Charging for Parking

[TripletDad]

Does anyone know is it common for some resorts to charge guests for parking? We are staying at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes for 4 days prior to our WDW stay. I was on their web site and noticed a $8 a day for parking, $15 if you use valet. Just wondering.

TripletDad.

 

[Belle1962]

Yes, some hotels charge for parking. Also--some have a 'resort fee".

 

[antmaril]

Yes, it's quite common to have to pay a parking fee at a major hotel/resort. I am not surprised that you will have to pay for parking at the JW.

 

[Lewisc]

Orlando hotels are starting to charge for parking. The 3 Universal hotels and MOWC also charge for self-parking.

Disney doesn't (currently) charge for self-parking but now charges for valet parking.

 

[wee-haggis]

We think it is disgusting that hotels and resorts are charging to park. You are a guest at the resort and therefore should be able to park your car at the resort as part of your nightly hotel fee. The amount charged per night at a lot of hotels and resorts is already costly enough for families. We were considering staying at the Portofino or the Royal Pacific for our next visit to Orlando however when we heard they wanted an extra $6.00 per day to park we quickly decided we would stay on Disney property instead. It is not the $6.00 charge, it is the principle that a guest should not be charged over and above their lodging fee. Gouging
is becomming more common at holiday destinations each year. Soon the resorts will price themselves out of the market for young families.

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by wee-haggis
. Soon the resorts will price themselves out of the market for young families.

Sorry I don't agree. Disney has FT, AP rates and frequently code rates. You can get the Universal hotels at Hotwire, Entertainment rates and many other discounts.

I'd say the effective rate for the resorts has gone down over the last few years. Go back 5 years and Disney was getting rack rate for much of the year.

Book a Universal hotel at a discount (hotwire or entertainment rate) add the parking charge and you're still saving $$$ over a comparable Disney hotel.

A lot of places charge extra for parking. A family staying offsite pays a lot for Disney tickets, yet they have to pay for parking.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Lewisc....
A family staying offsite pays a lot for Disney tickets, yet they have to pay for parking.

I have to disagree with your reasoning. You pay the same price for Universal tickets & if staying off site you pay for the garage there as well. I have to agree with wee-haggis. I think it is terrible. Just increase the price of the room and leave it at that....no need to say that there is a parking charge. I am a Universal Pass holder (free theme park parking)...if I stay off site, I park for free..... if I stay onsite, I am charged. Where is the logic there?

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by A Mickeyfan
Lewisc....
Just increase the price of the room and leave it at that....no need to say that there is a parking charge. I :

Hotels found people want DISCOUNTS (hotwire, priceline, entertainment books, FT, AP discounts). Disney used to give free valet parking but dropped it as they increased both the percentage discount and number of discounted rooms.

My opinion, a hotel charging for parking is no more or less "disgusting" than charging for theme park parking.

Some people have posted getting the Universal hotels to waive the parking fee if you have a Universal Premium AP. I think this is a courtesy and not official policy.

Just add the parking fee to your room rate and THEN decide if you got a good deal. PBH frequently has Entertainment rate availability at $150. Add the parking fee and it's still signficantly below comparable Disney hotels (POLY, GF)

 

[wee-haggis]

Lewis,
You are correct .
Hotels charging for parking is no worse than Theme Parks charging for parking also!!
They are equally guilty!!!.
Do you pay to park at Walmart to buy their products?
Do you pay to park at an AMC theater?
Do you pay to play a round of golf at a public golf course?
The list goes on and on.
Hotels are no different.
$6 might not seem like al ot to some of you, but for some who save for a year or more to have a vacation of a lifetime...this is a big deal!
For me,its the principle.
Its out and greed,pure and simple.

 

[SidB]

Put it in the price, otherwise it's just another way to rip off the tourist.

 

[Belle1962]

FYI: It's not just in Orlando-----the hotel I'm staying at in a major city next week charges $20 per day for parking.

 

[wee-haggis]

Originally posted by Belle1962
FYI: It's not just in Orlando-----the hotel I'm staying at in a major city next week charges $20 per day for parking.

$20 per day!??.......
My advice,find another hotel!....you are being ripped off...big time!

On our travels throughout the world....We NEVER paid for parking as a guest of a hotel (anything from 3 to 5 stars).

By charging for parking,the major hotels are certainly not doing themselves any favors to attract new customers during this very slow travel time.

 

[SidB]

Originally posted by wee-haggis
By charging for parking,the major hotels are certainly not doing themselves any favors to attract new customers during this very slow travel time.

I think they're advertising low room rates to entice you in, and then whacking you with the car park fees. Neat way of ripping oof the tourist.

 

[Lewisc]

Originally posted by wee-haggis
$20 per day!??.......
My advice,find another hotel!....you are being ripped off...big time!

On our travels throughout the world....We NEVER paid for parking as a guest of a hotel (anything from 3 to 5 stars).

By charging for parking,the major hotels are certainly not doing themselves any favors to attract new customers during this very slow travel time.

Hotels in large cities (NYC for example) don't offer free parking. In NYC $20 would be cheap. In fact malls in congested areas near commuter rail stations often charge a few dollars for parking.

 

[wee-haggis]

Lewisc

Using the excuse of Big City hotels with little land (space) for parking is not relevent to WDW or Orlando in general. There is nothing but space in Orlando, charging hotel guests a separate fee to park is simply gouging the travelling public ( a public which recently has been dwindling in numbers). While travelling throughout the U.S. you see large banners thanking people for tavelling. The industry should be thanking people by their actions not just words.

 

[Lewisc]

Someone mentioned paying $20 for parking in a major city. Your response was in your worldwide travels you never paid for parking and that the poster was

being ripped off...big time!

I stand by my statement, paying for parking (even for malls) is the norm in big cities (even smaller cities).

My observation, resorts tend to offer free parking when they have a lot of land and tend to charge for parking when they have to build garages.


Unfortuately the internet discounts is causing some hotels to add extra charges (resort fees, parking fees) to make up for some of the "excessive" discounts.

 

[wee-haggis]

Originally posted by Lewisc
Someone mentioned paying $20 for parking in a major city. Your response was in your worldwide travels you never paid for parking and that the poster was

I stand by my statement, paying for parking (even for malls) is the norm in big cities (even smaller cities).

My observation, resorts tend to offer free parking when they have a lot of land and tend to charge for parking when they have to build garages.


Unfortuately the internet discounts is causing some hotels to add extra charges (resort fees, parking fees) to make up for some of the "excessive" discounts.

Lewis,---
I'm sorry....but the majority of North American city malls do NOT charge for parking (I'm not talking about the centre of NYC where there is the most expensive real estate in the world), I'm referring to the average city suburban mall.
Now,you are correct in saying that some downtown,high congestion area hotels do charge for parking...but does that make ot right?
Don't you agree that the luxury hotels in Orlando (for example) are charging a pretty high rate already without nickel and diming their patrons further?
Even in challenging times last year,Disney still made $256 million profit in the last quarter and Vivendi Universal's profits increased by 39% in the first quarter.....not too shabby!
They are not hurting that much (even in bad times)....
I can only imaginge what the profits would be like in the good times!!.
I think we are going to have to agree to disagree because obviously you will not be changing my mind any more than I could change yours.

 

[Lewisc]

Not really trying to change your mind, I personally feel (but not very strongly) that parking should be included with theme park admission and that areas like Orlando hotels should include parking BUT I'll stay in the Universal hotesl, I mentally add the parking fee to the room rate when I decide if I am comfortable with the rate. Do you think the Hyatt in the Orlando airport should be allowed to charge for parking?

WHERE I DISAGREE is your generalization for the rest of the country. Charging for parking in cities is the norm. The garage in the same building as a NYC hotel isn't necessarily even owned by the hotel. Go to one of the new urban malls and you pay for parking. The "traditional" malls in suburbia do give free parking. The fact that you've never paid for hotel parking indicates that don't stay in the hotels in major cities.

I look at a parking fee as one of the costs of the day. I include it (along with admission and food costs) and determining the cost of the day.

 

[wee-haggis]

LewisC

Granted we have never stayed in downtown Manhattan and therefore never paid for parking there. However I think you will have to agree NYC is a special case as land is at a premium and real estate is incredibly costly. We have stayed in hotels in Toronto, London, Orlando, Los Angeles, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Montreal, Sydney, Auckland to name a few and have not had to pay a separate fee to park. It stands to reason that in MAJOR cities where space is limited such as Paris, Rome and NYC parking may be an issue but Orlando is not one of those cities.

We do not feel the Hyatt should be charging THEIR GUESTS to park after all they are guests and pay an" airport hotel rate" to stay there.

We feel your generalization that all cities are similar to NYC is not fair as there are not many cities that compare to NYC in real estate value.

 

[kylara]

I agree with Lewis in that many urban places now charge for parking. You can still find many hotels in Orlando that don't, but in the Downtown area of Orlando, paying for parking is the norm.

As for the Hyatt at the airport, they don't charge you for parking, the airport does. They Hyatt doesn't own the parking garage so they have no choice about the parking fee.

I agree that the Marriott and the Ritz charging for parking doesn't seem right. They have a lot of land out there, but then again, I know some people that feel the more they pay, the more exclusive the place is.

As for Universal, I do think that parking should be free to hotel guests. I can understand charging a parking fee, otherwise, people would just park there and take the transportation over to the parks, but they should be able to waive that cost for guests.

However, as with all travel, the public can vote with their wallets. If you don't like a hotel's policy, then choose to stay elsewhere and let the company know why you are. If they don't know that people don't agree with the policy, it will never change.