launch activities for new cruise products, destinations, and brands.
Commercial Analysis & Reporting
- Analyse sales performance, market share, booking trends, and competitor activity.
- Produce regular performance reports and recommendations for senior leadership.
- Track and evaluate ROI from marketing campaigns, supplier investments, and promotional activities.
- Use data insights to drive continuous improvement and commercial decision-making.
Cross-Functional Leadership
- Work closely with:
- Sales teams to improve cruise conversion and product knowledge.
- Marketing teams to maximise campaign effectiveness.
- Finance teams to manage budgets, commercial income and invoicing
- Operations and customer service teams to ensure excellent customer
- Provide commercial guidance and support to internal stakeholders.
Skills & Experience:
Essential
- Significant experience within the cruise, travel, OTA sectors
- Strong commercial negotiation and supplier management experience.
- Proven track record of delivering revenue and profit growth.
- Excellent analytical and financial acumen.
- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Experience working with commercial performance metrics and reporting tools.
- Strong presentation and communication skills.
Desirable
- Existing relationships with major cruise line partners.
- Understanding of dynamic packaging, online merchandising, and e-commerce principles.
- Experience managing marketing partnerships and co-operative funding.
- Knowledge of cruise reservation systems and travel distribution channels.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Cruise revenue growth.
- Gross profit and margin achievement.
- Commercial income from supplier partnerships.
- Cruise booking volume and market share growth.
- Supplier performance against targets.
- Marketing campaign ROI.
- Conversion rate improvement.
- Customer retention and repeat booking growth.
What we’ll give you:
- Contributory company pension scheme
- Company paid parking permit
- Discounts on cruises and holidays for you & your family
- Annual uncapped concession towards your own cruise holiday
- Discounted travel insurance
- Paid leave day for volunteer charity work or to participate in a fundraising event
- Annual attendance bonus
- Access to an employee discount platform which offers savings on everyday purchases
- Enhanced maternity package
- Enhanced paternity pay
- Refer a friend bonus
- Paid day off work on your birthday
- Training contributions
And more …..
- 30 days annual leave (incl. bank holidays) which increases with service
- Hybrid working
We want to ensure that every individual has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives and talents. If you apply for the above role and are invited to interview, please let us know about reasonable adjustments that need to be made.
