Additional charge for guests

[maxiesmom]

It's all about money. Always is.

Yep. Yet many people seem to forget that Disney is a business, and a huge one at that!

But I agree with the poster who said it is waaaay cheaper to pay the extra adult fee than it is to get a second room.

 

[Syndrome]

But its not only DVC. There are lots of room options at WDW that do not charge for extra adults in the same room. The only difference is that some of these rooms are larger. Its not even a price point situation. With the current WDW (2013) room prices, a room can be had at WDW that runs as low as $202. per night and there are no extra adults charges.
Could it be something to do with the max occupancy ratings for some rooms where they cant technically charge for extra adults in those rooms ?

In the end it doesnt really matter ......... WDW is following the standards that any other hotel in the world would. If its $25. extra per night that we have to pay to have our adult child stay in our room at WDW, I am fine with that (although In wish I didnt have to, lol ).

Syndrome

 

[crazycatlady]

despite this thread making it seem as if you are the only one who feels that way, there are actually many who agree with you (even i was reluctant to post). not only have similar opinions been posted over the years, i've personally had many discussions with people (at home, while working at the disney store, at WDW, as well as elsewhere) who feel that at the very least, there should be no additional charge for those living in the same household.

an additional adult charge may be industry standard, but many places also charge for children under 18yo - why is no one advocating that "industry standard"?
and i really doubt that an adult child traveling with their parents would cause more "wear and tear" on a room than a young child - we've seen lots of crayon and marker drawings on furniture and walls, fork gouges under tables, etc in WDW resorts: i doubt there are very many adult children who carry crayons and markers, or crawl under tables .

that's another reason why we love having DVC - we can stay on WDW property, and have as many "adults" in our villa (as occupancy permits) without incurring additional fees.
heck, DVC members can even buy discounted APs for "family members living in same household", no matter what their age - at least one division of Disney seems to understand that many families remain close enough to want to vacation together, even once their "children" turn 18.

 

[Allison]

But its not only DVC. There are lots of room options at WDW that do not charge for extra adults in the same room. The only difference is that some of these rooms are larger. Its not even a price point situation. With the current WDW (2013) room prices, a room can be had at WDW that runs as low as $202. per night and there are no extra adults charges.
Could it be something to do with the max occupancy ratings for some rooms where they cant technically charge for extra adults in those rooms ?

In the end it doesnt really matter ......... WDW is following the standards that any other hotel in the world would. If its $25. extra per night that we have to pay to have our adult child stay in our room at WDW, I am fine with that (although In wish I didnt have to, lol ).

Syndrome

DVC and family suites. Rooms where they expect a mix of family ages. What other options don't charge for an extra adult?

 

[LSchrow]

Two of my siblings and one of our parents lived together into their forties and seventies respectively. Why in the world should they have been exempt from any 3rd/4th adult surcharges when traveling together? Conversely, why would the rest of my siblings and I, and various partners/spouses, be penalized because we didn't live in that house?

simple:
while living in the same household, parents & children are considered a family unit - as many health, auto insurers also perceive it. once the child(ren) move out (excluding college, which is usually temporary), they are still family but not within that immediate pod. they likely form new, very close bonds (friendships, marriage) with non-family members - as is often said, gaining a "new family". usually, the "new family" is not a replacement for one's "real" family, but supports the "child" through new phase(s) of their life.
marriage and long-term committals give the "new family" certain legal statuses and other benefits, while removing them from original family's (but never in our hearts).

as much as we might not like it, family members in the same household tend to be closer (sharing the trials and tribulations, as well as joys and laughter, of daily life). once one moves out of that home, someone else (spouse, close friend, etc) is likely to be the one(s) who are with them through daily life.

e.g., i am very close with and love my dad dearly (and mom, who passed last august), but can honestly say that my DB and SIL are now closer to him. dad moved into their house after hurricane sandy destroyed his house, and as close as we are, living in the same household is not the same as a daily (or more) phone call.
rather, i appreciate what DB & SIL do daily, recognize the family bonds formed only from living together, and feel they deserve any town/beach/timeshare/age or otherwise related "benefits" received from their co-habitation

 

[LilyWDW]

WDW hotels division did have its own standard that differed from most of the rest of the hotel/resort industry: they charged the same rate seven night's a week.

They moved away from that and more in line with the rest of the hospitality industry in very recent years, by charging higher rates on weekends. Truly, there's no reason for Disney to exempt 'young adults' staying in the room with their parents from being charged the extra guest supplement.

Encourage them to come back sooner with their own young families? By 25, many of those 'young' adults are visiting Walt Disney World with their own young families.

At 27 I paid for my mom to go with ME to Disney. She picked up one meal while we were there and bought her own souvenirs, but otherwise it came out of my pocket... because I wanted it to.

Also, I lived at home until 31. Why? Grad School expenses and my mom's illness (I was her only caregiver).

I think people expecting a business to not do whatever they can to protect their revenue just don't understand. 18+ means that they could, if they wanted, get their own room. By allowing them to stay in another room above 2 people, Disney is losing possible revenue. As such, Disney sets it up so they at least get something to cover it.

 

[LSchrow]

I think people expecting a business to not do whatever they can to protect their revenue just don't understand. 18+ means that they could, if they wanted, get their own room. By allowing them to stay in another room above 2 people, Disney is losing possible revenue. As such, Disney sets it up so they at least get something to cover it.

i do believe we understand - and the more money disney makes, the more our stock and pension are worth
the point is: should Disney impose a fee simply based of the age of the room occupants?
and using the "they are old enough to get their own room" reasoning....then shouldn't any two adults (including 2 parents) need to book separate rooms (assuming they are both old enough)?
the unsaid is that many hotels/motels/resorts started imposing the fee, not because of families, but because of groups of unrelated people sharing a room on vacation. i'll readily admit i was no angel from 18yo (and before) thru 20's, and know how much "different" i vacationed at that age (drinking, parties, late nights, etc).
of course, now i'm a total angel

as stated previously, the additional charge doesn't affect us as DVC members who stay on points. however, i feel it is important to at least consider others' opinions, even when one's situation is not the same - karma (and life) is great at putting people in exactly the same situation one argued against years prior

 

[Missytara]

i do believe we understand - and the more money disney makes, the more our stock and pension are worth
the point is: should Disney impose a fee simply based of the age of the room occupants?
and using the "they are old enough to get their own room" reasoning....then shouldn't any two adults (including 2 parents) need to book separate rooms (assuming they are both old enough)?
the unsaid is that many hotels/motels/resorts started imposing the fee, not because of families, but because of groups of unrelated people sharing a room on vacation. i'll readily admit i was no angel from 18yo (and before) thru 20's, and know how much "different" i vacationed at that age (drinking, parties, late nights, etc).
of course, now i'm a total angel

Hotel occupancy has always been based on double occupancy. Why should that change?

 

[maxiesmom]

How many people would be happy if Disney charged a per person rate? That is the only set up that would be fair to everyone. But I can almost guarantee that that couple and family of 4 would end up paying even more than they do now. They would have to, in order for Disney to make up the money they would lose on the solo travelers. Where is the outrage that Disney doesn't offer a discount for people who are a party of one? They still pay the same amount as two adults. How is that fair?

 

[Syndrome]

How many people would be happy if Disney charged a per person rate? That is the only set up that would be fair to everyone. But I can almost guarantee that that couple and family of 4 would end up paying even more than they do now. They would have to, in order for Disney to make up the money they would lose on the solo travelers. Where is the outrage that Disney doesn't offer a discount for people who are a party of one? They still pay the same amount as two adults. How is that fair?

Solo travelers never stay by themselves, they always share rooms and pay the extra "adult" charge per night to save money on the room !

Kidding........ just a joke., feel like I need to clarify that now........

Syndrome

 

[nkereina]

and i really doubt that an adult child traveling with their parents would cause more "wear and tear" on a room than a young child - we've seen lots of crayon and marker drawings on furniture and walls, fork gouges under tables, etc in WDW resorts: i doubt there are very many adult children who carry crayons and markers, or crawl under tables .

While I tend to agree that extra people of any age hardly cause much additional wear and tear on a room, it adds up when factoring in additional utilities. If you have 500 rooms in a hotel and base all budget projections on double occupancy, you are basing estimates on 1000 people at the resort for example (formulas get complicated based on season, location, etc)... if you have people book four to a room, your hotel guest count has now doubled. The hotel needs to recoup those costs somehow. Why would they care if you live in the same house at home? How does that help them recoup the additional expense of four people bunking together? If you are a family unit and live in the same household (which would be hard to prove - my license has still had my parents address for the last 10 years on it), it's pretty irrelevant in terms of figures. And at the end of the day, it's ALL about the figures. They don't provide resorts out of the kindness of their hearts.

And to the poster referring to Disney resorts that don't charge the extra person charge, please specify which resort on Disney property that is not DVC or a suite or a cabin that does NOT charge the extra person charge. I'm not aware of one. If max occupancy in a standard room is 4, then 2 are getting charged $25 per night each at deluxe, $15/night each at mods, and $10/night each at values. As stated, exceptions are family suites, cabins and DVC where the maximum occupancy is greater. Deluxe rooms that hold 6 may vary as well. In other words, its only exceptions to the standard/typical room that don't charge it. It would be asinine for a hotel NOT to charge it, from a profit/loss perspective.

 

[kaytieeldr]

the point is: should Disney impose a fee simply based of the age of the room occupants?

100% yes, ANY hotel should impose a surcharge on additional adults exceeding tge standard double occupancy.

and using the "they are old enough to get their own room" reasoning....then shouldn't any two adults (including 2 parents) need to book separate rooms (assuming they are both old enough)?

The industry-wide standard is double occupancy. You want outrageous? Try being a solo traveler and paying the entire room rate yourself.

 

[LSchrow]

While I tend to agree that extra people of any age hardly cause much additional wear and tear on a room, it adds up when factoring in additional utilities. If you have 500 rooms in a hotel and base all budget projections on double occupancy, you are basing estimates on 1000 people at the resort for example (formulas get complicated based on season, location, etc)... if you have people book four to a room, your hotel guest count has now doubled.

but 4 people, whatever the configuration of adults/children, is still four people, no?
"double occupancy" is two, yet 2A plus 2C, or 1A plus 3C, still equals four - and no additional fee is incurred.

The industry-wide standard is double occupancy. You want outrageous? Try being a solo traveler and paying the entire room rate yourself.

yup, been there, done that....

since it's been posted that the surcharge is mainly based on additional use of facilities by having the 2A plus 1 or 2 adults (rather than 1 or 2 children ), it certainly would follow to reduce the solo room rate.

and thank you to all for keeping this (mostly) civil - it is only by listening to, and interacting with, those with differing views and opinions that we learn

 

[pigletto]

Just out of curiosity..
I booked a room only rate and put both my kids down as 9 by accident. One is 16. It's just one night and the room only was through travelocity so I don't particularly want to call them and change anything. My plan is to just tell the front desk it was an error and that she is 16 when she's standing there with me at check in. Does a 16 year old have an extra charge? I don't care either way, and I'll pay it. I'm just wondering what age the extra adult charge kicks in.

 

[dansdad]

Just out of curiosity..
I booked a room only rate and put both my kids down as 9 by accident. One is 16. It's just one night and the room only was through travelocity so I don't particularly want to call them and change anything. My plan is to just tell the front desk it was an error and that she is 16 when she's standing there with me at check in. Does a 16 year old have an extra charge? I don't care either way, and I'll pay it. I'm just wondering what age the extra adult charge kicks in.

You'll be fine. The extra adult charge kicks in when they turn 18.

 

[sandym718]

Syndrome, I hear what you're saying. The difference I see, at least for what one poster said, is that the 18 year old was still in high school. They are highly unlikely to be self supporting at that point, they are still a child in that family. While technically an adult,
Society in general, and the school, treat them still as the parent's responsibility. They are not sharing one room to save money, they are traveling as a family, like they live. There is not the possibility of two separate adult groups paying for 2 separate rooms. If the 18 year old HS student was in a separate room..the parents would be paying for it. I know several argued about older children living at home, etc. I think most reasonable people would agree that it's different - those are adult children living at home. Technically the 18 year old is too -but most people don't see it that way when they are still in school


Now of course, Disney is a business and wants to make money how they can. They are entitled to set their own policies, and this one is following the industry standard So it's not really unfair. Just seems like 19 could be a more reasonable standard, as 99% are at least out of high school at that point. but of course many 18 year olds are as well, many graduate at 17, I did.

I guess I think both points of view, when it comes to 18 year olds, are valid opinions.

 

[NancyIL]

The industry-wide standard is double occupancy. You want outrageous? Try being a solo traveler and paying the entire room rate yourself.

Hotel rooms are usually priced per night - whether single or double occupancy. Cruises are priced per person based on double occupancy, and solo travelers are often charged a 200% single supplement.

Some hotels don't charge for an extra adult until the occupant reaches 19 - knowing that many 18-year-olds are still in high school.

 

[pigletto]

You'll be fine. The extra adult charge kicks in when they turn 18.

Thank you

 

[Missytara]

Just out of curiosity..
I booked a room only rate and put both my kids down as 9 by accident. One is 16. It's just one night and the room only was through travelocity so I don't particularly want to call them and change anything. My plan is to just tell the front desk it was an error and that she is 16 when she's standing there with me at check in. Does a 16 year old have an extra charge? I don't care either way, and I'll pay it. I'm just wondering what age the extra adult charge kicks in.

The only issue would be if you had booked a package, because the adult charge kicks in for the dining plan and tickets. With a room only, you are good.

 

[Happy99]

In most European hotels the max is two people to a room with a rollaway for a child age 11 and younger. Very few hotels have family rooms and even those have a limit depending on the age of the children. With our children being older teens we have to get two rooms at 99% of the hotels we have looked at for our 2014 European stay. Plus them being DS and DD they cannot share a bed any longer and pretty much forces us into the two rooms at most places we end up in

So the extra adult charge at Disney is generous as I wouldn't have to pay for a whole separate room once both my children reach 18 years of age. While I see the reasons others are saying why do they have to charge allowing them to be in the same room is nice even with the extra charge