I need some insight from our British Diser's

[momof3disneyholics]

I am a concierge in a very nice hotel on International drive. My guests in this hotel are 99% either British or Irish. I sell tickets at my desk and most of the time do very well in ticket sales. I work off of commission from my ticket sales. This is how I support my family. I am number one in ticket sales and customer service in my company. I see my guests everyday and give them maps, coupons and lots of useful info. The guests at my hotel usually stay between 10-14 days. This is my question. Why is it that sometimes I will spend 20 plus minutes talking to a family about tickets and giving them first hand info, maps, times, and other useful info and then ask them what tickets they need and they will tell me that they are waiting for their tour rep from Tour America, Virgin, etc and they want to buy their tickets from them. Ok, this is the part I don't understand. I can beat any price that these companies have, and "I" am the one that these guests are going to see day in and day out (I work 6 days a week at this hotel) and will be giving these guests all of their info that will make their vacation a success. So, why doesn't this group of guests ever get their tickets from me? I ask one of my British guests one time about it (this one bought tickets from me) and they told me that some Brits are stuck up and like to buy from their "own kind". I don't buy that one. I am good enough to get all these free services from, but not get tickets from? If these guests are so untrusting about buying tickets from their concierge in this 4 star hotel, why are still asking me for advice and info?
Some insight into this would really be helpful. How can I win over all of my guests? ( I posted this on the other community board too )

 

[Night-train]

I think what may be putting them off is the thought of some sort of time-share sell being involved. It's unfortunate but that's, almost without exception, what's come to be associated with most forms of low-priced attraction ticket outlets. Also, there is an ever-growing number of websites who sell proper tickets at very competetive prices and a lot of us will be arriving in Orlando already armed with what we need and not having to worry about ticket costs eating into our holiday budgets. I also think that, being British, some people are probably too 'polite' to give you a simple 'no thanks', and we all like something for nothing too! This is just my opinion but I defy any fellow Brit to tell me I'm totally wrong.

 

[diberry]

My initial guess is that this is what the guests feel they should do - i.e. be loyal to their rep who they probably trust as they've travelled with their firm. I imagine they probably feel a bit wary of a concierge who they probably think is just out to make a buck for the hotel. They take your advice because you are local and know everything there is to know but they somehow feel disloyal giving you their money which they feel the travel company deserve the business. They probably think you are paid by the hotel whether you make sales or not. I'm certainly not aware of how the concierge system works and would feel safer dealing with a travel rep. I don't know how it is in the States but over here cheap tickets often means a bit of a rip-off or not quite trustworthy. Please don't be offended. I'm sure it's nothing personal - you have to explain how the system works because it's different from what we're used to.

 

[Netty]

I agree with night train, they probably think there is time-share involved in it somewhere along the line. Maybe make it clear to your uk customers that this isnt the case at all!

 

[Dimplenose]

Most guidebooks, TV programmes and websites warn that buying tickets cheap may mean that they are no good and to be honest when in a foreign country it can be difficult to work out what is a genuine offer and what is not.

Also a lot of British visitors who have already paid their tour operator for tickets have only received some sort of voucher and need to see their own rep to get it exchanged for a ticket.


Libby

 

[Tron[ADS]]

Im with Night Train pretty much on this one.
Personaly, I always have my tickets already when I get there, having purchased them online in advance, or have days remaining from prior visits.
I will be honest and say that I always think of local hotel/shopfront/restaraunt ticket sellers as either timeshare tie-in sellers and/or second hand ticket sellers (as I know some do buy unused days from departing guests). Back in '96 when I first visited, I was warned about buying 2nd hand tickets from such sellers as the days remaining may not always be what you are told when you are sold - and ever since i have stayed clear of any such seller, and unfortunately, this will include all of the completely reputable sellers, such as the o.p.

 

[Giddy Kipper]

As you will be selling your tickets in dollars, many Brits will not be used to the exchange rate, if you could work out how much they would be in good old English pounds perhaps they would realize how much they would be saving...Especially if you point out the are NOT timeshare related.. also the rep meetings always entice people to go with such things as free dinners(iie Virgin), then you feel obliged to buy tickets from them... Crazy I know

 

[gilld]

Speaking personally, if someone asks me to buy something from them, I won't - I like to make the first move. Maybe others are like me.

 

[SEVANS2208]

Perhaps our view of "concierge" is different too - in many UK hotels the concierge is there to help the guests, book tables, give directions etc but they do not sell things. It could be that your UK customers only expect you to be there to answer their questions, not sell them tickets.

I also agree with the other posts about the timeshare issue and our (sometimes misplaced) loyalty to companies that we already deal with. The idea about giving the price in £ is good too.

These are all quite difficult problems to overcome I imagine, but I wish you the best of luck!

 

[Miffy2003]

I agree with the essence of what has been said here already - and I am really sorry as I know that really doesn't help you a lot.

People invest a lot of money in a trip to Florida and psychologically as well as financially may wish to support the "brand" (for example Virgin) that they have already supported.

The other thing that may or may not be applicable is that some people in the UK are accustomed to "package holidays" in Europe where you are often "spoonfed" by reps as regards attractions, ticket buying etc and if they are used to that maybe they are expecting the same in Florida (ie buying from their holiday rep).

Do you have or are you allowed to have a sign saying that you can sell excellently priced tickets for anyone that needs them?

I do wish you lots of luck

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Ok, thanks for the input. It's helping me to understand. No, I don't do time share, can't stand it and tell my guests to stay away from it. I've heard lots of stories from my British guests about the time share scams in Spain. My tickets are legit. My company buys them in bulk at the sales offices of SeaWorld, Disney, Universal etc and sells them at a profit. My company has been in business for 20 years and we are contracted to many hotels in the Orlando area for ticket sales. If we weren't any good then we wouldn't be allowed to stay in the hotels. I choose to stay at my hotel mainly because I like the guests. I am the only concierge there. There is a timeshare booth in the same hotel (like there is in every hotel in Orlando ) but I distinguish myself from them from the first time someone walks up to me. I wasn't talking about the guests with the prepaid vouchers or the ones that already have tickets. I was talking about the guests that come up to me, tell me they need tickets and I spend 20 plus minutes talking to them and then the rep comes in and gets the sale. (I personally think that some of them are overpriced, I have done the conversions). Plus they are getting personal service that their reps don't provide. I can't tell you how many times I have had someone come and ask me if I have a number to one of the companies because their rep won't answer the phone or didn't show up for a meeting. What kind of service is this?
I am just trying to figure out how to approach this the right way without coming off as being too strong. I want my guests to know that they can come to me for tickets and everything will be ok with it, no strings attached, or no timeshare tours. I never tell anyone that I work off of commission because I don't want anyone to think that I am pushing a ticket on them. I always give them the best ticket that they need. For example, if a family is staying for 14 days, I always recommend the 5 park Flexi ticket because even if you only use it one time at each park, it is still cheaper than buying one day at each park per day, and I will usually follow that up with recommending a smaller Disney ticket like a 3 day hopper or sometimes even a 2 day ticket, because I feel since they have so much with the first ticket that they don't need to be pushed into a huge Disney ticket that they most likely won't use. Most families like to put aside days for shopping and other things like Kennedy Space Center. To the people that purchase tickets they think this is good advice. I am not lacking on sales at all. Like I said earlier, I have the top sales in my company. I am just trying to figure out the hangup some people have with my services. I liked the idea of giving them the price in pounds. Oh, and about the free dinners the reps offer them, I can give them almost half price off of the dinner shows! Thanks again for the advice!

 

[mark&sue]

momof3disneyholics, what hotel are you based at? At least some of the disers here will know where to come for a bargain ticket when they are there next.



Susan

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I didn't want to outright post it, but if you really want to know, you can pm me.

 

[Olaf]

The other thing that may or may not be applicable is that some people in the UK are accustomed to "package holidays" in Europe where you are often "spoonfed" by reps as regards attractions, ticket buying etc and if they are used to that maybe they are expecting the same in Florida (ie buying from their holiday rep).

I really think this is it. I've run in to many Brits at WDW who travel on a package holiday. I always make point of telling them about the Disboards and Simon's book. A little research and advice from the folks around here, and they can save a bundle.

 

[Pigsty333]

But as a US travel agent and from experience, the most recent ones the 4th of July, I have met a lot of UK visitors who paid way too much for their tickets. I even had someone we met at Typhoon Lagoon (nice family of four-mom, dad, and two small children) come to our house and spend some time with us. Talking to them and going over prices, they paid way too much for tickets from reps and companies that do UK based trips.

My husband is from the UK, but has lived here for over 40 yrs. and his niece just stayed with us. She found that she was getting ripped off for her tickets and even the character meals. She could not get over how much money she saved by listening to me and doing pricing that way.

if in doubt and want info on disney tickets, go to the disney uk site.

 

[maureen4200040]

On our first trip to Orlando the guys on the Concerige desk were selling tickets and giving advice for the parks & orlando in general. They were also trying to get guests to go to the Marriot time share.

 

[disney13]

Interesting thread. I'd say that you need to tell people to find out the price from their reps and before they buy come back to you to see if you can beat it (Sounds like you will every time!). Let them know that there isn't any timeshare involved etc. etc.

As for Concierge desks in this country. I work for a very large hotel group in the UK and every one of the concierges sell tickets to shows, tourist attractions etc. A good concierge can get you tickets for absolutely anything.

Andy