My second "I hate CAA rant"

[maxie]

When talking to the WDTC last night the CM advised to get a quote from CAA as well. Didn't tell her I tried to do this 2 weeks ago and that they're useless.

Any how phoned CAA first thing this morning. This was the conversation.

Me: I would like to get a quote on a DL package.
CA: There are no packages for DL. I can get you prices on hotels and passes.
Me: There are 2005 packages available. I was talking to a CM at the WDTC last night. I do have the quote from them. Actually they advised me to get a quote from CAA.
CAA: Talking to who..
Me: A cast member
CAA: What's that?
Me: Disney employees are called cast members
CAA: Oh,,,,Okay I can phone them and ask about packages..
Me: Okay - we are going to be at DL from Jan 31-Feb4. We want 2 seperate quotes. The first one is for the Paradise Pier, with a 4 day PH and the 4 day dining plan. The second is for the Carousel Inn and Suites with 4 day PH and the 4 day dining plan.
CAA: A dining plan?
Me: Yes, DL offers an optional dining plan with their packages.
CAA: Okay I'll phone you back.


Phones me back hour later:

CAA: WDW says they've never heard of the Paradise or the Carousel.
Me: No it's for DL not WDW,
CAA: Oh..and you sure that they have packages..
MeSigh...)

And nope she hasn't called me back yet.

 

[chico]

Maxie,

Make sure, when you call CAA, to ask for a Disney specialist - usually each CAA travel branch has someone who handles the Disney ressies.

I'd call again...

Good Luck!

Reid

 

[maxie]

Is was talking to both the Empress and the McPhillips street locations and neither of them had a Disney specialist on staff. Is there really one employed by CAA anywhere?

 

[chico]

Try the St Anne's location - I've had good success there in the past.

Can't remember the person's name though...

Good Luck!

 

[mom_rules]

I'm in Ontario - My CAA branch has three-one worked at WDW for a couple of years , the other on DCL. All in all they are pretty good but I'm often the one telling them what to do.

 

[StuartMI]

Your CAA rep needs to find another line of work.

 

[SKFamily]

I'd be finding another way to book. The first go - round with CAA would have finished me on that option.

 

[DonDuck Fan]

Hi, I have used the St. Anns branch too. to some success.
I have used Elaine Furukawa she works at this Branch for our upcoming WDW tip.

Ya need to keep checking on how things are going. But she is very friendly, and if she doesn't know she will evently check.

Just thought I would pass it on

DDF

 

[RoyalCanadian]

In 15 years I have found 1 travel agent worth the title -- I'd use her still, but it's a 90 minute drive one-way to Hanover from here. I have handed over massive commissions to travel agents in the days before E-ticket travel simply to print a ticket for me; I have had travel agents completely foul up emergency train reservations (forgot to add my frequent traveller number, only gave me half of the tickets for travel and had to Expresspost the return ticket to my location in Ottawa); they have booked the wrong rail passes; neglected to book admission passes (cost me an additional shipping charge to book it myself) and generally they have demonstrated complete ignorance about the products advertised in the glossy brochures which surround them.

 

[StuartMI]

Well, you know what they say if you want something done right!

 

[pampam]

I have found that lately all TA's want to do is sell you a package. Very few will put together an air -hotel package and when they do, it seems a lot more expensive then the price I figured out. The TA'a in our area are nice enough, but they don't seem very knowlegeable. If I phone a TA ouside of the area, they only seem to push pre packaged vacations.

 

[maxie]

Over a week later and CAA has yet to phone me back with a quote!

 

[Amberle3]

pampam, the reason most agents try and sell a package is because we like to actually get paid for the work we do. Unless your TA is charging you a fee to make your booking, the only money that's made is off commission.

There are very few airlines that pay commission, right now the only ones that go to the US that pay commission are Westjet and Jetsgo.

It's a royal pain trying to get commission payments from hotels. I don't have my stats in front of me, but I'm still waiting for something like 25% of the commissions owed from last year (which I'll never see) and over 50% from this year. Imagine your salary being cut in half by 50%, and you'll understand why TAs like to go with the guaranteed commission.

Aside from that, the package usually works out to be cheaper. Not always these days with the dollar doing relatively well, but keep in mind that packages you book in Canada with a Canadian TA are almost always in Canadian funds, and when you book things separately you're paying in US funds for the hotel etc. If the dollar takes a dive, your trip is suddenly much more expensive. Also many people forget to take into account things like the hotel taxes, phone charges etc that are added on to the bill when comparing the pricing to a package.

3 quick things to note also:
- The commissions I'm due aren't from little places like MomNPops Inn, they're from Radisson and Fairmont and the like. So no you can't trust the big name places to pay either.
- Most often when you're booked with a package, the tour op that you're booked with has a local rep in the destination area. This is especially true for places like Disneyland, WDW, etc. That means that if something goes wrong and the hotel is not up to par or you have other problems with your arrangements, then your TA calls the tour op, who either calls the local rep or the TA calls the local rep, and the local rep straightens things out for you. FunSun for instance is responsible for thousands upon thousands of hotel bookings at both DL and WDW each year. The hotels are more likely to cooperate with FunSun than with RandomTraveller so that they don't lose those bookings. The tour ops can - and do - drop hotels that have fallen below standards in terms of upkeep or service.
- A TA should never put his/her own commission above getting the best pricing for you. But keep in mind that a TA pushing a package may also be doing so because it's actually in your best interest. If you have any concerns about it, please ask your TA why they're recommending a package instead of separate bookings!

 

[RoyalCanadian]

Originally posted by StuartMI
Well, you know what they say if you want something done right!

And let the choir say -- AMEN!!!
However, every now and then I get lulled into a false sense of security and will actually consider using a TA who has allowed me to ransack their racks of brochures for travel ideas and then I get burned.

Fortunately, I've been planning most of my most imminent European trip myself -- when schedules needed to change, I was able to cancel hotels and rebook other hotels within about 30 minutes online. It took my TA about 2.5 hours to book 3 Eurostar tkts and 3 British Rail passes -- something I could have done in 5 minutes. I know there is a lot of travel info for TAs to know -- but I do expect them to have a basic understanding of what is available in the brochures they are distributing. All too often I find I know a great deal more about the travel options the TA is trying to sell than the TA sitting behind the desk. The sad part is when the TA's lack of knowledge impacts upon others who have not taken the time to educate themselves about their options or don't have the ability or resources to do so.

Oh well -- so far, our January trip to WDW is entirely my own booking with bookings through DVC-MS and SWA. Throw in a hotel booking at HIEX @ BUF, some PS calls to WDW-DINE, and some PHPs from Disney meetings and we're good to go. No problems there and no need to even look at a TA for this trip.