How to Haggle a good Disneyland Hotel Rate?

[Rainforest_Elf]

HI All! First time poster here. I tried poking around all the forums, read the FAQ and such, I hope this is the right place to be posting this =)

In October, my dear friends and I are going on our first vacation together to DL. We've settled all of the details, and it's getting down to crunch time towards booking a hotel. We need to do this soon. Likely today, even.

We definitely want on-site... the perks of staying in a disney resort hotel weigh out over the costs, so we're willing to pay a little more, BUT! We don't just want to give them all our money without shopping for the best deal on a room. So, we've settled on the Disneyland Hotel. Yeah, we know we could save money going to a good neighbor hotel, but we've weighed our options, and this is the hotel for us.

Instead of booking online, we've decided we're gonna try and get a better rate by talking to a Disney representative when we reserve our room. I was wondering if any of you had any tips or suggestions to get them to get the room rate down from the standard price of $260 a night for the time of year we're going (first full week in October, which SHOULD be the value season, right?)

Now, I work in a call center, so, I know the importance of being polite and nice to get what you want, but! I also don't want to be unrealistic in what I'm asking for, like say "Give me a Pool view room for $100 a night in the Sierra tower!" Obviously the representative I speak to is going to think I'm a loon if I do that

So, the computer quotes we've gotten seem to be using a little bit of a higher rate than we think we should be getting, for the time of year we're going....Like I said, it's about $260 a night, which we think is a little high. For example, in May it there were room rates going in the Disneyland Hotel from $200 a night! We would LOVE to get a rate like that instead of the $260 we've been quoted on just about every travel website we've seen, so, I've figured it's time to call and use my negotiation skills, but, I need some help, or maybe even some moral support!!!!

Also, I guess are there any general tips/suggestions y'all have as far as questions to ask when I make this phone call to book our hotel?

Thank you so much for your help!!

 

[Queenbillabong]

If you find any, let me know! The best I was quoted was $234/night with an AP for a standard room. This is 10% off the regular rate....

 

[bumbershoot]

I personally don't believe in haggling, so I would suggest you wait, read here, and then if new fabulous AP rates are released for that time (as they were last year), see if getting an AP will save you money with the hotel rate and overall.

 

[NWPrincess]

Disclaimer: I've never ACTUALLY stayed on property--but this is what I've gleamed from other advice:

Keep calling Disney's Reservation line and ask specifically if there are any specials. I've heard they will not tell you about the specials unless they are asked specifically about them--sounds like you've already done this?

Another thing I've heard people do is get a standard room and hope for an upgrade (not sure how often this actually happens and with that standard room rate...ouch!).

Also, if you are a Costco member, you can get some extras booking your room and tickets through Costco Travel (Character Breakfast and $20 giftcard or three-course dinner, etc.). If it costs the same as going directly through Disney, you might as well get a little more bang for your buck.

 

[Queenbillabong]

The standard room was pricey, but the concierge was holy moly!!! The AP rate was $446/night!

 

[NWPrincess]

The standard room was pricey, but the concierge was holy moly!!! The AP rate was $446/night!

My question is--who can afford to stay at the concierge? The same people who fly first class on international flights I guess? (When we flew to London, a first class--bed thing--on British Airways cost $15,000 a person!)

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I personally don't believe in haggling, so I would suggest you wait, read here, and then if new fabulous AP rates are released for that time (as they were last year), see if getting an AP will save you money with the hotel rate and overall.

I agree. I've never read on here that somebody has successfully haggled their way to a low price on a room, or haggled at all for that matter. From what I read, the people who do get awesome deals besides from using their AP like getting upgraded and such, just get lucky and get a very nice CM.. I think doing the AP thing would be your best bet...

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

AP stands for Annual Passholder, right?

I appreciate the tip, but I'm not sure investing in that would pay off for us in the long run. Aren't they rather pricey to buy?

It just seems a bit odd to me that, the further out that you book your Disney hotel, the more you seem to pay. People seem to be rewarded for waiting until the last minute (IE: the deal in May for $200 a night) regardless of the time of year you book.

And maybe Haggling is the wrong word. I've read several books about Disneyland vacation planning, and in all of them there are stories of people who simply asked for discounts and got them because they were straightforward. Obviously it's not a guarentee and the books are probably advertisting the special occurances, not the norm...

 

[mommy2kael]

When in October are you going?

There is a Gay Day's group rate available, I believe for about 10 days in October. We're staying the 5, 6 and 7 at Grand Californian, in a Theme Park view cocierge room for $349 a night.

Here is the info from their site:

Disneyland Hotel
Stay at this classic Disney original where large rooms and spectacular views make your stay extra comfortable. Plus it's where the Gay Days Info and Entertainment Centers are located! The hotel has two pools, a gym, and many restaurants to choose from.
Standard Rooms are just $189 a night!


Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
Disney's fabulous premiere property with a pool, two Jacuzzis, a gym, and a spa! The hotel has its own entrance to Disney's California Adventure too! Stay at this luxury hotel for just $229 a night!


Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel
Overlook Disney's California Adventure while staying in this lovely hotel with a rooftop pool for just $179/night!


For Reservations call (714) 520 5005 and say you want the "Gay Days Anaheim " rate or use the code "GDGJ08A" (the "0" is a zero). YOU MUST USE THIS CODE TO GET THE RATE. Rates are only good from October 1 –10.

Make your reservations now!

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

mommy2kael, you just made my life. We're going on October 5th, checking out on the 9th.

 

[tortugaverde]

I ALWAYS haggle when I book a hotel with the desk and I ALWAYS get a lower rate. However, I have never booked with the DL resort... so I have no tips there! When I book a hotel, I ask for the rate... they give it to me and then I ask... "are there any current promotions or discounts?"... they give me those and then I ask "what is the LOWEST rate you can give me?". I would say that on average, the price drops 5-10%. The last hotel I stayed in first quoted me $120.00 per night and when I said that I was not willing to pay that much, what was the best rate they could give me... it went down to $95.00 per night. It is VERY common practice to "haggle" for hotel rooms.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

How do you haggle over a hotel price:

DL Hotel: "we have a rate of $260/night"
Person: "how about $200"
DL Hotel: "well we can offer you $260/night"
Person: "how about $225/night"

It just doesn't work that way.

 

[WhtMagick]

Just to add on to some info for the Gay Days celebration; last year we took advantage of some totally awesome ticket discount rates! They were good long after the set weekend of Gay Days through the travel agency on the website. Don't know about you but it sure made me happy to save over $100 on 5 day park hoppers. I was totally happy and gay!!!

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

I assume that haggling for a hotel room is much like haggling for a car. You're not really supposed to pay the full price, but if you don't know what you're doing, you'll get had. There are usually always better rates than the ones advertised in brochers, you just have to know EXACTLY what to ask, I'm assuming esspecially so with a disney resort reservationist.

I'm going to make my phone restervation sometime today, I'll let y'all know how it goes.

 

[tortugaverde]

How do you haggle over a hotel price:

DL Hotel: "we have a rate of $260/night"
Person: "how about $200"
DL Hotel: "well we can offer you $260/night"
Person: "how about $225/night"

It just doesn't work that way.

Not sure about DL hotels, but any other hotel will allow you to "haggle" the rate. I do it all the time... except when I book online and even then, I will usually call and see if they have a better rate.
You don't name your price, as it your example. Instead, you ask if they can do better... or what their "lowest rate" is. Generally, they will give you a lower rate... or they will tell you that the first rate is the best they can do on that given night. You can also ask for the manager and then "haggle" as they can sometimes make better deals that the desk staff.
I worked at a hotel while in college (for 3 weeks !). I was allowed to lower the rate by 5% when asked for the lowest rate... but NOT if they did not ask, and NOT if the hotel was booked solid.

Like rainforest elf said, hotels can be "haggled" for just as the price of a car can be "haggled" for. If you don't ask, you pay the sticker price!

 

[kiwitravel]

I have always got really good deals by dealing direct with Hotels, for example:
Tropicanna for $79 per night in July004 and Carousel for $69 in July 2006.
How?

Go online first and look for Web specials during the off season (ie for a stay in July I start looking in November) Then email requesting the Web special for your July stay. Such a request will invariably get you a more senior person in reservations so you will have started a dialogue. I have usually been able to get the special confirmed via email and I then phone them to confirm and give my Credit Card details and make room locations requests.

Always be enquiring not demanding, so far out from the peak time Hotels are very open to negotiation, closer to the time you travel Hotels will only negotiate if they are not very full.

This only works if you are having a long stay (over a week) or are having more than one room.

I doubt this will work for Disney though..

 

[fairy8i8]

While the Gay Days rates sound like your best bet, you can look at mousesavers.com for more suggestions.

 

[Rainforest_Elf]

We had to change our dates over by 1 day, so, now we're going the 6th through the 10th, but we got the $189 rate at the Disneyland Hotel. Very excited!! I first tried to haggle my way down from the $260 rate, but the reps wouldn't budge, which I found a bit surprising. So. Thanks so much for the tips everyone, our vacation is a reality now instead of a dream! =)

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

I don't consider asking if they have a lower price available haggling.

When I think of haggling I think of 2 parties going back and forth until they find an agreeable price.

 

[trodrigue]

Does anyone know if they will give you the 30% senior discount off of the gay days rate of $189? That gets it to $132, which would really make my dreams come true!