They are no better. I wasted too much money for sub par scents.
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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.
This is entirely baseless speculation but I have a theory maybe he was fired because he lied about being vaccinated. It did happen right before the podcast cruise where everyone had to provide proof of vaccination..
Also, don't forget the real estate business. I'm sure they cleaned up nicely the last couple of years due the crazy real estate market.
I’m thinking the numbers you gave might be a bit off. 70/30 is a typical travel agent split with an agent but the 70 is for the agent and 30 for the host agency. No one would work for dreams if they only kept 20 or 30% of the commission. Perhaps dreams is 60/40 with the agent only getting 60? Also As for the DB report revenue is typically gross sales a company generates. Net profits or earnings would be sales minus all expenses.
Well... After watching The DIS on and off for around 3-4 years now, and being naive to all of this, I must say that reading all of this thread has been very interesting and eye-opening. In retrospect, I'm definitely noticing a lot of things that I hadn't put much thought into before.
Former travel agent here with a major travel company. The split is 70/30 with the host company getting the 70. Reason is because the host company does the marketing and secures the leads via their website. The exception to this split is if the agent brings clients to the host company, typically friends and family. Then the split is 80/20 with the agent getting 80.
I have contacted Dreams on 3 separate occasions and they take days to get back to you. They must be running on their built-in customers. So by no means am I saying $1 million is not a lot of money but after 25 years and the way he boasts and makes such a production out of his accomplishments...I thought he was making more. That is a standard income for a business owner of 25 years. Good work though finding that information. Definitely interesting.
So for Pete to make $1 million a year in income for himself they'd have to sell more than $15 million a year in vacations: 10% commission to Dreams = $1.5 million. 70% split goes to the company of that $1.5 million = $1.05 million. That isn't deducting any expenses of course such as salaries of the agents(I assume some sort of base pay on top of commission I could be wrong?), websites, etc, etc,.
Don't forget they World of DVC sponsorship money. He must be well compensated given all the plugs he does for DVC Resale Market/DVC Rental Store/Monera Financial in place of his Deams travel company
Do not forget his other businesses. The DisBoards and youtube videos make significant income in ad revenue. Also realize almost all of what he does as far as trips, meals, events etc are not paid for by his personal money. They are paid for by Dreams as business expenses.
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Just another thought…I’m a TA (different agency) and there’s no way it’s a 70/30 split for most of their agents. That COULD be the starting split (it would be incredibly bad if so) but most agencies start around 60/40 (with 60% going to agent 40% to agency) and agents move up to make more and more the more they sell. Maybe the most junior agents have that split but if so they’re getting kinda screwed ha.
And edited to add that no there’s no base salary for agents. They are independent contractors who pay their own taxes etc. Exclusively commission based.
Thank you @emmetter for the explanation! I have noticed in past episodes that some travel agents were showcased on the show, but not all. And their contact info was also included. Not sure why some are on the show and not others! Perhaps it’s the agents who have been there longer and/or have a higher client base?
Yep. The “favorites” if they work anything like my agency.
I don't think his YouTube channel makes much. Views are not high. Disboards would be only from Google ads and that also doesn't pay much either, even with reasonable amount of traffic.
Agree I think we can all speculate on what he makes, whether it be 500k, a million or whatever. The bigger issue is the nonstop need to tell everyone what he spends and how much it costs. If you criticize him for it he says u are a “hater” and he says don’t blame him for your life decisions. News flash Pete there are people who earn as much or more then you who dont need to let the world know what they have. Seems loneliness can lead to insecurity
Corey Martin is a millionaire from the DisBoards ad revenue alone. They make A LOT of money from both.
Lol no
Not even close
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