free upgrades?!?!?

[Aliceacc]

OT sort of: How about this: I booked CSR Sept 26th-Oct 4th using the AP discount. Unfortunately I could get a standard room only for the 27th-4th and had to go with a King room for the 26th. I couldn't care less about the King room and would really just prefer to be in a location where I can stay in the same room all week. Would I be out of line, to ask at check in if I could give up the King room for a chance to stay in a room where I didn't have to move after one night? I wouldn't be asking for an upgrade, in fact it'd be a downgrade. What would be my chance of getting it?

Back on topic: I've received upgrades at CSR (to a water view) and at Boardwalk (to Boardwalk view). Both times was a pleasant surprise.

I don't know about your chances, but that sounds like a totally reasonable request to me! You're not looking for something for nothing, you're asking for any one room for your whole visit.

 

[RMulieri]

I work at WDW in resorts and honestly most CMs feel this way: if you ask at the front desk for an upgrade, even if we have availability, that will pretty much seal the deal that you won't get one. We could have loads of room to upgrade and if you ask for one, most of us will actually go out of our way to see that it won't happen. It's just rude to ask. Just last weekend a guest came in and promptly told the CM at the front desk that it was their 6th stay at the resort and therefore they expected an upgrade. We had plenty of room to upgrade but by them asking for one, they blew all chances!!

And whoever said the room assignors are the ones that do all the upgrades, that is partly correct. They do the upgrades that are needed to fix the counts. The other upgrades are done by CMs and managers who just want to make magic. And do you really think we want to make magic for guests that are rude enough to ask for it? No! However, it never hurts to ask NICELY how much it would cost to upgrade (to whatever category you were interested in). You might get a real surprise and it could be alot less than what you think. It all depends on what's available for the length of your stay and how the whole question is presented.

 

[TeenaS]

OT sort of: How about this: I booked CSR Sept 26th-Oct 4th using the AP discount. Unfortunately I could get a standard room only for the 27th-4th and had to go with a King room for the 26th. I couldn't care less about the King room and would really just prefer to be in a location where I can stay in the same room all week. Would I be out of line, to ask at check in if I could give up the King room for a chance to stay in a room where I didn't have to move after one night? I wouldn't be asking for an upgrade, in fact it'd be a downgrade. What would be my chance of getting it?

Back on topic: I've received upgrades at CSR (to a water view) and at Boardwalk (to Boardwalk view). Both times was a pleasant surprise.

If there is availability at the resort, I can't imagine why they wouldn't do this for you.

 

[aubriee]

I don't know about your chances, but that sounds like a totally reasonable request to me! You're not looking for something for nothing, you're asking for any one room for your whole visit.

If there is availability at the resort, I can't imagine why they wouldn't do this for you.

That's what I'm hoping. With the AP discount I could not get a King room, a water view room, or a Standard room for the entire week, so had to go with a King room for the first night, then a standard for the rest of the week. I don't care what category room I get, I just want to be able to stay in the same room for the entire trip.

I've got the same problem for my upcoming Dec trip. I used a 40% PIN code for Dec 13th-20th. Unfortunately we're arriving at CSR on the 12th and the PIN code doesn't start until the 13th, so I have a room at rack rate for that first night. Again I'd just like to be able to stay in the same room for the entire trip.

 

[TinaMcTeer]

Staying at Dl in 2004, we had the opposite happen. We were suppose to get the three bed suite but upon check in we were told that the person who was in that room had extended their stay so they moved us to a 2 bed suite and a room across the hall. UGH!!! My parents were not happy. They gave us a room discount. So my family and my sis's family stayed in the suite and my parents ended up across the hall. I have to say I have never expected to be downgraded.

 

[TinkerBelle_325]

I'm afraid you have misuderstood me. I didn't say anyone was bumped from what they booked. And some revenue is still revenue - even if DISBoarders are a small percentage of Disney guests, we have a revenue impact. Disney has taken action based off of what happens on the internet before. And people have posted that they've gotten to checkout and discovered their free upgrade wasn't free - but perhaps you haven't read every thread that appears on the DISBoards - I know I certainly haven't - but I have read one of those.

The lost revenue isn't in the upgrading - its in the initial decision made by the guest not to book the category of room desired because they think they have a good chance of being upgraded. This was a big deal at AKL, where a lot of people book standard view rooms believing that upgrades to Savannah rooms were common (and they sure seemed to be for a long time, I don't know if that still holds true).

Sorry if I originally misunderstood by what you meant by bumping, though I still disagree that CMs have the ability to "bump" guests from their upgraded room if they were to ask for an upgrade without knowing they had already recieved one, which is what I think you were originally implying.

Because we (on the DISboards) have such exposure to stories about upgrades and discounts i think we feel that we have a larger impact than we do. The Magic Kingdom had 17 million visitors last year! Disney resorts hold an average of 100,000 people a day, so assuming that most guests stay for a week on average...that is 100,000 x 52 = 5,200,000 a year. If every single member of the disboards went to WDW in a year and stayed at a WDW resort we would represent 0.05% of ALL WDW resort guests that year. So while there might be a revenue impact it would be so insignificant you could barely calculate it.

Resorts like WL and AKL are known to oversell their standard rooms. Hotels are well aware of how many rooms they have in each category and often oversell by a percentage. It is also known that the most desireable views at WL and AKL, courtyard and savanna FAR outnumber standard view rooms. About 60% of the rooms at those two resorts are the highest view category. Whereas standard makes up less than 25% in each resort. With those kinds of ratios upgrades are inevitable.

If WDW sees standard view fill up quickly, which it is more likely to do in the current economy and see numerous courtyard view rooms not booking they will increase the number of "standard view rates" available and place those people into Woods or Courtyard. Often resorts can LOSE revenue because their best view category never comes close to fully booking. What is better? An empty room with a good view, or a guest occupying that good view room at a standard view rate?

Also, using the logic that Disney loses revenue when a person decides to book a lower category and hope for an upgrade, you could say that Disney loses revenue when a guest can't book a standard view at a Deluxe resort so they decide to book a Moderate.

 

[Tam1067]

I witnessed a woman at the Poly last year asking for an upgrade. She said she was told by her travel agent to ask. And the CM was slightly irritated and told her that asking would never work, that if there are upgrades, the decision is made not by your asking. The woman was really insistent that she wanted one, and the CM was also equally insistent that asking does not work.

Now we were upgraded to a courtyard view at the WL from standard a few years ago, but I did not ask. I was just pleasantly surprised when I got to the room.

 

[loperella]

Interesting thread. My DH recently booked us at BC standard view and didn't put any requests on our ressie; I'd really like a balcony, but realize not all rooms have them. I read that some have double beds too, but maybe that was old info (?)

After looking through the "worst views..." thread, I'll be happy just not to get one of those! But honestly, I'll really just be tickled to finally be at Disney with my favorite people in the whole world---DH & my two lil guys!!!

 

[zefyr]

Interesting thread. My DH recently booked us at BC standard view and didn't put any requests on our ressie; I'd really like a balcony, but realize not all rooms have them. I read that some have double beds too, but maybe that was old info (?)

After looking through the "worst views..." thread, I'll be happy just not to get one of those! But honestly, I'll really just be tickled to finally be at Disney with my favorite people in the whole world---DH & my two lil guys!!!

You might be in luck....last August (08), I took my mom to WDW. Originally all I could afford was WL standard view but thanks to an offer code I found here, I was able to upgrade to BC standard view for only $75 for the whole stay. Great deal, right? I was thrilled and excited. Well to my surprise, we get of the ME bus and one of the greeters asks for my name. I give it to him and he gets this big grin. Well, he says "it's a year of a million dreams and you've been upgraded to CL". WHoa.....we get to our room and not only were we on the CL floor we had a waterview with a full balcony. Oh and the room was a renovate one. It made our trip.

 

[crisi]

Also, using the logic that Disney loses revenue when a person decides to book a lower category and hope for an upgrade, you could say that Disney loses revenue when a guest can't book a standard view at a Deluxe resort so they decide to book a Moderate.

Which is why they'll book you in that standard despite not having availability - then bump someone (maybe you, maybe someone else) on arrival to a water view.

 

[alexsdc2]

A few years back when we were staying at the carribean they were over booked. It was like 10 at night when we got there and we also had a second party that was coming the next day. In all we had booked three rooms. Well they loaded us up on a bus and said they were goign to move us to another resort at no extra charge. I just assumed that we were going to a similar resort. When they pulled up to the Grand Floridian I was shocked.

The was prolly the best surprise ever and one of the nicest vacations ever. It kind of spoils you but unfortunately I could never afford to stay there normally.