Is there a demand for planning services

[ckb_nc]

just back from DisneyLand and a serious WDW vet, which got to me thinking. We kid around my house that my retirement job is to drive the monorail at WDW (still out there). Got to me thinking - could i retire one day to help people plan WDW trips? I remember seeing a SUV advertising this thing around my hometown and wonder if people would pay for this?

 

[Allison]

Pay for it? Probably not many. People can get the information they need on the internet for free or for a small fee (like Touring Plans for $12.95 or so) or by using a Disney travel agent specialist who will help with planning and gets a commission from Disney.

 

[StirlingSilver83]

You should look into starting a travel agency through Disney...I know there are a lot of travel agencies that are always looking for Disney vets to be part of their team. Usually how that works is the client doesn't pay anything for the services, but the travel agent person will handle all the details of their trip and book it and everything. Then Disney will give the travel agency a percentage from that booking, then the owner of the travel agency will keep a certain cut and then you would get the rest. Every place is different, but the 1 place that I looked into a couple months ago...Disney gave the travel agency a 10% cut of the booking fee, then the owner kept like 2 or 3% of that and you walked away with about 7% of the booking fee. Now of course you don't get paid until people go on vacation, but its still something to look into. Google Disney Travel agencies and a lot of times they will have right on their page "work for us" or something like that and that will explain the process.

 

[nkereina]

There are many full service travel agencies, most of which are online only (not storefront), that specialize solely in Disney vacations. Because they are full service, they take care of all the planning aspects as well such as ADRs, FPs, etc. Dreams Unlimited, the sponsor of this board, offers this as well.

Because this is what travel agencies do, I doubt anyone would pay someone a fee to do this. Travel agencies are paid a commission rate from Disney to make the booking, so travel agents are of no cost to the consumer. In order to start your own agency, you have to obtain an IATA number which is only done after you achieve a certain volume. In order to get to that volume, you'd have to work under a sponsoring agency as an independent contractor. There are lots of sponsoring agencies out there advertising for agents to work under them. Some require very little experience, and you usually split the commission with them. I've done this myself, and it's usually up to you to acquire your own business through advertising, word of mouth, etc. I wasn't given leads by the agency. Disney commission is also relatively low, so I didn't make much money either. But for someone who enjoys just helping others with Disney, it can be fun.

 

[tinka-belle]

Just to add that the 10% commission paid to the agency by Disney is after all the taxes (sales tax on tickets, rooms tax) are backed out, so it's not a straight 10% of the entire booking but a little less. Different host agencies will have different commission splits, so make that part of your inquiry to a host agency.

Disney planning often takes time, and your clients will have a lot of questions. Some will make their own ADRs, others want you to make those for them, as well as asking you for dining recommendations, park and ride info, etc. My point is that taken on a one by one basis the actual monetary commission made on a Disney trip is low compared to the time involved that you spend on it. Large agencies make this up in their volume of bookings, but a small business can't get sustained high booking volume. Just adjust your expectations accordingly.

 

[Dave006]

just back from DisneyLand and a serious WDW vet, which got to me thinking. We kid around my house that my retirement job is to drive the monorail at WDW (still out there). Got to me thinking - could i retire one day to help people plan WDW trips? I remember seeing a SUV advertising this thing around my hometown and wonder if people would pay for this?

Just an update to one of your retirement job planning considerations, "driving the monorail". WDW is currently upgrading the Monorail system to be automated aka "Driverless..."... sorry.

Dave

 

[ckb_nc]

Just an update to one of your retirement job planning considerations, "driving the monorail". WDW is currently upgrading the Monorail system to be automated aka "Driverless..."... sorry.

Dave

Well there goes that plan

 

[ArwenMarie]

Do TAs help planning out your days? Like booking FPs etc?

 

[nkereina]

Do TAs help planning out your days? Like booking FPs etc?

Depends on the TA. If you go to an authorized Disney vacation planner that specializes in Disney, they will. Ones that don't specialize in Disney typically won't.