Guest charge for parking rumors

[littlestar]

And ALMOST all of those 'terrific resorts' are charging for parking so it's a wash IMHO.

I know the following charge

1. Gaylord
2. Marriott Orlando World Center
3. Ritz
4. JW Marriott
5. Peabody

I'm thinking of vacation club resorts - Marriott's Cypress Harbour, Marriott Horizons, Vistana Villages, Cypress Pointe, Mystic Dunes (all timeshare properties) as I don't want to go back to a hotel room. These properties do not charge for parking.

 

[Starr W.]

I have stayed at different resorts and have had to pay for parking. Can't remember the names off the top of my head though. If you stay in any hotel in a big city you pay for parking the car. I remember one in Chicago was somewhere in the range of $15-20 and this was about 10 years ago. Was inside parking though!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

As for the charge for parking, I suspect we'll see this and soon.

I agree with Dumbo. The Hard Rock Hotel in Orlando is getting $18.00 per night valet parked and $12.00 per night self parked. The cost in most major U.S. Cities is sometimes triple those amounts. Disney has to look at these numbers and drool over this revenue source that they currently don't tap.

I don't want it to happen either but think that it will eventually.

HBC

 

[bicker]

Also, after a traded pm with Bicker, I now have a new understanding of his posting style. He simply posts the way things ARE as opposed to the way he would like things to be. It may come off harsh at times but the guy tells it like it is and you have got to respect that.

Hehe, that's a great summary... Could I use that in my signature, as a warning and disclaimer?

 

[UConnJack]

Bicker is once again correct. I get a good laugh at the DVC members who think they "Own" a piece of WDW.

I do understand what we actually "own". We don't "own" anything, more like we lease a fraction of a specific room at our home resort. I'm just saying that the way DVC sells itself and what we are lead to believe through the marketing is that we "own a piece of the magic" and this is our "home away from home". Do you pay for parking at home? To charge for parking under this pretense will p-ss people off, including myself. More directly, since parking lot maintenance is funded through our dues (and entirely at the stand alone DVC resorts), it is ridiculous to charge us parking in a lot WE pay to maintain. If you think for one minute that our dues will go down if they start charging for parking, you are dreaming. If they do charge parking, I'll bet it goes right to the bottom line, and NOT to offset maintenence.

As for the argument that "I don't want to pay for other's parking with my dues since I never use a car" is silly. I rarely use the pool, can I be refunded in my dues for pool maintenance? I never use bell services, I don't to pay their salaries through MY dues. Get my point?

 

[bicker]

Do you pay for parking at home?

As I mentioned before, when I lived in White Plains, I certainly did. So you're right -- it is just like home: With some homes you pay for parking, and some homes you don't.

As for the argument that "I don't want to pay for other's parking with my dues since I never use a car" is silly. I rarely use the pool, can I be refunded in my dues for pool maintenance? I never use bell services, I don't to pay their salaries through MY dues. Get my point?

No, actually I don't, because there's a flaw in your logic. There are many hotel services which do require extra fees: Extra housekeeping for example. Telephone calls is another. High-speed Internet service. And so forth. The reality is that what is included versus what is not is pretty arbitrary, based mostly on tradition and change over the passage of time.

There are a lot of good arguments for making everything a la carte. A la carte is, just in the abstract, a lot fairer: People pay only for what they want, and only as much as what they use. It gives the purchaser much more control over what they pay, which consumer advocates generally consider a VERY good thing.

(This is actually a big issue in the cable television industry these days, where things are packaged so that people feel aggrieved that they're conceptually paying for things they don't need.)

So there really is no right or wrong answer for what should be included versus what shouldn't be -- and so that might very well change over time.

 

[Chuck S]

As I mentioned before, when I lived in White Plains, I certainly did. So you're right -- it is just like home: With some homes you pay for parking, and some homes you don't.

No, actually I don't, because there's a flaw in your logic. There are many hotel services which do require extra fees: Extra housekeeping for example. Telephone calls is another. High-speed Internet service. And so forth. The reality is that what is included versus what is not is pretty arbitrary, based mostly on tradition and change over the passage of time.

There are a lot of good arguments for making everything a la carte. A la carte is, just in the abstract, a lot fairer: People pay only for what they want, and only as much as what they use. It gives the purchaser much more control over what they pay, which consumer advocates generally consider a VERY good thing.

(This is actually a big issue in the cable television industry these days, where things are packaged so that people feel aggrieved that they're conceptually paying for things they don't need.)

So there really is no right or wrong answer for what should be included versus what shouldn't be -- and so that might very well change over time.

Except, Bicker, our dues do not pay for the maintenance of the internet service, it is an outside for profit contractor; and the local phone service is discounted for members. Dues do pay for maintenance on the pools, which are not a "per person charge". They do pay for bus service, which also is not a "per person charge", nor are the bell services a "per person charge" as such, though tipping is certainly expected/appropriate, and we get free valet at DVC resorts because, in theory, our dues pay the valet wages, so to be honest, I don't see them charging us to park as long as our dues maintain the parking lots including the property taxes and ground lease.

 

[crisi]

Except, Bicker, our dues do not pay for the maintenance of the internet service, it is an outside for profit contractor; and the local phone service is discounted for members. Dues do pay for maintenance on the pools, which are not a "per person charge". They do pay for bus service, which also is not a "per person charge", nor are the bell services a "per person charge" as such, though tipping is certainly expected/appropriate, and we get free valet at DVC resorts because, in theory, our dues pay the valet wages, so to be honest, I don't see them charging us to park as long as our dues maintain the parking lots including the property taxes and ground lease.

But they could make "parking" a seperate profit and loss division - even outsource the whole thing. Remove parking lot maintenance from our dues and make it part of the expenses for the parking division. We have no idea how it will be implemented, so no idea if its coming out of our dues, or if it will turn into a fee for service with its own expenses, or if it will happen at all.

 

[Chuck S]

But they could make "parking" a seperate profit and loss division - even outsource the whole thing. Remove parking lot maintenance from our dues and make it part of the expenses for the parking division. We have no idea how it will be implemented, so no idea if its coming out of our dues, or if it will turn into a fee for service with its own expenses, or if it will happen at all.

Sure they could, but if the parking lot is a "common area expense" and is detailed as such in the POS, do you think Disney/DVC will want to go through the time and effort to refile all the POSs with all the states they currently are allowed to solicit sales in?

 

[Lexxiefern]

Count me in as one that would be very upset if/when this occurs. I know that alot of hotels do charge parking. I know that Disney could gain alot of revenue by starting this charge. I just hope they give it to us members free as a perk.

Hey it could be another plug for DVC. Become a member and you get free parking!

 

[diznyfanatic]

And ALMOST all of those 'terrific resorts' are charging for parking so it's a wash IMHO.

I know the following charge

1. Gaylord
2. Marriott Orlando World Center
3. Ritz
4. JW Marriott
5. Peabody

I also know many of the offsite resorts that we've stayed charge a hefty "resort daily activity fee" in addition to their room rates too.

This fee supposedly funds, in part, the abysmal bus transportation we've experienced at most of them.

 

[dumbo71]

I do understand what we actually "own". We don't "own" anything, more like we lease a fraction of a specific room at our home resort. I'm just saying that the way DVC sells itself and what we are lead to believe through the marketing is that we "own a piece of the magic" and this is our "home away from home". Do you pay for parking at home? To charge for parking under this pretense will p-ss people off, including myself. More directly, since parking lot maintenance is funded through our dues (and entirely at the stand alone DVC resorts), it is ridiculous to charge us parking in a lot WE pay to maintain. If you think for one minute that our dues will go down if they start charging for parking, you are dreaming. If they do charge parking, I'll bet it goes right to the bottom line, and NOT to offset maintenence.

As for the argument that "I don't want to pay for other's parking with my dues since I never use a car" is silly. I rarely use the pool, can I be refunded in my dues for pool maintenance? I never use bell services, I don't to pay their salaries through MY dues. Get my point?

Uconnjack,

You have made some good points here. Chuck also made some excellent points as well as Bicker.

In my post in this thread I speculated that DVC members will be exempt from this parking fee. I stand by that and I would be quite shocked to see otherwise. Let the cash guests pay the tab. For DVC members to be charged it would be double dipping in my mind. As you stated we do pay for maintenance of those parking lots through our dues.

I'll take the wait and see approach but again I'd be shocked if this affects DVC.

 

[bicker]

I don't see them charging us to park as long as our dues maintain the parking lots including the property taxes and ground lease.

You're again assuming that our dues maintain the parking lots. That's not yet been established. That's really why we're having this discussion, isn't it?

 

[Chuck S]

Of course the dues, at least at OKW and SSR maintain the parking lots. (100% at those resorts) And at the combined resorts all resort expenses are shared by DVC, on a pro-rated basis, they are a "common area." Just like DVC dues pay for part of the valet wages at the combined resorts.

 

[bicker]

I doubt there will ever be plans to charge for parking at OKW and SSR. And regarding the rest, let's find out, eh?

 

[Chuck S]

I doubt there will ever be plans to charge for parking at OKW and SSR. And regarding the rest, let's find out, eh?

I doubt very much that Disney would charge parking fees at some resorts and not at others.

 

[DVC Jen]

I don't know. I think we get a great value from our vacations to WDW... that's why we go back so often. It's really worth a bit more to us than they're charging.

I am glad you feel that way. I think we would start trading out and trying different places with our points.

Paying for food and tickets for four adults is tough for us as it is. Add an additional and in my opinion ludicrious charge for parking at the resort we are stayin at??? It would very easily push us off going to WDW as often.

 

[Doctor P]

Of course the dues, at least at OKW and SSR maintain the parking lots. (100% at those resorts) And at the combined resorts all resort expenses are shared by DVC, on a pro-rated basis, they are a "common area." Just like DVC dues pay for part of the valet wages at the combined resorts.

Are they declared as common space? I haven't checked my POS to be sure. I'm not disagreeing with you, but I also don't think that we can take it for granted that they are owned, operated, and maintained out of the dues. I suspect they are, but it is possible that they are not.

 

[dvc at last !]

If Disney charges for parking so be it.

We fly and have either in the past used Mears Shuttle, rented a car
for a week ( which was a big mistake - never used it except to get back to the airport). Now with the ME it is a dream. We have been staying in studios, so we bring some cereal, bagels, pb, micro popcorn and granola bars.
We purchase milk, juice and fruit at the general store at the DVC resort.

We want to get a one or two bedroom on our next visit in the fall.
Our adult children will be with us. So I an debating a cab to the grocery store or greengrocer delivery. We can have breakfast, lunch at the resort
and plan dinner reservations.

 

[Chuck S]

Are they declared as common space? I haven't checked my POS to be sure. I'm not disagreeing with you, but I also don't think that we can take it for granted that they are owned, operated, and maintained out of the dues. I suspect they are, but it is possible that they are not.

After digging through my POS, I see that "pavement resurfasing" is a capital expenditure covered by the reserve account, so yes, it is included in our dues.