News Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin to eliminate 1136 employees

techgeek

Well-Known Member
...I didn’t realize they even had that many.

But I’m told by travel experts (posters here) that the worst is over for Orlando. So that’s good news, right?

Much of this is related to the convention / meeting side of the house. Could you have those travel experts let business know it’s ok to start booking meetings again? ‘Cause right now, they aren’t. At all. Not for 2020. Not for 2021. Everyone remains in a ‘wait and see’ mode in that sector of the Orlando economy.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Much of this is related to the convention / meeting side of the house. Could you have those travel experts let business know it’s ok to start booking meetings again? ‘Cause right now, they aren’t. At all. Not for 2020. Not for 2021. Everyone remains in a ‘wait and see’ mode in that sector of the Orlando economy.
I’m going to “fire off” a sternly worded - but business friendly - email to them RIGHT NOW
 

dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
Ouch. The leisure travel industry is hurting, but the business & convention travel is almost dead. Pretty much every major convention is either outright cancelled, or gone virtual. So while Zoom & Teams & other online platforms are thriving, their real world counterparts are ghost towns.
 

robhedin

Well-Known Member
...I didn’t realize they even had that many.

But I’m told by travel experts (posters here) that the worst is over for Orlando. So that’s good news, right?
Well, overall, Florida does seem to be recovering... vacation rentals are up YoY from last year, hotel demand is still off by between 20%-30% YoY, but it’s recovered from the almost 80% drop off, so that’s good. Airline travel is problematic though, so until that frees up getting long distance travelers is going to continue to be problematic. I’m sure that people hopping in cars are making up the bulk of visitors now.

WDW hotels are probably slower To recover due to 1) premium charge even with the loss of premium features compared to other area hotels; and 2) loss of convention traffic.

see: https://www.visitflorida.org/resour...n-for-businesses/covid-19-fl-tourism-impacts/
 

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
And still it goes on. It's terrible that so many will lose their jobs. Hopefully they had done some preparing knowing it might happen and will now that the notice is given. Maybe for some the loss wont be as devastating as losing the job immediately. Such stress without knowing when or what job may be out there for them now or how to get by on what they will get from unemployment especially going into the latter part of the year. Unfortunately this wont be the only cuts coming.
 

Jimmy Thick

Well-Known Member
My heart goes out to those losing their jobs during this pandemic but reality says going to WDW just isn’t that important right now.

I would love to be a fly on the wall at all the Disney resorts just to see how many rooms they are actually filling per day. I understand why they are open but don’t think it’s the right decision.

I hope those laid off find work soon.
 

Kamikaze

Well-Known Member
...I didn’t realize they even had that many.

But I’m told by travel experts (posters here) that the worst is over for Orlando. So that’s good news, right?

I mean, in terms of people actually traveling to Orlando, that much is certainly true.

Doesn't mean the repercussions of the past 6 months won't be felt for years and years.

And that was my first thought was well, that number is way more than I have ever would have thought they had - especially since that means they still have more.
 

SpoiledBlueMilk

Well-Known Member
Much of this is related to the convention / meeting side of the house. Could you have those travel experts let business know it’s ok to start booking meetings again? ‘Cause right now, they aren’t. At all. Not for 2020. Not for 2021. Everyone remains in a ‘wait and see’ mode in that sector of the Orlando economy.

My organization and industry sector has all gone virtual for the foreseeable future. Currently overwhelmed by taking our physical conference and moving it to virtual right now. Tourism might go back up, but I think the meetings sector is going to hurt for a long time to come...
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
I mean, in terms of people actually traveling to Orlando, that much is certainly true.

Doesn't mean the repercussions of the past 6 months won't be felt for years and years.

And that was my first thought was well, that number is way more than I have ever would have thought they had - especially since that means they still have more.
That also is ironic considering they have a half built addition as we speak.

As far as “the worst”...I think the “experts” are Framing it wrong because it’s a superficial take. 6 months of closure/lockdown is bad...but 3 years of depressed travel afterward would be far worse for all parties involved.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
And still it goes on. It's terrible that so many will lose their jobs. Hopefully they had done some preparing knowing it might happen and will now that the notice is given. Maybe for some the loss wont be as devastating as losing the job immediately. Such stress without knowing when or what job may be out there for them now or how to get by on what they will get from unemployment especially going into the latter part of the year. Unfortunately this wont be the only cuts coming.
Still?

We have not gotten below the pepperoni on the pizza yet
 

Kamikaze

Well-Known Member
That also is ironic considering they have a half built addition as we speak.

As far as “the worst”...I think the “experts” are Framing it wrong because it’s a superficial take. 6 months of closure/lockdown is bad...but 3 years of depressed travel afterward would be far worse for all parties involved.

Depends on if you're looking at it from a pure number of visitors standpoint. Or as a YoY percentage/curve.
 

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