I wish Disney would let us pick hotel rooms....

[mayshamp]

I mean the exact hotel room you want, just like the way airlines let you pick your exact seat, or the way we pick our fastpasses. And charge a fee, if necessary. Within the room type one paid for, of course. They will have to update their website, but I don't think that programming is that hard. They already have it, they just have to adjust it so that the customers have some access too it. And they don't have to let every room be chosen, say only ever other room, and if selection is full the rest of the customers will have to wait for Disney to find their rooms. People who want adjacent rooms or king size beds or handicapped access will know for sure that they get it, as long as they book early enough. they can even list the benefits of each room: more quiet, or closer to the playground, or babies area, etc. People can then make better decisions when they choose from different resorts. They can even limit the number of people who can select rooms, such as for example only those who already booked a trip, or returning customers. This will also save Disney from doing some of the work!

Imagine how cool that would be. You will know which room you are going months before, not the day you get there! And you can prepare accordingly! And people who don't want to bother will still be assigned their room type anyway.

 

[OKW Lover]

Logistically this is not possible for Disney. People have different arrival and departure dates which means room inventory changes daily. Its quite different from airplane seats where the plane is (usually) empty when you board and everybody is going to be there for the entire trip.

 

[siskaren]

I just don't think that would be feasible since, unlike on a plane, people are checking in on various dates, not to mention that there are thousands of rooms on Disney property, in over 20 hotels, whereas on a flight, you're talking approximately 200-300 seats. Plus, what happens if the room someone selected had to be taken out of inventory for some reason?

 

[HopperFan]

Logistically this is not possible for Disney. People have different arrival and departure dates which means room inventory changes daily. Its quite different from airplane seats where the plane is (usually) empty when you board and everybody is going to be there for the entire trip.

^THIS

Disney would lose way too much money on empty rooms.

I know some brands do it (I do at some Hilton) but you are talking small hotels vs very large hotels.

 

[buzznina]

"I don't think that programming is that hard." First of all, the programming would be a nightmare!!! The perfect example is what OKW Lover mentioned, you're not starting with all rooms empty and then just assigning rooms. You have to factor in, late check out, extended stays, rooms out of commision and on and on.... the program would have to have every scenario covered and if you think people are complaining about WDW website now

 

[Simba's Mom]

Logistically this is not possible for Disney. People have different arrival and departure dates which means room inventory changes daily. Its quite different from airplane seats where the plane is (usually) empty when you board and everybody is going to be there for the entire trip.

Sorry, but I disagree. Hampton and Doubletree allow it. And they have people checking in/out every day. I get an Email the day we check in with a map of which rooms are available. As soon as I pick one, it's removed from "inventory" and won't show for the person who checks in 3 minutes after me. I always wondered the same thing-if Hampton can do it, why not Disney? Then, when we get to the Hampton, they just give us our key and off we go. Don't like our location? We picked it. It's great! My only concern with using it at Disney is that Disney's IT would be involved-so guaranteed to have problems.

 

[Elizakapeka]

interesting, so not choosing your room when you book, you mean choosing your room at the time of check in. That would be great.

 

[AngiTN]

Yeah, if other hotel chains can do it why can't Disney? It works great for our Hampton stays in Knoxville. I pick them over other hotels for this exact reason

 

[alliecat523]

I think the OP wanted the option more towards time of booking vs check in. That would be a nightmare. But I do think the day of check in selection would be nice.

 

[AngiTN]

I think the OP wanted the option more towards time of booking vs check in. That would be a nightmare. But I do think the day of check in selection would be nice.

That may be but being able to do it at check in accomplishes everything they asked for. I'd have to think Disney knows the Hampton chain can do it. Maybe they are working on it. Not sure how long Hampton has offered it, over a year for sure

 

[Lynne M]

Yeah, if other hotel chains can do it why can't Disney? It works great for our Hampton stays in Knoxville. I pick them over other hotels for this exact reason

The Hampton Inn at Knoxville has 85 guest rooms. Pop Century has 2880.

 

[AngiTN]

The Hampton Inn at Knoxville has 85 guest rooms. Pop Century has 2880.

That's not the point though. They allow it for their entire chain, not just that 1 hotel

 

[HopperFan]

The Hampton Inn at Knoxville has 85 guest rooms. Pop Century has 2880.

Exactly. Most brand hotels, even their biggest aren't as big as Disney's.

And not all Hilton's even allow this. We are Hilton Diamond and some hotels do not offer this option.

Honestly, other than varying view - which Disney absolutely lets you book as a bookable category - most rooms within a resort are absolutely identical if they are the same level room.

 

[fla4fun]

I think part of the problem is that Disney allows check in 60 days in advance, where Hilton allows it one day in advance. It's a lot easier to show accurate availability one day out rather than 60.

Of course, since Disney sends out a reminder to "update" your online check in a few days out, they could make the room map available at that time.

I really enjoy using it when I stay at Hilton properties, and although they have the standard disclaimer that your room can change, I've only had mine change once - for a maintenance issue. Otherwise, I've kept the room I selected. I probably stay at Hilton properties more than I stay at Disney (and I'm at Disney a lot) so I agree it would be nice if Disney could integrate this at some point. I'm not holding my breath though . . .

 

[maxiesmom]

I think too many guests would struggle with it, to be honest. People have a hard enough time picking resorts and room types, throw in exact rooms and mass confusion would ensue.

Also, imagine the complaints if a particular room became unavailable after booking? There is no realistic way to 100% guarantee a specific room.

 

[maxiesmom]

interesting, so not choosing your room when you book, you mean choosing your room at the time of check in. That would be great.

Only if they included a 3 minute timer. My luck I'd get stuck behind someone spending 30 minutes going over every possible room available.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It doesn't matter that Hampton allows it across the chain. Any individual selection is for an individual property of 50-200 rooms.

Disney can't even run a reservation system with consistent uptime. The IT issues of room selection would be a horror show on arrival.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The Hampton Inn at Knoxville has 85 guest rooms. Pop Century has 2880.

Umm, every Hampton I've stayed at has done this, and all the ones I've been at have more than 85 rooms.

 

[maxiesmom]

Umm, every Hampton I've stayed at has done this, and all the ones I've been at have more than 85 rooms.

How many of them have 2880 rooms? Much easier to tetris 80 rooms than 2880.

 

[buzznina]

Even if they have more then 85, I am sure it is not even close to the number of rooms vs most WDW resorts and managing 10 times the rooms is much more harder. Plus, these Hampton Inns, are they running 90-100% room capacity pretty much every single day? I highly doubt it and that makes a BIG difference. The bottom line is why should they invest millions in doing this? They are already getting people to pay their exorbitant prices and are packing them in.