Paying Rack rate--like paying full price at Kohl's?

[alliejay]

We are paying rack rate for our trip this Dec. Could not get free dining and I'm guessing even if a 40% GP discount comes out, the room/resort we are staying at will be excluded as the resort seems to be pretty much booked now. I will NEVER pay rack rate again. I have learned so much from this board. If we can't get a discount in the future, we will stay offsite.

 

[pix13dust]

Love the title of your thread! As for Kohls, what a joke their prices are! I just went school shopping for my daughter yesterday, I SAVED $347, and only spent $139, their prices are so inflated, who do they think they are kidding with those grossly overinflated prices? as for Disney, i will gladly pay rack rate or double rack rate My husband rarely gives the green light for disney vacation ( he should see a shrink ) so when he does give the go ahead, i book it! if a dicount comes out all the better, shhhh, don't tell my husband, ant discount $$$ goes into my private souvenier fund

 

[clanmcculloch]

At one time I might have agreed to pay full price for a WDW vacation, but not any more. They've increased the room and dining prices so much in the past few years that now even a discounted rates cost as much as full price would have cost only a few years ago. It seems as though they increased the prices to give us the perception that we're getting a discount while still charging us the former full prices, but because of that I won't pay the current full price. The prices are beyond the "value" for me.

I booked a bounceback for next August and I'm part of a group booking for February. For a few days before our group booking we'd like to try AKL or AKV so I'm looking at maybe renting DVC points for AKV (once I can make up my mind if we really want to go or not) for those few days which is a discount from my perspective since it's a lot cheaper than booking through CRO.

I won't go without a discount. There are other places to vacation.

 

[laceemouse]

Agreed. Many people here act as if free dining is some sort of insult. I understand that it can be more difficult to determine exactly what the value of fd is to you (assuming you would not otherwise be paying out of pocket for the ddp, and we would not). But for a family staying at a value or moderate resort, fd is often more cost effective than a room discount. We're staying deluxe on our upcoming trip and while I'd prefer a 40% discount, there isn't one available, so fd it is.

You hit the nail in the head. 40% for a deluxe usually beats free food for most families, but if you are staying value or mod free food is usually better. If the free food is all there is when you want to go, and you really want deluxe, then free food is the deal for you!!!
I never pay rack rate at Disney or Kohl's, love my 30% coupons at Kohl's

 

[crostorfer]

I'd never pay rack rate at Disney. The only reason we go and stay on property is the military discount. I love the Poly, love it, but I love it much more at $287/night as opposed to $425/night.

If Disney ever takes away the military room only discount it will time for us to go elsewhere, (and I don't mean Shades of Green. I HATE SoG). We can get into Seaworld for free, Universal's coasters are much more attractive to my rapidly growing daughter, and there are a handful of water parks, including Discovery Cove that are quite attractive. If I have to pay rack rate, I can get a much nicer room and better pool areas outside of the World for the money.

 

[padawans]

I shop at Kohls but I rarely bother with coupons of any kind. My time is more valuable than my money at this stage of my life; coupons are too much hassle. Specifically, when it comes to clothes, if it fits well, is well-made and I like it enough to justify the price then I buy it.

As for Disney, it varies. I booked a trip last Oct 5 days out. Surprisingly, I got a discount but I would've paid rack rate. Our big trip in Jan/Feb I planned with a discount. This trip we have to have a discount to stay in the boardwalk area; but if we don't get it we'll stay somewhere else for rack rate. Christmas 2012 though -- I want a 2BDR at BWV. I'll book it at rack rate in the spring when it comes available; if I get a discount, great. If I don't that's fine. The room type is important for what we're planning.

I've seen a number of posts in the past couple months where people have expressed the opinion that more people go on discount than pay rack rate. Or that Disney deliberately inflates the prices in order to discount them. I don't think either of those is true. Particularly since there aren't discounts during peak season, but even in an off-season i'm still not sure it's true. If so many people on the Discount Codes board are willing to pay rack rate, then the percentage in the general population has to be much higher, as most of those people aren't even aware of discounts or even price seasons.

I don't know anybody that would book a hotel without searching for discounts. There are so many sites out there like hotwire,priceline,expedia. I think travelers are pretty knowledgable about discounts. Most people I know don't book a vacation a year out and then wait for discounts. Our first trip I boked 2 months out and got 40% off. I think that is more the norm than someone booking 8 months out and paying rack rate because they are too stupid to realize discounts are out there.

 

[Tltorrez]

I don't know anybody that would book a hotel without searching for discounts. There are so many sites out there like hotwire,priceline,expedia. I think travelers are pretty knowledgable about discounts. Most people I know don't book a vacation a year out and then wait for discounts. Our first trip I boked 2 months out and got 40% off. I think that is more the norm than someone booking 8 months out and paying rack rate because they are too stupid to realize discounts are out there.

Believe it or not, I know someone who is reasonably savvy in Internet use that was still booking airline and hotels directly. Didn't know about the discounter sites. Then there's the assumption that everyone is Internet savvy which is definitely not true. And I don't just mean older people either or those in extreme poverty. I have family in rural areas that are or were very recently on dial-up. And I know people at my son's (middle-class, suburban private) school that can go weeks or months without checking their email. Then add in the fact that Disney resort discounts aren't available on Travelocity. (You can pull up the resorts but you get rack rate.) Now you have to know where to look.

There are also a lot of people that book with a TA, not a Disney specialist TA. And that makes all the difference too. There was an article discussed on these boards a few months ago about saving money at Disney -- written by a travel writer in a reputable travel magazine that was full of inaccuracies and just plain bad advice. I know it seems amazing that people wouldn't know these things or take the time to research these things, but those of us on this board are truly not the norm. (Some of us more so than others. )

I agree that most people don't plan vacations that far ahead unless they are really saving up for this one. Even then, they aren't likely to book more than a few months out. But most people going to Disney go in peak times. It would never occur to me to go in July. But for most people, it would never occur to them not to. Summer is just when you take vacations -- and there aren't Disney discounts in peak seasons. Our first family trip last Oct I booked 5 days out and got a 25% on ASMu family suite. I didn't know about the discount, the CM told me. But I did know enough about Disney to know that October is a great time to visit. A little bit of knowledge goes a long way.

 

[LittleStinkerbelle]

Love the title! I never pay full price at Kohl's! I have to say, before I found the Disney online community, we paid rack rate many a time. The only discounts we got back then were Magic Kingdom Club (the old corporate program) and then eventually I discovered AAA discounts. I was under the impression (and I think it's out there for a lot of people) that Disney didn't discount rooms.

Since I've been on the boards, I've only paid rack rate once - at Pop in December. There were GP codes around for our dates but nothing at Pop and we really wanted to stay there. We are booked at BC for rack rate during Spring Break next April. I really don't want to pay full price, but if push comes to shove, our dates are set so it is what it is. We cut two days off the trip just to make sure it's affordable if there are NO discounts to be had.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I don't pay full price for anything.. so you know I won't be for Disney.

Me neither!
We book during a discounted time period. I don't plan our trip hoping for a discount. I book a trip when I already know I will get a discount. No way are those rooms worth rack rate!
We just stayed in Nashville at a Hilton Suites that was AMAZING! Hot breakfast included and it was $119 per night. A seperate bedroom and living area. Now take that hotel, pretend it is in Disney and owned by Disney...In that case I would be willing to pay an extra $100...but no more. However, if it were really in Disney and owned by Disney they would probably charge more like $400 per night rack rate. Is it really worth 4x more b/c it is at Disney...no way!

 

[Missytara]

I don't pay full price for anything.. so you know I won't be for Disney. This will be our fourth year doing free dining. We make the most of our credits and it goes a long way.

You are paying full rack rate for the room for free dining, so you are paying full price for something.

NOTHING in life is free; it is a series of trade offs.

You are paying nothing for dining but paying full price for the rooms.

 

[TandLMommy28]

I don't pay full price for anything.. so you know I won't be for Disney.

Me neither!
We book during a discounted time period. I don't plan our trip hoping for a discount. I book a trip when I already know I will get a discount. No way are those rooms worth rack rate!
We just stayed in Nashville at a Hilton Suites that was AMAZING! Hot breakfast included and it was $119 per night. A seperate bedroom and living area. Now take that hotel, pretend it is in Disney and owned by Disney...In that case I would be willing to pay an extra $100...but no more. However, if it were really in Disney and owned by Disney they would probably charge more like $400 per night rack rate. Is it really worth 4x more b/c it is at Disney...no way!

I was just thinking about this on our summer vacation this year. We went up into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The hotel we stayed at had two queen beds, a huge, shiny new flat screen television, a mini-kitchen with fridge, microwave, toaster, and coffee pot, a good sized dresser and a decent closet. The room was large enough that we had our traveling buddies, who were camping during the trip, over for lunch in our room. We had 10 people and didn't feel crowded. The amusement park was literally walking distance from our room. The main pool had underwater speakers, so it was a "musical pool" very cool. It also had a second pool, a kiddie pool, two hot tubs and tons and tons of activities for the kids. We paid $110/night and that is rack rate.

I kept thinking that at Disney, we would've easily paid $300-$400 night for what we got for $100 at this place! It really, really opened my eyes to how high Disney's prices actually are and what you are getting for the price. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Disney and we'll continue going every couple of years, but I am a lot more interested than I used to be in all the other cool places we can go for 1/4 the price of a Disney vacation.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

I don't pay full price for anything.. so you know I won't be for Disney.

I was just thinking about this on our summer vacation this year. We went up into the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The hotel we stayed at had two queen beds, a huge, shiny new flat screen television, a mini-kitchen with fridge, microwave, toaster, and coffee pot, a good sized dresser and a decent closet. The room was large enough that we had our traveling buddies, who were camping during the trip, over for lunch in our room. We had 10 people and didn't feel crowded. The amusement park was literally walking distance from our room. The main pool had underwater speakers, so it was a "musical pool" very cool. It also had a second pool, a kiddie pool, two hot tubs and tons and tons of activities for the kids. We paid $110/night and that is rack rate.

I kept thinking that at Disney, we would've easily paid $300-$400 night for what we got for $100 at this place! It really, really opened my eyes to how high Disney's prices actually are and what you are getting for the price. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Disney and we'll continue going every couple of years, but I am a lot more interested than I used to be in all the other cool places we can go for 1/4 the price of a Disney vacation.

The other thing I kept thinking while we were at that Hilton Suites was that they should build rooms like that at Disney. I always want a 1 bdrm villa b/c I want my kids to have a seperate area to nap w/o me having to sit in the dark and quiet for 2 hours everyday. This place was set up just how I would want. It even had a minifridge/microwave/sink area...similar to a studio at WDW. But at Disney you can either get the hotel room set-up or if you want 2 seperate areas you have to splurge on the villa. I don't want a kitchen I'm not going to cook so why pay for that extra space? Then it occured to me, that if that is all they offer, people will pay the price b/c they want the 2 seperate areas. Smart move on Disney's part.

 

[javamommy]

The other thing I kept thinking while we were at that Hilton Suites was that they should build rooms like that at Disney. I always want a 1 bdrm villa b/c I want my kids to have a seperate area to nap w/o me having to sit in the dark and quiet for 2 hours everyday. This place was set up just how I would want. It even had a minifridge/microwave/sink area...similar to a studio at WDW. But at Disney you can either get the hotel room set-up or if you want 2 seperate areas you have to splurge on the villa. I don't want a kitchen I'm not going to cook so why pay for that extra space? Then it occured to me, that if that is all they offer, people will pay the price b/c they want the 2 seperate areas. Smart move on Disney's part.

Agreed! That is why I love the suites at ASMU. We get the privacy and space without the price tag. It's easily half the cost of the villas. I even got a pin for Saratoga Springs and it would still be 1200 dollars more than the ASMU suite. No thanks!

 

[clanmcculloch]

The other thing I kept thinking while we were at that Hilton Suites was that they should build rooms like that at Disney. I always want a 1 bdrm villa b/c I want my kids to have a seperate area to nap w/o me having to sit in the dark and quiet for 2 hours everyday. This place was set up just how I would want. It even had a minifridge/microwave/sink area...similar to a studio at WDW. But at Disney you can either get the hotel room set-up or if you want 2 seperate areas you have to splurge on the villa. I don't want a kitchen I'm not going to cook so why pay for that extra space? Then it occured to me, that if that is all they offer, people will pay the price b/c they want the 2 seperate areas. Smart move on Disney's part.

That's what the family suites are and that's what the majority of the soon to be open Animation Suites resort will be and that's what the FW cabins are. That option's there and soon there will be much greater availability for this type of room. You do pay less than a villa but you do pay a bit more than what you'd pay for 2 value rooms.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

That's what the family suites are and that's what the majority of the soon to be open Animation Suites resort will be and that's what the FW cabins are. That option's there and soon there will be much greater availability for this type of room. You do pay less than a villa but you do pay a bit more than what you'd pay for 2 value rooms.

Agreed! That is why I love the suites at ASMU. We get the privacy and space without the price tag. It's easily half the cost of the villas. I even got a pin for Saratoga Springs and it would still be 1200 dollars more than the ASMU suite. No thanks!

We can't do the value suites b/c of the lack of amenities. Dh has to have gym. I just wish I didn't have to pay so much extra to have access to one!

 

[avw1295]

I love this comparison!
I usually only go when some kind of discount is being offered. Last year I booked before any discounts were announced, but I watched very closely and as soon as a discount was announced, I had it applied to my reservation. Our first trip, we had buy 4 get 3. The following year I had a 40% off pin. I haven't decided what to do for 2012. I'm considering taking advantage of free dining in March. Since we always buy the dining plan, I do consider it a discount. However, I would definitely prefer a room only discount.