Dolphin Hotel & Management not fair! We're cancelling! I need to vent!!

[SGF]

I called late last night to get information on the Jr. Suite at the Dolphin Hotel for our upcoming disney trip. The main reservation area at the 888 number was closed, however, by pressing one you can get transfered to speak to someone. After speaking to that gentleman for a few minutes he then transfered me to the hotel front desk. I then talked with two different people who each quoted me the discounted teacher price for a Jr. Suite. After discussing the cost, and the description of the room I told him I wanted to book it. He then after spending quite sometime on the phone told me he wasn't allowed to book Jr. Suites and that I would have to call back at 7am. I asked if he could atleast hold the room on the agreed price but he replied that his system wouldn't let him. I called back this morning and of course the price was different and when I explained what happened yesterday the people at the hotel including the management were not "customer friendly" at all. They kept saying I should have booked it. At that point I told him I wanted to but was told by HIS front desk person they couldn't book Jr. Suites to call back in the morning and talk to reservations.

I am so angry over this incident and I don't feel this is the way to start a Disney vacation. My beef is:

1. Why would they let their front employees discuss price with a potential customer if they couldn't book the room?

2. If they can't book rooms they should say so right up front.. not after discussing all the details and prices for quite some time! Why would someone want to waste their time by getting the information if they can't leave a deposit on the agreed upon price?

3. They shouldn't be allowed to quote prices if they can't book at that time especiallywhen you do call back the following morning at their instructions and they aren't honored.

4. Why did the manager today say that I should have booked that price in one breath and in the next " The front desk isn't allowed to book rooms" in the next? Isn't that contradicting himself?

I can see if I personally didn't want to book at that time but chose to think about it then if the price was different it was my fault. I resent the fact that I was told today you should have booked it when they know darn well I wanted to but the person at the front desk couldn't.

I'm sorry but I think this way of dealing with the public stinks!!! I've stayed at this resort several times in the past and I find recently the way they handle their customers needs to be improved! Is this their new underhanded way to increase prices (just like their resort fee)?

I'm sorry to vent to all my fellow Dis-posters but I'm really upset over the way I was treated. I was looking forward to staying there again but now I'll be looking for a different hotel as I won't be giving them any of our money.


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[DisneyFan79]

Sorry to hear of your experience. I would call back and speak to the manager and let him know that the "real" Disney resorts will get your business from now on and you will recommend all your friends to do the same. That will probably not help the matter, but maybe you will feel a little bit better I would then book a Disney room. I haven't had any problems with the Disney reservation office. Once I changed hotels 5 different times in a 2 week period!! No problem for them. Again, I am sorry for your experience. Happy planning!!

 

[SGF]

DisneyFan79:

Thanks for replying and your kind words. I did speak to two managers and put a complaint into their customer service dept. but no one cared! I guess this is the new way they do business. It must be nice to be so independant that you can "throw away" customers. We are looking into booking the disney hotels now. Hopefully they will have some discount codes for when we are going. If not, it's off to the Hard Rock Hotel and Universal where they treat their customers with respect.

Planning a disney vacation shouldn't be upsetting!!!!

Thanks again for posting Bryan.

 

[B3LM]

Did you get the name of the employee you talked to in the evening?

 

[csmommy]

Originally posted by B3LM
Did you get the name of the employee you talked to in the evening?

Exactly my question. Perhaps you can call back when he is on, or another Manager is.

 

[SGF]

Yes, I got the name of the person I spoke to and I told the manager this morning that as well but no go they didn't care. All he said was they aren't allowed to make reservations so I repeated why can they give prices? The manager today (two of them) said they were trying to help me out but all they were doing was giving me the room at the new rate he quoted this morning not what I was told yesterday. That's not helping me out.

I'm really disappointed in them this time around.

 

[JandT'smom]

I am so sorry we had something very similar happen to us at the Dolphin also. Good luck on your trip

 

[SGF]

JandT'smom:

Thanks for your understanding. I'm sorry to hear you had to go thru something with the Dolphin also.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Wow, this is very poor customer service! However, I suppose S/D management figures they can survive on convention business and some people who will put up with this sort of shoddy practice. I suppose that being "independent" has some advantages, but not if it damages the Disney magic.

I know the Teacher's Rate is really good, but I wonder if mousesavers.com has a code that could get you something close to that at another Disney resort?

I agree that the Dolphin should lose your business. I know it may not do much good, but I would write them a letter and cc: WDW Guest Relations on it. You may not get a reply, but at least someone will see it in writing.

I hope your upcoming Disney vacation is super-magical! You deserve it after this experience.

 

[disnurse]

just out of curiosity what were the two prices, i believe glo's thread has teacher prices for suites- how far apart were the prices.

 

[SGF]

Eeyore1954:

Thanks for your help. Do you happen to have the address where I can send the letter? I don't want to just send it to the hotel as I'm sure they'd throw it away. Is there a corporate head office and to what address do I cc it to disney? Any help would be appreciated.

disnurse:

Hi, the difference in the price I was quoted last night to this morning is $29.00 per night. Now that may not sound like much but it does add up. If they had handled it in a more professional manner and not with this take it or leave it attitude I probably wouldn't be as upset as I am. It's like they just don't care! I'm in business myself and I'd never treat my customers like this. They could have even offered to split the difference but no, they just weren't interested in correcting the problem and keeping an old customer happy. I guess their word of mouth isn't worth the small different and an unhappy customer isn't too impt. to them.

What bothers me the most is why can some of their front evening help quote prices if they don't honor it?

 

[vellamint]

I would love to know this also!?

Thanks.

 

[dahess]

Why don't you use DU & get a quote. Let them do the dirty work, they are great! I hope planning the rest of your trip goes your way!

 

[Mitla96]

I agree with Dahess, if this can be fixed, DU probably can fix this for you. (If you aren't too mad to stay there now) It may be that you can use their disorganization to your advantage. I'm sure it was maddening to have the manager use a Catch 22 on you (you can have this rate if you booked last night-but you can't book at night!), but still that rate you quoted in an earlier post ($200) for a suite would be phenomenal. To put it in perspective, we paid over $300/night for a tiny 2-queen room at a resort on Mackinaw Island-and it wasn't even that nice a room. Yet, we were on Mackinaw Island....high season...beautiful resort. As we were flying kites with the kids on the big front lawn of the resort, we decided it had been worth the splurge.

Just as an aside, I don't think the resort fee is that bad. I've been in cheap hotels where if you made ONE local phone call it ended up costing $10!

 

[Trekker]

Just a quick comment - I do not understand why you would include a CC to the WDW guest relations. The Swan and Dolphin are not owned or operated by Disney?

They are owned and operated by Starwood Resorts...

 

[Minnie's Mate]

I agree with dahess if you can bare to stay there after being so upset with them. This would give you the pleasure of having the upper hand.

One other thing you might try is calling the toll free number again. That is the reservation department at the S/D not their national reservation line. You might find that you will get the price you were originally quoted and certainly they can book the room for you. Sometimes, CRO isn't the only folks who give different answers depending on who you talk to.

Also, I'm not taking up for S/D because I have stayed there enough to know they aren't perfect, but the primary business of the S/D is conventions. When you first called they may have had a room at the teacher rate and when you called back the next day they may have booked their allotment of rooms at the teacher rate and were offering you the next best rate they had for your stay, such as a conference rate that coincided with your stay.

We booked the week between Christmas and New Years last summer and got the teacher rate becasuse this is normally a very slow time for them. When we checked in we were told the hotel was booked and that this is unheard of for that week but they had a Japanese tourist group book over 1,000 rooms and that was why they were so packed.

I tried to book the teacher rate for spring break and was told we could only get that rate or the AP rate for the first night because the rest of our stay was during a convention. I made reservations at the Animal Kingdom Lodge that week using a code from mousesavers.com. I was able to get the teacher rate for Thanksgiving week, though.

 

[csmommy]

Originally posted by Trekker
Just a quick comment - I do not understand why you would include a CC to the WDW guest relations. The Swan and Dolphin are not owned or operated by Disney?

They are owned and operated by Starwood Resorts...

Starwood's website

www.spg.com

also
Customer
Contact Centers

United States 888-625-4988 888-625-4990 888-625-4991

 

[BrianD]

I understand that you are upset about the whole thing because it means you're missing out on saving $29 a night, which is, in my opinion, significant. But remember that the reservation center was closed for the night, so I'm sure that the man meant well and was trying to be helpful by quoting you prices, even though it was "after hours".

 

[SGF]

First, let me say thank you to those that posted and shared their views and good wishes.

dahess:

Do you mean Dreams Unlimited when you mention DU? I may give them a call if that is the place you are referring to but to get some quotes on a different hotel. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Mitla96:

Hi. Yes, I totally agree with you that on vacation one has to sometimes splurge. When we visit Vegas we always stay at the Venetian Hotel and they aren't cheap with their rates. We figure it's worth our time and the extra since we are there on a convention. When I call to get their rates (or any other hotel I've stayed at in the past) the rates are quoted and it's then up to me to either leave a deposit to secure that rate or think about it and take the chance it could go up. If I choose not to leave a deposit then it would be my fault, however, here I wasn't given that opportunity as I was ready to book so I feel it was their fault. I think the thing that bothers me the most is why are they quoting rates and then not letting the customer book? Just tell them to call back in the morning right off. Another thing that got me upset was how they handled the "mistake". Like the above poster mentioned playing "catch 22" and having an "I don't care attitude" doesn't win customers. Maybe mistake isn't the correct word, maybe this is how they do business now, I just don't know.

As for the resort fee, if you use those services provided it's definitely worth the $10.00 but like other posters who have written on these boards we wouldn't take advantage of them. We have our cell phones that have unlimited calls so the phone isn't impt. for us either. To those that will use the gym, internet, etc... it's worth the $10.00 but otherwise it's not.

We were going to visit Mackinaw Island last year. Isn't that where no cars are allowed?

Anyways, thanks for taking time to post and share your thoughts.


Trekker:

I was only asking about the WDW guest relations because a poster suggested sending a cc to them but afterwards realizing that it wasn't their hotel I knew it wouldn't do any good. Do you know of any numbers I can call or write to?

 

[SGF]

BrianD:

The first person I spoke to said he would connect me to someone who could make the reservation (first mistake). Then after being transferred and going thru what I wanted, prices etc... I was told I couldn't book (second mistake). If they can't book after a certain hour then then have no business quoting prices (third mistake). I've been in business many years and when my employees make mistakes (and we all do) I either honor the mistake or compensate my customers. I definitely don't give them the "attitude" I had this morning from their two managers (fourth mistake).

Thanks for taking time to read this thread and post but I still don't agree with how the hotel handled this.