Difference btwn "request" and bookable room category?

[twodogs]

Another thread made me wonder: what are "requests" and what are bookable room categories? Does it vary by resort? For example, if I book a 2 bedroom villa at BLT, is the room type guaranteed or just a request (ie could I be split into studio plus 1 bedroom and told this is the " same thing" as a 2 bedroom)? I know if I pay for lake view, could still get standard view, but would I get a refund of the difference if they did this?

 

[Sammie]

Here are all the resorts, if you click on each one you will see what you can actually book and the cost.

If you go to Beach Club, you will see there is No category for King Bed.

So that means it is a request only.

http://www.mousesavers.com/2012-walt-disney-world-resort-room-rates-season-dates/

At Bay Lake Towers there are two kinds of 2 bedroom villas. Dedicated which has one door to the hallway and two queen beds in the 2nd bedroom. And a Lock Out which combines a studio and a one bedroom.

Depends on what you book. If paying cash you will be able to book a Dedicated at Bay Lake, I don't think they offer the Lock Outs to cash guests only DVC members.

 

[kddisney502]

requests cannot be guarenteed.

bookable room catagory means that room type can be purchased and guarenteed.

It depends on resort as to what is available.

For example, some resorts have king rooms that you specifically pay more for. But other resorts, you have to request a king room, you don't pay extra so it's not guarenteed. It's based on availability when you arrive.

 

[fla4fun]

Many two bedroom villas are a combo of a one bedroom and a studio. That would not be an unusual thing. As a previous poster mentioned, the terms used are "dedicated", which means a two bedroom with one entrance, and "lockout" which is the combo. However, any time I've made reservations (I book DVC with cash reservations) there hasn't been a distinction on the two bedroom villas as to whether they were dedicated or lockout. Perhaps it's only the points reservations where that can be determined in advance? Or perhaps it's by request only? Since I don't typically book the two bedroom villas, someone else would have to chime in with the answer on that.

However, nothing is carved in stone when you make a hotel reservation - even bookable categories. There have been posts in the past from people who booked preferred rooms but were given standard rooms because all the preferred were occupied when they arrived. It happens sometimes. Just because you book a king room, doesn't mean a 100% guarantee you'll get it. Maintenance issues can play a huge role in causing you to be placed in a different room (for example, if your king room is flooded with water, they won't put you in it, and you could end up with two queen beds). Technically, they don't even have to accommodate you at the hotel you booked - you could book Coronado Springs and end up at Carribean Beach if there were issues at CS. Or a few years ago when they were adding villas to AKL and they had to move a lot of people to other resorts - and some weren't happy even if they did end up at Poly. All they agree to is to accommodate you in a room "somewhere". Most of the time the reservations are honored as booked, but there's always that slight chance of an issue.

Also, in regards to an automatic refund, there have been mixed posts on this. Some people have had to ask, and occasionally step it up a level or two, to get the difference refunded. For others, it's been automatic. If you book a category and get downgraded to a less expensive product, don't be afraid to ask for your refund - you are entitled to it.

 

[reiella]

requests cannot be guarenteed.

bookable room catagory means that room type can be purchased and guarenteed.

It depends on resort as to what is available.

For example, some resorts have king rooms that you specifically pay more for. But other resorts, you have to request a king room, you don't pay extra so it's not guarenteed. It's based on availability when you arrive.

Also to clarify, you are also not technically guaranteed your booking category room either. However, you should be [I'd suggest asking to make sure] refunded the price difference if they are not able to get you a room of that category. It is fairly rare from what I understand, and more related to unexpected problems than overbooking.

The only thing they truly guarantee is that you'll have a room at a Disney resort. That said, you'll most likely not have a fulfillment issue on a bookable category .

 

[Lynne M]

Yes, bookable room categories vary by resort. A lot. For instance, All Star Movies has two room categories - Standard and Preferred. Beach Club has 11 categories - Standard View, Water or Pool View, Garden View, Standard View Club Level, Garden View Club Level, etc....

Let's say you call to book Garden View at BC. The reservation system knows how many rooms of that type are available - let's say there are 50. After you make your reservation, the reservation system updates to show that only 49 are left. They've set aside a room of that category for you. In theory, once the remaining 49 rooms are reserved, the next person to call would be told that no Garden View rooms are available.

A request is....well, just a request. If, when booking your room, at BC, you say you want to be on the first floor, the CM will place a note in your record with that request. When your room is assigned, they will look at that note and try to find you a room on the first floor. If all of the rooms on the first floor are currently occupied or already assigned to other arriving guests, you won't get your request.

 

[Missytara]

It should be noted, like at the mods a few years ago, they added booking categories based on prior requests. And people seem to be willing to pay for it.

 

[spiceycat]

Another thread made me wonder: what are "requests" and what are bookable room categories? Does it vary by resort? For example, if I book a 2 bedroom villa at BLT, is the room type guaranteed or just a request (ie could I be split into studio plus 1 bedroom and told this is the " same thing" as a 2 bedroom)? I know if I pay for lake view, could still get standard view, but would I get a refund of the difference if they did this?

if you got the wrong view - yes you could get money back - but proving you got the wrong view is difficult. because dvc has views right next to each other if both BLT and BWV - a standard view is right next to a lakeview or preferred view.

the 2-bedroom - should be requested dedicated or lock out - should be requested when you make the reservation - Now most of the time your reservation will say what it is - you can call MS to see which you got. but a few years ago because a guest got a lockout when the reservation say dedicated - they demanded a refund. So since then lockout or dedicated is a request not a guaranteed.

the things that are guaranteed are the view - standard, lakeview or theme park

now the requests like on north side, even number rooms are not guaranteed.

the mk view is only guaranteed if you get a theme park view.

 

[twodogs]

Thanks for all the great replies. I am booking a cash reservation at BLT, so I assumed I was getting a dedicated 2 bedroom but may be wrong. Will look at my reservation information. It is awfully confusing since so many difference between the different resorts. But, can it be said in summary that if it shows as a different price (ie +$xxx) than another room on the reservations site when you try to book the room at WDW site, that it is a "category" not a request? For example, at BLT, studio is $xxx/night, 1 bedroom says +$yyy, and 2 bedroom says +$zzz, so these are categories?

 

[smidgy]

ok, so what if someone wanted to book a water view, preferred, king bed room at CBR?

all 3 are bookable categories, (with extra fees)

does the price go up with each specification? on the other thread, they were saying that you would book one category and pay for it, and the other would just be a request.

 

[aubriee]

ok, so what if someone wanted to book a water view, preferred, king bed room at CBR?

all 3 are bookable categories, (with extra fees)

does the price go up with each specification? on the other thread, they were saying that you would book one category and pay for it, and the other would just be a request.

The other thread was correct. A few years ago I booked a preferred room at CBR and told the CM that I also wanted a king bed with a lake view and asked what I needed to do to get all three categories, since all three were bookable categories. He said that you could only pay for the category that was most important, then the other two became just requests, even though they were bookable categories. I paid for a preferred room with a request for first floor, King, waterview room. When I checked in, I was in Martinique 26 in a second floor room with two queen beds that faced the courtyard. I asked the CM checking me in, if there were any King waterview rooms available and was told no, that they had all been booked (so I got the category I booked, but did not get any of my three requests).

 

[Missytara]

The other thread was correct. A few years ago I booked a preferred room at CBR and told the CM that I also wanted a king bed with a lake view and asked what I needed to do to get all three categories, since all three were bookable categories. He said that you could only pay for the category that was most important, then the other two became just requests, even though they were bookable categories. I paid for a preferred room with a request for first flooor, King, waterview room. When I checked in, I was in Martinique 26 in a second floor room with two queen beds that faced the courtyard. I asked the CM checking me in, if there were any King waterview rooms available and was told no, that they had all been booked (so I got the category I booked, but did not get any of my three requests).

That is the perfect way of explaining it!

 

[lanejudy]

Thanks for all the great replies. I am booking a cash reservation at BLT, so I assumed I was getting a dedicated 2 bedroom but may be wrong. Will look at my reservation information. It is awfully confusing since so many difference between the different resorts. But, can it be said in summary that if it shows as a different price (ie +$xxx) than another room on the reservations site when you try to book the room at WDW site, that it is a "category" not a request? For example, at BLT, studio is $xxx/night, 1 bedroom says +$yyy, and 2 bedroom says +$zzz, so these are categories?

Correct, those are bookable categories. "Requests" are things like floor preference, close to elevators, maybe building preference (except when that gets into a "preferred" building which is a category), etc. Overlap comes into play when someone wants a preferred building and a king bed - you can only book one of those categories and the other becomes a request; in such case you should get the booked category but the request may not be available.

 

[nebo]

ah! I see. i was thinking, boy if you book, say, a royal guest room at POR, with a waterview and I king bed, sheesh, it would cost you the same to stay at a deluxe!

(ok, bad example, there probably aren't any royal guest roooms with king beds, but you get my drift).

 

[nebo]

Ok, one last thought that strikes me funny.
if you want a King bed at Disney, at least at the mods it's going to cost you another 15 bucks a night. (Hey, I'm close)

But we drive down from Chicago a lot, and EVERY motel we've stayed at USUALLY,, the King bed is the cheapest alternative available, at all the motel 6's, Days Inns, Comfort Inns, whatevers.

We once even had a coupon from the motel books you pick up at rest stops and welcom centers for 29 a night, but only for a King bed room. When we got there they only had two queen bed rooms available, which were 5 bucks more a night. We had to promise not to use the other bed at all, and then he gave us the King bed rate.

Reason?

It's a lot less work for housekeeping to only have to change and make up one bed, compared to two.

Disney doesn't see things that way though.

 

[ex007]

Ok, one last thought that strikes me funny.
if you want a King bed at Disney, at least at the mods it's going to cost you another 15 bucks a night. (Hey, I'm close)

But we drive down from Chicago a lot, and EVERY motel we've stayed at USUALLY,, the King bed is the cheapest alternative available, at all the motel 6's, Days Inns, Comfort Inns, whatevers.

We once even had a coupon from the motel books you pick up at rest stops and welcom centers for 29 a night, but only for a King bed room. When we got there they only had two queen bed rooms available, which were 5 bucks more a night. We had to promise not to use the other bed at all, and then he gave us the King bed rate.

Reason?

It's a lot less work for housekeeping to only have to change and make up one bed, compared to two.

Disney doesn't see things that way though.

Agree. Disney doesn't see things the same was as the "real" world. That said, given the economy, and the way airlines keep adding on fees, I'm sure we will see soon enough Disney allowing us to book requests for an additional fee. If they don't do it, they are leaving money on the table.