discount rates for may 2004

[dismemaw]

hi not really new to this board been watching for a month now, called for discount rates this morning was told they don't know if their even going to have entertainment rates for my dates in may of 2004 but"IF" they do it won't be till the middle of December. I wonder if the fact that so many of us are reserving for next year at regular rates waiting for the discount rates could have any thing to do with them not knowing if they will have the discount rates or not? dismemaw

 

[AlexandNessa]

Originally posted by dismemaw
I wonder if the fact that so many of us are reserving for next year at regular rates waiting for the discount rates could have any thing to do with them not knowing if they will have the discount rates or not?

I hope you didn't hit the nail on the head. I would really hope that people aren't booking at rack rates now with the intention of changing their rates once discounts are released. Discounts are released based upon availability (ex: as of this year, ENT rates are discontinued once the hotel is projected to be 80% full). The more people who book at rack rates with no intention of paying them, the greater the chances that the release of discounts will be jeopardized/delayed.

I am not booking my spring trip until discounts are released, primarily because I have no intention of paying rack rates.

 

[Puffy2]

I have no intention of booking rack rate for our dates either. My sister (one of the people going with me, just can't pay that rate so it's either a discount or nothing at all) The Universal hotels are beautiful, but $309.00 for a standard room before tax (Portofino Bay) is ridiculious.

 

[puffkin]

I agree with what has already been said.

We are looking for July 2004 for our honeymoon, and won't book until discounts come out. Discounts are based on occupancy, so if the resort is full, why would they offer a discount? It doesn't make sense to book at rack rate unless you are willing to pay that if discounts don't come out. Plus, depending on discounts, we don't mind staying at any of the 3 hotels, so we will see if anything is offered for our dates and go from there.

That being said, I will probably book our WDW room for the honeymoon in advance with the AAA rate since we will be there over July 4th and I want to stay at the Polynesian. If discounts come out, great. I don't think booking at rack rates at Disney affects discounts quite as much as at Universal because of the sheer volume of rooms.

 

[mark & sandra]

I disagree with everyones idea about not having to offer discounts if their is too many reservations booked. If they allot say 100 rooms at Entertainment rate of 50% off AFTER they book all the rooms, then they still look good to customers for offering big discounts, and the customers are only mad at themselves, wishing they had booked earlier. At best only a percentage of those who have already booked at the higher rate call to modify their ressie. They are in a no lose situation. I think the discounts are more of a marketing ploy then an attempt to woo more customers. I think members of the Dis Boards are a little more in the know about discounts and deals then the average customers staying at the Universal and Disney resorts. Even with the large amount of members on these boards, I think the chances of us having a big effect on Universal or Disneys discount schemes are low.

 

[SpideyHulk24]

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. As someone who worked through college in hotels, (well known hotels) we only gave discounts when we were below occupancy. If we were booked past a certain level or past our forecast, then we would only INCREASE rates because there was a better chance of selling out since there would be more demand and less rooms to sell.

I hope your right, but that's not normally how it works.