Changes ahead for 2008 room bookings!!

[CleveRocks]

In terms of charging more for weekends ... well, that's just NORMAL as far as I'm concerned. Almost everywhere else I go for business or leisure charges more for the same room on Friday and Saturday nights than the other 5 nights of the week.

We've actually been coddled by Disney for years. Now that they are acting "normally" we call them greedy? We should thank them for NOT charging us extra for weekends over the past many years. NOT charging for weekends represents a DISCOUNT over most other hoteliers. So they took away the discount.

 

[siestakeys04]

I also see other hotels doing this rate change. If i go to hotel.com and check a rate it will show me what i am paying each day sometimes it higher than the first day or lower. I thought this was how it was

 

[CleveRocks]

[QUOTE="thegirls";19133992]I feel this is finally a step that Disney will regret. I also only stay 'on-site' but that will no longer be the case. I am not threatening Disney, just stating a fact. Up until this point I could never justify a reason to say 'off-site' and try some of the nicer hotels but I believe Disney just gave me the reason to go that direction. I believe that once I 'go to the dark side' I will not come back because of pricing and amenities offered! [/QUOTE]How sure are you that the neighboring hotel properties DON'T charge more for weekends than weekdays??? Look before you leap, because you might just jump into the same situation elsewhere.

Here in the Atlantic City area, weekend nights sometimes cost double or triple the price of a weekday night.

 

[CleveRocks]

Before I state this, what I'm about to say isn't because I'm "pro-Disney" or think that I need to defend their actions (real or reported)...

People need to keep in mind that WDW's primary goal isn't to provide the cheapest possible family vacation, their prime directive, as with any for-profit venture, is to maximum long term shareholder returns on their investments. The bad news for us: The people in charge of WDW resorts have looked at how they price rooms, occupancy patterns, etc. and have concluded (reportedly) that these changes will benefit them economically. The good news: If their intuition is wrong, and such changes result in a negative financial impact to WDW Inc. due to depressing room occupancy if it pushes people off-site, then will be revised in the favor of the consumer. They done this type of thing before... a year or so ago they "re-vamped" the whole AP discount program. The changes bombed, and they were tossed aside.

If you've followed the press, you'll read that Tourism is "back". Flights are jam packed to levels that haven't been seen since the tech bubble burst in 1999/2000. Business is "hopping" at WDW and so they think (reportedly) now is a good time to make such changes

VERY well-stated. Thanks for saving me the trouble of typing something similar.

 

[marivaid]

I don't see what the big deal is and why some of you are so upset.

The majority of hotels & resorts outside The World work that way.
We're going to NYC in October and every single night of our stay has a different price.

I've read several TR where DVC members spent the weekends at Value resorts because on those nights the resorts cost more points. We'll probably do the same thing if rates go up more than $20-$30 on weekends.

 

[branv]

I'm becoming a big fan of DCL, and have managed to always sway DH into staying 3 nights for a long weekend before the cruise at WDW. I've even gotten him used to staying on-site despite his constant grumbling about the inflated cost. For our next cruise, I finally got him to agree to stay in a Deluxe (and knew once I got him there, he'd never want to go back to Moderates...which would mean even more since once we have kids, we knew WDW would be a regular trip.) But with this change, knowing that b/c we're staying over the weekend our rates will be higher, there's no way DH will want to stay on-site now. Especially since he knows that you can easily get the Gaylord or Hyatt for $100-$140 using Priceline.

*sigh* there goes my leveraging power. It's all going to depend on just what kind of premium $$ they're talking about.

 

[marivaid]

How sure are you that the neighboring hotel properties DON'T charge more for weekends than weekdays??? Look before you leap, because you might just jump into the same situation elsewhere.

Just an example :

Sheraton Vistana

August 29 (Wednesday) : $125.72
August 31 (Friday) : $167.91

 

[Disney8704]

From All Ears

Please note the following information is UNofficial and has not been released by Walt Disney World. All Ears "hears" it's coming!

Major changes are coming to the hotel reservation system beginning June 23, 2007. At that time, a new program will be instituted for all reservations beginning January 1, 2008. Pricing and rates for 2008 Walt Disney World hotels will become date specific.

Here's how it effects your budget: You will pay a nightly rate based on the season of that date. If you reserve night 1 under the value season and nights 2-5 under peak season, you will no longer be able to maintain the value season rate for the entire reservation.

Premium rates will now be applied for premium dates. A weekend may be considered premium so that friday and saturday night pricing may be higher than sunday - thursday, even if in the same "season".

In theory, you could be paying a different price for each night of your stay.

The upside, if there is one, is that you no longer have to split reservations and recheck into your hotel.

No word on how this may effect Annual Passholder rates.

When making room only reservations for 2008 you must specifically ask for the rate for each night otherwise you will just be given a total price for your stay. Package pricing will not be broken down by day.

More details as they become available.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Interesting... I wouldn't doubt it. This appears to be standard procedure throughout much/most of the hospitality industry. Okay, fine, the only other place I go is Las Vegas, but it's standard there!

 

[Geoff_M]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1481002

 

[jmkrat]

Good point, boy I see alot of people getting upset and we don't even know what the price increase is going to be. I have been checking some of the off site resorts just to see. Another possible reason could be the gas increase. Anyone that fills there tank or gets groceries has had to notice the substantial increases. I am sure they are feeling the bite as well with food and paying for the constant running buses. It has had to take a chunk out of their profit. I am not feeling sorry for them, just stating a fact. I like onsite too much. Between not paying for my parking and transportation and the EMH. I sure don't want to spend my vacation money on paying for a rental car and filling the tank because I stayed offsite cheaper. That would more than likely be more than the extra I would have to pay for a weekend. Like a few posters have said, we can't be sure if the other resorts won't follow and raise their rates.

 

[marivaid]

Like a few posters have said, we can't be sure if the other resorts won't follow and raise their rates.

In this case it's Disney who's following other resorts.

 

[Winston1204]

This is why we will continue to rent DVC points. We just spent Memorial Day Weekend at the BCV for $150/night.....we had to stay at POP for 1 night and that was $120/night and NO WHERE even close to BCV. For only $30 more a night we had a beautiful studio room with a fridge/kitchen area, awesome pool, and more. Whereas at the POP, we did get a food court....but the mass of screaming children and hearing toilets flushing at all hours of the night/morning....I don't think we will be returning there for $120/night!

 

[taximomfor4]

Doubletree suites DTD: Wed 1/16/08: $251.23
Sat 1/12/08:$251.23

Hilton DTD: Wed 1/16/08:$279
Sat 1/12/08:$279

Best Western LBV Wed 1/16/08:$99
Sat 1/12/08: $99

Radisson Resort Orl: Wed 1/16/08:$149
Sat 1/12/08:$149

Not all the h9otel chains are charging extra on weekends. Around me, I haven't found that at all (Maybe it's the chains we stay in!) We always stay for dance competitions just for the weekend, but sometimes arriving on Thursday. We haven't paid extra for a Friday or Saturday yet. BTW, I am NOT saying I would boycott staying at Disney because of increased weekend rates. Where I stay for dance, it is never big tourist destinations. I think that makes a difference in whether there are "weekend rates." I've never gone to Atlantic City or Las Vegas...there, I could see weekend rates being a big moneymaker.

I just wanted to show that there are options around WDW that don't increase charge on weekend nights.

Beth

 

[eliza61]

That is weird, it seems like it would encourage more people to stay offsite during the weekends. I would probably do that. Many hotels are actually cheaper on the weekends than on the weekdays (due to no convention traffic).

I'm not sure about that, simply because there are us die hards who probably will not give up on site for a few dollars.
Do alot of folks travel other places on vacation because every one seems shocked by this? A lot of tourist places on the east coast have been doing this for years now. If you take a beach vacation at the Jersey shore, Maryland shore, Virginia beach or Mrytle beach all the beachfront property (I call that onsite ) charge extra on the weekend. usually 10-30 per night and forget it if you go during the 4th of July week. Prices are sky high.
Not defending Disney, I just see them catch up to what has been going on around the travel industry for a while now.

 

[84disney]

Every hotel I have ever booked for ball trips is way cheaper on the weekend than weekdays....by as much as 50.00. Of course, they have been business oriented cities like Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, Cincinnati.

 

[jmkrat]

In this case it's Disney who's following other resorts.

I only stay onsite so I have no clue . I am just looking now because I am curious. I have always felt it to be worth it to stay onsite, even if I have to take fewer vacations. I just like the whole Disney feel and not having to commute back and froth from a resort offsite. We are so tired at the end of the day, it is nice to be transported.

 

[Poohbear123]

No weekends for me coming up, which means no SSW and NO flower and Garden, and I will have to stay Mon-Wed only, on site, as I don't drive. Off site hotels are of NO use to me, so I guess my trips will be limited now. No biggie, Disney doesn't want my money, no problem, but I like a Bargain! So I will be saving money and putting it away for my retirement instead of giving it to Disney! NO I will not buy into DVC, its a rip off as far as I am concerned. BAD MOVE DISNEY on your Part!

 

[marivaid]

I only stay onsite so I have no clue . I am just looking now because I am curious. I have always felt it to be worth it to stay onsite, even if I have to take fewer vacations. I just like the whole Disney feel and not having to commute back and froth from a resort offsite. We are so tired at the end of the day, it is nice to be transported.

We stay onsite at WDW too but when we travel elsewhere we're used to paying premium prices on weekends - even my $37/night motel at the beach does that.

 

[nbodyhome]

There are a lot of hotels that don't charge more on the weekends. When I go out of town, the weekends are usually cheaper (not pricier). This is especially true at convention hotels. I'm heading out to California next month - and at least 2 out of 3 of the hotels I will be at are less expensive on weekends.

Not every hotel will be less expensive - but if I was driving down to Disney (I am local), I'd more likely stay at an offsite property in this case. But it all depends - with Florida Resident discounts or AP rates, Disney could be just as good too with a value resort. I do think it would encourage guests to maybe knock off a weekend (which DVC guests do at least some of the time, or they stay somewhere cheaper).

Of course, Disney could be making weekday prices more reasonable, and keep weekend prices the same or a few bucks more for next year (yeah, right - I know!) But it depends on how the pricing is overall.