e-hoi

What e-hoi does

e-hoi GmbH is a Frankfurt-based online travel agency and Germany's largest self-described cruise specialist, founded in 2003. The company operates a proprietary booking platform (e-hoi.de) that enables consumers to search, compare, and book ocean and river cruises from multiple cruise lines, including AIDA, TUI Cruises, MSC, Costa, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, Celebrity Cruises, and Color Line. The platform features real-time pricing, dynamic cruise+flight and cruise+rail bundling, a Bestpreis-Garantie (best price guarantee), a white-label iFrame booking engine for partners, and a content library of over 110,000-124,000 verified ship reviews used for buyer decision support.

The business generates revenue primarily through transaction commissions from cruise operators (4-5% tiered for affiliate partners, standard agency rates for direct bookings), supplemented by full-margin revenue from proprietary charter projects (Stars del Mar, 90s Super Cruise, Golden 20s Cruise), dynamic flight and rail package upsells, and white-label/affiliate channel revenue distributed via the AWIN network. Distribution combines a self-serve consumer storefront with a phone-based service center operating 7 days a week. The company runs a multi-channel marketing mix spanning Google/Microsoft paid search, display remarketing (Criteo), SEO, content marketing, YouTube, email, and social.

Internationally, e-hoi has pursued an acquisition-led expansion: Cruisewinkel (Netherlands, 2015), Zeetours (Netherlands, 2018), Cruise Travel (Netherlands, 2019), CruiseCenter AG (Switzerland, 2022), and Un Mundo de Cruceros (Spain/Portugal, 2024), bringing the group to 8 companies spanning Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and France. The company is privately held with no disclosed external investors, co-led by Managing Directors Detlev Schäferjohann and Nicolay Merkt (added 2023), and has launched a Cruise Club loyalty program (2024), a long-term flight packaging technology (2025), and a premium luxury/expedition sub-brand Finest Cruise Moments (2026).

Name

e-hoi

Legal name

e-hoi GmbH

Website

https://www.e-hoi.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

e-hoi is a Frankfurt-based online cruise booking platform and Germany's largest self-described cruise specialist, founded in 2003. It serves B2C travelers and B2B partners across 7 European countries through proprietary booking technology, own-charter products, and an acquisition-led multi-brand group structure.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Cruise Travel Agency

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Cruise Aggregators & Online Cruise Agencies (THAKAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cruise Travel Agencies & Specialist Cruise Consultants (THAEAFAB), Cruise Booking Platforms (THALAFAG), Cruise Charter Operators & Ship Buyouts (THAKAKAI), Cruise Reservation & Booking Engines (THALADAF)

Keywords

• Online cruise booking
• Cruise travel agency
• River cruise packages
• Ocean cruise marketplace
• Cruise holiday platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Frankfurt

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Tour Operator Commissions: e-hoi acts as an online travel agency earning commissions from cruise lines for bookings made through its platform. Commission rates of 4-5% of net travel price for affiliate partners, with standard commissions from cruise operators.
2. Affiliate Partner Program: Revenue from affiliate partners who integrate e-hoi's booking engine or promotional links. Partners earn commission on bookings, e-hoi retains the difference.
3. Own Charter Projects: e-hoi organizes and sells its own charter cruise projects including 90s Super Cruise, Golden 20s Cruise, Stars del Mar, earning full margin on these exclusive events.
4. Dynamic Travel Packages: Revenue from selling bundled packages including cruise + flight, cruise + rail (e-hoi Bahnpaket), providing additional per-transaction revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

e-hoi operates an online booking platform enabling consumers to search, compare, and book ocean and river cruises from multiple cruise lines (AIDA, TUI Cruises, MSC, Costa, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Cunard, Celebrity, Color Line, Mystic). The company earns commissions from cruise operators on bookings made through its platform and bundles cruises with flight and rail packages. It also organizes proprietary themed charter cruises and provides white-label booking engine and affiliate solutions to B2B partners.

Product overview

e-hoi operates as an online cruise booking marketplace and travel agency platform serving as Germany's largest cruise specialist. The core product is the e-hoi.de booking platform enabling customers to search, compare, and book ocean and river cruises from multiple cruise lines including AIDA, TUI Cruises, MSC, Costa, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, Celebrity Cruises, and Color Line. The platform integrates complementary modules including flight and rail packages for complete travel arrangements, the Cruise Club loyalty program with status tiers and redeemable Cruise Coins, and ship rating systems with over 110,000 customer reviews. e-hoi also operates proprietary charter brands such as Stars del Mar and 90s Super Cruise, and has expanded internationally with sub-brands like Wondercruises (Spain, Portugal, France, Belgium) and Cruisecenter (Switzerland). The product portfolio also includes white-label booking engine solutions for partners, affiliate marketing programs, video content platforms, and editorial magazines. A new premium brand, Finest Cruise Moments, was launched in May 2026 focusing on luxury and expedition cruise segments across six European markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Finest Cruise Moments: Premium brand for luxury and expedition cruises launched May 2026, serving Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Portugal.
• Stars del Mar
• 90s Super Cruise
• Golden 20s Cruise

Products and services

• e-hoi.de Online Cruise Booking Platform
• e-hoi Kreuzfahrt-Paket (Flight Package)
• e-hoi Bahnpaket (Rail Package)
• e-hoi Cruise Club (Loyalty Program)
• Partnerprogramm (Affiliate Program)
• White-Label Booking Engine (IBE)
• Stars del Mar (Proprietary Charter Cruise)
• 90s Super Cruise (Proprietary Charter Cruise)
• Finest Cruise Moments (Premium Luxury Brand)
• Schiffsbewertungen (Ship Ratings Database)

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached €150 million in cruise travel volume in 2019
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration23 records

AI capability4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AWINcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAWIN is the affiliate network partner enabling e-hoi's partner program. Travel websites and blogs can join AWIN to become e-hoi affiliates, integrating booking links or e-hoi's booking engine via iFrame and earning 4-5% commission on referred bookings.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dreamlines: European online cruise specialist operating across multiple markets including Germany, with a similar commission-based OTA model for cruise bookings. Most directly comparable competitor in the European cruise OTA category.
• Kreuzfahrten.de: German online cruise booking portal directly competing with e-hoi in the DACH market with similar comparison, booking, and review functionality for ocean and river cruises.
• Avoya Travel: US-focused cruise vacation agency with independent agent network and direct cruise line relationships. Comparable as a cruise-specialist travel agency, though serving North American rather than European market.
• CruiseDirect: Online cruise booking agency offering price comparison and direct booking across multiple cruise lines. Comparable in commission-based OTA model and cruise-specialist positioning, though US-centric.

Broad incumbents

• Cruise Critic (Tripadvisor): Largest cruise review and information platform globally, owned by Tripadvisor. Competes with e-hoi's ship review database and offers price comparison, but is part of a broader travel content portfolio rather than a cruise-specialist agency.
• Booking.com: Global OTA offering cruise bookings alongside hotels, flights, and packages. Competes indirectly through scale, marketing budget, and breadth, but lacks e-hoi's cruise-specialist depth and review content library.
• Expedia: Global OTA with cruise booking vertical (Expedia CruiseShipCenters). Competes in cruise distribution at scale but without cruise-specialist brand authority or European DACH depth.

Regional players

• HolidayCheck: German-language travel review and booking platform with hotel, package, and cruise offerings. Comparable as a DACH-region travel platform, though not cruise-specialized.
• Schauinsland-Reisen: German tour operator and travel agency with strong package and cruise offerings. Comparable as a German travel brand competing for similar B2C customers, though broader in product scope.
• CHECK24 Reisen: German price-comparison platform with travel vertical including cruise offerings. Competes for the same German consumer shopping intent, though cruise is one of many categories served.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/ehoi
• Facebookfacebook.com/ehoi.de
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/e-hoi-gmbh

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about e-hoi