Vacation Planner?

[laundry]

Hello everyone! Anybody got any info on how competitive this role is for the CP? What kind of questions are asked in the interview for this? I would like to make a potential career out of my role so I'd like to get this, concierge, or hospitality - but of course I realize that makes these the most competitive roles!

Any help or advise would be appreciated, thank you!

 

[laundry]

For that matter, anyone have advice on any of those roles' interviews? Concierge is a competitive one too, right?

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

I can't speak to the competitiveness of various roles, or to the current CP interview process, but I can offer a few questions that were asked in my (FT) Concierge interview:

- How would you deal with a guest who is upset about their room location?
- How would you solve the problem for a guest who complained that they lost their camera with all their photos from their Character Breakfast?
- Are you able to multi-task, and make conversation with guests while also using the computer?
- What is the most important thing hotel staff can do for their guests?

 

[laundry]

I can't speak to the competitiveness of various roles, or to the current CP interview process, but I can offer a few questions that were asked in my (FT) Concierge interview:

- How would you deal with a guest who is upset about their room location?
- How would you solve the problem for a guest who complained that they lost their camera with all their photos from their Character Breakfast?
- Are you able to multi-task, and make conversation with guests while also using the computer?
- What is the most important thing hotel staff can do for their guests?

Thank you so much! Yeah, that is a big help and those questions would make sense for the role. I think I can come up with an answer for them other than the camera thing, that's rough. Is that a situation that's come up and what do you do or say in that instance?

 

[eadavis]

Thank you so much! Yeah, that is a big help and those questions would make sense for the role. I think I can come up with an answer for them other than the camera thing, that's rough. Is that a situation that's come up and what do you do or say in that instance?

Whenever a guest loses something in the park, direct them to guest relations to fill out a Lost and Found claims card. If in the resort, there is a card to fill out for the guest. Also a hotline to call.


Having been a Vacation Planner on my CP, you will have to learn a new computer software very quickly and be able to completely understand Disney Ticket Media and all of the options available. As a vacation planner, you will be handling large sums of money, be required to know everything about the park, and be focused not only on your personal sales, but making sure you take care of the guest.

Seem daunting? Not really, there and numerous resources to help you along the way in addition to advisors whose sole purpose is to help you make sales with your guests by giving you pointers.

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Thank you so much! Yeah, that is a big help and those questions would make sense for the role. I think I can come up with an answer for them other than the camera thing, that's rough. Is that a situation that's come up and what do you do or say in that instance?

I never had that exact situation come up, but in thinking about a possible answer to the question, it's not just about the camera, it's also about the memories. So, with that in mind, other than the lost and found card, here are some other things you might want to consider:
- Get the guest a disposable camera or 2 for the rest of their vacation, or arrange for them to get a free photopass picture.
- Try and arrange another opportunity for them to meet with characters and get some new pictures.

Partnership is always a good thing to try to throw into some of your interview answers. Maybe if you were interviewing for a spot at a hotel that has a character dining experience, you'd say that you'd work with the restaurant management to get the guest a reservation for a replacement character meal.

As far as the sales side of things, as a concierge, there are no sales goals or quotas. Occasionally, there might be some contests or other chances for you to win prizes. I remember one week we had a promotion involving Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets. Everyone who sold a party ticket during that week was invited to a pizza lunch at the end of the week, courtesy of the managers. Other times, the "Inside Sales" team might come by and ask everyone a trivia question, and the people who answered right get a pen or something.

For the Vacation Planners, I know they have more formalized sales goals and incentive programs. However, don't focus just on the sales part. One of my friends who works as a VP says that she doesn't even worry about the targets, she just listens to the guests, and tries to understand their needs, and help them get the right ticket for their vacation, and the sales take care of themselves.

 

[laundry]

This is all excellent information, thanks guys! I will complete my WBI this afternoon and am hoping so bad for concierge, hospitality, or vacation planner. I know those 3 are all so competitive but hopefully it will work out!

 

[stitchlovestink]

I never had that exact situation come up, but in thinking about a possible answer to the question, it's not just about the camera, it's also about the memories. So, with that in mind, other than the lost and found card, here are some other things you might want to consider:
- Get the guest a disposable camera or 2 for the rest of their vacation, or arrange for them to get a free photopass picture.
- Try and arrange another opportunity for them to meet with characters and get some new pictures.

Partnership is always a good thing to try to throw into some of your interview answers. Maybe if you were interviewing for a spot at a hotel that has a character dining experience, you'd say that you'd work with the restaurant management to get the guest a reservation for a replacement character meal.

As far as the sales side of things, as a concierge, there are no sales goals or quotas. Occasionally, there might be some contests or other chances for you to win prizes. I remember one week we had a promotion involving Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets. Everyone who sold a party ticket during that week was invited to a pizza lunch at the end of the week, courtesy of the managers. Other times, the "Inside Sales" team might come by and ask everyone a trivia question, and the people who answered right get a pen or something.

For the Vacation Planners, I know they have more formalized sales goals and incentive programs. However, don't focus just on the sales part. One of my friends who works as a VP says that she doesn't even worry about the targets, she just listens to the guests, and tries to understand their needs, and help them get the right ticket for their vacation, and the sales take care of themselves.

Where do VPs work??

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

Where do VPs work??

Vacation Planners work at the ticket booths outside of each park (AK, HS, EP), or at the Transportation and Ticket Center (MK)

 

[ShaeDoingDisney]

Hey! OP probably already had her phone interview, but for anyone else who is curious, I am a current Hospitality (Front Desk) CP at the All Star Resorts. All of the roles you are interested are pretty selective & small. Just the fact that they are small roles, I think, makes them competitive. From my experience, most of the CPs I meet in the Hospitality roles (Front Desk & Concierge) either have prior work experience in a hotel or are studying Hospitality in school. So if you have either of those, definitely play that up in an interview. It's not impossible to get a hospitality role without education or work experience, it's just much more common with it.

This role is 100% about guest service and guest service recovery. We have to not only provide our guests with the best service possible, but also fix other people's mistakes. Like if a guest comes back from the parks unhappy, for any reason, we are the people that fix it and make them happy whatever way we can. It's a very challenging role and we have a lot of responsibility. We learn Disney's reservation system and are expected to have a lot of product knowledge about our resort and all of Walt Disney World. You HAVE to be comfortable working with guests even when they are yelling at you (and trust me, they yell, A LOT). You spend a lot of time training but honestly, the training is never done, you get different guest situations every day so you must be adaptable and work well under pressure.

Lastly, I too am trying to turn my CP role into a career; it's very important to talk to your leaders and coordinators early on to let them know your goals. I was told that being a Hospitality/COncierge CP or a VP, it is harder to stay in your role after your program because it is a competitive role for regular part time and full time CMs as well. It's based partially on availability of positions and partially on your performance during your program (e.g.: if your leaders really like you, they may fight harder to keep you after your program).

Good luck! And if anyone has any questions about the Front Desk role, let me know! I truly love it!