Marketing strategy

[PghDisney]

Before the conspiracy thoughts go too far, think on it logically. Diseny has a godawfully large amount of room capacity now and it grows all the time. On any given night there are I bet thousands of empty rooms, rooms that still need electricity, minimal staffing, still cost disney money. One year, five years ago, we bought the AP with every intention of going that year, then a week earlier the next, and getting two vacations discounted. True, we got less expensive room rates with the AP and free admission that second year, but did we really 'pull one over' on Disney and cost them money so much that they wished to put a stop to it? . . . Think on it, we NEVER would have gone to Disney two years in a row, true, they lost admission that second year, but they filled a room for ten days that would have gone empty otherwise, and that room was the Grand Floridian which even with discounts was over $200 a night (I forget the exact cost but $260 a night sticks in My mind). We ate rather well, including Victoria and Alberts. We saw cirque, we bought Disney merchandise including a sweater from Norway that I am still wondering why I bought. In the end Disney did quite well selling us AP's and would be foolish to have missed out on the still two thousand dollar plus room and missed out on other profits from us that actually added up to several thousand dollars I am sure if they had not had the AP's and the discounts. All this is saying, if it is a concspiracy, it is a rather bad one as it will end up costing large amounts of proits, and Disney is not that Dumb(o).

 

[eola3515]

Working at DRC, I enjoy reading the DIS frequently to get an idea of what folks are thinking. Several things have come up lately that I thought I might be able to clarify, and also a couple of things which are just IMHO:

(1) CRO & WDTC have been merging (ever so slowly!) for about five years now (no matter which number you call, you may be talking to the same CM)...currently, all CMs are being trained on one system that will decide whether to book according to CRO rules or WDTC rules depending on what you book - the CM will no longer have a choice of which way to do it. WDTC started out primarily as a service to travel agents and booked packages similar to the ones wholesalers offered, and those generally required full payment far in advance. CRO was simply the equivalent of the hotel's reservation staff and had (as do most hotels for room-only) easier cancellation rules. Much thinking has gone on over the years as the two were merging (and like anything done by committee they often came up with some odd compromises as to what the happy medium would be between the two. Once we're all on the same system the greatest improvement is there will be consistency because the computer will decide, not the CM. Obviously, if the decision doesn't fall in your favor you will be less pleased but at least you'll know what to expect - btw, it will probably take some time before we know exactly what the final outcome on all this will be as it is still very much a work in progress but most of the CMs should be working from the same system in the next 6-8 weeks.

A couple of things that are strictly my opinion about where we may be going (and like different political parties in power, these things can change depending on who's making the decisions): for many years, Disney's computers had no way of keeping up with who was staying frequently and who wasn't. This new system is changing that. One of the reasons the Disney Club stayed so long was because it was one of the only ways the Company had to keep up with repeat guests. If in fact AP discounts are being phased out (as of today, we have not been told anything) is that they were another very rough indicator of "frequent" guests. During the last couple of years, however, the nature of Passholders changed - instead of rewarding Passholders for frequent Park visits with resort discounts, I found that more and more people were buying just one pass (and often just a child one at that) in order to get the room discount. So, instead of rewarding Disney's most loyal guests, it became just another "discount coupon" which was never the purpose.

Once the new system is fully complete (and it has been a challenge as they have been working on this for 2 1/2 years and there is still much to be done) , I really believe the Company will be able to offer the best types of programs for the needs of particular guests based on their profiles. It should be a win-win for everyone.

In the end, of course, Disney is a business and the folks in Marketing will, I'm sure. continue to try to maximize revenue wherever possible. You may be sure however, that everyone is keenly aware that most of our resort business comes from repeat guests - that's why this new computer system is a multi-million dollar investment and, when finally complete, will be a great thing - especially for guests like, it seems, most of the DIS folks, who have been loyally coming to Disney for years and years.

 

[FloridaCat]

FYI: State of Florida "Visit Florida" announced Tourists numbers are up 1% so far this year and expect a new record. Granted not all went to Disney, but I think you could bet a high percentage have.

Another thing, you are talking like the decisions are made by one department. There would be the resort section, AP section and others that are making decisions based on their department. Sometimes the left hand does not know what the right hand is doing.

We were always puzzled why out of state people bought AP's, now that I see you are banking on room discounts it is a lot more clear. We factor in how many times we might go to the parks, cost out how many times we would have to use a AP to break even and it does not always make economic sense for Residents to buy. Based on our rate we had to go 8 times and that is more then enough Disney considering all the other fun things to do in the area.

 

[hookedup]

As a VP of marketing for a MAJOR travel company I just want to add this perspective -

Marketing people don't make those decisions the OP was referring to - accounting departments and finance people do!!!!!

 

[crystalb]

Welcome eola3515 -- Glad to have your views in the mix.

We have both bought AP's the last two years. Primarily because we stay in January 8 nights/days. We are at least at the break even point, if not beyond.
Whatever others days we go to WDW between Januarys just make good trips for us.
I have been fortunate enough to be able to get AP room rates in both Januarys and one October.
I have rec'd room discounts on two other trips, and they were not AP room discounts.
AP room rates are great. I admit to shopping around for whatever offer suits our needs at that time -- whether it be another room discount at WDW or S/D. We haven't stayed off site yet. (I spend too much $ on pins NOT to shop around. )
Luckily we have some time before our AP's are due for renewal and we can debate which is the best way for us to go. If Disney starts leaning towards FTP, then AP's may no longer be worthwhile. Let's face it -- AP's really don't carry many discounts. I think that may be some of the sore spots with some guests. The AP park discounts have gradually diminished over the years.