Has anyone ever figured out how profitable their setup is? I'm in the UK so I'm not sure what is public record in the US. I feel like someone must have gone digging to see what kind of figures we're talking. To me, as an outsider, their homes (yeah those are easy to find!) are nothing too lavish but then the spending Pete, John and Kev do on travel, jewelry etc is so excessive that I figure there must be crazy good money involved.
I didn't intend to do some digging but I bumped into it. Back story is that just recently, I finally convinced the wife to do a Disney cruise out of San Diego (we're in Northern California). Went to Dreams Unlimited to see what they could do for me. They were so busy doing podcast cruises and videos that after a week after they said they'd get me a rate, they didn't respond. Based on my criteria, I was able to book a cabin on the deck I wanted directly with Disney in less than 10 minutes. I was somewhat annoyed with that, so I started digging around.
The travel agent commission on WDW packages is about 10%, and for cruises, it's about 12%, but most travel agents give back some of their commission as a "shipboard credit" or "gift package" to entice you to book. Had I booked with Dreams, their commission less the onboard credit and estimated value of the free gift would have been about $300. Not bad for less than 10 minutes of effort!
On Glassdoor, they have one review. A former agent posted that you had to be good with the very low commission split. I'm guessing a "low" commission split is around 70/30 or 80/20, with Pete et al getting 70%-80% of the commission and the agent getting the rest. So my agent would have received $60-$90 but Dreams would have collected over $200. On their website, they have 43 travel agents listed, including Kevin, Theresa, Frederico, and Kathy.
In 2000, Pete did an interview with Travel Weekly and he said at the time their revenue goal for the future was $10 million. And let's face it, all the Pete podcasts are just a giant tax deduction for Dreams. And Dreams is incorporated in Blackwood, New Jersey. Makes sense given Pete's background but doesn't make sense because the corporate tax laws are much more favorable in Florida than New Jersey. Dun and Bradstreet gives estimated revenue (sales less expenses) of about $3 million per year, which is going to be split between John, Pete, and their partner.
I'm guessing Pete makes over $1 million (US) a year, potentially more, running around ranting and raving about this, that, and the other. After taxes, 401(k) payments, health care, etc., Pete probably gets around $500K-$600K (US) net, with no kids. So yeah, he can afford to do all the things he does. And he makes more than enough that Craig et al shouldn't have to wait months for reimbursement.
so it got soaking. Craig just sounds bothered all the time. Pete is way too high on himself. You had a successful travel agency...you didn't invent the wheel. People have successful businesses all the time. I laugh when he name drops Disney executives, like as if he sits in the boardroom with them. That jealous comment was despicable.
