Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
This is bad! They are not making the best use of their maintenance fees!!
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Is attendance really down at WDW this or…
- Thread starter coachb
- Start date
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
I am unaware of how TAs make their money but my vague understanding is that the seller/park/airline/car rental/hotel/excursion company pays the TA a commission for the booking after travel is done? Does reducing the cost of the trip cut into those commissions? What is the incentive to find the discounts?
Another poster a few pages back mentioned that rebooking earned the TA a bigger fee? I've never used one so I am out of touch.
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
In the case of Disney, there’s a “commission” built into every Disney reservation made. So when you book directly through Disney, they just keep it. I don’t know exactly how TAs that specialize in disney earn their commission. I don’t think it would be an incentive for them to get the guest a discount, but I think that they do it for the guest. They want to have good word of mouth and have the guest use them again.
What my TA has lost in commission via room discounts she has more than made up in repeat bookings. They do it to build a loyal customer base knowing that they may lose $100 or so on a trip but they’ll make it up in repeat bookings.
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
The old "make it up in volume" model to foster customer satisfaction gambit. Has anyone told Bob?
MagicHappens1971
Well-Known Member
As if any real changes that would help guests would even cost the company enough to “make it up”
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
They count the popcorn sales don't they. X pounds in = X mickey bucks out seems to be the metric
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I think that assumption is years out of date.
Travel agents barely make anything unless they do mass bookings - like micro transactions - or have one of those amway kind of pyramid schemes…mlm
I know airlines killed the TA commissions 20 years ago…taking most of the brick and mortar TAs out of the game. Internet bookings made it easy to eliminate them
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Wait…the popcorn…or the buckets?
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
I know there are several posters here that are TAs so maybe they will fill in the details
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
I have some longtime/good acquaintances I’ve talked to about the game…but never on a fundamental level to understand it completely.
I know commissions are severely down over the years on a relative level. Only the boomers are still willing to pay any kinda service fees to do basic things as once was standard
But I also have been told - and believe - that Disney wholesale (who I know very well) has gotten real hostile over the last 5 years to TAs
Can you guess why? That’s right…no discount, “blue ocean” tactics from the top down.
“Why should we make and effort to sell it?…they will never resist us anyway”
JoeCamel
Well-Known Member
You know they have a count on how many kernels they buy, how much is spilled, how much the ducks eat and come to a number that should equal sales. If you don't hit the numbers either you have a squirriel problem or a shrinkage issue.
Strange, in many years I got dozens of "free" drinks at the MK but never a "free" popcorn, always had to pay.
The stank is throughout the company, hope they air it out when Bob leavesI have some longtime/good acquaintances I’ve talked to about the game…but never on a fundamental level to understand it completely.
I know commissions are severely down over the years on a relative level. Only the boomers are still willing to pay any kinda service fees to do basic things as once was standard
But I also have been told - and believe - that Disney wholesale (who I know very well) has gotten real hostile over the last 5 years to TAs
Can you guess why? That’s right…no discount, “blue ocean” tactics from the top down.
“Why should we make and effort to sell it?…they will never resist us anyway”
bmr1591
Well-Known Member
I’m no Karen and would like to believe I always give the benefit of the doubt to people, especially those in positions where they have nothing to do with the issues I’m encountering, but I’d have been speaking with a DVC manager about the appalling state of that room. That’s horrific.
DisneyCane
Well-Known Member
To be fair to Apple, pretty much all phone/smart watch manufacturers are doing this now. They get to pretend it's about "sustainability" but it's really to save cost and get revenue from people buying chargers separately.
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
Correct…it’s a legit criticism/tactic…
I just don’t know how that makes apple “more nickel and dime” than Disney?
They took a pro-Disney policy - magical express - and dumped it which I have zero doubt has already cost them many multiples of the overhead they paid in 1.5 years…
…and blamed Uber for it…very classy
Last edited:
Splash4eva
Well-Known Member
And lets face it. These “free” perks were most likely already priced into the cost of the room so in theory they are making money now on something they no longer provide…Correct…it’s a legit criticism/tactic…
I just don’t know how that makes apple “more nickel and dime” than Disney.
They took a pro-Disney policy - magical express - and dumped it which I have zero doubt has already cost them many multiples of the overhead they paid in 1.5 years…
…and blamed Uber for it…very classy
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
They absolutely were
Not even worth debating. They have cost models/algorithms…not like the price is determined by hitting a dart board…
So that was always factored in.
ME was I believe covered when it was implemented - by at least the sentinel - and it was some ungodly Low figure…like $10 or $15 million a year?…to start
I’m sure it grew a lot…but still offset easily by the amount of high profit revenue it yielded by literally 10 million people being in the bubble - more or less - for a week at a time.
Easy math.
Slaphead taking it out…”cuz I can!
” is the most textbook example of nickel and diming maybe in wdw history?Until they rent bath/pool towels to dvc…which i wouldn’t doubt
twilight mitsuk
Well-Known Member
Or a resort feeThey absolutely were
Not even worth debating. They have cost models/algorithms…not like the price is determined by hitting a dart board…
So that was always factored in.
ME was I believe covered when it was implemented - by at least the sentinel - and it was some ungodly Low figure…like $10 or $15 million a year?…to start
I’m sure it grew a lot…but still offset easily by the amount of high profit revenue it yielded by literally 10 million people being in the bubble - more or less - for a week at a time.
Easy math.
Slaphead taking it out…”cuz I can!
Until they rent bath/pool towels to dvc…which i wouldn’t doubt
Sirwalterraleigh
Premium Member
“Everybody’s doing it, Ma!!!!”
Splash4eva
Well-Known Member
Yep exactly and even the parking fees at the resorts now… you could have easily baked that into the cost of the hotel as well now to “hide” the cost and we know everyone doesnt drive/rent cars. Same theory could have held to a degree with FP granted that is/was trickier but again add in price to both ticket/room and continue the “free” version of it. So many options/illusions that could have been done to hide the nickel and dime decisions they have made.They absolutely were
Not even worth debating. They have cost models/algorithms…not like the price is determined by hitting a dart board…
So that was always factored in.
ME was I believe covered when it was implemented - by at least the sentinel - and it was some ungodly Low figure…like $10 or $15 million a year?…to start
I’m sure it grew a lot…but still offset easily by the amount of high profit revenue it yielded by literally 10 million people being in the bubble - more or less - for a week at a time.
Easy math.
Slaphead taking it out…”cuz I can!
Until they rent bath/pool towels to dvc…which i wouldn’t doubt