Talk to me about becoming a Disney travel agent

[Tink113]

Not sure where to post this but for 10+ years I have been “selling” people on booking a Disney cruise or parks trip & I’ve decided it’s beyond time I just become an agent. Lol

I tend to help them plan their whole trip. Just this year I’ve talked 3 neighbors into multi-generational cruise trips!

So … give me to good, the bad, and the ugly.
I’m a stay at home mom and this could be a good side hustle.

1. What kind of money do you make?
2. What kinds of quotas are there?
3. What perks or benefits do you get for yourself or your family trips?
4. How do I get started?
5. Can I just open shop on my own or do I need to hook up with a company?
6. What else should I know??

 

[PoppyJ]

I'd be interested if a current travel agent would be willing to share their experience.

I had the same interest and spoke with a Disney travel agency about joining.

From what I remember, most vendors including Disney pay a 10% commission. Then I would receive 7% of that, with the agency keeping the other 3%. So effectively, you would be receiving 7% commission on trips you book.

The travel agent I spoke to booked an average of 3 trips per month. Being very conservative, I estimated an average trip costs $6,000. So $6,000 x 3 trips per month x 7% = $1,260 per month in commission. Didn't seem worth it to me.

The person I spoke to was also the owner of the travel agency so she does other things to. She wasn't able to provide me with numbers but she said she has agents who just book their own trips and their family's trips and that's all they do. And then she has agents who book way more trips than she does. There is no required quota but you are responsible for getting your own business. So you can really go either way. The benefit to you and your family is that if you book your own trip, you still get commission on that, so you would be getting 7% off your trip I guess.

This particular person started off working for an agency then went off on her own and started her own agency. If you have interest, I would suggest speaking with someone at a travel agency you trust.

 

[Tink113]

Thanks!

Would love to hear more

 

[_19disnA]

Think you can search around for older threads on this topic since it comes up every so often. Most everyone has a computer and can make their own reservations where in the past travel agents were able to do things the typical person could not (i.e. print paper airline tickets). Also involves a lot of your time if someone has issues when on vacation. I would assume most travel companies make arrangements for MANY vacation destinations, not just Disney. As mentioned above, I don't think you would make nearly as much money as you think, especially if you specialize in only arranging Disney related trips and had to find your own clients.

 

[Genie+]

You’ll first need to become a certified travel agent, then complete the College of Disney Knowledge training.

Here’s a recent quick rundown - https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/travel/how-to-become-a-disney-travel-agent

 

[Dakota731]

Think you can search around for older threads on this topic since it comes up every so often. Most everyone has a computer and can make their own reservations where in the past travel agents were able to do things the typical person could not (i.e. print paper airline tickets). Also involves a lot of your time if someone has issues when on vacation. I would assume most travel companies make arrangements for MANY vacation destinations, not just Disney. As mentioned above, I don't think you would make nearly as much money as you think, especially if you specialize in only arranging Disney related trips and had to find your own clients.

Agreed. We, like most people nowadays, haven’t used a travel agent in twenty years. Everything is so easy to book online. If you just want a hobby then fine, but if you want an income out of it then it may be risky especially when you have to pay to become an agent.

 

[barkley]

Agreed. We, like most people nowadays, haven’t used a travel agent in twenty years. Everything is so easy to book online. If you just want a hobby then fine, but if you want an income out of it then it may be risky especially when you have to pay to become an agent.

in addition to the cost of becoming an agent there would be the additional cost of professional indemnity insurance as well as errors and omissions insurance if you are going to be independant vs. working for a company (a million years ago when i worked in the hotel industry i recall that was a big cost consideration when successful travel agents were considering jumping ship from the companies they worked for to being independant contractors).

 

[gottalovepluto]

And then there is the personal aspect- how are you going to feel when your friends/neighbors trips go bad or they feel they got ripped off and they blame you knowing you made money off them? How are you gonna feel when they book a trip through you, you do all the leg work and at the last minute they cancel it and rebook the identical trip through Orbitz or something because they’ll save $50 over booking with you?

These things happen, being a TA is not easy.

 

[StitchesGr8Fan]

You don’t get paid until after the trip is over. Oftentimes you will do hours of work and then they either don’t book or cancel. If you do the math on what you make per hour, it’s sad.

Starting out you will need to hook up with an agency. You will have to drum up your own leads though. They don’t provide them. The whole reason they want to work with you is so that you bring them more business, as they get a cut of your commissions.

Disney didn’t have quotas when I did it, but you had to do a certain amount of sales each period to qualify for any perks. Different agencies might have quotas to meet to stay affiliated with them.

You need to be available to hop online or on the phone when a promo drops, or a cruise gets cancelled, or party tickets open up. Agencies tell you that there is a balance, but the reality is your customers want to talk to you, not some other agent when they need something.

Like others have said, it is a dying profession (because the customer base is literally aging and dying) because most people book online. The ROI of the time you spend generating leads, quoting out trips, booking things, and doing customer service is not worth the measly 5% of the 1 trip you book out of the 5 you quoted.

I lasted less than a year. It wasn’t worth the time or the effort.

 

[Rogue1677x]

My experience as a travel agent for 2 1/2 years...it was miserable work, the agency I worked for didn't provide me with any travel benefits (or benefits at all....even if I got an opportunity to travel for work, it would have been unpaid, that's how they were).

While the agency itself didn't specialize in Disney travel, I did book some trips for people, usually just hotels and air separate. Commissions were low, so I certainly wasn't making much off of those bookings.

When I started there, this was at the beginning of online travel tools like Travelocity and such, so it's definitely been a while. But in the 24 years since I've left, technology has evolved so much, many people have found comfort and resources to book their vacations themselves.

 

[halfpintpeggy]

It sounds as though helping others plan Disney trips is a hobby which brings you joy!
In my opinion - if you’re willing to look at it as a side hustle, why not?

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

And then there is the personal aspect- how are you going to feel when your friends/neighbors trips go bad or they feel they got ripped off and they blame you knowing you made money off them?

Just to pile on to this: How are you going to feel booking a deluxe resort at retail rates knowing you could get it for significantly less via a DVC rental? I'd feel a dirty getting a commission on someone else's trip knowing I would utilize a tricks like that to pay way less.

 

[Karin1984]

It is interesting that you go immediately to money and perks.

Do you have the experience and the (people) skills for a service position job?
Can you handle angry customers or those with very high expectations?
Do you know what questions to ask in general and to go the extra mile?

Besides "what's in it for me" look at "whats in it for the customer".
How do you plan to attract customers, what makes you different between the thousands of other TAs?

When I see questions like this I always wonder if people just want to jump into it for the perks, without thinking it through. Their first message often sounds like not thinking it through, at least.

 

[tampabrat22]

Lots of training & time on the computer and phone doing quotes and talking to customers for very little return. It can take years to build u enough clientele to make it worthwhile.

For instance I worked with a family reunion group for 20 months booking over 75 cabins on a cruise. Almost every day (for over 20 months including nights, weekends and even major holidays) I received emails, calls or texts from guests asking questions, wanting quotes and needing help. Keep in mind we had a group chat, weekly emails, paperwork with lots of info sent to them and a FB group were tons of info was posted but people don't read. After the split with my host agency, I barely made $2k in commision. So if you break it down, for a years worth of work I made like $3 an hour. You really have to be into it for passion and not money.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Lots of training & time on the computer and phone doing quotes and talking to customers for very little return. It can take years to build u enough clientele to make it worthwhile.

For instance I worked with a family reunion group for 20 months booking over 75 cabins on a cruise. Almost every day (for over 20 months including nights, weekends and even major holidays) I received emails, calls or texts from guests asking questions, wanting quotes and needing help. Keep in mind we had a group chat, weekly emails, paperwork with lots of info sent to them and a FB group were tons of info was posted but people don't read. After the split with my host agency, I barely made $2k in commision. So if you break it down, for a years worth of work I made like $3 an hour. You really have to be into it for passion and not money.

DCL’s commission ranges from 10% - 16%. DCL’s commission able rate is pretty close to what’s posted on DCL for the fare (exclusive of port taxes and fees). Even if each cabin yielded $3,000, the lowest commission rate for the agency rate would be $22,500 (and the sale would push them into a higher bracket the following year).

If your total compensation was $3,000, the host agency screwed you (welcome to America in 2024) but they certainly made out.

 

[rdaky]

It's not a good side hustle for most stay at home moms. I know several women who have tried it for the same reasons and all but one quit. The one who remains has a decent client base and people are constantly recommending her because they had a successful trip. And she's a nice person but you know how she gets her sales... she upsells. She'll convince you that you need the dining plan or that you need a more expensive resort or simply that you need the better location so you don't have to walk as far. And people do it because they don't know any better and they trust her. It's really like a lot of MLM type jobs. It's a lot of work and most people aren't making a lot of money but the few who are, are the ones who make it seem enticing.

I absolutely love helping my friends plan Disney trips. And I also sleep well at night knowing that I'm just giving advice and I'm not holding their reservation or actually the one responsible for booking their dinners. And I'm honest with people. I don't think the dining plan is a good deal for most families and if I think you can get a better deal off property, I'm going to tell you that. I'd rather be honest with people and help everyone to have the best vacation within their budget than to try to make money off of them doing something that they are completely capable of doing on their own.

 

[tampabrat22]

DCL’s commission ranges from 10% - 16%. DCL’s commission able rate is pretty close to what’s posted on DCL for the fare (exclusive of port taxes and fees). Even if each cabin yielded $3,000, the lowest commission rate for the agency rate would be $22,500 (and the sale would push them into a higher bracket the following year).

If your total compensation was $3,000, the host agency screwed you (welcome to America in 2024) but they certainly made out.

This group was not on a Disney ship it was MSC (way cheaper product). But when I sell Disney cruises the NON commissionable portion of the fare is pretty high and our agency is at 16%. I have never seen a $3K (or even a $2K) commision unless it is on suites or above, which I've never booked.