Can't change resorts during free dining!?!?!?!?

[scribega]

We are booked at ASmu for September. When we saw the new room deals, I thought I would call and just see if we can change results for the current rate. Well, you can't combine offers, but to answer the initial question - my CSR got guest relations on the phone and said they were able to move me from ASmu to either POFQ or SSR. I have been told three previous times that I couldn't upgrade to a different resort - but this is the first time that a CSR actually called guest services.

The cost difference is the cost of the usual rate for those rooms. POFQ is usual rate $145 and ASMu is $82 so the $63 difference each night is what I would have to pay - not the POFQ current deal of $104.

 

[antkim]

It's not that there are a certain number of rooms available for the promotion. Try to follow me here ...

For each room category in each resort, they have a target occupancy rate in mind. If occupancy for any given date is ABOVE that target rate, then Free Dining isn't even offered to begin with. If the occupancy rate is below that target rate, they offer Free Dining, but only until the occupancy rate reaches/exceeds that target rate, and then it disappears.

Now, let's say the target ocupancy rate for, say, CBR preferred location rooms is 80% (I'm just making up the percentage here - Disney doesn't exactly e-mail me their super secret figures ). We know that CBR has 384 preferred location rooms. 80% of 384 is 307.2. So following this example, let's say that on the day before Free Dining is announced, CBR has 300 preferred location rooms booked for a given day. That means that when Free Dining reservations are open, CBR's preferred location rooms will be available for that promotion (for a given date). But as soon as they book 8 more rooms, they'll have 308 rooms booked, which is more than 307.2, and thus the next person who tries to book Free Dining in a CBR preferred location room for thatdate will be told Free Dining isn't available.

Continuing this example ... right now CBR is teetering at 308 booked preferred locaiton rooms, just over the 307.2 threshold for Free Dining. Then let's say at 3:00 p.m. someone calls to cancel one of those rooms, so now they only have 307 booked, which is less than 307.2, which means that Free Dining is open again!!! But only for one lucky person who happens to make a reservation while it's still available; once that next person takes a preferred location room for that date, Free Dining isn't available again.

Now, to address your question/concern, remember that 307.2 rooms figure, the target occupancy rate in this silly little example. Well, let's say that 370 of CBR's 384 preferred location rooms are booked. 370 is WAAAAAY over 307.2, so of course they aren't offering Free Dining anymore. If they have 370 rooms booked and 10 people cancel their Free Dining reservations, it's not like you can take their place! There are still 360 rooms taken, which is still way over the threshold for offering Free Dining.

So there's no "unfairness" going on, once you understand how it works.

Let's say you own a fruit and vegetable store. Let's say you bought 500 pounds of red apples and 500 pounds of green apples. You paid the same for all of them and charge the same for all of them. Well, in a week you sell 475 pounds of red apples, but only 100 pounds of green apples. Your red apples are selling like hot cakes, but your green apples might rot in your store and you'll lose your money. What do you do??? You lower the price of the green apples, that's what you do! You lower the price to make them more attractive to buyers. Even if you make less money on them, you'll still get SOME money back on them before they go bad.

Same thing with rooms at Disney ... they don't need to offer free promotions on rooms that are selling well. For rooms that aren't selling well, they lower the price (or in this case offer something else for free ... same thing!) to try to make some money back. To a hotelier, an empty room is just like rotting fruit to a store owner -- they both represent lost money.

Does that help?

PERFECT explaination!

 

[CarolA]

I'll be the lone dissenter who says they don't have any problem with Disney not allowing someone to switch to another resort and maintain free dining. I liken it to a sale at a regular store. Let's say Target has all their shirts on sale during the month of June, so during the month of June you pick up a shirt for $5. Then, in July, you decide you wanted the shirt that was $10 instead and head back to Target expecting them to take back the $5 shirt and sell you the other shirt at it's discounted price of $10 even though the sale is up and it's now priced at it's regular $15 price. They're not obligated to do that when they've made it clear that the sale was for the month of June only. It works just the same for WDW and their free dining offer. The promotion has a set deadline that all guests are aware of and that's it. It'd be great for you (the collective you) if they did honor the now expired promotion, but no one has a right to get in a huff (not that anyone on this thread did) if they don't.

You are not alone. I find it just amazing that folks think the "book by" dates are some kind of "guidance" and want exceptions to allow them to change resorts, add rooms, add people etc....

So what they want is for Disney to take a room that they might could sell now at a higher profit rate and give it to them at the "sale" price just because "now we want to upgrade" or " now we have decided to add people and need two rooms" etc....

And then if there aren't rooms avaiable. they get bent out of shape???

 

[ElizabethB]

Call back and ask to speak with guest relations. It is possible, however, that the moderate resorts are not available for your dates with free dining. If not, then even guest relations can't make the change. At least for the last week of August, when the promotion ended, the values were sold out and the moderates were sold out. There seemed to be plenty of availability at the deluxes and DVC resorts (hence the much discussed situation where early bookers at some values for some weeks got upgraded to DVC resorts.) Not surprisingly, the free dining promotion fills the value resorts first and the moderates next. Last to fill with free dining are deluxe and DVC.

After the promotion ended we were able to change our room at CSR from standard to preferred. Preferred rooms were not available with free dining when we booked, but became available after the promotion ended. I assume availability to change resorts works the same way. As CleveRocks explained, a room at a different resort may become available with free dining after the promotion ends, but it may be snapped up pretty quickly. Seems to me, therefore, that daily and perhaps twice daily calling might help -- especially as the final payment date for your dates come up. There are certainly people who book for free dining, but then realize they can't go for whatever reason and have to cancel.

Finally, since your parents are staying at Fort Wilderness campground anyway, you could ask about changing from your current hotel to a cabin at FW. The cabins were readily available with free dining when the promotion ended (unlike the moderates). Not sure if this would be in your price range, but if it is, it's worth checking. This would put your very close to your parents.