Michelle Fee, Cruise Planners CEO, Smashes Glass Ceiling and Snags EY's Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Michelle Fee, CEO and co-founder of Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, won the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year� 2016 Award for Hospitality and Leisure in Florida. Only two female CEOs were honored at the awards program, which recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

"Being recognized as the Entrepreneur of the Year is testament to the innovation and passion that we have all put into Cruise Planners during the last 22 years," said Michelle Fee, CEO and co-founder of Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative. "This award is not just about me as a leader, it's about the entire Cruise Planners family, from my fellow executives, our stellar home office team, our valued travel partners and especially each one of our franchisees."

Under Fee's leadership, Cruise Planners has grown from five franchises to more than 1,400 and is the nation's largest home-based travel franchise organization. Fee's entrepreneurial spirit influences each Cruise Planners franchise owner who is able to leverage Cruise Planners' strategic marketing and cutting-edge technology to grow their own travel businesses and be small business entrepreneurs themselves. Fee will advance to represent Cruise Planners at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year national competition later this year.

"This honor is a pinnacle in my career," Fee said. "I enjoy helping other people succeed and using my personal relationships with our franchise owners to share my travel industry knowledge and positively impact the bottom line. Interacting with our agents over the years has allowed me to take my influence beyond the office and out into the world."

Cruise Planners, an American Express Travel Representative, is the nation's largest home-based travel agent franchise network in the travel industry. Cruise Planners operates a network of more than 1,400 franchise owners who independently book amazing vacation and travel experiences for their clients. The Florida-based Home Office Team positions franchise owners for success by providing innovative marketing, booking and lead-generating tools, as well as professional development and hands-on training with the industry's top executives. The company continues to be lauded and has been named the No.1 Cruise Tour / Travel Agency by Entrepreneur magazine for 13 consecutive years. Cruise Planners was recently featured in Entrepreneur as one of the top 30 franchise innovators in technology, has been consistently named as one of the Top Women-Owned Businesses by the South Florida Business Journal, is listed on the Inc. 5000 list as one of the fastest-growing private companies in America and was recognized as one of the "Top Workplaces" by The Sun Sentinel.

Headquartered in Coral Springs, Fla. with more than 22 years of experience, Cruise Planners has achieved top producer status with every major cruise line. Cruise Planners is one of the Top 50 franchises for Veterans according to GI magazine, the Top Franchise Brand for Veterans according to Franchise Business Review, has been named one of the Top 25 franchises for African-Americans by Black Enterprise magazine and is a member of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association.

For more information, visit www.cruiseplanners.com.