Interesting Room Rates

[theostwalts]

So after hearing Fiaco's comment about different rates for AP discounts showing up when he logged out of his account, I decided to compare AP rates with Trivago. This is what I found.

Contemporary Tower Theme Park View AP Rate = $590.00 per night Trivago Rate = $622.00 per night

Port Orleans Riverside Royal Standard AP Rate = $290.94 per night Trivago Rate = $287.87 per night
Royal Garden View AP Rate = $295.66 per night Trivago Rate = $293.01 per night

All Star Sports Preferred Room AP Rate = $150.03 per night Trivago Rate = $146.00 per night
Standard Room AP Rate = $135.23 per night Trivago Rate = $129..00 per night

Trivago redirected me to Priceline for all of the room rates and beat the AP rates on all rooms except the Contemporary.

ETA: I used 10/19/19 - 10/26/19 for comparison.

 

[jcb]

I don't do Trevago or Priceline and frankly the difference between AP and Priceline is so small, I would not put up with Priceline (sorry Bill).

Instead, I compared passholder fall and holiday rates (Passholder) against fall and holiday rates (F&H) for September 30 to October 1, 2019. Bear in mind, these are the enticement rates, so the comparison may not be apples to apples in every instance. To try to control for this, I'll show the standard rate which, with an exception, was the same on both pages. The ASM rate is the exception. The Passholder rate is for a family suite while the FH rate is for a standard room.

At the time I checked, Pop, AS Movies, POR FQ, AS Sports, Poly (both Village and DVC), Boardwalk and Riviera were not available for AP on the dates I picked.

Pop, AS Sports, Poly (Village and DVC), Boardwalk Villas and Riviera were unavailable on F&H.

Resort​	Passholder	F&H	Standard
Coronado Springs	168.00​	190.40​	224.00​
Yacht Club	360.50​	412.00 ​	515.00​
Port Orleans Riverside	208.00​	234.00​	260.00​
Art of Animation	355.20​	399.60​	444.00​
Contemporary	504.00​	567.00​	630.00​
All Star Music	245.60​	129.00​	307.00 (AP) / 129 (FH)​
Old Key West	385.00​	440.00​	550.00​
Wilderness Lodge	394.40​	443.70​	493.00​

 

[theostwalts]

I agree that the savings is too little to justify using the other site. I used Trivago only to compare to see what the results would be. I was surprised that there was actually a cheaper room rate available to the general public which was better than an available AP rate.

 

[jcb]

I think Priceline buys rooms in bulk. For example, the Contemporary group rate for the August DIS party is $370.65 per night (with taxes) or $329.46 per night before taxes. That's a lot better than the summer rate of $503.20 per night that Disney currently wants. Several months ago, when I checked, the group rate was still at least 40 to 50 a night better than any other available rate I could get.

I'm suspect there is a difference between group sales and bulk sales but with the discount (my group sale reservation states "Room reservations are not transferable and reservation name changes are not permitted"). But companies like Priceline can turn around and sell the rooms they have bought at whatever rate they can get. I'm just surprised they are not more heavily discounted but I suppose that shows Disney is pretty stingy at selling bulk rooms.

Given that Disney's domestic occupancy for the second quarter of 2019 was 93%, they have probably been able to refuse to sell rooms to companies like Priceline for much of a discount. Of course, we don't know how much of this occupancy rate should be attributed to third party sales.

 

[GeneralTso]

I don't trust Priceline or Trivago or any of those 3rd party resellers. I've witnessed too much drama at front desks at check ins with "lost reservations" and "rate confusion" to steer me away. I like booking direct, knowing exactly what I'm getting. A price difference of $10 is just noise in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Ladyfish77]

What the heck with the All Stars Music pricing? Maybe Corey ran across something similar since he mentioned it was a value resort.

 

[jcb]

What the heck with the All Stars Music pricing? Maybe Corey ran across something similar since he mentioned it was a value resort.

The AP rate is for a family suite.

 

[Ladyfish77]

Well it shouldn't be showing pricing for different room categories in the chart--very misleading. Should only compare standard room to standard room across the rate options.

 

[jcb]

Well it shouldn't be showing pricing for different room categories in the chart--very misleading. Should only compare standard room to standard room across the rate options.

Bear in mind, these are the enticement rates, so the comparison may not be apples to apples in every instance. To try to control for this, I'll show the standard rate which, with an exception, was the same on both pages. The ASM rate is the exception. The Passholder rate is for a family suite while the FH rate is for a standard room.

 

[Fred M]

I don't trust Priceline or Trivago or any of those 3rd party resellers. I've witnessed too much drama at front desks at check ins with "lost reservations" and "rate confusion" to steer me away. I like booking direct, knowing exactly what I'm getting. A price difference of $10 is just noise in the grand scheme of things.

Agreed! If the resort over books, 3rd party vendor bookings are the first ones that get walked to an All Star. Also, if there is an error, you’re not dealing with the front desk and Disney, but dealing with the third party customer service staff who then have to call Disney. I’d rather just deal directly with Disney.

 

[tguz]

I don't trust Priceline or Trivago or any of those 3rd party resellers. I've witnessed too much drama at front desks at check ins with "lost reservations" and "rate confusion" to steer me away. I like booking direct, knowing exactly what I'm getting. A price difference of $10 is just noise in the grand scheme of things.

I wouldn't use Priceline for a full family vacation but I have used it many, many, many times for single nights and long weekends and have saved a ton of money and I can't think of a time I had any drama at the front desk. I have ran into a hotel or two that were listed at 3 star out of 4 that really should have been a 2 out of 4 but overall, we have had good luck.

 

[theostwalts]

Main point being that there should not be a room rate available to the general public, 3rd party re-seller or not, that is lower than an offed AP rate.

 

[tguz]

Main point being that there should not be a room rate available to the general public, 3rd party re-seller or not, that is lower than an offed AP rate.

I get what you are saying, and when we eventually move to FL and are AP holders, that will bother me too. We have about 10 years before we can make the move.

 

[SorcererHeidi]

Agreed! If the resort over books, 3rd party vendor bookings are the first ones that get walked to an All Star. Also, if there is an error, you’re not dealing with the front desk and Disney, but dealing with the third party customer service staff who then have to call Disney. I’d rather just deal directly with Disney.

Totally true. I know several people who had issues with mostly 1 third party in the past, all while booked at WDW, and were told (nicely of course) the front desk could NOT help them, they HAD to deal with the third party. In one case that I knew of personally and not just by hearsay, they were extremely irate, thinking the CM was just "passing the buck" , and really going bananas on the poor CM, until I explained to them this is one of the major downfalls of dealing with a third party, the CM was totally correct, and talked them through negotiating with the third party . They were still ticked, but at least not shrieking at the CM. I silently smirked in a corner, knowing they did what they did DESPITE all my best advice against it. Still tickles me, almost 20 years later - sometimes it feels nastily good to be right.

That's why the times I HAVE dealt with a third party (because yes, I have), it's not been at WDW (I've always had much better luck dealing with a CM when there's been a problem, instead of some faceless entity on the other end of a phone line), and I knew, ahead of time, I was taking an assigned risk, and all the downfalls that come along with that. And knowing all that, I will say that the times I have, it has all come down to price, which, IMHO, is the reason most folks do it. Not a bad thing sometimes if you KNOW what you're getting into.

 

[Ladyfish77]

The same goes for airline bookings. It's much easier to work with the company you are flying directly rather than third party if you have to modify your reservation. For me, it's not worth the few dollars saved for the potential hassle! I had a third party tell me I would have to pay a fee to change my flight when the airline changed the flight time and the connection time (for international) got changed to less than an hour. Airlines require you more than an hour and if the flight times change (beyond my control) they have to change my flights for free. I had to explain that to third party and they grudgingly changed my flight and told me they were making an exception in my case. Ha! Needless to say that taught me that booking direct is better when there are issues!

 

[dlavender]

I wouldn't use Priceline for a full family vacation but I have used it many, many, many times for single nights and long weekends and have saved a ton of money and I can't think of a time I had any drama at the front desk. I have ran into a hotel or two that were listed at 3 star out of 4 that really should have been a 2 out of 4 but overall, we have had good luck.

We got POFQ for a night last year for $99/night. Well worth the "risk". People right now are snagging all stars for $59/night in August. Again, I'd say that's worth it.

 

[tguz]

We got POFQ for a night last year for $99/night. Well worth the "risk". People right now are snagging all stars for $59/night in August. Again, I'd say that's worth it.

I should have clarified that I wouldn't use Priceline for a Disney vacation if I didn't know the hotel up front. If I had to choose an "area" or and unnamed "express deal", it might book me off Disney property which I would never want. If I could get POFQ for $99/night....I'd do it.

 

[skippytx]

I don't trust Priceline or Trivago or any of those 3rd party resellers. I've witnessed too much drama at front desks at check ins with "lost reservations" and "rate confusion" to steer me away. I like booking direct, knowing exactly what I'm getting. A price difference of $10 is just noise in the grand scheme of things.

Not only this, but the one time I used one of those sites to save a few bucks, the front desk manager straight up told me that the best rooms are reserved for folks that book direct, and the least desirable rooms go to the 3rd party booking companies. I ended up in a terrible location of the hotel to save about 8 bucks. I've booked direct ever since. Most places will match the lowest published rate anyway these days if you book direct.

 

[disney11fan]

Main point being that there should not be a room rate available to the general public, 3rd party re-seller or not, that is lower than an offed AP rate.

What is the AP rate?

 

[disney11fan]

I don't do Trevago or Priceline and frankly the difference between AP and Priceline is so small, I would not put up with Priceline (sorry Bill).

Instead, I compared passholder fall and holiday rates (Passholder) against fall and holiday rates (F&H) for September 30 to October 1, 2019. Bear in mind, these are the enticement rates, so the comparison may not be apples to apples in every instance. To try to control for this, I'll show the standard rate which, with an exception, was the same on both pages. The ASM rate is the exception. The Passholder rate is for a family suite while the FH rate is for a standard room.

At the time I checked, Pop, AS Movies, POR FQ, AS Sports, Poly (both Village and DVC), Boardwalk and Riviera were not available for AP on the dates I picked.

Pop, AS Sports, Poly (Village and DVC), Boardwalk Villas and Riviera were unavailable on F&H.

Resort​	Passholder	F&H	Standard
Coronado Springs	168.00​	190.40​	224.00​
Yacht Club	360.50​	412.00​	515.00​
Port Orleans Riverside	208.00​	234.00​	260.00​
Art of Animation	355.20​	399.60​	444.00​
Contemporary	504.00​	567.00​	630.00​
All Star Music	245.60​	129.00​	307.00 (AP) / 129 (FH)​
Old Key West	385.00​	440.00​	550.00​
Wilderness Lodge	394.40​	443.70​	493.00​

What is F&H ?