Request issue at the Polynesian (or any resort)

[Lewisc]

Everyone is on the cruise for the same number of nights. Some airlines let us pick our own seats but everyone is on the same flight.

People check in to hotels 7 days a week and stay for different number of nights. Reserving a specific room wouldn't work well. If my stay ends Sunday night and you requested the exact same room Wed Disney may have to leave that room empty for two nights unless they happen to find a guest who wants that room for exactly 2 nights. I guess you could only offer that option to guests who book for 7 nights. Similar problem if instead of picking the exact room you put the room into categories with only a limited number of rooms in each category.

Disney had multiple room categories in the POLY and stopped it. I suspect it didn't work. Think about the combinations. Charge extra for the partial LV rooms. Charge more for a balcony, less for a patio and still less for a room with neither.

When the resorts are booking close to 100% the less desirable rooms get rented and some guests aren't going to be happy.

That said Disney shouldn't be overbooking the concierge rooms. There are very few upgrades that would satisfy those guests.

Maybe the answer is just designate a couple of longhouses as preferred and charge a premium, as is being doing with the value resorts. Let's make it simple, charge extra for the longhouses that are recommended on Steve's site.

 

[Tikiman]

Everyone is on the cruise for the same number of nights. Some airlines let us pick our own seats but everyone is on the same flight.

People check in to hotels 7 days a week and stay for different number of nights. Reserving a specific room wouldn't work well. If my stay ends Sunday night and you requested the exact same room Wed Disney may have to leave that room empty for two nights unless they happen to find a guest who wants that room for exactly 2 nights. I guess you could only offer that option to guests who book for 7 nights. Similar problem if instead of picking the exact room you put the room into categories with only a limited number of rooms in each category.

Disney had multiple room categories in the POLY and stopped it. I suspect it didn't work. Think about the combinations. Charge extra for the partial LV rooms. Charge more for a balacony, less for a patio and still less for a room with neither.

When the resorts are booking close to 100% the less desirable rooms get rented and some guests aren't going to be happy.

That said Disney shouldn't be overbooking the concierge rooms. There are very few upgrades that would statisfy those guests.

That is why I think it would have to be in room catagories and not selecting an exact room.

The Polynesian did have more catagories but it stopped in the mid 90's and if I remember correctly the conversation it was to make things easier.

I myself woud pay more for a ground level room over a balcony. I use to love the upper floors but once I started getting a patio I was hooked on the room to stretch out and walk to the beach.

Aloha

Steve

 

[alohaguy]

I think all you'd need to do is just split the current categories into non-balcony and balcony/patio, and add a pool/marina category to garden view. It could be broken down further, but probably would be cumbersome. It wouldn't gaurantee everyone ended up where they wanted, but I bet a lot less people would be disappointed at check-in.

 

[Tikiman]

I would just add to that a reduced rate for the one side of Rapa Nui that is looking right at the Parking lot. I don’t see the Rarotonga rooms as being like that since many love it for the view of the monorail and there is much more of a garden area between it and the parking lot. I am sure many would be happy to get those rooms and not pay as much as someone getting a room looking at a nice garden area.

 

[BCV23]

I haven't read this whole thread but am just jumping in on the category discussion.

I actually think it is better to just leave it garden/lagoon. I remember the old categories too which changed more than once since we've been staying there. I think it has to be easier for room assigners now.

The only exception that I would make if I were queen is those rooms that Steve is talking about in Rapa Nui. Maybe a standard room rate there?

Personally, I wonder if it is the newbies to the Polynesian who are the most demanding. They read raves about the resort, build up a perfect room, view and vacation in their minds and are disappointed if it isn't exactly what they imagine.

At any rate, I too would not request a particular room....heck we don't even request a particular longhouse although we do request first floor.

 

[Lewisc]

AFAIK Disney doesn't currently assign rooms this way but they could just assign the less desirable rooms, Rapa Nui in the POLY for example, to the guests who have booked the lowest rates. That would be CM, FL or AP rates. It makes some sense to allocate the "better" rooms to the guests who're paying rack rate and give the lesser view rooms to the guests booking deeply discounted rates.

Some airlines base bumping order on the fare paid. Full fare business travelers are more likely to get a free upgrade to business class or even first class. Many hotels assign substandard rooms to PL customers. Some of Vegas hotels assign guests who book the internet specials the less desirable rooms.

 

[Tikiman]

AFAIK Disney doesn't currently assign rooms this way but they could just assign the less desirable rooms, Rapa Nui in the POLY for example, to the guests who have booked the lowest rates. That would be CM, FL or AP rates. It makes some sense to allocate the "better" rooms to the guests who're paying rack rate and give the lesser view rooms to the guests booking deeply discounted rates.

Some airlines base bumping order on the fare paid. Full fare business travelers are more likely to get a free upgrade to business class or even first class. Many hotels assign substandard rooms to PL customers. Some of Vegas hotels assign guests who book the internet specials the less desirable rooms.

There is a similar thing that can happen at the Polynesian. It happened to us. We had paid full rate for a lagoon view room and since there was some overbooking of lagoon view rooms by Expedia they stuck those people with the discounts in the not so good lagoon view rooms and upgraded us to concierge lagoon view rooms since we paid full price so they do look at what you paid I just don’t know how often they do.

 

[BCV23]

But by giving the worse rooms to those with AP rates, you could end up penalizing loyal visitors.

The airlines have systems in place to reward frequent fliers. WDW hotels don't as far as I know.

We stay at the Polynesian 3 or 4 times a year at this point in our lives and almost always are using an AP rate. I would hope that we would not get stuck with parking lot views as a result.

So far though we've always been very lucky with our room assignments (although never an upgrade like Tikiman). So perhaps frequent guests are rewarded that way.

 

[chamonix]

the guests who have booked the lowest rates. That would be CM, FL or AP rates.

Yes, I agree with BCV that policy wouldn't make sense. If you consider those who pay the "lowest rates" as the "lowest customer" if that customer is an AP holder doesn't hold up. It makes more sense, as tikiman said, they bumped them up, to accommodate the people who booked the "lowest rate" on Expedia (they have to make those decisions somehow). Big difference between rewarding frequent and high paying guests (both--AP guests spend more because they visit more) and "penalizing" those who score a deal. (lucky them!)

I think it's unfortunate that the Poly can't figure out just who exactly are those folks for whom a room is "just a place to sleep" (so they wouldn't mind a poor view) and those folks (like myself) for whom the room/view are important. Ah, to be in a perfect world!!

 

[alohaguy]

I have gone on AP rates on probably 75% of my trips and have almost always gotten my requested building. It would be interesting to know if discount rates actually do play an important role in their decision-making. Seems to me that it would just be another issue to keep track of in a system they already may find unwieldy. It would certainly be disappointing that AP'ers that travel to disney multiple times a year have lesser standing than those that go once a year, or less.

I still vote for rate category change - so many hotels I've stayed at have far more rate teirs than the Polynesian - it can't be that hard ... but who knows.

And I agree about Rapa Nui ... these truly are undisputably parking lot views. In my opinion, they are far less desirable than just about any other room at the Polynesian. But you never know, someone will likely come along and tell me they love this view because they were traumatized by foliage as a child and feel more comfortable close to asphalt ... (a joke, obviously) ... but my point is someone will say they had a great trip in parking lot view rooms in Rapa Nui, but I think it is unfair that they paid the same price as someone in a much better setting.

 

[eclectics]

I booked a 10 night Garden View stay for September. I asked my TA to request Tahiti upper floor. Will I get upset if I don't get it? Heck no! I'm so excited to finally be staying at the Poly (my first time there!) , as long as there is some sort of foliage in front of my sliding door, I don't care what room they put me in. I would prefer the location of Tahiti, but no building is important enough to throw a tantrum on the lobby floor.

 

[Emmaline Lola]

when we check in...I sure do hope we are not facing the dumpsters... ..Come on people...CM's are people too....

personally speaking, during my days at the front desk at the Dolphin, when a guest was irate over "requests" during check in I made sure they were in room 1001, this is worse than a "dumpster double", this room is in the "bowels" of the hotel.

Now if guests checking in were nice, and paying for a standard room, they would be the guests in a balcony room w/ fireworks view! I loved those guests just happy to be there!

Be nice to the hotel staff, it will pay off!

happy day!

el

 

[mkymouse4ever]

Well we are Very happily down to 29 days till "Poly" And I did first request Samoa volcano pool BUT, have since changed it. Doesn't matter all that much, we requested it at first because we have never gotten it. (never requested it either, thou). In all of our stays that is one of the few views, we haven't gotten. Figure if everyone is requesting that, we might as well plan on something else. I just left it open. 1st floor with patio, non- smoking. We can be surprised. Any view is great. We enjoy trying out all the different building, and finding out what is special in each one. Each has good and bad points. So far we have been in: Aortoraoa monorail view, Figi marina view , Raroatonga monorail view, Tahiti gv & lv, Tokelau pool view, Hawawii pool view. So far our favorite is figi. the cm's in that building where very special and the marina view is a great gv!

I really could not image, thinking that picking on a cm is going to get me a better room selection? No logic there? All around a bad choice.

Unfortunately, You are correct, this is not just a probablem at the Polynesian. If you read any thread on any resort, and this is not just on the dis, this is any disney type web site. People just want to know, and ask for "the best", the question of which room, view, area, section, building? to request is listed. So, this is probably a disney wide problem for the cm's.

Aloha, Mky!