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Brought to you by...
John and Donna Gross "The Full Mickey - At a Discount!" The Wall Street Journal
NOTE: News sources remove their articles rather quickly. If you receive a "File Not Found" error message, search the source's archives for the story. I am now posting the URL in its entirety to make it easier to track down the original article and avoid dead links. Be sure to copy and paste the entire URL in your web browser's address window. Certain news organizations require a free registration to view their articles online.
A member writes: "Your book was extremely useful for the last trip my family made to Florida. It was our second trip, and we saved a lot of money compared to our first. We have decided that we will be moving to Orlando next year. Our teenagers want to get a job at one of the parks (of course)! Any advice on getting a job, or which park to apply to? Also, do you know if park employees get special ticket prices, etc?" Employees get a 50% discount on hotels and free theme park admission. For more insider tips, see our book, "Secrets To An Affordable Walt Disney World® Vacation."
Christina writes about cheap places for Disney castmembers to live: "I am looking to move to Orlando. Me and my friend Amy are from England and were currently working as singer/dancers in Macau. We have made the decision we would like our next step to be disney. We were just wondering if you could help us at all by giving us some accommodation areas to live in. We have checked out some websites already but wondered if you could give us any advice on the cheapest places and as to where the cast members of disney are staying. Thank you" Christina, you can start your search here.
Tourism: Theme parks gear up seasonal
hiring
Disney hotel union plans hunger strike
Disney Vacation Club cuts base pay for front line sales staff
Extras still needed for Disney movie
BRCC brings Disney Institute to Weyers Cave
Finding the 'Dream' Internship with Disney
Master sommelier John Blazon among those in Walt Disney World layoffs;
v.p. Rosemary Rose gone too
Disney Retirement
Disney plans layoffs, streamlining as economy eats into revenue
Walt Disney Restructures Theme Parks, Cuts Jobs
Universal trimming employees' hours
Disney offers buyouts to 619 executives amid tourism slump
At Walt Disney World, even the new employee medical clinic is bound to
have a few Disney-like flourishes.
Thanks to an internship program at Oregon Coast Community College,
aquarium science students are working at The Sea with Nemo and Friends.
Beth, our travel agent, writes about the travel agent business: "About once a month someone tells me they've been thinking about becoming a travel agent. My response is always the same: Why? Don't get me wrong. I love my job, and the fact that I specialize in cruising, Disney, and luxury properties - products that rarely produce unhappy customers - makes it even better. I've been in the industry for 23 years now (with just brief breaks from time to time), and I wouldn't still be doing it if I didn't find it both enjoyable AND profitable enough to put food on the table. As a divorced mom, I also find that being self-employed allows me the flexibility I need to get everything done. I'm a lucky woman! Being a travel agent does not, however, provide one with the glamorous and exciting life that many people seem to envision. At least 75% of the people that tell me they are considering being a travel agent do so after hearing about YTB. They are enticed by the prospect of not only earning money by selling friends and family travel, but also getting very low priced - or even free - travel opportunities for themselves. They all seem to have visions of putting in a few hours a week and, in return, earning some extra pocket money AND taking their family on a super-cheap cruise vacation next summer. What's not to love??!! But lets look at YTB a little more closely. According to their website, 99.65% of their representatives earned an average of less than $1900 per year. 80.92% earned nothing at all. The average annual income of all reps was $299.95, and the median income was $97. Now, you need to earn at least $5000 a year and work a verifiable 20 hours a week to get an IATAN card, considered the industry's leading type of identification identification and the ONLY way to qualify for many of the low-cost agent trips (called 'fam' trips, short for 'familiarization'). Under half a percent of all YTB reps earned that card - and every single one of them worked an average of 40 hours a week or more. Hmmmm.... Not exactly the picture that your neighbor was painting for you when trying to sign you up, huh? I'm only using YTB because it's the organization I hear the most about from clients, but there are several of them out there and the story is always the same. Folks, it's a great job to have, but it's a job like any other. To be successful it takes years to build the business, and a LOT of hard work. I usually put in seven days a week and average about 60-70 hours. It's commissioned sales and you don't get paid until the clients travel and the agency receives the check (and takes their cut off the top) so I never know from one month to the next how much I'm going to make until I submit a commission request. About 25% of every check is immediately set aside for the IRS. (You get to be VERY good at money management!) And as for all those great travel opportunities, the last discount on airfare I got was in 1992. I do get plenty of hotel discounts, but the rate is typically half off the full rack rate. Sometimes the AAA or promotional rate is better. I had a shot at a free week for two in Tuscany last summer with Adventures by Disney... but it didn't include the airfare (over $3000), and gratuities and spending money were also additional. Just as well since I couldn't take a week off anyway. In fact, I pretty much never go anywhere that doesn't have internet access, and my laptop is the first piece of luggage I pack. Walking away from email access for a week or more is the kiss of death in this business! Like I said, please don't misunderstand. I have dabbled in other industries and I always come back to travel. It's what I love, and I'm going to keep doing it. I'm good at it, I know my products, and I'm confident that I can help people plan great vacations. Maybe you can be good at it, too.
Being a home-based travel agent might be the answer to your prayers. You
need to approach it as a real job, though. Set aside a dedicated part of
your home as office space. Be prepared to put in 20+ hours a week if you're
serious about it, and don't expect to make more than a few hundred dollars
the first six months. Sign up for every industry publication and read them
cover to cover religiously. Take every online training course you can, and
then choose just a few things to specialize in. (No travel agent can be really
good at selling the whole world.) Join industry organizations that give you
lots of support and the chance to meet and learn from others in the business.
Avoid joining groups that want you to recruit others as agents. And then
go for it. I, for one, think there's always room for another awesome travel
agent! Also read this article: |
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