It lowered it's prices after one year of operation...it was frequently one of the few places that didn't run at full capacity over the last 10 years (not always...but consistently if you've called for room availability)...and they did the unheard of step of converting existing hotel rooms to DVC units.
Couple things to keep in mind:
1) AKL opened on April 16th, 2001. On September 11th, 2001, the tourism industry took a pretty enormous blow. That's a pretty big mitigating factor when you're talking about the largest deluxe resort (in terms of number of rooms:1274 when it opened) on property, no? And the other hotel that was traditionally underbooked was the Contemp....the 2nd biggest deluxe resort (1000 rooms, at the time of AKL's opening) on property
2) The room category that was MOST underbooked, reportedly, were the deluxe rooms (approx 225 rooms).
3) AKL was designed, from top to bottom, to support a DVC addition. Infrastructure, construction, site prep, land use, everything was really plotted out during the design phase of AKL. Kidani (or some form of it) were always in the plans, at least on some level.
4) Disney saw an issue possibly arising that would leave the DVC sales force with nothing (or limited) new to sell to the public for a significant period of time if they chose to build only Kidani. They had a category of room that was traditionally underbooked, which could easily (relatively) be converted into villas. They basically solved 2 problems with one solution. They reduced the number of cash rooms AND provided something new for the DVC sales force to sell, while the new addition (Kidani) was being built.
I'm not sure you can make much of an argument that THEME was the overriding factor in this one. You could argue that, in hindsight, AKL was overbuilt...though without clairvoyance, it's hard to see how Disney could have known that... and that it's location makes it a bit more remote (which, for some people, is an issue). I can certainly see those points.
But theme? Other than your personal opinion, I can't see any logical grounds for that argument.
Something that is a desperation move that they have never done before and will try never to do again. If they wanted 500 Villas (which again...is a large number meant to pull in alot of owners to a less than prime location) then they would have built Kidani with 500 hundred. There was no need to convert old rooms unless you couldn't keep them filled. That is Disney...filled rooms or else. That is why Saratoga is there and Disney Institute is not.
They couldn't fill the DELUXE rooms, at a premium price, after a massive fluctuation in tourism volumes followed by economic downturn (and then recovery, granted). Given the offering, and it's real lack of distinction from the "regular rooms, and the fact the Deluxe rooms actually offered a higher (re: further away) view of the animals, that doesn't really surprise me much. There are far more mitigating factors here than you're acknowledging.
The theming is great...that is not in dispute...but it has never been near the top in demand. Why that is is probably alot of things...i think a huge one that Disney dare not breath is that their clientele is not down with the African Theme. They should be...but they are not. And it's not unreasonable to take a few guesses as to why.
Again, you're not providing evidence that the THEME is what caused the lack of demand. You can think it, but you've got no real evidence other than your opinion...given there are much more logical reasons to consider.
Check the
point charts - many of the rooms at AKV are cheaper per night than WL, BC, BW, or BLT. AKV has more categories...some with more expensive point costs....but you can't get a cheap "per point" night at Wilderness...you can at AKV. And you can't at SSR...as you can at OKW. I think this isn't rocket science here.
The majority (80%) of the rooms are savanna view rooms. They are "pricier", across the categories, than most of the other resorts. And they do not have the benefit of being "attached" to a theme park.
The value rooms provide significantly SMALLER rooms at a discount point rate. Can't really compare those to anything offered anywhere else. And they are VERY few in number.
The "standard" view rooms (ie: pool at Jambo, pool or parking lot at Kidani) are fewer in number and are much like the "standard" view rooms at the Boardwalk...and are "pricer" in terms of point costs.
It might not be rocket science, but the conclusion you're trying to reach simply doesn't hold water when looking at the ACTUAL numbers.
Guaranteed revenue...they know from there past experiences (notably hilton head, vero, and more recently saratoga) that somebody will buy it...and they want to put butts in AKL to maintain revenue streams there and gate at DAK. As i state above...the conversion of rooms is what puts up the flag. there is no way on earth that disney would take rack rooms out of their inventory and make them DVC when they just could have added on at Kidani. You can disagree if you'd like (but probably not the right call).
I don't think anyone would argue that the Deluxe room category was vastly underbooked. But there are other factors involved that you either haven't considered or are completely ignoring. And the solution they adopted was unorthodox, but solved 2 seperate problems at the same time.
As for guaranteed revenue....well, no kidding. That's the reasoning behind DVC, from Disney's perspective, from top to bottom. And being able to equate out 95-ish% occupancy (because bought points are bought points) to a much lower figure (for the deluxe rooms) makes this a pretty interesting bit of creative problem solving.
As for AKV increasing the gate at DAK...I'd be surprised if that was true. Transport from AKL/AKV is such that the only park that's aways away is MK..and even that isn't a horrible commute (15-20 min). After all...a bus is a bus is a bus. It's not like there's direct access from the resort to AK via walkway.
There many factors to why things are....as with all things. My comment was to bring one to light that is never talked about. You can disagree...but do it with some perspective. It's clear you missed the point and at least some of the facts
Pot. Kettle. Black.
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