1. Understand the Business You Are Starting

Most home based Travel Advisors are not salaried employees. You are typically building your own client-based business as an independent contractor affiliated with a travel agency.

That can provide a lot of flexibility.
It also means you are responsible for your business.
You need to develop clients, communicate professionally, track deadlines, learn the products you sell and actually sell travel.

2. Choose the Right Travel Agency

This decision is much more important than many new Advisors realize. You don’t know what you don’t know. I certainly didn’t know all the differences when I entered the industry over a decade ago.

Travel agencies can differ significantly in their contracts, fees, commission structure, training, technology, supplier relationships, leads, client ownership policies, sales expectations and overall agency culture.

Ask questions. Lots of them.
You are choosing a business relationship.
Do not choose an agency simply because it advertises the highest commission percentage or promises great travel benefits.

You want to understand what you are receiving in exchange for the portion of commission the agency retains, and whether that agency can support the kind of business you want to build.

Interested specifically in Mom Approved Travel? Read about our Travel Advisor opportunities and application process.

3. Complete Agency Onboarding and Disney Travel Professional Education

Once you affiliate with an agency, you will need to complete whatever onboarding and supplier education the agency requires before independently working with clients.

Disney provides education and resources for registered travel professionals, but it’s not really enough to be successful. 

But here’s something I tell our Advisors:
Supplier training is the beginning, not the finish line.
Learning where a resort is located is useful.

Knowing which family you would recommend that resort to and why is a completely different skill.

That’s where professional development makes a huge difference in success.

4. Develop Current, Firsthand Disney Knowledge

You do not need to have stayed at every Disney resort or sailed every Disney Cruise Line ship before you start. That would be lovely, but quite the investment!
But if Disney vacations are going to be an important part of your business, current firsthand experience matters.
Depending on your specialty, that may include:

• Walt Disney World Resort
• Disneyland Resort
• Disney Cruise Line
• Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa
• Adventures by Disney
• National Geographic Expeditions
• Lindblad Expeditions

A good Travel Advisor combines supplier education with firsthand experience and continues learning as destinations change.

Disney changes.
A LOT.
The trip you took eight or four years ago does not make you current on the product today.

5. Learn How to Sell Vacations – Not Just Plan Vacation

This may be the biggest surprise for people entering the industry. Planning is only useful once you have a client.

You also need to learn how to find potential clients, communicate your value, market yourself, qualify inquiries, make recommendations, follow up, ask for the sale and earn repeat and referral business.

Being the most knowledgeable Disney fan in your neighborhood does not automatically create a clientele.
This is ultimately a sales profession.
You don’t have to arrive knowing how to sell.
But you do have to be willing to learn.

6. Start Building Your Client Base

Many new Advisors begin with people who already know and trust them:
Friends.
Family.
Coworkers.
Parents from school.
Community connections.

Social media can absolutely be part of your marketing plan.

You do not need 100,000 Instagram followers to become a successful Travel Advisor.
The goal isn’t followers.
The goal is clients who trust your recommendations enough to book with you, come back and tell other people about you.

How Do Disney Travel Agents Get Paid?

Professional Travel Advisors are generally compensated through commissions paid on eligible travel they sell.

The supplier pays commission to the travel agency, and the agency then pays the Advisor according to the commission structure outlined in the Advisor’s independent-contractor agreement.

That means you typically do not get paid the moment your client makes a reservation.

Commission is usually tied to completed travel and the supplier’s payment schedule.

Travel Advisors may also charge professional planning or service fees if permitted by their agency.

How Much Can a Disney Travel Agent Make?

There is no universal number. Income can vary dramatically based on sales volume, the types of travel you sell, supplier commission levels, your agency commission structure, professional fees, cancellations, client retention and how consistently you market and grow your business.

Some Advisors build part-time businesses.
Others build substantial full-time businesses.

But completing supplier training does not magically produce clients or guaranteed income.

Can You Become a Disney Travel Agent From Home?

Yes. Many independent Travel Advisors operate home based businesses.

That’s one reason this career can be attractive to people who need or want flexibility.
But working from home does not mean working only when you feel like it.

Clients still have payment deadlines.
Trips still have important planning dates.
Travel disruptions still happen.
And emails still arrive when you are busy doing something else.

A professional Advisor needs enough consistent availability to service the business she builds.

Can I Become a Disney Travel Agent Part Time?

Absolutely. Mom Approved Travel has both full-time and committed part-time Advisors.

The word I care about there is committed.
Part time can absolutely be professional.
A pastime is something different.

Do You Need Experience to Become a Disney Travel Agent?

You do not necessarily need previous professional Travel Advisor experience.
Everyone had a first client once.

But the skills you already have matter.
People coming from careers in sales, customer service, education, marketing, healthcare, project management, events, operations and entrepreneurship may already have skills that translate beautifully into travel advising.

Organization.
Communication.
Attention to detail.
Problem-solving.
Sales.
Follow-through.
Those things matter.

And if Disney is going to be your specialty, I also want to see recent, relevant firsthand Disney travel experience, not just that you loved Walt Disney World when you were eight.

How Do I Become a Disney Cruise Travel Agent?

There isn’t a completely separate career path for becoming a “Disney Cruise Travel Agent.”
A Travel Advisor can develop Disney Cruise Line as a specialty within a broader Disney focused or cruise focused travel business.

The basic process is the same:

1. establish your travel business
2. affiliate with an appropriate travel agency
3. complete required agency and supplier education
4. develop current Disney Cruise Line product knowledge
5. build a clientele interested in cruising

If cruising will be a major part of your business beyond Disney Cruise Line, read our How to Become a Cruise Travel Agent guide.

What Does “Disney Vacation Planner” Mean?

People use Disney Travel Agent, Disney Travel Advisor and Disney Vacation Planner somewhat interchangeably when searching online.

At Mom Approved Travel, we use the current term that better describes what we do, Travel Advisor.
Agents take “orders” but Advisors guide.

A Travel Advisor may specialize in Disney Destinations while operating an independent travel business through an established travel agency.
Separately, Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is an agency-level designation associated with qualifying travel agencies.
It should not be confused with an individual’s professional title or a certification called “Disney Vacation Planner.”

A Word About Choosing a Travel Agency

Every industry has its shady side, and unfortunately, the travel industry is no different.

There are predatory business models out there, including MLM-style organizations where recruiting additional Advisors may become part of the income model.

There are also very large agencies with hundreds or thousands of independent agents where training, oversight, expectations and business practices can vary considerably.

And there are individual Travel Advisors and agencies that operate in ways I would not consider professional or ethical.

But at Mom Approved Travel, we don’t spend much time worrying about what everyone else is doing. We focus on growing our businesses professionally, ethically and with our clients’ best interests in mind.

At Mom Approved Travel:
We are not an MLM.
There is no downline, and our Advisors earn income by selling and servicing travel, not by recruiting other Advisors.

We are not a mega-host agency with thousands of agents. That is intentional.

We are not hobbyists.
We are a boutique family and leisure travel agency made up of a select team of professional Travel Advisors.

We are a combination of full-time and committed part-time professionals.

And we are always learning, developing our skills and working to better serve our Mom Approved Travel client families.

What Should I Look for in a Disney Travel Agency?

Ask questions before signing an independent-contractor agreement.
A lot of them.

You should understand:

• independent-contractor terms
• fees
• commission structure
• commission payment timing
• training and ongoing support
• technology and business tools
• supplier relationships
• lead policies
• client ownership
• sales expectations
• what happens if you eventually leave the agency

Do not choose an agency based on commission split alone, support, tools and resources vary widely.
A higher percentage on paper doesn’t necessarily make something the better business relationship.
Training, support, technology, supplier relationships, professional development, culture and access to leadership all have incredible value.

An agency is not automatically better because it is huge.
It isn’t automatically better because it is tiny.

You need the business relationship that fits the business you want to build.
And a good agency should be comfortable answering your questions before you sign anything.

Interested in Becoming a Travel Advisor With Mom Approved Travel?

Mom Approved Travel is a boutique family and leisure travel agency specializing in Disney Destinations, Universal vacations, cruising, all-inclusive resorts and other family travel.

We are smaller by design.
I want to know the Advisors on our team.
I want them to know one another.
And I want someone to be able to ask for help and have people who actually care enough to answer.

MAT provides structured onboarding, ongoing professional development, business tools, supplier relationships and a collaborative agency environment.
But we also expect Advisors to take ownership of building their own businesses.

We may not be the right agency for everyone.
That’s okay.

If MAT sounds like the kind of agency relationship you are looking for, you can learn much more about us before deciding whether to apply.