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

[mayshamp]

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.

I did not know that Hampton already has the idea! That means it's only a matter of time that Disney will pick up on it too! And to everyone who thinks the programming is too hard: the programming is already mostly done. You can bet that Disney isn't assigning rooms right now with pencils and a huge piece of paper! The difference is merely allowing individual customers to do the assigning, rather than disney staff or even the computer (which I suspect is the one doing the work). There are thousands of airplanes going to different places at different times, and you can always choose and change your seats at a click of a button. Think about it: Disney hauls luggage directly from the airport to the rooms for free! No other hotel does that, I don't think! Is that easier than letting guests choose rooms?

 

[mayshamp]

If you booked early and selected a prime room based on view and that room suddenly went out of service, I would think no move is going to be acceptable considering all the prime rooms would be booked. Disney would obviously have no choice but to move people, but guests would not be satisfied. They would have to start looking for alternate ways to satisfy their guests like comping them a night or two or a few meals which would be way too costly in the long run.

All the prime rooms won't be booked. As I mentioned in my post, Disney should only allow a portion of the rooms to be selected, such as every other room, good or bad. Say only about half the customers get to do this, those who book early enough and those who want it. The rest will still get the same chance at having a good room. People will often choose "bad" rooms instead of taking a chance of a good room because a lot of people have different preferences. What's good for one might be undesirable for another. I for one do not ever want "pool view" -- I can't imagine how noisy that is.

 

[Minnesota!]

Heck no. They can hardly get their website to work as it is, no way we need this added level of complexity.

I know I'm in the minority but I kind of like playing "room roulette". Part of the fun of the trip is discovering what room we landed.

Us, too. Disney is already WAY too much planning - I want something to be out of my control.

While a view or closer location can be nice, I mean, it's not a make or break, by any means.

 

[mayshamp]

I think the opposite would happen. The need for magical upgrades might actually go up drastically!

Think about how often rooms go out of service last minute for maintenance issues or other problems. Now they would have to upgrade people left, right and centre if actual rooms were bookable.

They don't have to upgrade anybody. There can be simple a disclaimer that if the room has a problem, they will be moved to somewhere else. I once was moved on the airplane for no reason given. I booked 2 windows seats and ended up with none. And the airline just stuck me with worse seats with no upgrade and no apology. I didn't know they could do that. As long as the customers know that, it is fine. The kind of things people complain about can all be worked out. Any service you provide can have potential problems. I am saying that the magic of getting the exact room you want will be worth the trouble for Disney. It doesn't matter that Disney has more rooms than Hampton or that the guests stay longer. Or that when the hotel is full the assignment gets hard. Computers can handle a thousand rooms just as well as it can handle one. That's the beauty of computers. Only allow some of the good and bad rooms to be chosen while other good and bad rooms are reserved, such that customers who pick early don't necessarily get the "best" rooms. They might pick the "worst rooms" just to enjoy the choice of getting to pick once own room! Customers don't chose once the hotel is past half full of each type of room (or a quarter full, or 3/4 full, whatever works). For example, at one point one guest may not be able to pick because he booked a standard room and more than half the rooms are chosen, but another guest who booked a preferred room still gets to chose because there are more than half left. Or vice versa. And the guest should understand that if the best rooms in their category are gone, they can not choose and be assigned to a good room! It's just a matter of knowing exactly which room one want to be in. I personally prefer having the inferior room I choose ahead rather than taking a chance on getting a better (or worse) unknown one. It's just fun! Understanding, of course, that if the room has a problem I have to get a different one. But that's always true anyway. I've heard of people getting the room they want, finding a cockroach inside, and getting the heck out of there.

People are not going to agonize much more than they do now which room to get. Remember, the choice is only within the same category of rooms that one has booked. Say if you book a preferred room, whether you get a "good" or "bad" one, it's still a preferred room. It's not going to be that different. Disney can put a disclaimer out: being that a large portion of the good rooms are to be assigned by Disney, just because you choose a room doesn't mean you have the best room. A bad room for one might be a great room for another! This is just so that those who love choosing gets a choice! And Disney can also charge for it and get more money!

 

[mayshamp]

Heck no. They can hardly get their website to work as it is, no way we need this added level of complexity.

I know I'm in the minority but I kind of like playing "room roulette". Part of the fun of the trip is discovering what room we landed.

I do agree that the Disney Website sucks, and one can only imagine how much will they suck at letting people pick their own rooms? My original post is to merely me wishing upon a star.... that Disney's IT doesn't suck so much, and they can create a feasible way of room choosing like the way they implemented the luggage "magically" appearing in your room. It costs a lot of money, but it increases their attraction. I myself don't use the luggage delivery anymore, sadly, but I know a lot of people love it. And it was very helpful when I used it. But I do feel better keeping my luggage next to me.

And another thing: one can reasonable argue that letting guest choose out of a 1000 rooms will confuse the heck out of them. In that case, the choices can be severely limited, say 5 rooms. Each guest gets 5 picks from various buildings within their category. And why should Disney do this? Because they can charge for it. And even if they don't charge, it will be one more magical thing about staying on property. Also guests can be limited to be allowed to chose only the day before arrival, to see how it works out. Then gradually increase the number of days ahead if it proves feasible.

Limitations:
1. Only returning guests get to chose rooms. (They've been there, so they know how to choose.)
2. Only a section of all rooms, good or bad, are to be "choosable."
3. Each guest is allowed to pick out of 5 rooms, selected by the computer. The computer can first ask their preferences: near pool, ground floor, etc. As the available rooms reduce in number, the computer can offer fewer choices than 5.
4. Guests are to understand that should something happen to the room, they may get reassigned.
5. Guests are to understand that they may end up with a better room if they let Disney choose for them.
8. Guests may not ask for an upgrade or room change if they end up with the room of their choice.
9. Guests can only choose rooms the day before arrival.


Disney has done a lot of things that cost a ton of money. The magic band cost Disney a billion dollars. (I read that somewhere; I don't know if it's true.) And a lot of people hated it at first, but there's no denying that the magic band is extremely cool. I don't want to go to Disneyland anymore because they don't have the magic band. Letting the guest choose their own rooms will just be one more cool thing (for those who care) about the Disney hotels.

 

[Brave teacher]

You still haven't offered the reason why the would do this financially. If you limit the number of guests, then cost-benefit of this is dramatically decreased. If you offer people to choose from a group of pre-selected rooms, you still aren't choosing the room that YOU want.

The 1 billion dollar price tag is the cost for the entire FP+ system. Disney had quite a bit of research that showed that we, as guests, were more likely to attend the parks if we had a "reservation" of sorts for our FPs ahead of time. The extra 30 day window brings people to stay at Disney-owned resorts. The benefit existed for them. Their research also showed that you were more likely to spend money if you didn't need to fumble with a card. A touchpoint system with a band on your wrist is so much easier. Again, the benefit outweighed the cost here. It made absolute financial sense for Disney to invest in this sort of program. They saw the potential return on their investment.

The return on their investment is not so clear with this scenario.

 

[NS8VN]

I think this thread has made clear that even if it were implemented only 1/3 - 1/2 of the people on the board would even be excited for it, and these are the diehard WDW fans. So, what is the target audience here? Why put a system in place that will complicate check-in procedures, cause increased customer service headaches, and that almost nobody is asking for? Not to mention that your idea has gone from "let everyone choose their room" to "let a few people choose a room from a group of pre-selected options with half a dozen limitations." Same negatives, even fewer positives. On the business side, how is this going to entice more people to stay on property? Do you believe that there are people really staying off property because they can't choose their own room?

You may absolutely love the idea, and that's great as a thought experiment, but if you can't think of how this will profit Disney or appeal to more than a small group of people then it will never come to be.

 

[writerguyfl]

You still haven't offered the reason why the would do this financially. If you limit the number of guests, then cost-benefit of this is dramatically decreased. If you offer people to choose from a group of pre-selected rooms, you still aren't choosing the room that YOU want.

The return on their investment is not so clear with this scenario.

Return on investment is important. What works for a global hotel chain isn't necessary what will work for Disney. Global hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott/Starwood developed online check-in because it does offer benefits, include:

• Hotel Staffing: In theory, offering online check-in means Front Desk staffing can be reduced. Since labor is one of the biggest costs in running a hotel, that is significant.
• Franchise Incentives: Most hotels are franchises. The ability to provide online check-in as part of a franchise package is a way to incentivize developers to choose one brand over another. For example, a company might choose to build a Hampton Inn because it offers online check-in where a Best Western does not.
• Guest Enhancement: Offering online check-in may persuade a frequent traveler to choose to be loyal to one family of hotels.

Disney already offers a program that lets some guests skip the visit to the Front Desk. Adding the ability for guests to pick an exact room wouldn't reduce staffing. In fact, it might even increase the need for Front Desk Cast Members when the selected room is not available for whatever reason.

The other benefits aren't ones that Disney needs. They don't franchise hotels and guests already choose their product over other options. In fact, guests (happily?) pay a premium to stay at a Disney Resort.

Based on all of those factors, I firmly agree that there is no real benefit for Disney to offer this type of service. Without a benefit, they won't spend money on it. Frankly, I think that's a very good thing. There are many other aspects of Disney World that could use TLC and a pile of cash.

 

[Disneylover99]

They don't have to upgrade anybody. There can be simple a disclaimer that if the room has a problem, they will be moved to somewhere else. I once was moved on the airplane for no reason given. I booked 2 windows seats and ended up with none. And the airline just stuck me with worse seats with no upgrade and no apology. I didn't know they could do that. As long as the customers know that, it is fine. The kind of things people complain about can all be worked out. Any service you provide can have potential problems. I am saying that the magic of getting the exact room you want will be worth the trouble for Disney. It doesn't matter that Disney has more rooms than Hampton or that the guests stay longer. Or that when the hotel is full the assignment gets hard. Computers can handle a thousand rooms just as well as it can handle one. That's the beauty of computers. Only allow some of the good and bad rooms to be chosen while other good and bad rooms are reserved, such that customers who pick early don't necessarily get the "best" rooms. They might pick the "worst rooms" just to enjoy the choice of getting to pick once own room! Customers don't chose once the hotel is past half full of each type of room (or a quarter full, or 3/4 full, whatever works). For example, at one point one guest may not be able to pick because he booked a standard room and more than half the rooms are chosen, but another guest who booked a preferred room still gets to chose because there are more than half left. Or vice versa. And the guest should understand that if the best rooms in their category are gone, they can not choose and be assigned to a good room! It's just a matter of knowing exactly which room one want to be in. I personally prefer having the inferior room I choose ahead rather than taking a chance on getting a better (or worse) unknown one. It's just fun! Understanding, of course, that if the room has a problem I have to get a different one. But that's always true anyway. I've heard of people getting the room they want, finding a cockroach inside, and getting the heck out of there.

People are not going to agonize much more than they do now which room to get. Remember, the choice is only within the same category of rooms that one has booked. Say if you book a preferred room, whether you get a "good" or "bad" one, it's still a preferred room. It's not going to be that different. Disney can put a disclaimer out: being that a large portion of the good rooms are to be assigned by Disney, just because you choose a room doesn't mean you have the best room. A bad room for one might be a great room for another! This is just so that those who love choosing gets a choice! And Disney can also charge for it and get more money!

So you would prefer to choose an inferior room ahead of time and pay extra for it because it's fun? I don't get it.

 

[Disneylover99]

All the prime rooms won't be booked. As I mentioned in my post, Disney should only allow a portion of the rooms to be selected, such as every other room, good or bad. Say only about half the customers get to do this, those who book early enough and those who want it. The rest will still get the same chance at having a good room. People will often choose "bad" rooms instead of taking a chance of a good room because a lot of people have different preferences. What's good for one might be undesirable for another. I for one do not ever want "pool view" -- I can't imagine how noisy that is.

If I have a certain building I like to request, but half of that building is already pre booked, while the rest of the resort has plenty of room booking availability, I'm probably going to look elsewhere. I don't want to play roulette at a Disney resort when the odds are way less in my favour.

 

[Gracie09]

They don't have to upgrade anybody. There can be simple a disclaimer that if the room has a problem, they will be moved to somewhere else. I once was moved on the airplane for no reason given. I booked 2 windows seats and ended up with none. And the airline just stuck me with worse seats with no upgrade and no apology. I didn't know they could do that. As long as the customers know that, it is fine. The kind of things people complain about can all be worked out. Any service you provide can have potential problems. I am saying that the magic of getting the exact room you want will be worth the trouble for Disney. It doesn't matter that Disney has more rooms than Hampton or that the guests stay longer. Or that when the hotel is full the assignment gets hard. Computers can handle a thousand rooms just as well as it can handle one. That's the beauty of computers. Only allow some of the good and bad rooms to be chosen while other good and bad rooms are reserved, such that customers who pick early don't necessarily get the "best" rooms. They might pick the "worst rooms" just to enjoy the choice of getting to pick once own room! Customers don't chose once the hotel is past half full of each type of room (or a quarter full, or 3/4 full, whatever works). For example, at one point one guest may not be able to pick because he booked a standard room and more than half the rooms are chosen, but another guest who booked a preferred room still gets to chose because there are more than half left. Or vice versa. And the guest should understand that if the best rooms in their category are gone, they can not choose and be assigned to a good room! It's just a matter of knowing exactly which room one want to be in. I personally prefer having the inferior room I choose ahead rather than taking a chance on getting a better (or worse) unknown one. It's just fun! Understanding, of course, that if the room has a problem I have to get a different one. But that's always true anyway. I've heard of people getting the room they want, finding a cockroach inside, and getting the heck out of there.

People are not going to agonize much more than they do now which room to get. Remember, the choice is only within the same category of rooms that one has booked. Say if you book a preferred room, whether you get a "good" or "bad" one, it's still a preferred room. It's not going to be that different. Disney can put a disclaimer out: being that a large portion of the good rooms are to be assigned by Disney, just because you choose a room doesn't mean you have the best room. A bad room for one might be a great room for another! This is just so that those who love choosing gets a choice! And Disney can also charge for it and get more money!

Of course it matters that Disney guests tend to stay longer and and the occupancy rates are higher. It means there is less flexibility in how rooms can be booked and not end up with orphan rooms. If family A books room 1 to wednesday and then family B books it starting Thursday that room is left vacant for a night. Family C books room 2 next door until Thursday and family D books it starting Sunday when family B is checking out, then room 2 I likely vacant for three nights. Now family B would likely be booked in room 2 from the start. Room 2 meets their needs and is the category they booked. That clears room 1 up for family E who wants a room from Wednesday through Saturday, where as before they would not be able to get that room and Disney would lose revenue. At a Hampton. Inn where stays tend to be shorter, the orphan rooms would be filled with single or two night guests or if they stayed vacant there is no lost revenue because no guests were turned away.

 

[msjprincess]

You still haven't offered the reason why the would do this financially. If you limit the number of guests, then cost-benefit of this is dramatically decreased. If you offer people to choose from a group of pre-selected rooms, you still aren't choosing the room that YOU want.

The 1 billion dollar price tag is the cost for the entire FP+ system. Disney had quite a bit of research that showed that we, as guests, were more likely to attend the parks if we had a "reservation" of sorts for our FPs ahead of time. The extra 30 day window brings people to stay at Disney-owned resorts. The benefit existed for them. Their research also showed that you were more likely to spend money if you didn't need to fumble with a card. A touchpoint system with a band on your wrist is so much easier. Again, the benefit outweighed the cost here. It made absolute financial sense for Disney to invest in this sort of program. They saw the potential return on their investment.

The return on their investment is not so clear with this scenario.

Exactly. Disney does things to attract more guests, make more money.... Something like this won't do any of that.
No one is going to say "I was planning on staying offsite to save money, but if I stay onsite I get to pick my own room."

 

[msjprincess]

I do agree that the Disney Website sucks, and one can only imagine how much will they suck at letting people pick their own rooms? My original post is to merely me wishing upon a star.... that Disney's IT doesn't suck so much, and they can create a feasible way of room choosing like the way they implemented the luggage "magically" appearing in your room. It costs a lot of money, but it increases their attraction. I myself don't use the luggage delivery anymore, sadly, but I know a lot of people love it. And it was very helpful when I used it. But I do feel better keeping my luggage next to me.

And another thing: one can reasonable argue that letting guest choose out of a 1000 rooms will confuse the heck out of them. In that case, the choices can be severely limited, say 5 rooms. Each guest gets 5 picks from various buildings within their category. And why should Disney do this? Because they can charge for it. And even if they don't charge, it will be one more magical thing about staying on property. Also guests can be limited to be allowed to chose only the day before arrival, to see how it works out. Then gradually increase the number of days ahead if it proves feasible.

Limitations:
1. Only returning guests get to chose rooms. (They've been there, so they know how to choose.)
2. Only a section of all rooms, good or bad, are to be "choosable."
3. Each guest is allowed to pick out of 5 rooms, selected by the computer. The computer can first ask their preferences: near pool, ground floor, etc. As the available rooms reduce in number, the computer can offer fewer choices than 5.
4. Guests are to understand that should something happen to the room, they may get reassigned.
5. Guests are to understand that they may end up with a better room if they let Disney choose for them.
8. Guests may not ask for an upgrade or room change if they end up with the room of their choice.
9. Guests can only choose rooms the day before arrival.


Disney has done a lot of things that cost a ton of money. The magic band cost Disney a billion dollars. (I read that somewhere; I don't know if it's true.) And a lot of people hated it at first, but there's no denying that the magic band is extremely cool. I don't want to go to Disneyland anymore because they don't have the magic band. Letting the guest choose their own rooms will just be one more cool thing (for those who care) about the Disney hotels.

But the difference is they did that because it makes them money. Not because they thought it was cool.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I guess if they charged a fee for picking your room ahead of time they could make money but how much? How many people are willing to pay that fee? I know plenty on this board would but the DIS is such a small number of WDW guests.

 

[Prose]

Disney has done a lot of things that cost a ton of money. The magic band cost Disney a billion dollars. (I read that somewhere; I don't know if it's true.) And a lot of people hated it at first, but there's no denying that the magic band is extremely cool. I don't want to go to Disneyland anymore because they don't have the magic band. Letting the guest choose their own rooms will just be one more cool thing (for those who care) about the Disney hotels.

But the Magic Band was developed to 1. make it easier for guests to SPEND MONEY - no wasted time or effort digging for cash or credit card, and 2. allow Disney to better control guest flow throughout the parks, giving guests more time and opportunity to SPEND MONEY. Choosing your own hotel room doesn't add to a guest's opportunity or willingness to SPEND MONEY, therefore Disney is unlikely to do it.

 

[HopperFan]

Return on investment is important. What works for a global hotel chain isn't necessary what will work for Disney. Global hotel chains like Hilton and Marriott/Starwood developed online check-in because it does offer benefits, include:

• Hotel Staffing: In theory, offering online check-in means Front Desk staffing can be reduced. Since labor is one of the biggest costs in running a hotel, that is significant.
• Franchise Incentives: Most hotels are franchises. The ability to provide online check-in as part of a franchise package is a way to incentivize developers to choose one brand over another. For example, a company might choose to build a Hampton Inn because it offers online check-in where a Best Western does not.
• Guest Enhancement: Offering online check-in may persuade a frequent traveler to choose to be loyal to one family of hotels.

Disney already offers a program that lets some guests skip the visit to the Front Desk. Adding the ability for guests to pick an exact room wouldn't reduce staffing. In fact, it might even increase the need for Front Desk Cast Members when the selected room is not available for whatever reason.

The other benefits aren't ones that Disney needs. They don't franchise hotels and guests already choose their product over other options. In fact, guests (happily?) pay a premium to stay at a Disney Resort.

Based on all of those factors, I firmly agree that there is no real benefit for Disney to offer this type of service. Without a benefit, they won't spend money on it. Frankly, I think that's a very good thing. There are many other aspects of Disney World that could use TLC and a pile of cash.

 

[Auntie_Maim]

I guess if they charged a fee for picking your room ahead of time they could make money but how much? How many people are willing to pay that fee? I know plenty on this board would but the DIS is such a small number of WDW guests.

I certainly wouldn't. As long as I'm not facing a brick wall, I don't care what my view is like. As long as I have the right number of beds, I'm fine.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I certainly wouldn't. As long as I'm not facing a brick wall, I don't care what my view is like. As long as I have the right number of beds, I'm fine.

Neither would I. We had a view of the roof at BC. We paid standard so we expected it. Didn't bother me one bit.

 

[nkereina]

I used to work for a large hotel chain in the front office, one that didn't let you choose your actual room. Can't speak for other hotels or Disney, but one of the "benefits" of the staff choosing the room is that the staff has some leverage. For example, if the hotel is sold out and a guest checks into a standard king room at 4pm and their toilet is broken, we'd move them to a comparable king room immediately. That would then bump the next guest out of that room since they had not arrived yet. We'd deal with that guest checking in later when/if that time came. Sometimes there were no shows. In other words, it gave us the flexibility to make guests happy that were in front of us then and there. We didn't have all our cards on the table, so to speak, by allowing the guest to see everything available and choosing what they wanted.

All that said, there's been times at check-in when I wasn't super happy with my room assignment so I asked the CM if they had something else or in a different building. Most of the time, the CM will oblige and will move you if they can. So that's always an option too.

 

[mayshamp]

But the difference is they did that because it makes them money. Not because they thought it was cool.

Yes, they did it (free luggage delivery) to make them money. How does it make money when it's free? Because it's cool to get your luggage delivered directly to your hotel, people tend to pick onsite hotel because of it. The hotel room selection is also one more perk for the guests who care, and I have a feeling that a lot of people will love it. Disney can first try this on a smaller hotel they own such as the Grand Floridian, or a small select number of Pop Century guests, to see how it works out. If it doesn't work, scrap it. And people who don't want to bother choosing don't have to feel left out. For example, Disney can explain that only the bottom 70% of the rooms are out for customer selection; the best rooms are reserved for Disney to choose. So only people who want to choose will bother with it. And yes, I prefer a "worse" room of my own choosing rather than having a chance at a better room. Because it is my choice! Everybody's needs are different! For example, I prefer Pop Century rather than the Polynesian even if they were to cost the same, and I've stayed at both. In fact, I judge the Pop Century to be the absolute best hotel in Disney for my family, even if you don't consider prices. And I've stayed at 6 Disney hotels. But I don't know that many people feel that way. I am quite sure that a large number of people will love the room choice option, though, even if they know that only the less than best rooms are available for choosing.