Poly Overbooked Nov. 5-7 by 150 Rooms??

[smfnj]

My sister has a reservation for the Poly as follows:

Tues Nov 4 - AP rate
Wed Nov 5 - Fri Nov 7 - Rack Rate
Sat Nov 8 - Sun Nov 9 - AP rate

She has had these reservations since July I believe and had the AP discount applied when they were released.

Today at 1pm she received a call from Disney telling her that they had overbooked the Poly on Nov 5-7 by 150 rooms and offered her BW Concierge for $333/night for those 3 nights. This would mean changing rooms twice on a 6 night stay. She's going to call back later to see what she can do, I assure you there are some very unhappy campers at her house.

We are scheduled to check-in to the Poly on Fri Nov 7 for 4 nights LV, then 5 nights BW WV. We haven't heard anything from them as of yet.

Anybody else hear anything??

steve

 

[Susiesnowflake]

You've got me scared! We have reservations at the Poly 11/2-11/9...some AP and some AAA. Like you, I haven't rec'd a call. I'm hoping one doesn't come. What a bummer for your sister. To have everything in order and planned and then to have this happen. I definitely feel for her and her family. And the question is...why would Disney even overbook an anticipated busy week/weekend?

 

[>>^..^<<]

Why can't your sister just say no?

>>^..^<<

 

[Nadine and Fred]

.If your sister would not mind being at BW concierge, maybe she can offer to stay at the BW concierge for her entire visit at the same rate as she was paying at the Poly .(I assume that this is less than the price that she was offered) After all, she is doing Disney a favor by switching.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

if they need her to move then they should have her stay at the beach club for her entire visit and offer her a better price $333 a night seems alittle high when they messed up and displaced her

 

[floridafam]

What type of room did she have booked at the Poly?

How could they overbook by 150 rooms?

Anyway,

Let us know what happens.

 

[Lisa3]

I too would be curious to know what type of room your sister booked? We are staying GV Concierge at the Polynesian from Nov. 7th to Nov. 17th and I am also concerned with how busy this resort seems to be on the day we arrive. It took many hours to convince DH to try concierge - I really hope they didn't overbook there too!

 

[smfnj]

My sister has a GV booked for all 6 nights. She was told she didn't have a choice as far as staying at the Poly for nights 2 - 4.

We'll know more after she gets them on the phone in the am. I told her if she can't get her Poly stay reinstated to politely demand either the first 4 nights or all 6 nights at BW at 40% off rack. Changing rooms twice in a 6 night stay is insane.

I also gave her an email address for guest communications which she has already sent her feelings on this issue, maybe it will help.

steve

 

[Susiesnowflake]

Steve,
I was just checking in on an up-date re: your sister's situation at the Poly. Keep us posted. I totally agree with you. If they are displacing her, they definitely should compensate her by offering her 40% off rack rates at the BW. She is being displaced due to an overbooking on their part. If they have overbooked by 150 rooms, I am curious where they are going to move all of these guests. I have been told repeatedly when checking for AP rates that there is just nothing available at the Poly or any of the mods or deluxes for that time frame. Hoping a bad situation turns around for her...and good luck to the rest of us people booked at the Poly that same week!

Susie

 

[icelady]

We are booked at BWI for 10 nights starting Nov.2 thru 12 and hope tthey didn't overbook here either. I think rooms are going to be very sparse during this time.:earseek I think they should compensate your sister also, for the displacement and the trouble it is causing her. Paulette

 

[DebbieB]

I can't figure how they could overbook by 150 rooms! I could see 15 or 20, but 150? My guess is a large group or convention is looking for rooms or there is some event that was just scheduled. Or some unexpected renovations. I wouldn't pay extra, I would expect them to offer comparable accomodations or better at the same price.

 

[SB in KY]

I don't know about your sister...but if I had a confirmation slip in my hand that said I had a room at the poly on X nights for X price, there is no way I would pay more to move to another hotel because THEY overbooked....I would tell them I MIGHT think about another resort if they wanted to honor the rate I had confirmed... but since I don't want to move rooms 3 times I would need to stay wherever they put me at the agreed upon rate...this is THEIR problem...not your sisters. She should hold her ground...they will eat the cost of the upgraded room if they have to.
Years ago (like 7 or 8), we had reserved one of the old trailers at Ft Wilderness...when we went to check in they were in the process of replacing the trailers with cabins and had overbooked. The CM at the check in desk said she "had been authorized" to offer us a room at BC for almost double what we were paying for the trailer....DH smiled and said "let me speak with your supervisor and see what else we can authorize you to offer..." In the end they sent us to a tower room at the CR and then refunded what we paid for the cabin...so in essence it was a free weekend. I am not sure they were obligated to give us a refund (but it sure did make me smile all weekend!!) but they were obligated to honor the rate they had confirmed and offer us something that would be a satisfactory replacement.

 

[BrianD]

Originally posted by DebbieB
I can't figure how they could overbook by 150 rooms! I could see 15 or 20, but 150? ...

It was probably a glitch in this new "Destination Disney" reservation system that they have started using.

 

[betterlatethannever]

Wasn't one of the buildings being rehabed supposed to reopen this month? They may be behind schedule.

Ed

 

[floridafam]

What is the latest word from Disney?

I believe they were refurbishing the Concierge building.

Let us know.

 

[smfnj]

Originally posted by betterlatethannever
Wasn't one of the buildings being rehabed supposed to reopen this month? They may be behind schedule.

Ed

That was my first thought, that the Hawaii was running behind schedule and they were going to take Tuvalu down on Oct. 19 anyway. The Hawaii is supposed to be done Oct. 18.

Haven't heard from my sister yet, think I'll give her a call shortly.

steve

 

[Mouseaholic]

I travel a great deal and in my experience, Disney will find a solution. The first choice offered, however, is not always the best they are willing to offer.

My suggestion....stay on the phone until you can fully resolve the situation. Politely say when they ask to call back......"I'll be happy to hold until you have an answer". There are supervisors on duty who can resolve any situation if they have to.

Explain the trip is important and simply impossible to reschedule. Ask them to find other accommodations equal to your current reservation for equal or less because of the inconvenience to you.

Again, be polite......rewards are better with "honey" than "vinegar" but don't give up. They are other rooms they can find for you.

A tip, resorts always keep a handfull of rooms open for last minute emergencies.......don't give up.

Best of luck!

 

[ljfkgf]

I'm the sister. I was probably near hysterical on Tuesday night when I spoke with my brother about the problem with the Poly. They actually overbooked 150 people - not 150 rooms. Most of the people are being relocated to the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We originally confirmed our six night reservation at the end of May for a Garden View room. In August, we were able to obtain AP rates for our first night and our last two nights.

I received a call from Disney on Tuesday around 1:00. I was told that there was a problem with overbooking and we would have to go to the BW from 11/5 - 11/8. We were offered a room at the BW Concierge for the same rate as the rooms at the Poly. Strange coincidence that the three days that were overbooked were the three from the original reservation without the AP discount.

The guy who originally called yesterday with the good news did return my call today, but was not helpful at all. His attitude was, "I'm only the messenger and you don't have a choice". He couldn't answer any of my questions and told me there was no person I could talk to who could change the situation. I called the Poly direct this morning and the manager gave me the name of the lady who is handling all of the problem reservations. I left her a message early this morning. After the not very helpful guy called, I called her again and pleaded for a return call. She did call back and was much easier to deal with. She arranged for us to stay at the BW Inn Concierge for the first four nights and then we're going to the Poly for our last two nights. It isn't exactly what we had originally planned, but at least we only have to move once and the rate for the BW Concierge is almost the equivalent of an AP discount rate.

If you have reservations at the Poly for early November, I'd make sure your caller ID is on and don't answer any calls with a 407 area code.

By the way, the only explanation for the overbooking was that somehow, the rooms in question were booked and then re-entered into the system as available. Disney magic, I guess?

Where did the magic go??? Into the computer!!!

 

[floridafam]

You aren't being asked to pay any additional money, are you?

 

[Susiesnowflake]

To Steve's sister (ljkfgf),
I feel so badly for you. I am seriously hoping that I don't also get the displacement call. I am steaming already that they did this to you. A trip to WDW is a great expense. My first step in the planning is to secure the resort that I want. Only then do I make airline reservations, car rental plans..... I certainly do not expect to spend the thousands involved and then have Disney tell me I can't stay where I wanted to stay and where they confirmed I could. The choice of lodging may not be an issue to some, but it is to me. Rooms on-site are not cheap, and if I am saving and paying for a particular WDW resort, and I have a confirmed reservation for that resort, I expect that resort. Up-grades are nice, and I certainly hope you enjoy your stay at the BW Concierge. I know many might be excited for the opportunity. Personally, my heart is set on the Poly....where my reservations were supposedly confirmed. Hoping that's where I'll be in 23 more days!