Setting Sail for Unforgettable Moments
Interview with Detlev Schäferjohann, Managing Director of e-hoi GmbH
A cruise is a unique combination of first-class service, exquisite cuisine, and breathtaking destinations. It is the gateway to an unforgettable adventure and dreamlike views of the seven seas. From luxurious cruises through tropical paradises to exciting discovery trips to historic coastal cities — at e-hoi, the experience is always the focus.
The successful journey of e-hoi GmbH began in 2004. Already four years prior, the founder Detlev Schäferjohann had laid the foundation for another successful business, e-domizil GmbH, which grew alongside e-hoi into a major online vacation home provider and was sold in 2022 to the publicly listed Hometogo, with more than 200 employees and over 200 million EUR in annual revenue. "Since then, the team has been completely focused on the cruise business," said Detlev Schäferjohann, founder and CEO of e-hoi GmbH, "and this focus has contributed to the successful development towards becoming the market leader in online cruise distribution in Germany and other European countries."
A sustainably successful development
As early as 2004, it was possible to easily book a holiday home at the original company e-domizil, and the system immediately confirmed the reservation. "However, it took many years for the same to be true for cruises, because the shipping companies' networks were not set up for that. Since a purely online booking was not possible in the initial phase, the trips were only displayed online and had to be coordinated by phone both with the customers and with the shipping companies," explains the managing director. Today, complete trips can be booked via e-hoi. Since 2010, the number of online bookings has been increasing rapidly, so that now over half of the e-hoi trips are processed online. Unlike vacation homes, organizing a cruise requires not only the stay on the ship but also the journey to and the transfer from the airport or train station to the port. If necessary, an overnight stay must also be booked. "Our system independently assembles these packages — we have the highest growth rate in this segment," says Detlev Schäferjohann.
Enormous Growth Through Digitalization
A positive side effect of recent years was that the older generation has become more digital. 'This customer segment now also benefits from our modern systems and processes. This has led to enormous growth. From 2022 to 2023, we experienced an upsurge of well over 50%, although we only hired 10% more employees. Our main customers are predominantly families and couples between the ages of 50 and 70. There are many customers who travel repeatedly. They are all fascinated by the combination of luxury, wellness, and the activities available to them,' emphasizes the 51-year-old founder.
International Top Success
While the target market for e-hoi is international, the source market is still primarily in Europe. Currently, 220 employees, about half of whom live in Germany, contribute to a turnover of over 250 million EUR. "We are the only pan-European player in the market. However, this is often not visible because we do not appear everywhere as e-hoi. For example, in Switzerland, we are represented as e-hoi, but have also acquired two other companies named Ferienpost and CruiseCenter. Meanwhile, we have also become market leaders there—like in Germany. Moreover, we dominate the market in the Netherlands by a large margin under the names Zeetours, Cruise Travel, and Cruisewinkel. Additionally, we are present in Belgium with the brand Wondercruises and in Spain and Portugal with the brand unmundodecruceros," describes Detlev Schäferjohann the international setup.
Special Delicacy
e-hoi GmbH charters two ocean cruise ships every year for a very special program. The first ship is called Stars del Mar. "Next year, among others, Otto and his band, the Friesenjungs, will perform there. The second ship is called 90s Super Cruise — featuring artists from the 1990s. These are our flagship projects, which all of us greatly enjoy. Due to the tremendous success, next year we will charter a larger ship than usual — the AIDA PRIMA. It has space for 3,500 guests. This project sharply defines our profile and has significantly contributed to negotiating on equal footing with the shipping companies, as we then act as a shipping company ourselves. Moreover, the whole thing is a real social media fireworks display," said the managing director in conclusion.