Friends & Family Discount for Orange Lake Resort, Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, and More

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I so wish I knew this a couple of days ago when we HAD to stay over because of car trouble in Toronto. I have the papers in the car, and when I called and asked about the family & friend rate, they acted like I was crazy! So I paid rack rate of $169 for the night!
AAAACK, not cool!

Ouch! I hope you can get reimbursement from your insurance company! I must admit that even though I work for the company, there are some rates I will never pay to stay at one of our brands and that is definitely one of them. I stay at competitors in that situation but sometimes you don't have a choice.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Has anyone stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at the Orlando Airport, we have an early morning flight and this hotel looks convenient to the airport. I was also wondering what time they start serving breakfast. Thanks for all your help and sharing this awesome discount.

I would just call them. I have never stayed at any of our airport hotels. Usually, most hotels start serving breakfast around 6 a.m. But, there are several items that they may just be able to get you earlier so it can't hurt to ask. To be honest though...since I have to get up so early for my races, I just get extra stuff like yogurt and bananas the day before with the help of the front desk if I didn't stay the morning before and store them in the refrigerator in the room (if there is one) for that morning. Maybe carry some ziploc bags to store some of the cinnamon rolls or pancakes?

 

[tariqsmom]

Hi Shelby,
I clicked the link you provided and was able to access the site. I got as far as selecting my dates and viewing the room rates but when I made a selection the very next page said the following:
An error occurred.

This is for Friends and Family of employees.You are not authorized to book the reservation using Friends and Family rate.

I am a club member and have booked the Holiday Inn in Walt Disney World- Lake Buena Vista for 8/20-8/26 ( refundable). Am I doing anything wrong?

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Hi Shelby,
I clicked the link you provided and was able to access the site. I got as far as selecting my dates and viewing the room rates but when I made a selection the very next page said the following:
An error occurred.

This is for Friends and Family of employees.You are not authorized to book the reservation using Friends and Family rate.

I am a club member and have booked the Holiday Inn in Walt Disney World- Lake Buena Vista for 8/20-8/26 ( refundable). Am I doing anything wrong?

The only thing that I can think of is that you are trying to book through Priority Club and this rate is not eligible for points. So, you may try to logout from your page and then access it (you may have to delete cookies depending on your security settings) and try again. I had that happen once when booking a room through my parents computer since they are PC members. You will get the benefits of PC when you check in - like the late check-out but maybe it just wants to make sure you can't get points?

Please keep me posted. Keeping my fingers crossed that it works this time!

 

[tariqsmom]

Thanks so much.. that worked. Amazing savings!!!

 

[horseshowmom]

Thanks so much.. that worked. Amazing savings!!!

I agree. I'm a long time Priority Club member, but these rates generally beat anything else I can get. I'm going to be booking 3 rooms for the night of July first and will save over $100 thanks to this rate (close to $150). Shelby's my hero!!!

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I agree. I'm a long time Priority Club member, but these rates generally beat anything else I can get. I'm going to be booking 3 rooms for the night of July first and will save over $100 thanks to this rate (close to $150). Shelby's my hero!!!

Not sure about a hero, but I am glad that you are all saving money!

 

[tomparkar]

Thank you so much for posting this information. We are planing to trip in next week so It will help me to get good discount on hotels. This is really good that there is lots of hotels are give this discount.

 

[MrsNick]

Just poking my head in to say THANK YOU! DSis and I are taking a road trip next week with our kiddos and got a very good rate at a Holiday Inn Express and Suites at about our halfway point.

Wish I'd known we could hold out for a same day ressie, but on the other hand I would be afraid that we'd try to get a room and they'd be sold out and we'd have nowhere to go with four young children late at night. So I would have been much too nervous to take that gamble.

Thanks again!

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Just poking my head in to say THANK YOU! DSis and I are taking a road trip next week with our kiddos and got a very good rate at a Holiday Inn Express and Suites at about our halfway point.

Wish I'd known we could hold out for a same day ressie, but on the other hand I would be afraid that we'd try to get a room and they'd be sold out and we'd have nowhere to go with four young children late at night. So I would have been much too nervous to take that gamble.

Thanks again!

Glad you ended up getting a great deal. I don't blame you with the last minute thing. I only go that route when my plans change suddenly, but I am a huge planner and like to know where I am staying at least a few weeks in advance. But, if you were in a situation that wasn't planned, it is nice to know that you could still get the rate. Just don't ask the front desk for it. They have no idea what you are talking about and that equates to not getting the discount.

 

[azdizzymom]

Thanks for the link! I knew that finding a friends and family link on disboards was way to go. Book Holiday Inn Express in Knoxville for $40+ taxes LESS than the website. Appreciate it.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Thanks for the link! I knew that finding a friends and family link on disboards was way to go. Book Holiday Inn Express in Knoxville for $40+ taxes LESS than the website. Appreciate it.

I hope you like it as much as we did!! The staff is really nice. Karen at the Front Desk was great!

 

[MandAmommy]

First off, I am so beyond excited to have found this thread! Thanks Shelby! I would love recommendations from anyone that has stayed in the area of WDW as far as which of these hotels would be best. We would need 2 rooms, one with a king bed and some type of sleeper sofa, and the other just with a king. This is my first time in the area, so I would love to be as close as possible but am a little out of my element here!! thanks!

 

[horseshowmom]

First off, I am so beyond excited to have found this thread! Thanks Shelby! I would love recommendations from anyone that has stayed in the area of WDW as far as which of these hotels would be best. We would need 2 rooms, one with a king bed and some type of sleeper sofa, and the other just with a king. This is my first time in the area, so I would love to be as close as possible but am a little out of my element here!! thanks!

Why don't you take a look at the Staybridge Suites in Lake Buena Vista? They have 2BR/2BA suites with a full kitchen and living room with a sleeper sofa plus a free hot breakfast. They are very roomy.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

First off, I am so beyond excited to have found this thread! Thanks Shelby! I would love recommendations from anyone that has stayed in the area of WDW as far as which of these hotels would be best. We would need 2 rooms, one with a king bed and some type of sleeper sofa, and the other just with a king. This is my first time in the area, so I would love to be as close as possible but am a little out of my element here!! thanks!

I would go for the Orange Lake Resort. It is part of the Holiday Inn Vacations Club group and they have two bedroom/two bath villas. I know that they have sofa sleepers too so they are perfect for a family. I hope you are able to get the rate. I have heard great things. Plus, it is one of the closest resorts to DTD.

 

[jez4100]

Just wanted to let everyone know that we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express near the Orlando Airport on Conway Road for $56 including taxes. There was a 7-11 convenience store with a gas station right next door. We were very happy with the price and location. Continental breakfast starts at 4 am and full breakfast at 6 am. We were leaving at 6 am so it was nice to get something to eat before getting to the airport. The ride to the airport was less than 5 minutes. I would definitely stay here again. They did ask for the friends and family printout. Thanks again for sharing the awesome discount.

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Just wanted to let everyone know that we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express near the Orlando Airport on Conway Road for $56 including taxes. There was a 7-11 convenience store with a gas station right next door. We were very happy with the price and location. Continental breakfast starts at 4 am and full breakfast at 6 am. We were leaving at 6 am so it was nice to get something to eat before getting to the airport. The ride to the airport was less than 5 minutes. I would definitely stay here again. They did ask for the friends and family printout. Thanks again for sharing the awesome discount.

I am so glad that it worked out and that they offer breakfast much earlier at that location!

 

[katallo]

Thanks so much for sharing this offer with us. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Woodbridge VA and it was great. Lovely staff and nice rooms!

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

Thanks so much for sharing this offer with us. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express Woodbridge VA and it was great. Lovely staff and nice rooms!

So glad you had a great experience!! I hope that the wedding was fun too!

 

[kathy884]

Thanks again for the discount! I just used it to book the Crown Plaza in Clark, NJ -- a property three blocks away from my mother-in-laws house for an upcoming July three night stay. This saved me about $200 dollars vs. booking retail.

Initially the friends and family discount didn't show up (I was probably looking too far in advance). Then about a month ago it showed up, but only for kings rooms (not two doubles like we wanted). But then last week (I checked again) the discount showed up for exactly what we wanted, and I was thrilled and booked a room (great price for this hotel).

By the way, we have stayed at Orange Lake last March (RCI trade -- didn't use the discount), and my parents for an entra night did the Downtown Disney Holiday Inn (used this great discount for that). Both of these are excellent properties in the Orlando area that we can highly recommend.