National Travel Agency Transforms Processes With Custom CRM 

Cruising is all about convenient luxury. Guests enjoy elegant accommodations, eat over-the-top meals and partake in elaborate excursions to exotic destinations.  

With an abundance of choices available, Direct Line Cruises ensures that the VIP treatment begins the moment customers visit their website. However, in an industry where personalized service and seamless processes are paramount, Direct Line Cruises faced a challenge: how to elevate its online experience to meet the evolving needs and expectations of its discerning clientele.  

That’s where Caspio emerged as the solution. Here’s how they utilized the leading low-code platform to create a custom CRM, centralized database and over 100 more web applications, ensuring every interaction with their brand is nothing short of exceptional.  

Ready to digitally transform your own business? Schedule a FREE trial with Caspio and explore the possibilities.  

Direct Line Cruises: 25 Years of Smooth Sailing  

Direct Line Cruises began its journey over two decades ago as a small, family-owned, cruise-only travel agency.  

Based in Long Island, New York, with a team of 35 dedicated staff members, the agency serves as an intermediary between consumers and various cruise lines. Approximately 60% of Direct Line Cruises’ business is conducted through their website, with the remaining 40% managed through their call center.  

True to its name, the agency specializes in negotiating competitive fares directly with cruise lines, providing cost-effective options to travelers. CEO and Owner Greg Coiro explained, “We purchase inventory from cruise lines, allowing us to pass on bulk savings directly to consumers.”   

Voyaging Through Rough Seas  

Like numerous other businesses, Direct Line Cruises encountered various hurdles before reaching success.  

Several years ago, Coiro grappled with a significant challenge. While aware of their company’s superior rates compared to market standards, they lacked a system capable of showcasing these negotiated fares to customers and agents online and in real-time. This stemmed from the fact that they had no effective way of storing cruise rates and customer information.  

At that time, cruise lines only gave Excel files to their agency as a reference for all inventory. “There were no APIs available back then where we could connect directly to their inventory and pricing models,” he shared. Coiro realized that in order to improve their service, they needed to find – or build – a turnkey digital solution.  

He had a clear goal in mind: to move the spreadsheet data into MS Access and publish the database on their website, so customers could shop for different ships, view sailing dates, and check cruise lines’ inventory and pricing online.  

Low-Code Development as Their Anchor  

It sounded easy, but the truth is far more complex.   

In a recent episode of Caspio’s “Low Code/High Impact” podcast, Coiro shared the struggles of finding the perfect solution to their problem and how it initiated a partnership that has lasted almost two decades.  

 “What was so amazing was that there wasn’t a solution. I couldn’t find a viable solution to simply get MS Access online! I went through all different iterations,” Coiro recalled. He experimented with different online tools, licensed SQL server databases and even utilized a Microsoft program to connect to MS Access, but all these band-aid fixes failed to provide the answer he sought.  

Shortly after, he found hope. “I just so happened to go onto Google, I typed in ‘Microsoft Access online,’ and lo and behold, Caspio came up,” he recounted.  

Watch the full interview below or listen to the podcast on your favorite streaming platform.  

The low-code platform seemed so promising that he signed up for a trial version right then and there. Coiro isn’t a programmer, but he “grew up on MS Access,” equipping him with enough knowledge to easily create an online database within Caspio’s familiar interface.” That free trial quickly solved that one little project I was looking to do at that point,” he shared.  

“With Caspio – the low-code formula – it was just the perfect fit. I’m not a computer programmer, but Caspio truly empowers me to be creative.”  

Greg Coiro 
Founder and Owner 
Direct Line Cruises 

Coiro’s online database project was just the beginning for Direct Line Cruises. Soon, it was followed by a multitude of other web apps powered by Caspio’s low-code platform.  

Building a Custom CRM, 100+ Apps With Caspio  

Since finding Caspio 17 years ago, Coiro and his team have deployed over a hundred internal and public-facing applications, including their custom CRM system. A complex yet powerful app, this CRM system is used by all Direct Line Cruises agents to store and manage customer information.  

CRM dashboard

Daily Activity Reporting

Online Reservations

Employee Scheduling

Training Resources

Cruise Line Websites

When booking a cruise for a client, Direct Line Cruises agents use data from the cruise line’s systems to initiate the reservation process. This is made possible through Caspio’s integration with Zapier.  

Coiro explained, “We’ve grown with Caspio over the years. When they introduced their Zapier integration, we were able to utilize this feature to connect our CRM system to the cruise line’s systems. So, the information comes from the cruise line through Zapier, and then it automatically feeds into Caspio.”  

He’s glad their agents no longer need to duplicate the work when processing a booking request, adding, “All the data we need just flows naturally into our Caspio database applications.” And it just doesn’t end with client reservations. Direct Line Cruises’ system also acts as a centralized hub where employees and managers can access attendance records, monitor sales activities, watch training videos and more. They even connected their phone systems directly to Caspio.  

Apart from internal apps, Direct Line Cruises launched numerous client-facing apps as well, including its loyalty club program portal. With this, users can view the points they’ve earned and redeem them for their next trips in real-time. Other apps they built and developed include their intranet portal for agents and a personalized quoting system, enabling them to send out detailed rate quotes to clients.  

Reaping the Benefits of Going Low Code  

For Coiro, the majority of their ROI comes from the efficiency standpoint, with Caspio empowering them to automate most of their processes behind the scenes.  

“Typically, we spend a lot of time manually inputting the same data and repeating the same chores. Through Caspio—especially over the last two years, when you introduced Tasks—we’re able to automate many routine tasks and workflows,” he said. Tasks is a Caspio feature designed to help businesses automate repetitive actions on a predefined schedule.  

When asked about his experience working with Caspio as his trusted low-code partner, this is what he has to say: “What sold me with Caspio 17 years ago was the phenomenal support back then. And it continues into today.”  

Safe to say, Coiro and his team at Direct Line Cruises consider Caspio a lifetime partner for all of their online database projects.  

Cruising Into the Future With Caspio  

Direct Line Cruises and Caspio have journeyed together for nearly two decades, navigating the travel industry landscape with resilience.  

Looking ahead, Coiro envisions an even deeper integration of Caspio into their operations, aiming to power nearly all back-office functions with the platform. He shared, “If you were talking to me in 2018, about 50% of our business operations were powered by Caspio. I have always dreamed of getting nearly 99% of our operations completely powered by Caspio. As we’re speaking now, I finally fulfilled that dream.”

Direct Line Cruises remains steadfast in harnessing the full potential of Caspio’s capabilities, with Coiro emphasizing, “There’s no ceiling” on what they can achieve with the platform. He praises Caspio’s dedication to innovation and responsiveness to customer feedback, acknowledging these as vital contributors to their ongoing success.  

As he puts it, “As long as your company continues evolving, that will allow us to continue evolving into the future with Caspio.”  

Ready to start your own digital journey with low code? Sign up for a free trial and discover the possibilities for your organization’s future success.