Cabana Chances?

[gwmort]

We are going to be in Aulani the third week of February. We wanted to book a cabana but were unable to secure one. I have heard some people reserve more than they intend to use and cancel some when they decide they don't want to use them. Has anyone else experienced this? Does anyone know if last minute cabanas do open up as plans finalize (or on the fly)?

 

[corgi_monster]

I've been able to score a cabana every stay, even when they're "sold out". Aulani doesn't require a deposit for reserving a cabana so I think a lot of people back out when it's time to pay the $450. Here's the strategy I use:

Two Days Before Desired Date: People with reservations are emailed at about 9am Hawaii time to confirm their their reservation. Start calling at about 9:15 and keep calling ever few hours to see if there's a cancellation.

One Day Before Desired Date: Aulani starts calling people at about 3pm to confirm their cabana reservations. Keep calling the reservation line every so often to see if there's been a cancellation.

If you're still not able to secure a reservation, you can line up at Rainbow Reef to see if there are any day-of cancellations. I've always been able to reserve a cabana over the phone so I'm not too sure how that works.

Cabanas are assigned in the order they are reserved. Last minute reservations will likely get cabana 6, 7, or 8.

 

[jen22984]

We were told to call on Thursday and Friday for a Saturday reservation a couple weeks ago when they had been sold out. We called several times the week leading up and we were able to secure a cabana on the phone when they called to confirm our reservation on the wednesday before our stay. They have a 12 hr cancellation policy so a lot of them are cancelled the day or 2 prior.

 

[gwmort]

Thank you, picking up a cancellation is what we are hoping for. If anyone on here happens to have one they are giving up on Wednesday Feb 23, a heads up would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Van@Disney]

We kept calling in the two months before we arrived. We did eventually get something. But you need to be consistent or risk missing out on a cancellation.