Any info on Concierge Role??

[Devux]

I just got accepted into the Fall Advantage Program for Concierge!

Aside from being one of the most competitive positions I cannot seem to find many threads discussing it.

So if your a former Concierge CP please share

 

[heaven2dc]

Congrats!! I've never been in the CP program but am in pending status hoping for front desk, guest services or vacation planner for California. I would love to work in Concierge - is that only for Florida as I don't recall it being an option for CA? (I'm so excited for you - when did you receive your acceptance? Was it via email or postcard or phone call?)

 

[Cais]

Ill be a fall advantage concierge as well, at Port Orleans starting June 4th! Concierge is a fairly small role and we can be placed at any resorts. We have one of the longest training periods of any role: a week at Disney U then a week of on the job front desk training. After we do front desk for a few weeks we get the call for concierge training! Which means back to Disney U then even more on the job training! We handle a lot of ticket sales and dining reservations, and guests tend to come to us with their complaints so its almost like resort guest relations sometimes. The Concierge role has only been around since Fall 09 or so which might be why there's not too much out there. Let me know if I didn't cover anything! I'm really excited to start. Were you a CP alumni? They do seem to like to give it to alum or hospitality types, though I don't have any myself. I worked at pirates last night!

 

[Devux]

I actually got my acceptance email just yesterday morning. Which was nerve wracking because I applied at the beginning of April, later then most, I wasn't so sure I'd get it.


I was never an alumni though, this will be my first program. But I had a bunch of experience under my belt so maybe that helped. Thanks for all the information. I had no idea we learned front desk then went back to learn concierge. Seems completely awesome.


Now I just have to wait for the email to pick out my move in date! Which has me checking my email obsessively again.

 

[Berlioz70]

Just wanted to chime in as well... I'm a FT Concierge at Grand Floridian, but cannot give any more info as I'm still in training.

Cais is correct, training is long! I transfered to this role on March 18th:
Week 1 - 4 days of classes at DU and 1 day property orientation
Week 2 - 5 days of training
Week 3 - 2 more days of training, 3 days on own
Week 4 & 5 - 2 full weeks on own
Week 6 - My first 2 days will be at Front Desk, then I'll finally start my Concierge training. This is lucky though, you are moved onto Concierge once a class is available and originally I wasn't support to start until Week 8, but someone dropped an earlier class so I was able to get in!

 

[figmentfan6]

Hello!

I was a concierge CP in Fall 2010! Please feel free to ask questions on this thread or PM me! I'd be thrilled to answer any questions you can think up! Congrats!!

 

[WDWisMyLaughingPlace]

Just wanted to chime in as well... I'm a FT Concierge at Grand Floridian, but cannot give any more info as I'm still in training.

Cais is correct, training is long! I transfered to this role on March 18th:
Week 1 - 4 days of classes at DU and 1 day property orientation
Week 2 - 5 days of training
Week 3 - 2 more days of training, 3 days on own
Week 4 & 5 - 2 full weeks on own
Week 6 - My first 2 days will be at Front Desk, then I'll finally start my Concierge training. This is lucky though, you are moved onto Concierge once a class is available and originally I wasn't support to start until Week 8, but someone dropped an earlier class so I was able to get in!

Ahh, you have my dream role!! I'm planning to apply for Fall 2013 and that would be my ideal! Love the Grand Floridian so so much!!

 

[Devux]

Actually I do have a question for anyone who could answer it.

How are the hours working Concierge or Hospitality in General. Would I be able to balance a class on top of working?

 

[figmentfan6]

Actually I do have a question for anyone who could answer it.

How are the hours working Concierge or Hospitality in General. Would I be able to balance a class on top of working?

CP class or school class? The hours for Hospitality range from starting around 5 am to ending at 2 am. Concierge desks are only open from 7am-10pm, so you won't be working earlier than 6:45 am or later than 10:30 pm. You'll have between 6-8 hours a day and will work 4-5 days a week (during slow season I had a few weeks where I had three days off). If it's a class with a set time and it's not a CP class, I would highly recommend against it. If it's an online or CP class, go for it!

 

[Devux]

CP class or school class? The hours for Hospitality range from starting around 5 am to ending at 2 am. Concierge desks are only open from 7am-10pm, so you won't be working earlier than 6:45 am or later than 10:30 pm. You'll have between 6-8 hours a day and will work 4-5 days a week (during slow season I had a few weeks where I had three days off). If it's a class with a set time and it's not a CP class, I would highly recommend against it. If it's an online or CP class, go for it!

Thank you so much! That's extremely helpful

 

[figmentfan6]

Thank you so much! That's extremely helpful

Anytime! I loved being a concierge CP and love telling people all about it! Feel free to ask any other questions that might spring to mind!

 

[wov305]

Hi, I just wanted to chime in with any helpful info for you. I did my first CP program in Spring of 2008. I started out in front desk and then requested training for Concierge. Up until then the only Cp's allowed to train were International CPs so my managers were a little reluctant to let me try, but I am glad to see that they now make it a part of the CP work choices. I have to say it is one of the most fulfilling roles I ever had at Disney. If you enjoy event planning at all then you will love this.I did a lot of ticket sales and dinner reservations but think of it also as having a hand in planning someones vacation. Sometimes guests come to the desk as a completely blank slate as to what they want to do on their stay with you and you get to have a hand in filling in the blank spaces on the canvas that is their Disney experience. Ok, I will get off my soap box now but if you have any questions for me feel free to ask.

 

[WDWisMyLaughingPlace]

Hi! I'm a Fall 2013 hopeful in my third year of my undergrad, and I'm just going to throw these questions out to everyone!

I'm very very interested in the concierge role, but I have heard that it is an extremely competitive position to land, and most often given to International CPs. How true is this?

I think that the concierge role would be a great fit for me because I have soo much knowledge about the parks, hotels, dining, tickets, etc. and I absolutely love planning Disney vacations (for myself and, of course, other people as well!!).

My concern is that I currently do not have experience in hospitality or event planning and I do not expect to have any job experience in those areas before I apply for the CP. I attend a small university that does not offer degrees or courses in Hospitality management or related fields. Will that hinder my chances of landing a role in Hospitality?

While I do not have experience in Hospitality, I have worked in Marketing and I am very proficient on the computer. I'm also extremely interested in the field of Hospitality and event planning and would love to use the CP as a way of gaining hands-on experience. I haven't had any previous job experience in event planning either, but I have planned non-job related events among friends and family, which I really enjoyed doing, and would love to do that type of work for Disney!

Is having a great interest in the field enough to qualify me for the position or do they want to see previous work experience?

Thanks!!

 

[Cais]

Personally, despite the fact that a recruiter has told me they hold Hospitality and Concierge positions for folks with a background in Hospitality (either through their major or work experience), I'll be going this Fall Advantage season as a Concierge. It is my second program, but my first one was Attractions at Magic Kingdom. I don't have any hospitality or hotel experience and it didn't stop me from getting accepted in the first wave. If you know what you want to do and you can articulate that to your recruiter during the phone interview then you have a shot at anything. I had talked to a friend of mine that had done concierge, and I had prepared for the question "What do you think the role of a concierge is?", which is the one they ended up asking me.

 

[Devux]

Hi! I'm a Fall 2013 hopeful in my third year of my undergrad, and I'm just going to throw these questions out to everyone!

I'm very very interested in the concierge role, but I have heard that it is an extremely competitive position to land, and most often given to International CPs. How true is this?

I think that the concierge role would be a great fit for me because I have soo much knowledge about the parks, hotels, dining, tickets, etc. and I absolutely love planning Disney vacations (for myself and, of course, other people as well!!).

My concern is that I currently do not have experience in hospitality or event planning and I do not expect to have any job experience in those areas before I apply for the CP. I attend a small university that does not offer degrees or courses in Hospitality management or related fields. Will that hinder my chances of landing a role in Hospitality?

While I do not have experience in Hospitality, I have worked in Marketing and I am very proficient on the computer. I'm also extremely interested in the field of Hospitality and event planning and would love to use the CP as a way of gaining hands-on experience. I haven't had any previous job experience in event planning either, but I have planned non-job related events among friends and family, which I really enjoyed doing, and would love to do that type of work for Disney!

Is having a great interest in the field enough to qualify me for the position or do they want to see previous work experience?

Thanks!!

Hey! I can tell you a little bit about what I heard before I applied on the role. From what I know they tend to chose those whom are Hospitality majors, alumni or mostly international students, however there have been exceptions to this rule. Now, the fact that your university does not have any Hospitality classes should not matter. I go to a community college that does not have any Hospitality program and I got in. Now I do have experience in Cruise Line Check ins, so that may have a little more pull then your average.

I really think it depends on your interviewer and how passionate you seem about learning the aspects of guest service since disney is top in its field

But you really seem like you'd be a great fit

 

[WDWisMyLaughingPlace]

Thank you both so much!! Your advice definitely makes me feel better about this.

I do have several roles in mind that I would be very excited to work in if accepted, but Hospitality would be my dream Disney job!!

If alumni have a better shot at getting concierge, I guess I could always do a second program if my first one goes well! My long-term plan (which of course could be subject to change) is to the CP for Fall 2013 and then possibly extend to Spring 2014.

Say I was to extend to the Spring, do you know if I would have to stay in my first role, or is it possible to move into a different one the second time around?

Thanks!!

 

[Cais]

It's possible. It's harder to do, and people who want to stay at their original location find it easier to extend, but those who extend get to note their preferences. Keep your report card clean to have the best shot .

 

[WDWisMyLaughingPlace]

Thanks!! Sorry for the very delayed response!

 

[figmentfan6]

Hi! I'm a Fall 2013 hopeful in my third year of my undergrad, and I'm just going to throw these questions out to everyone!

I'm very very interested in the concierge role, but I have heard that it is an extremely competitive position to land, and most often given to International CPs. How true is this?

I think that the concierge role would be a great fit for me because I have soo much knowledge about the parks, hotels, dining, tickets, etc. and I absolutely love planning Disney vacations (for myself and, of course, other people as well!!).

My concern is that I currently do not have experience in hospitality or event planning and I do not expect to have any job experience in those areas before I apply for the CP. I attend a small university that does not offer degrees or courses in Hospitality management or related fields. Will that hinder my chances of landing a role in Hospitality?

While I do not have experience in Hospitality, I have worked in Marketing and I am very proficient on the computer. I'm also extremely interested in the field of Hospitality and event planning and would love to use the CP as a way of gaining hands-on experience. I haven't had any previous job experience in event planning either, but I have planned non-job related events among friends and family, which I really enjoyed doing, and would love to do that type of work for Disney!

Is having a great interest in the field enough to qualify me for the position or do they want to see previous work experience?

Thanks!!

Concierge is a very competitive role, and you are correct in that it is mostly given to ICPs for better or for worse. They have begun accepting more and more regular CPs into this role since I did it, which is good! A lot of positions also go to CP Alumni, because they already have the good track record. I was the second group of CPs to ever be offered Concierge as a role.

I go to a small liberal arts college, so I too had no experience in hospitality at all. In fact, I didn't even realize how competitive the role was until after I was pended and did more research. When I interviewed I talked about my experience on computers and comfort level working with technology. I also discussed how often I had visited the parks and my experience dealing with Concierge CMs directly through CL and other experiences. It's important to seem open to challenges and be cheerful and also realistic. I only interviewed for the concierge role, so when you do your interview make it clear early on that you would like that role to be a primary focus in your interview.

It does help if you have professional work experience of any kind. I think I ended up getting my role because during a call-back to talk about adding roles to my checklist I mentioned an internship in NYC I was working remotely for. That seemed to impress. I think they want to see Disney not be your first ever work experience if they're going to put you in such a high traffic and high stress role. You get to make a lot of magic, but you also deal with people wanting free stuff, wanting impossible dining/ticket things or just having a lousy vacation that is in no way the fault of Disney (i.e. I don't like my room, the lines are too long, I can't eat at Chef Mickey's, etc.). They try and get people who seem like they can handle that level of stress and who can make sound judgements under pressure. Also, people who are generally upbeat and cheerful!

You seem like a good fit from what I can tell! If you have any specific questions regarding my Concierge CP experience, feel free to ask here or PM me. The same goes if you want to hear some stories (the bad and the completely magical) of things I handled over my time there. I can also give a list of the day-to-day requirements a Concierge CP deals with. Good luck!

 

[WDWisMyLaughingPlace]

Thank you so much for replying to my post!! That was all extremely helpful advice and I appreciate your kind words about me seeming like a good fit for the role.

I will be PMing you right after I post this! I would love to hear more about your experiences as a Concierge CP!! Even though it will be another 8 months before I apply, I am trying to gather as much info as I can about each of the roles I want so that I can ensure I have the necessary credentials before applying. I'd hate to find out later that there were things I could have done long before my interview that would make me a stronger candidate for the role.