jeffersonkim
General Manager at a Hotel Near Disneyland
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2007
- Messages
- 61
I honestly haven't taken time to read all of the posts, but since everyone has a different experience, then I will just share mine...
We stayed there during May of 2007. We like the layout of the room (especially the "extra" room for the kids). The people at the front desk were nice... the rest of the staff not so much. Our rooms were never completely cleaned - my mother had a fit everynight we came back. Hopefully this has been resolved.
My biggest issue personally was the distance. Lillybelly and I have 4 kids (DS 6, DD 4, and twins DS and DD 2). Even with the shuttle service, it took me 1 hour to get the kids on the bus, wait for the designated time to leave, make 3 stops and walk to the hotel. I was in the room long enough to drop the twins off with Grandma and then had to wait again for the next bus to come, then I had 2 more stops... WAY TOO LONG.
Unfortunately, the distance is the biggest factor - it wasn't even in the running for us next year.
DEDICATED SHUTTLE...
I'm sorry to hear about your experience. We've actually changed head house keepers since your stay, and service (as far as I know) has gotten better. Since my management, I've been trying to keep on the ball regarding all the issues and addressing issues directly. I'm new to this so each complaint is new to me.
BTW, I hear everyone loud and clear regarding the shuttle. Down with the Anaheim Resort Transit (ART) system! I would say so as well, but the city actually has an ordinance requiring its use by hotels in the Anaheim Resort area. We just happen to be exempt from the ordinance for various reasons. The city transit system can be inconvenient for individuals, but city planners love it.
From my research with various city officials and hotel managers, it's a system that exists in order to help alleviate traffic congestion. . .
The downside of course, is that it ends up being more expensive for everyone as large bureaucracies tend to get. . .
Our hotel pays $1,680/month (Their rates for each hotel are about $.48/room/day) into the ART system, and then each guest has to pay $3/regular, while free/child. (FYI, it'll soon cost $1/child!!!

When you consider the fact that we had 5,323 adults that stayed at our hotel for October, that's approximately $15,969 of approximate revenue ART saw. But in reality, only about $4,000 were our ART ticket sales. So it looks as though about 3/4 of our guests end up driving to Disneyland.
To get our own shuttle system, the total cost would be $10,500/month. We'd probably end up sharing the cost with an adjacent hotel, so it would probably be about $6,000 or $7,000 for us.
In terms of total cost (the $1,680 we pay plus the $4,000 our customers pay), and considering the much increased quality of service for a dedicated shuttle versus ART, it would be better to have our own shuttle service.
Here's my question for those who use ART, or don't use it due to its frequent stops. . .
What if we had our own dedicated shuttle shared with another hotel, but charged $3/adult, free/children. Would that be a better option?
It's just that having our own free dedicated shuttle would be $10,500/month, which is something we can't afford, but could afford it by charging guests individually. So it would be a $3 fee dedicated shuttle.