Booking our trip was Nightmare!!

[Wenlitz]

Just booked our trip, called the hotel reservations directly.
The person I spoke with was very frazzeled and after being on the phone to set up basic reservations for 30 to 45 min I still had to call back to make sure it was right. I was then told that Disney dosnt guarantee a non smoking room anymore??? Which I just cant believe. They also push the trip insurance which if you have to change your dates you are required to purchase the trip insurance all over again?? What a headache. Am I the only one who has experienced these problems when booking??

 

[thepianoman]

It sounds as if you booked a travel package rather than a room-only reservation. My best advice is to stress that you want to make a room-only reservation when you call.

In addition, if you encounter a CM who seems to be having difficulty or is unfriendly, politely excuse yourself from the call and immediately call back. In my experience, this has always resulted in reaching a more capable CM to take the reservation.

Keep in mind that you are the one spending the money; if you are unhappy with your experience, you have every right to try and make it better.

 

[Eeyore1954]

To my knowledge, Disney has never guaranteed rooms. They accept room preferences and in my experience, I've always received what I listed as my preference (usually only non-smoking).

If you don't want the trip insurance, just say no, thank you.

 

[ILoveWDW2003]

Trip Insurance is non-refundable.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Sorry you had trouble, hope everything else goes smoother with your trip planning.

 

[dutch63]

I booked our trip last week and had a wonderfully gracious cm help me out. So sorry to hear about your frustrations but I go along with the previous post suggestion that if you have someone who seems to be struggling with helping you out, kindly excuse yourself and call back and hopefully you will find yourself working with someone who has a little more experience. Heard a rumor that there has been an influx of new trainees that might explain the confusion

 

[bigbabyblues]

I had to call and change our dates this morning, and I was concerned, because I didn't know if I could just moved the dates up two days, or if I had to cancel and reschedule, and we do have a package and did buy the insurance. I was afraid we'd lose the insurance money and have to pay it twice, but luckily I hadn't gotten around to paying that deposit, so I didn't have to. The CM I got was not talkative, as some are, but she was polite and seemed to understand what she was doing.

I asked for one of two buildings to be noted, and she did note it without a problem, but when she read it back to me, she said "Request either Toy Story or 101 Dalmatians buildings, request noted but not guaranteed". I knew they were just requests, but I liked that she did add that part, some people who make a request may not understand it's a request not a guarantee and be upset if they don't get it.

Happy planning!

Steph

 

[dizneykid]

Hi,

Sorry, you had such a tough time. Pixie Dust to you.

Anyway, I just wanted to tell you I just made a reservation for December and they guaranteed me a non-smoking room. The CM said it would show up on my confirmation. I would call back and see what happens. Good luck.

 

[missypie]

I totally agree with excusing yourself from a call when things are not going well. DH is great at this, while I tend to stay on the call and get as bit**y as the person on the other end of the phone. I've got to learn to gracefully "abandon ship."

 

[StrwLady]

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience booking your trip. Like others have said don't put up with rude CM's end the call and call back. And if you have the other CM's name ask for a supervisor and lodge a complaint.

As for non-smoking rooms, non-smoking is guaranteed when needed for medical reasons. I have asthma and the CM notes my reservation that I have asthma and need non-smoking. My confirmation sheets always state guaranteed non-smoking.

Take Care
Jamie

 

[Montana Disney Fan]

I travel 200+ nights per year for business and recently found out that non-smoking, rooms with two beds, etc... are all "requests" and are not guaranteed. This was at a Marriott where I'm a gold member. I recently rented at a Hilton and same thing. The gal told me that those are all requests and not guaranteed. I was dumbfounded. After all these years of traveling, I never knew that those rooms were not guaranteed. From what I've learned recently, this seems to be standard practice. Oh well. I've always received the type of room I want without any problems.

 

[GailT]

To be truthful even if they are non smoking rooms rude people that smoke still will smoke in the rooms, I have gone into Non smoking rooms and they reaked of smoke, no Disney but othe rplaces.

 

[zurgswife]

Originally posted by Wenlitz
Just booked our trip, called the hotel reservations directly.
The person I spoke with was very frazzeled and after being on the phone to set up basic reservations for 30 to 45 min I still had to call back to make sure it was right. I was then told that Disney dosnt guarantee a non smoking room anymore??? Which I just cant believe. They also push the trip insurance which if you have to change your dates you are required to purchase the trip insurance all over again?? What a headache. Am I the only one who has experienced these problems when booking??

Sorry you had such a difficult experience...I've never heard of anybody calling the hotel directly for reservations...so maybe this was the problem if you were in fact talking with the hotel. Also, if you are being pushed insurance it typically is required for packages not room only reservations...

 

[sherry8253]

Hi Wenlitz - I don't think that nonsmoking rooms are guaranteed unless there is a medical condition. I have asthma and rooms that have been heavily smoked in and still have a smokey smell can lead to wheezing. I always just tell them that I would appreciate a nonsmoking room due to asthma. Disney has always placed us in a nonsmoking room when we arrived. They are better than many of the other hotels I have been to where I ended up in a smoking room and one time ended up in the ER in Las Vegas for breathing treatments. So, if you have a reason for needing a nonsmoking room, be certain to explain that when you make your reservations. Otherwise, I think Disney really tries to give you nonsmoking but I don't think it is a guaranty.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

hmmm I've never been asked if I want the trip insurance.
Do you think that is because we did room only?

 

[Rachael Q]

I worked in the hotel industry for years.

As much as we would love to guarantee REQUESTS we cannot. A non smoking room is a request.

The majority of rooms are now non smoking (it used to be that the majority were smoking). And we do try to accommodate all requests but when the hotel is full then there will be more requests for non smoking that we have actual rooms for.

Then we assign rooms by:
medical (need wheelchair access), adjoining rooms (where it's a family and we do not want to split families up), special occasions, guests paying rack (full) rate, long stay guests, and then discounted rates. So unfortunately if you are on discount rate with a request for non smoking, you would have a higher chance of ending up in a smoking room.

We considered making more rooms non smoking, but after changing the mattresses, bedding, cushions on the seats, curtains and sheers, you could still smell smoke - it gets into the wallpaper and the carpet. So until a hotel does a major renovation it's hard to switch rooms from smoking to non smoking.

And yes smokers, will forget to request a smoking room, and will then smoke in a non smoking room!

Other reasons that it's hard to guarantee rooms - is that guests will often extend their stay, and then a room we thought was going to be available - is now occupied.

Or a room might have to be taken out of order - for maintenance or housekeeping reasons. Then the inventory is reduced again.

The only guarantee we give is that you will get the room type you booked (or upgrade - we will not downgrade).

 

[DMRick]

WDW will guarentee a non smoking room for medical reasons. I have one again this time because i have asthma. Doesn't mean a whole lot. Last month someone was smoking in the room next to us and when I called down to the office, they offered to move ME! I was told there are only about 40 smoking rooms at POR-Riverside. I don't know if it's true, but just walking past non smoking rooms, believe me a lot more than that are used for smoking.

 

[iluvtig2]

Booking through a travel agent who is a College of Disney Knowledge graduate. They will help you sort through room requests, (and they are Requests!!!), date changes, need for travel insurance, etc. Note: I never push travel insurance, unless it is an extremely expensive trip, or there are children (who frequently get sick), hefty cancellation fees or other extenuating circumstances. Plus there are different types of policies, some which require you to pay at deposit, but others not until final payment. I do let people know that it's available, and what it involves.

You can still plan your trip your way, but all those annoying phone calls are not your problem, neither are the long hold time, or the sometimes less than helpful people you are expecting to help you.

iluvtig