When it comes to luxury travel, ocean and river experiences are increasing in popularity. One company benefiting from this increase is small ship expedition company, Aqua Expeditions, who have been offering boutique, once-in-a-lifetime voyages since 2007. From a single ship in the Peruvian Amazon, Aqua Expeditions now has five vessels sailing eight destinations across South America and Southeast Asia, providing luxury travelers with the opportunity to explore pristine and remote parts of the Amazon Rainforest, Mekong Delta, East Indonesian archipelago, and Galapagos Islands.
About Aqua Expeditions
With ships accommodating just 16-40 guests and a 1:1 crew-to-guest ratio, the Aqua Expeditions on-board experience is characterized by bespoke luxury. The exquisitely designed award-winning vessels feature sumptuous cabins and facilities, with onboard cuisine crafted by world-class chefs. At each stop, guests have the opportunity to embark on twice-daily excursions, featuring one-of-a-kind experiences including wildlife encounters, immersive cultural tours, biking and hiking explorations, snorkeling, scuba diving, and more.
As the winner of Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best River Cruise Line award in both 2023 and 2024, Aqua Expeditions is unmistakably a luxury travel brand, dedicated to client service excellence. With this in mind, the company saw the need for an improved payment experience to better meet client expectations.
Problem: Brand misalignment with inefficient payment provider service
Aqua Expeditions used PayPal to accept payments from its mostly US, European and UK-based clients. But the payment experience didn’t align with the Aqua Expeditions brand or the exceptional client experience the company is renowned for. It also wasn’t keeping up with the business’s growth.
The internal management of payments was difficult, with issues including the high reserve funds imposed and difficulties with easily transferring funds to bank accounts. PayPal provided little account support to resolve issues. Aqua Expeditions felt their payments provider did not understand their business and did not make sufficient effort to support the necessary improvements.
Solution: Simple and secure payments for guests, improved internal processes
A timely approach by a Flywire employee—who had experienced an Aqua Expeditions voyage (and payment process) himself—presented the opportunity for Aqua Expeditions to elevate their payment experience.
“Flywire’s roster of happy luxury travel clients gave us the confidence that they have a deep understanding of the travel sector and could solve the problems we were experiencing," said Michele Brambilla, Group Chief Financial Officer at Aqua Expeditions.
Aqua Expeditions has embedded Flywire checkout into their website to take deposits or full payment for voyages booked online, and also use the Flywire payment request tool for guests who have an outstanding balance to pay before they embark on their journey. Using Flywire’s powerful Global Payments Network, Aqua Expeditions guests can pay in their local currency—predominately dollars, pounds, euros—using their preferred local payment method, including bank transfer. Guests are reassured by Flywire’s security credentials and the real-time payment updates they receive. What’s more, Flywire’s around-the-clock multilingual support is available to resolve any queries guests might have about their payment.
Seamless integrations between Flywire and the Aqua Expeditions website and Rescompany, their reservations management system, means the payment process is smooth and secure for guests, and the booking team can see the current payment status within their central system. Aqua Expeditions receives payments in US dollars but can send funds where they are needed at the touch of a button. No more manual processes.
Ultimately, with Flywire, the guest experience is now seamless and the payment experience now aligns with the rest of the Aqua Expeditions experience, from when guests book a trip, to when they board their voyage of a lifetime.
Results
We are extremely impressed with Flywire. Guests and staff say it is very user-friendly. If we experience any issues, the Flywire team provides responsive support and creative solutions. The software is great, but the team makes the difference.
