Monday, September 8, 2014

Disney Hiring Adventure Guides! Duffys! Training and more!

Now that summer is ending our careers often start shifting.  Fall is our busiest season for tours.  The summer international and domestic tours continue another couple months, the winter international tours below the equator start up, our very popular fall foliage tours start traveling up the East Coast and our cruise lines relocate their ships to warmer winter climates.  Many of our tour members are retired so they prefer traveling in the fall when the kids are back in school, most crowds are gone and the weather is usually perfect.
It can also be a chance to work with a new tour operator.  Some of the tour operators double their staff in the fall.  Most will only hire experienced staff since they don't have time to train.    
This is also the time of year the CMI Market (Conventions, Meetings and Incentives) is gearing up.  It looks like an extremely busy September already.  Now is a good time to start contacting the incentives houses and DMC's to set up interviews.    When they get busy, they will call on those they have already meet. 
When you are hired by the DMC's, review Lesson 9 so you know what to do when you are hired.  I recommend taking copies the check lists in the "Tour Director Training Guide".  When I started working with the DMC's I had my check lists.  It is very different than leading tours.  We do a lot more than 'hold up signs'. 
In order to help the local DMC, destination management companies, in the Southern California area I'm offering Duffy Boat Training on September 25 in the Newport Harbor.  We are hired to captain our Duffys, small electric boats, through the Newport Harbor sharing the life styles of the rich and famous.   It's my favorite tour.  You'll find details and enrollment below.
I'll also be conducing my Fast Track Classroom Training and one day DMC Training in November.  Click below for details, dates and enrollment.  The major tour operators start their hiring right after the holidays so you want to be ready!
Since schools are starting this is also a good time to start contacting the Student Tour companies.    The types of tours vary greatly from a couple days on a Disneyland tour, a class visit to Washington DC, a senior class visit to NYC... to European summer tours.  It can be fun and a good way of getting experience.   
Elizabeth Moran covers the career in great detail in the "Tour Director Training Guide", Lesson 2.  (Liz's first student tour was to President Obama's first inauguration.)   She's done a great job in detailing the market, companies, finding employers, handling challenges and a step by step list of procedures.  I recommend following each of the steps she lists before, during and after your tour.
Adventures by Disney has started hiring their new Adventure Guides for their domestic and international tours.  Each of their tours have two Adventure Guides, one for the adults and one for the kids.  They posted in July so if you're interested I recommend applying soon   Link: http://www.adventuresbydisney.jobs/index.html
This is also a good time to start getting local related experience.  I've listed a large number of local careers below.   The list is very long so I've included the details for each job at the following link:http://tour-guide-training.com/Page_8.html.  
Hope this helps.
Wishing everyone great success!
Cherie
       Duffy Boat Training
When: Thursday, September 25, 2014
Time:  1 AM to 4 PM
Where:   2001 W. Coast Hwy
             Newport Beach, CA 92663 
Cost:  $165*
*Non-Refundable with less than 48 hour notice.
The first Duffy Boat was built by Marshal Duffield in Newport Beach in 1970.  It's come a long way since then. Duffy's are now popular around the world in fresh water lakes, waterways and harbors.   Each boat holds from eight to twelve passengers including the driver.  Almost every home in Newport Harbor has a Duffy Boat!   
I personally love leading the Duffy Boat tours of Newport Harbor.   We are hired to drive the individual boats escorting the corporate groups around the harbor sharing the harbor history, stories, celebrity homes and life styles of the truly rich and famous.  (Bacal, Bogey, Wayne, Cage, Lauper, Jagger, Nicks, Keaton, Woods, Nixon, Kennedy and many more.)  It's great fun.  The tours are very popular with DMC (destination management companies), tours visiting the California Rivera and private tours.   Our tours usually last from 45 minutes to two hours.   
We need new drivers/guides due to this growing popularity.   DMC's are bringing in guides from Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego.  Most companies pay mileage and a five hour minimum.
I cover working with DMC's, procedures, safety, harbor mapping, working with individual groups, variety of activities, scavenger hunts, celebrity's homes, stories and give you practical experience with narration and the opportunity to drive the boats.   I'll also include a list of DMC contacts.  
The training includes my own detailed narration of Newport Harbor, pages of research, related links, a list of DMC contacts and a Certificate of Completion.  As with all of my training you'll also have my continued support and help in developing your skills and getting hired. We'll also have a lot of fun!
The training takes place on September 25, 2014.  Space is very limited due to the size of the boats.  The largest Duffy holds 12, so I can only accommodate 11 students.  I'm giving you a 'heads up' first.  I'll be contacting the DMC's and posting it online in a couple days.   
Plan on spending at least three hours on the water.  I want you comfortable with the boats, harbor and sights.  If you arrive late and or need to leave early we won't be able to wait and or drop you off during the tour.  Newport Harbor is very large and we won't be returning to the dock until the end of the training. Refunds will not be processed if you are late. 
History of Duffy Boats: http://www.duffyboats.com/about/history



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