New firm harnesses big data in real time to help cruise lines optimize pricing

Home

In Print

Online

News sponsor

At Events

General Shipping

4/16/14, 14:38

Advertise

Subscriptions

Training

Awards

Contact

About Seatrade

Site Sponsor

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Active in social media

Home

News

Sale & Purchase

Charters

Orderbook

Directory

Jobs

Seatrade Events

Insider Awards

Research

New firm harnesses big data in real time to help

cruise lines optimize pricing
font size

Print

E-mail

Helping cruise lines boost profit through

smarter pricing is the goal of Aprefis, an
award-winning big-data technology
provider that recently set up shop in
Miami. Aprefiswhich stands for
Automated Pricing and Forecasting
Systemdeveloped software that it
touts as 'the only real-time pricing
optimization platform for cruise lines.'

'Our core is data analysis,' said Lavinius

COSTA CONCORDIA
ARCHIVE
EVENTS
VIDEOS
REFURB REVIEW

Marcu, ceo, co-founder and product

manager for Aprefis, whose nimble team
includes a data scientist and software
Marcu - Aprefis can store and track a huge amount of data
on cruises sold in a number of countries

and business developers. By looking at

competitors' prices, the company can

help managers hone in on the optimal price level according to the market context.
Aprefis offers a 'unique technology tool for the cruise lines for real-time revenue management,'
according to the company's business mentor, Joyce Landry, ceo of Landry & Kling Inc.,
specialists in corporate events at sea. In contrast to firms that scrape data on US-based
operators and package that as a tool for lines, Aprefis started in Europe and branched out to
include nine international markets, she said, translating local currencies and languages so that
all the data can be analyzed.
'Its a huge boon for revenue management because its so complete and in real timewith data
being updated constantly. No cruise line has easy access to global competitive data, and
certainly not in such a user-friendly format,' Landry told Seatrade Insider.
She was introduced to Aprefis by former University of Miami professor Susan Amat, the founder
of Venture Hive, an entrepreneurial incubator that serves as a magnet for international tech
start-ups. Landry, who joined the Aprefis board, has referred the company to cruise lines and to
a large cruise marketer who is interested in having international comparison data to track how

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/new-firm-harnesses-big-data-in-real-time-to-help-cruise-lines-optimize-pricing.html

Page 1 of 4

New firm harnesses big data in real time to help cruise lines optimize pricing

4/16/14, 14:38

cruises are selling globally.

'When producing high volume, its helpful to know that the same cruise is being sold in a
different country at a very different rate. Its great competitive information,' Landry said.
Aprefis watches the daily prices of 57 cruise lines from all over the world, including river
operators. Prices are tracked in the US, Spain, Portugal, France, Finland, Italy, Germany, Brazil
and Mexico, with the UK, Canada, Australia and China to be added soon.
Cruise pricing in different countries is 'very, very different,' Marcu said. 'Cruise lines have a
different strategic approach for each country.'
Aprefis recently analyzed prices for a similar cruise itinerary of six to eight nights, gathered from
six of the largest cruise lines.
Brand 1's lowest price, $389, was in Brazil, 10% less than in the US, while the highest price,
$660, was in Finland. Brand 2 also offered the cheapest rate in Brazil, but less than half the price
offered in the US, and its highest rate, $1,129, was in France.
Brand 3 did not sell the cruise in Brazil and put the highest price in the US market, $690. Its
rates in the other countries were 9% to 11% lower. Brand 4 put its lowest fare, $797, in the US,
and pricing for other countries was 27% to 29% higher.
Brand 5 offered the cheapest fare, $374, in the US, with 60% to 64% higher rates in the other
countries. Brand 6's starting price was also $374 in the US, while the cruise cost 21% more in
Brazil, 46% more in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, Mexico and Portugal, and 75% more in
Finland.
Aprefis is talking with more than 10 US-based companies. Each has some type of revenue
management technology, 'but at this point, they don't have a very sophisticated approach,'
according to Marcu. 'Their forecasting revenue management software is not adapted to real time
in each market.'
Other potential customers may be financial analysts, online travel agencies and news sites. The
company is also talking with Cruise Lines International Association about tracking capacity,
instead of prices, so CLIA can see how many berths are deployed in different markets at various
times.
Five years ago developing what Aprefis has done would have cost a fortune, Marcu said. 'Now we
can store and track a huge amount of data to be able to match cruises from all over the world.'
It's challenging to be able to automatically identify and track pricing for the same cruise across
different countries because there are so many variables. The itinerary may be presented
differently, the cabin name or description may be different, and more cabin types may be
deployed in one market than another. Cities may go by different names in different languages
for example, Stockholm/Estocolomo.
All of this means 'huge, huge data analysis work,' according to Marcu, adding that the
information is dynamic since websites are constantly changing.
The Aprefis chief said financial analysts who track cruise pricing currently use public data
released by the cruise lines, which they aggregate to form a picture of demand.
'What we do is very different from that,' Marcu said. 'We are tracking in real time and the prices
that are in the market.'
The Romanian native's resume includes founding his country's first hotel booking system for
about 700 properties, co-founding the first affiliate network and serving as a business developer
for Romania's largest OTA.
Aprefis began as a software provider for the hotel industry. Winning Spain's EmprendeGO, a
competition for innovative ideas, introduced the company to Pullmantur and that led to adapting
its product for the cruise industry. Aprefis was accepted into Acceleprise, an enterprise
technology accelerator in Washington, DC, last June, then relocated to Miami in January to be
closer to the cruise industry.

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/new-firm-harnesses-big-data-in-real-time-to-help-cruise-lines-optimize-pricing.html

Page 2 of 4

New firm harnesses big data in real time to help cruise lines optimize pricing

4/16/14, 14:38

Aside from software to optimize cruise pricing, Aprefis is developing two new products. One
tracks the shore excursions offered in each port by all operators (cruise lines and other
providers), their specific content and price. This is expected to be ready in June or July.
The other is a cruise industry social media analysis that monitors what's being said about
brands, cruises, ships or destinations, and provides data such as the number of mentions,
overall sentiment, the number of Facebook likes and shares, the conversation map (words like
'dining,' 'book,' 'kids,' 'offer,' 'QM2,' 'Liverpool,' for example) and sentiment (positive, neutral,
negative).
The information would enable lines to track consumer sentiment and respond in real time, Marcu
said.

Copyright 2014 Seatrade Communications Limited. Replication or redistribution in

whole or in part is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Seatrade
Communications Limited.
Go to headlines
15 April 2014
Like this? Tweet it to your followers!
Social sharing
back to top

HEADLINES
Pacific Dawn avoids Cyclone Ita by heading south
Stay tuned for more Quantum news
Concordia wreck a hive of activity in preparation for refloating
Which brands do US affluent cruise with most? Answer may surprise
Upcoming Seatrade Med in Barcelona reports big jump in exhibitors
Crystal to sail from Baltimore for the first time
Port Everglades to begin mangrove project on Arbor Day
Celebrity takes over Tribeca Film Fest's red-carpet concessions
Santo Domingo season closes with festive AIDAbella farewell
New firm harnesses big data in real time to help cruise lines optimize pricing
Venice inaugurates new cruise terminal 109/110
Carnival LIVE debuts with sold-out Styx concerts
Body of Filipino crewman killed in Roatn to be flown home
Norwegian's new Grammy Experience artists range from harmonica great to
zydeco singer
Princess Australia capacity set for 35% jump in 2015
Another operator packages cruise to Gallipoli for ANZAC centenary
Carnival Dream embarks inaugural New Orleans cruise
Carnival's Donald on narrowed guidance, norovirus, Virgin, MSC newbuilds
MSC Cruises USA fills top marketing role with an industry newcomer
Hamburg awards cruise terminal construction contract

Port Canaveral heralds Carnival Sunshine a

Key Hapag-Lloyd Cruises figure bows out a
Contrary to Harris Poll, other research find
Crystal crafts 'Game of Thrones'-based ad
Port of Livorno, Savino Del Bene team to f
Cruise Asia (Thailand) by Destination Asia
Seatrade Latin America program is posted
FCCA opens registration for 2014 St. Maar
Hurtigruten sweetens offer for Greenland t
New study finds huge untapped potential f
Sea Cloud duo head to Central America an
MSC Splendida passengers running free in
Variety Cruises offers deals where kids sail
CLIA global 'Cruise Week' to succeed Natio
Costa rolls out Spin Master games fleetwid
Norwegian becomes presenting sponsor o
events
Silversea and Relais et Chateaux co-celebr
Aqua Expeditions names Australasian pub
Kiel gears up to handle three simultaneous
Cruising's newest homeportVancouver (

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/new-firm-harnesses-big-data-in-real-time-to-help-cruise-lines-optimize-pricing.html

Page 3 of 4

New firm harnesses big data in real time to help cruise lines optimize pricing

4/16/14, 14:38

Page:1 / 10

Home

Directory

Cruise lines

Jobs

News

Ports and destinations

Events

Sale & Purchase

Associations

Advertise

Charters

Fleets

FAQ'S

Orderbook

Suppliers

Contact

http://www.seatrade-insider.com/news/news-headlines/new-firm-harnesses-big-data-in-real-time-to-help-cruise-lines-optimize-pricing.html

Page 4 of 4