Does Universal do hotel deals like Disney

Randomsoulshine

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 2, 2018
We just recently stayed at Carribean Beach and had a fantastic visit and a good rate thanks to a percentage off the rack rate.the room slept five. I was looking into cabana bay for June 2020 as we will only be doing Universal parks and I feel like you get much less for your money. Do they ever do room discounts at universal hotels besides the stay and save which doesn’t seem to bring the price down much?
 
We just recently stayed at Carribean Beach and had a fantastic visit and a good rate thanks to a percentage off the rack rate.the room slept five. I was looking into cabana bay for June 2020 as we will only be doing Universal parks and I feel like you get much less for your money. Do they ever do room discounts at universal hotels besides the stay and save which doesn’t seem to bring the price down much?
Here’s the Uni Resorts forum:
https://www.disboards.com/forums/universal-orlando-resorts-hotels.75/
 
Universal seems to have much more fluid pricing than Disney. Disney has rack rates that are basically set (until they raise them, of course) by time of year, day of week, and holidays. Universal outsources its hotels to Loews, which is an actual hotelier, so their rates are more like those of "real" hotels, which fluctuate with supply and demand. People on the Universal board frequently write of checking back daily for rate changes.

June of 2020 is too far out to get a sense of what the rates will be then. They will change many times over the coming months. Best bet is to book a refundable rate, and rebook when you find a lower rate.

Also, I think Universal hotels offer MORE than Disney hotels do for your money. Stay at one of the 3 deluxe hotels, and you get unlimited express passes. Sapphire falls has pools and facilities far and away better than the moderates at Disney. We stayed at Cabana Bay about a year and a half ago when CB was the "value" resort (now with the Endless Summer resorts, I'd say CB is sort of Value-Plus), and we had two courtyards with pools - one with a water slide and the other with a lazy river. Disney can't touch that.
 


Universal seems to have much more fluid pricing than Disney. Disney has rack rates that are basically set (until they raise them, of course) by time of year, day of week, and holidays. Universal outsources its hotels to Loews, which is an actual hotelier, so their rates are more like those of "real" hotels, which fluctuate with supply and demand. People on the Universal board frequently write of checking back daily for rate changes.

June of 2020 is too far out to get a sense of what the rates will be then. They will change many times over the coming months. Best bet is to book a refundable rate, and rebook when you find a lower rate.

Also, I think Universal hotels offer MORE than Disney hotels do for your money. Stay at one of the 3 deluxe hotels, and you get unlimited express passes. Sapphire falls has pools and facilities far and away better than the moderates at Disney. We stayed at Cabana Bay about a year and a half ago when CB was the "value" resort (now with the Endless Summer resorts, I'd say CB is sort of Value-Plus), and we had two courtyards with pools - one with a water slide and the other with a lazy river. Disney can't touch that.
Thank you so much for the explanation of the pricing. I will begin the check back and watch for rates to hopefully fall. As for Disney I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Our resort was a moderate not a deluxe and we had an awesome themed pool with water slide. We had sandy beaches with hammocks and the grounds were lovely. We did get the 60 day free fast passes. Every restaurant was amazing And the price was at way below 200 a night for beds for five people. We have stayed at a Disney Springs hotel and there was a lazy river. I wish we could afford the deluxe universal but we can’t. We did go to universal parks this June and express pass wasn’t even needed as we did everything by 2:00 so I think Cabana Bay would be good for us. My sister is going to CB this November and got an awesome rate. Fingers crossed I can find a CB room for five at a good deal. Thank you again for the great advice.
 
I don't have much advice but I am in the same boat as you. I'm going in June 2020 too. I've booked a room at Sapphire Falls that can be cancelled up to (I believe) 5 days before check in. I plan to monitor the price during that time and cancel/rebook if it drops.
 
Rates do change all the time. Also look at Undercover tourist rates for those hotels when time is closer.
For Example-i'd booked Endless summer for our september trip on first day booking was available for it. Have been waffling on cancelling as decided rather stay closer-but price are now much higher-until snagged Sapphire falls for rate I can live with - that rate has changed multiple times since december and when I changed this month. UT also had Royal pacific regular room for $220/nt during my dates, but Universal sight shows only suites left for super high prices.
Just keep all options open and check back periodically!
 


Most of the time, the best discount you can find on Universal's hotels are AP rates or what they call Stay More, Save More (SMSM) rate. 3 to 5 nights, is about 15 percent, 5 t0 7 is 20 and 7 or more, can be 25 to 30 percent off. I find, with Universal, supply and demand work to increase prices. June can be very busy, hence prices will rise as time goes on. I'd book room only, as you get billed for one night's stay, that is fully refundable to cancel, until 5 days before the first day of check in. With undercovertourist, and some other TA's, just check, they require full payment of the stay, but do have no cancellation fees for generally the same time frame that Universal hotel's give.

And you can always check on both Universal's site, and the Loews website. Both you can book a room.

And sometimes, like on Universal's website, free gift card with Cabana Bay stay, until Dec 20 this year. All the specials will be listed on Universal's hotel page. Any of the packages I see on Loews' website don't apply to their hotels in Orlando. Filling those hotels without bonus stuff doesn't seem to stop having their hotels filled. The group rate for AP is APH entered when booking a hotel on Loews' website.

And yes, I think CB is nicer than the value hotels of Disney.
 

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