Travel Agent Question

[Lalita]

I am sorry if this is posted in the wrong area. I just booked the dining package today with my travel agent. However, I couln't find my credit card for the $200 deposit, and I didn't know when I was going to find it. So I called and asked if I could call and phone in my credit cad number myself and she said I can go ahead and do that. Well I just called and pay the $200 deposit for my package and was given the dollar amount. It was several hundered dollars less than what was orignally quoted. Is it because they are giving me the price that the travel agent percentage. Can anyone tell me how much percentage travel agents get? Could this be the reason why the price remaining on my balance is less than what the travel agent quoted me? Please help, I actually try calling back and they won't tell me a thing. I mean why would they take my credit card number from me and charge me, and then when I called they won't tell me anything? All I want to know is the package type just in case my travel agent book the wrong package but they won't even disclose to me what type of package it is. Please help!!!!!!!!!!11

 

[Rhonda]

Maybe you could call your TA and ask them. Just tell them that when you paid the $200 deposit, CRO gave you a different balance than what the TA gave you. Let them know you are just asking, to make sure everything is correct on the reservation.

I'm sure they will be able to explain the discrepancy!

 

[pamouselover]

TA's usally get 10 to 20 percent, but it depends on what they are booking and who they are booking with. It would not be taken off of your balance.
Disney mails them a check at a later time. So I am a bit worried for you,
I would call as it could be a mistake with reservations.

 

[lvloopingbag]

Technically, I don't think Disney is supposed to let you do your own deposit if you made the reservation with a TA. The TA should make the deposit. If you made the reservation yesterday, it should have been held for 14 days I think...

 

[Lalita]

Thanks for all your reply. I kind of regret booking my package with her. The CM told me that TA should have been the one that should have gotten my credit card number and called herself. I mean I didn't mind at all, calling in myself, but since they can't disclose any information its very frustarting. Now I don't even know what kind of package it is. And the package I want expries this July 3rd.

I can't call my TA since the travel agency is not open on Sunday. So I don't know what to do. Guess I have to go on Monday and confirm everything. Thanks for all your help, I know I wanted to ask something else, but can't seem to remember what it is.

 

[SueEllen]

First of all the CM should not have taken the credit card information from you, nor given you any pricing information. When you book through a travel agent Disney is not allowed to disclose anything to you other than to verify the package (dates, resort, package type)

Your TA should have definitley made the deposit for you herself. If you are booking the free dining offer, yes it has to be held by today. If you are truly concerned that you do not have the type of package you requesed why don't you call CRO and get another CM to confirm the package details. That way if it is truly not what you wanted you can hold the free dining package today before it is no longer offered (and they will place it on a complimentary 24 hour hold.)

pamouselover--I wish TA's received 20% commission. Disney pays 10% based on the pre-tax amount of the room/package, and if it is a package it might not be 10% of the package depending on what park tickets are added. Tickets are commissioned differently.

Sue Ellen

 

[Lalita]

First of all the CM should not have taken the credit card information from you, nor given you any pricing information. When you book through a travel agent Disney is not allowed to disclose anything to you other than to verify the package (dates, resort, package type)

Well she won't even tell me the package type. She said its policy she can't tell me anything, she put me on hold for like 10 mintues and said she just checked over the policy again and she can't disclose anything about the package. I mean thats just dumb, i just want to know the name of the package, then I tried asking her if it included dining and she said she couldn't tell me.


Thanks for all the recommendation and help, I am going to give disney another call.
-----

lol that was a short phone call , the CM told me that she can't even up it up on the computer that they use different system and she told me to call the TA.

 

[Rhonda]

lol that was a short phone call , the CM told me that she can't even up it up on the computer that they use different system and she told me to call the TA.

That's so weird. Did she mean that she's on a different computer system than your TA? She should still be able to pull your reservation up on the computer and give you the specifics!

 

[Lalita]

That's so weird. Did she mean that she's on a different computer system than your TA? She should still be able to pull your reservation up on the computer and give you the specifics!

Yes she said that she's on a different sytem than the TA. Which I know is untrue, cause when I called yesterday they were able to pull it up for me to pay the deposit. I guess I should have asked the first CM I talked to but then I really had no doubts about the package I booked, she gave me the total remaining, I wrote it down, and then realize once I got off the phone that there was a price differnce. And then called back, and the CM wouldn't tell me anything .

 

[fam4jc]

You could try to pull up your reservation at disneyworld.com. That way you could see what it contains.

Did you ta quote you with tax? Did she actually make your reservation then give you the quote? I know lots of ta's "ball park" the numbers. My office requires us to make an acutal reservation before quoting anything - especially Disney. Disney is notorious for making mistakes after switching to the new computer system.

My guess is either Disney booked you into the wrong room or resort, that they gave you base passes instead of hoppers, or some other booking error and your TA didn't double check her faxed confirmation (or she hasn't recieved it yet). This is why I always book it, then quote it.

 

[SueEllen]

Lalita,
I would call back and ask for guest services. Tell them you just want to verify the package booked. They can indeed verifiy the information for you.

Just to put your mind at ease--if all of your payments are made directly to Disney and not payable to the Travel Agent you can be assured that the rate you are paying is what Disney is charging for the reservation.

I hope you get it resolved.
Sue Ellen

 

[TN Traveler]

Lalita,
Hi, I'm a travel agent. I work from my home and specialize in cruises, honeymoons and family vacations--including Disney. I book packages for people all the time. When I get the deposit of $200, I immediately call it into Disney and then type up a confirmation for my client and detail everything out so we both understand we are on the same page. If you booked your pkg through a travel agent and then she let you call in the deposit, she's not a very good travel agent. Part of being a good TA is providing good service to your clients. It's what keep your clients coming back and also what gets you referrals. Travel agents make only 10% on Disney bookings before taxes. We do not get commission on dinning plans or any other special pkgs or services they may provide. It's different w/cruises and tour packages b/c the commission then is based on your volumne of sales. Regardless if I sale 40 trips or 1 trip to Disney, I still make only 10%...and that's through all tour companies.

You mentioned in your first posting that you paid for your deposit w/the dinning plan but it wasn't on your statement. Two things could have happened here. First depending on when you made your deposit and when you checked on your credit card statement, it may not have been posted yet altho it's been called in. I know when I call in credit card payments on cruises sometimes it will take 3 or 4 business days for it to hit statements. 2ndly, the dinning plan will not come up as a seperate charge. Your travel agent should send you a confirmation that says something like "your package includes x nts, x days for 2 adts 2 children staying at Your Resort, The complimentary Dinning Plan, 6 days Premium tickets w/Hopper feature, all hotel and park ticket taxes. Total package price is $XXXX.00. Deposit of $200 charged to your Visa ending in XXXX, balance of $$$$ is due month, day, 2005." Or something similar to that. They should also have offered you cancellation insurance and whether you accepted or declined it w/details concerning either direction. Not all TAs do things this way, but I do and have been doing it this way for 10 yrs. I also have my clients sign a paper that states I offered them cancellation insurance and whether they accepted or declined it. If I have someone taking a cruise or going out of the country...say to Cancun, then I have them read in detail what ID is required to leave the US and sign it. This way they can't come back to me and say "Well you didn't tell me this" or "if I had known I could have cancellation insurance I would have taken it" or whatever. It's kind of a way to cover my tail as well as my clients. We are human and all of us make mistakes so this is just one way to make sure we're together and understand each other.

Call your TA Tuesday, and just ask her for a confirmation on what was booked and get it in writing. She should not be offended at all and will appreciate you taking the time to make sure all is ok.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

Best of luck to you!!

Karen

 

[Lalita]

Thanks for all your help, I really appercite it. Well I went yesterday to the TA, and the price difference they gave me was really the cut that the TA gets for commision. Cause her total was the same total she told me before I called in my credit card number. And she had printed a confirmation of the deposit and of the package we booked, so I guess its all good. I did find out that I could change my resort and still get the dining package.

I think I had another post in the forums here about changing resorts after booking the package. Well it turns out that you can change your resort without losing the special dining package. But when she called there was no availablity for The Polyasian and The Willderness so she said she was going to keep on trying. Disney said they were all booked up. So hopefully by tomorrow when i go back to the TA to book , plane tickets she will have good news to me. I just not to excited about staying at POR.


Again thanks for all the response!!