how would you handle...

[TiszBear]

I have a coworker that asked me to plan her entire family vacation to Disney. they went once and had a bad experience and he asked me to plan the whole vacation for their family this time. His reason on asking me as he put it you love Disney, you are a vacation club member and you have been to WDW over 20 times, please help.

He told me he would pay me for my time and he told me to give him a number. So that is my problem. How do I figure out what to charge him for hte time I am spending do the research on the cost of the trip and the actual booking of it (he will give me his credit card) and the time it will take to do airfare and dining reservations. Can someone help me.

 

[adventure_woman]

I always thought that would be fun to do. I don't know what I would charge. It is a lot of time involved. You would also want to spend time with the family to find out what they want (rides/parks/etc.) Make sure they know too that no matter how well planned it is, it all depends too on your attitude. ie - you will always run into problems, it depends on how you handle it. My guess off hand would be $20/hr. (hey - you're a specialized commodity!)

 

[powellrj]

I don't think I would do it. I would offer lots of help and advise, but to actually book things for him and charge him to do it is putting a lot of stress on a relationship.

If something goes wrong, what would you do? Your name isn't on anything so you really can't change things and then if you ask him to help you out, he is going to wonder what he paid you for.

There have been too many people unhappy with professional travel agents that I would never try to plan someones trip and then charge them for it. If paid professionals have problems, they have avenues available to them to help make things right. You may get in a situation that would leave everyone unhappy.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I would just do it for free. How many hours could it take?

When people ask me for advice, I can usually give them all my tips in an hour.

I have stayed at every value, deluxe and moderate hotel. I have eaten at every restaurant on property (Ok not the new one in AKL villas yet) and can rattle off suggestions quickly. It is fun to share the love of Disney.

 

[jdes88]

Travel agents get a 10% comission.........go with that maybe? but if it's lengthy, go for more!

 

[JB2K]

I have a coworker that asked me to plan her entire family vacation to Disney. they went once and had a bad experience and he asked me to plan the whole vacation for their family this time. His reason on asking me as he put it you love Disney, you are a vacation club member and you have been to WDW over 20 times, please help.

He told me he would pay me for my time and he told me to give him a number. So that is my problem. How do I figure out what to charge him for hte time I am spending do the research on the cost of the trip and the actual booking of it (he will give me his credit card) and the time it will take to do airfare and dining reservations. Can someone help me.

I would simply charge a flat fee (for my time and/or resources used) -- nothing outrageous -- maybe a $25 gift card to somewhere you enjoy shopping/dining?

 

[Princess April]

... make him take your family along w/ him... an all expense paid trip sounds like payment enough don't you think????

 

[tlh0726]

No way would I plan someone elses vacation other than an immediate family member.
You have no clue as to their likes, dislikes, how they handle crowds, how they handle things when the unexpected happens, etc etc.
What happens when something goes wrong and they have no clue on how to handle it? What if they have another bad time?

I would offer to help plan their vacation by offering advice, telephone numbers, making checklists, etc etc. They would be responsible for making the reservations and ADRs.

As for compensatiion, that is totally up to you. If I was just offering advice, I would not charge them anything. I helped plan a friends trip to Hawaii, they did not give me anything at the time, but at Xmas they gave our family a gift certificate for a local restaurant to show their appreciation for my help.

 

[Belle5]

I don't have advice on the compensation part of things. I have planned many trips for friends. One brought me back a cookie jar from DD as thanks. I would be nervous to plan for someone I didn't consider myself "friends" with and I wouldn't want someone who is a friend to pay me. But that is just me.

What I wanted to say is you would need to present them with all kinds of questions about their preferences and give them lots of options. Ask 20 different DIS members what their favorite things are and get at least 15 different answers... You can't assume they would enjoy the same things as you do. I have found this out the hard way.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Put me in the "never in a million years" category. I would never plan nor charge a friend for vacation information. Make a nice dinner and invite them for the day. Pull out your computer and do it together. Make recommendations based on your opinions and stress that they worked for you. The company and friendship alone should be payment enough... Whatever you choose, have fun!

 

[Chicago526]

I have a coworker that asked me to plan her entire family vacation to Disney. they went once and had a bad experience and he asked me to plan the whole vacation for their family this time. His reason on asking me as he put it you love Disney, you are a vacation club member and you have been to WDW over 20 times, please help.

He told me he would pay me for my time and he told me to give him a number. So that is my problem. How do I figure out what to charge him for hte time I am spending do the research on the cost of the trip and the actual booking of it (he will give me his credit card) and the time it will take to do airfare and dining reservations. Can someone help me.

I wouldn't do the actual booking part of it. You're not a travel agent and it could be an issue trying to deal with Disney, you could run into problems if you make a mistake (oops booked july 4 and it was supposed to be june 4, now what?!!!!) and it could be an issue if he totally hates the trip.

The planning part of it is different. That you could do for a fee if you wanted to. I'd charge by the hour, that way if you do say 4 hours of planning, present him the options, and meanwhile he's changed his mind and needs you to start over, it's all on him. I'd start off at $10 an hour and see what he thinks.

To start, you need to ask him a boat load of questions, not just the "how many in your party and how old are the kids" type stuff but things that will give you an idea of what kind of vacation he and his family will want. Ask about their interests, do they like to eat on fly or do they want sit down meals. Is the daughter a tom-boy or totally princess obsesed? Is the boy more into Peter Pan or Buzz Lightyear? Do special events sound good to them (Iluminations cuise, perhaps?), do they want to do activies around the resorts (horse back riding? mini-golf?) or do they just want to run loose in the parks all day with no real schedule. What kind of hotels do they normally stay in, motel 6? (value) hampton inn? (moderate) marriott? (deluxe) ameristay? (villas). What kind of restaurants do they eat at when they're at home or on other vacations. (McD's? Olive Garden? Mortons?)

The more you ask him upfront, the less time in the long run you'll spend reserching and planning. And everytime you mention the price of anything, always qualify it with "that's right now, it could change or sell out before you book". Because the one time your forget to say it, is the one time the price will change on you!

If he's not willing to pay you per hour, personally, I'd just tell him to buy an Unofficial Guide to WDW and to check availability on Disney's site, or recomend him to an all-Disney travel agency. Otherwise you could charge him $25 and then he sucks all your free time from now until the day he departs for Orlando!

 

[daisyduck123]

I have done this before...but for a family member. I booked & planned my brother's upcoming honeymoon next month. I booked their flights, 7 nights at CBR, the dining plan...I did it all! I even picked his table-service meals. He & his fiancee don't even know where they'll be eating!! I told them they'll love everything!!

I was stressed about making the ADRs the most. I don't think I'll ever totally plan another person's trip again.

 

[disneyagogo]

When I first started planning WDW vacations as a business, I charged $25/day planned based on the charge for itinerary planning offered by a Disney-only travel agency. I ended up charging $50/day planned for a single family. I used a four page questionnaire I developed to really delve into their likes, dislikes, expectations, and budget. You won't have a problem booking things with Disney, just be sure that Disney knows you aren't a travel agent.

I planned and booked between 80 and 100 vacations for others in about 2.5 years until I could no longer afford the time. I probably only averaged about $10/hour when I added up all the time researching, planning, booking, writing the itinerary and the books and cards I did. It was so much fun and I still get calls, but I am glad that I quit. My son was very resentful of how much time it took and I did have one loony that made me realize how close to burn out I was.

This is rambling on a bit, but you shouldn't be scared to plan his trip if you enjoy planning. The biggest thing to remember is that you plan for their family and not for yours.

Good luck!

disneyagogo

 

[LSchrow]

that was a great post, Chicago526

personally, i would be hestitant. what if it rain thes entire time they're there? will they feel you're partly to blame ("you could've picked a better time"), or one of them gets sick while there ("you didn't give us any indoor activities").

i would definately help them plan, give lots of suggestions & tips, but leave it at that

 

[JerseyMamaBear]

I like the idea of sitting down to dinner (what ever it may be) and have a bunch of ideas printed out with examples of meals and park info and prices ready to go so he can pick what they want to do.

 

[quentina]

My assistant manager and her hubby won the lottery last year ($350,000).

After they got their check, he gave me his debit card and told me to "do it right". There were 7 of them total..kids and grandkids.

It took me an hour on the website. I booked them a 2 bedroom at BWV, dining plan, magical express, unlimited park hopper. It was close to $8000.00

I loved spending his money!! They loved the vacation and cannot wait to go back.

 

[Shelli_5]

I think it's great that you want to help someone enjoy the magic of Disney, but I think that planning their whole trip sounds really stressful. I agree with the others who have said you should share your best tips & tricks and let your friend do the rest. I'd hate for something to go wrong and for you to feel responsible. Good luck whatever you decide to do!

 

[TiszBear]

First let me say thank you to all that have responded. Now let me give you an update: After my first post I asked my coworker a boat load of questions: when do you want to go, how many are going, what type of resort,... and so on. Well that was the easy part!!! I told him up front that I have helped others in the past and have given plenty of advice and help and in the end most thought i was joking (come on do you really expect to walk up to Cinderella Caster for a walk up dinner reservation in the middle of july!! NO!) anyway I also told him that I vowed not to do that again unless I charged a fee per hour for my time. He agreed. He gve me a budget (biggest budget I have worked with) and after many hours (of change upon change) this weekend I booked his trip on Monday afternoon (with him and his wife at my house) and their flights. Now they have until Wednesday afternoon to give me what dining reservations they want. I will then call to make the reservations.

I told him and his wife that they must buy Birnbaum's book to Walt Disney World and show it to me on Wednesday. I told them to read the book and to at least understand that Walt Disney World is not just the Magic Kingdom. I also told them that after me make the dining reservations I am done helping. Surprisingly they are ok with all this and it seems the wife truly understands that WDW is a big place and told me that she had no idea how much planning it took and then thanked me.

Now will I do this again for anyone, NO!!! I will only give my advice when asked and to only family and close friends. So now that my help is almost done, now I jusdt have to wait till after the trip to see how it all went.

 

[Chicago526]

My assistant manager and her hubby won the lottery last year ($350,000).

After they got their check, he gave me his debit card and told me to "do it right". There were 7 of them total..kids and grandkids.

It took me an hour on the website. I booked them a 2 bedroom at BWV, dining plan, magical express, unlimited park hopper. It was close to $8000.00

I loved spending his money!! They loved the vacation and cannot wait to go back.

That is every travel agents DREAM client! I've been a TA for 12 years and have yet had a litterally unlimited budget. I'm jealous!

First let me say thank you to all that have responded. Now let me give you an update: After my first post I asked my coworker a boat load of questions: when do you want to go, how many are going, what type of resort,... and so on. Well that was the easy part!!! I told him up front that I have helped others in the past and have given plenty of advice and help and in the end most thought i was joking (come on do you really expect to walk up to Cinderella Caster for a walk up dinner reservation in the middle of july!! NO!) anyway I also told him that I vowed not to do that again unless I charged a fee per hour for my time. He agreed. He gve me a budget (biggest budget I have worked with) and after many hours (of change upon change) this weekend I booked his trip on Monday afternoon (with him and his wife at my house) and their flights. Now they have until Wednesday afternoon to give me what dining reservations they want. I will then call to make the reservations.

I told him and his wife that they must buy Birnbaum's book to Walt Disney World and show it to me on Wednesday. I told them to read the book and to at least understand that Walt Disney World is not just the Magic Kingdom. I also told them that after me make the dining reservations I am done helping. Surprisingly they are ok with all this and it seems the wife truly understands that WDW is a big place and told me that she had no idea how much planning it took and then thanked me.

Now will I do this again for anyone, NO!!! I will only give my advice when asked and to only family and close friends. So now that my help is almost done, now I jusdt have to wait till after the trip to see how it all went.

You did great, especially the part about once you do the initial dining reesrvations that you're done with it. Just give them the phone numbers for Disney if they later decide to make a few changes and wish them bon voyage!

 

[kileybeth]

It is so great to hear the wife truly understood how much work/planning it takes to "do it right". We did not "do it right" for so many years and I really did not like WDW at all because of it. Now I love it and would go 3-4x a year if and when I can afford it. All because I now know how to "do it right" and yes, realizing that doing it right is different for every one.

My only other comment for anyone thnking of helping a friend or doing this kind of thing is when someone comes to you and makes comments about hating it, went before and it was awful, do your homework and find out exactly what made it the disaster they speak of! That answer is different for everyone.

Love that you gave them "assignments" they needed to fulfill as that helps them learn as they go.

Great job!