Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE:RCL) Q3 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Michael Bailey: Hey, Dan, it’s Michael. We have a China product spectrum selling out of Shanghai in April of next year. And so far, the bookings, both volume and rate. Very good, much better than our ’19 performance, which, of course, was a record for the brand. So we’re feeling quite optimistic about the China product. I’m not sure there’s any need to shift any capacity at this point from the Baltic or from the Eastern Med. So I think we’re in a good position with our China product. We’ll be one of the first Western brands operating in China. And the indications are very positive. So we’ll see how it goes for next year.

Dan Politzer: Got it. Thank you.

Operator: Your next question will come from the line of Matthew Boss with JPMorgan. Please go ahead.

Matthew Boss: Great. Thanks and congrats on another nice quarter. So, Jason, maybe on the accelerating demand, the book position and the pricing relative to prior years as you cited as we look to ’24. I guess, maybe larger picture, how are you balancing pricing power relative to the multiyear market share opportunity relative to land-based alternatives? And then just in the strength in bookings that you cited, have you seen any near-term moderation to note related to the recent overseas conflicts?

Jason Liberty: Yes, sure. So we feel — of course, they’re always getting better that we have the best kind of yield management systems and the best revenue managers in the world. And so they are very much looking at volume versus price. And we have significantly automated that using AI and so forth to be able to make sure that we have an understanding on the elasticity and the behaviors of the consumer minute by minute. And so what we do try to do is obviously continue to increase price and then build volumes. And historically, there’s been questions about on the book position. You plan to be at the same level when you turn the year as previous years. You want to be higher, you want to be lower. The answer really is, it all depends on our ability to continue to drive pricing and then optimizing our yields.

And so optimizing our yields is key. And of course, we’re — and these yield management tools, we’re also very focused on what we’re seeing in behavior on the [indiscernible] side. Going on the European side, I think, again, we are just coming out of the Europe season, and we are beginning to book for next year trends continue to be very strong. But it is early in the European season for us to start calling out that there’s no impact from Israel. It’s not something that we are seeing today, and of course, we don’t know how long this war, conflict is going to go on for, which could very much inform where the consumer wants to go next year. I think what’s important is what we are getting is a very sticky consumer who wants to be sailing with us, staying within our ecosystem.

And so sometimes it’s not a question of where they’re going to go. It could be a question of where they’re going to go, but they’re going to go somewhere with us, and that’s what we’re focused on making sure they’re doing.

Matthew Boss: Great. And then maybe just a follow-up. Naftali, on the EBITDA margin profile as we think multiyear, and just looking back to prior peak levels, how would you size up where we stand today relative to the Trifecta plan, which I think calls for low 30s? Just maybe as we think about the puts and takes as you see it today.