Should fee be charged for not cancelling ADR's?

[Disney Ron]

Opinions please, should Disney charge a fee for those who don't cancel an ADR?

Here's why I bring this up. In March we had an ADR for dinner at LeCellier. While we were waiting to be seated 3 different families without an ADR inquired about the chances of receiving a table but were told that without an ADR they were out of luck. We then get seated and the entire time we are eating their were 6-8 tables that were empty at all times, apparently because people that had cancelled trips hadn't cancelled their ADR. Here were people outside being turned away because they didn't have an ADR while they could have been given one of the empty tables.

Maybe when making ADR's Disney could ask for a credit card to hold it and charge a fee if one doesn't use that ADR.

We always cancel ADR's that we know we won't be using to be considerate to others.

Thoughts?

 

[natalielongstaff]

i agree with you ! there are only so many seats and to not cancel is a bit selfish however plans can and do change at the last minute on holiday !

 

[pumba]

I agree too....if they dont show up .......a restaurant ...either local ones or in Disney or any other place are losing revenue, they should charge....

 

[darrylpan]

I disagree with charging a fee for not cancelling. If the restaurant has patrons walking up that can fill those cancellations then no revenue has been lost.

 

[Pooh Bear Hugs]

No we only make ADRs we want to attend not spare ones but DH's condition may mean we have to miss one with little or no notice.

 

[snoopywoodstockus]

We have only made ADR's that we plan to attend to date.

I understand it can be hard to decide 180 days out what park you will be in and where you may want to eat. If you overbook then at least call and cancel, even if it is a same day cancel, they will know you won't be there.

 

[kcrew]

It really makes no sense that the reason that the tables are empty is due to no shows. 15 minutes after a no show the "reserved" table should be opened up for a walk in. To me it would make more sense to institute a strict policy that if you are more than x minutes late to check in for your ADR you are out of luck vs. the hassle of a credit card hold. Also, I read somewhere that the typical no show rate is 25%. If restuarants are aware of a consistent high no show rate it would only make sense to "overbook" so to speak like airlines do. If multiple tables are left empty I think it is due to some other reason, perhaps lack of staff?

 

[Disney Ron]

I disagree with charging a fee for not cancelling. If the restaurant has patrons walking up that can fill those cancellations then no revenue has been lost.

darryl, if you read my original post they turned away walkups, because they were holding tables for people with ADR's that never showed!!!

Plus I'm not talking about revenue purposes, but being considerate to other guests that could have possibly used that same ADR that wasn't cancelled!!!

 

[shellybaxter]

You are assuming that the tables are empty because of no shows. They could be empty because the restaurant is short staffed (either because someone called in sick or because they "planned" not to have a full staff) or because they are holding those tables for people who will arrive in 45 mins.

I don't believe that Disney should charge for missed ADRs, at least not in the parks. There are too many variables that Disney is responsible for; transportation issues, ride break downs, etc. We almost missed a LTT ADR once because we were stuck on the people mover. We had plenty of time when we got on, but were stuck for well over 30 mins. I was already upset but would have been livid if we were going to be charged a fee while being stuck on a Disney ride.

 

[Disney Ron]

You are assuming that the tables are empty because of no shows. They could be empty because the restaurant is short staffed (either because someone called in sick or because they "planned" not to have a full staff) or because they are holding those tables for people who will arrive in 45 mins.

I don't believe that Disney should charge for missed ADRs, at least not in the parks. There are too many variables that Disney is responsible for; transportation issues, ride break downs, etc. We almost missed a LTT ADR once because we were stuck on the people mover. We had plenty of time when we got on, but were stuck for well over 30 mins. I was already upset but would have been livid if we were going to be charged a fee while being stuck on a Disney ride.

shelly, do you really think that Disney would under staff one of their most popular restaurants for any reason? The night we were there their were 6 cast members standing at the podium greeting people!!! Doesn't sound under staffed to me!!!

We once were an hour late for a Boma dinner ADR because of a very bad lightening storm and were still seated almost immediately when we arrived!!! Therefore I say charge a fee to those who never show by the end of the day without cancelling the ADR.

 

[super_crunch]

I think there should be a fee charged

...and I think all character meals should require payment in advance like CRT. It seems like so many people book several character meals and then just don't show at the ones they don't want...and character meals are harder to walk-up to when children are involved.

(can you imagine the disappointment of a child having to wait outside a character meal to see if there would be an opening...and possibly being turned away?)

For other non-character ADRs, even a policy requiring a cancellation up until the time of the seating would be helpful. You could call from a cell phone or notify the CM at any podium once you realized you weren't going to make it.

 

[mahoneyth]

I think people will be weary about giving their credit card number out for ADR's for their vacation. I know i would.

I think the CM's should give out those tables that are empty if the party isn't there on time.

My DH was irrate one time when we wanted to eat at the PLaza for lunch and they had all these tables empty, but nobody was there to fill them.

 

[N2THRILLRIDES]

We only make ADR's to places/Parks we plan to be at that day. I have been making ADR's for my upcoming trip and everything that I want to "change" is booked solid. Maybe people are booking multiple places on any given day. I do not know what the "core" problem is at this point. All I know is I feel sorry for those who do not book in advance. I have seen them having to run around the world looking for a place to eat.


***Maybe the empty tables were due to lack of staff.

 

[Disney Ron]

We only make ADR's to places/Parks we plan to be at that day. I have been making ADR's for my upcoming trip and everything that I want to "change" is booked solid. Maybe people are booking multiple places on any given day. I do not know what the "core" problem is at this point. All I know is I feel sorry for those who do not book in advance. I have seen them having to run around the world looking for a place to eat.


***Maybe the empty tables were due to lack of staff.

I will say this again, the empty tables were not due to lack of staff!!! Their were 6 cast members at the podium talking to people and playing with my son. The tables were clearly empty because people with ADR's who were not going to be there that evening, didn't do the considerate thing and cancel them.

We are going to WDW 9/17-9/27 but were originally supposed to be there 9/10-9/17. When we moved the date back we cancelled all of our original ADR's including LeCellier. Why should we have kept someone that wanted to eat at LeCellier the night we weren't going to be there, but stopped them because we wouldn't cancel an ADR we weren't going to use?

 

[mel373]

I agree with the op. It seems that some people book everything they can and decide later what they want to do. I can see why people do that but Disney should do something to discourage people from doing that like make a deposit for the reservation. Otherwise people book everything they can and then when people go looking for ADRs it looks like the restaurant is booked.
I know there are a lot of ggod people out there that cancel their ADRs to let other people try and get the reservation but I am sure there are just as many that decide when they get to WDW where they are going to eat and just do a no show. That really is not fair to people that have their hearts set on a certain restaurant. Just because some people can't book their trips 180 days in advance they shouldn't not be able to get an ADR.
I partially put the blame on Disney for making it so easy to make so many reservations without a deposit but also for people that hold on to reservations they know they are not going to keep until the last minute.

 

[Hopefully]

Yes, I think they should charge a fee for an ADR no show. I hear Shelley's concerns, but I still think it is the thing to do.
There are so many people who book multiple ADR's without thinking (or caring) about the impact on others. Dining is a big part of a Disney vacation now. Being able to reasonably get an ADR is important.

 

[dburg30]

I think people will be weary about giving their credit card number out for ADR's for their vacation. I know i would.

How do you book your flights (if you dont drive) hotel, or vacations?

I think the reason WDW doesnt ask for CC is that probably a lot of people either a) use the DDP or b) pay cash.

I just doubt they'll ever go to a CC required for ADR's, I wouldnt mind it though, I use my debit card for everything.

 

[nicolbw]

I agree. I think a fee should be charged for no shows. I also think they need to crack down on multiple reservations for the same meal time. If you have 4 in your party and 2 reservations of parties of 2 then that is reasonable, but not 2 reservations of parties of 4. It would be easy enough to check this when reservations are being made. The CM then should gently remind them they already have a reservation and that one will need to be cancelled right then.

It's frustrating because with my husband in the Army we don't get a chance to have a big notice for our trip. The most we seem to get is a couple months notice. So for me to call up and ask for a reservation at even a nonpopular restaurant and be told it's full is saddening.

 

[super_crunch]

I think there should be a fee charged for no-shows

...and I think all character meals should require payment in advance like CRT. It seems like so many people book several character meals and then just don't show at the ones they don't want...and character meals are harder to walk-up to when children are involved.

(can you imagine the disappointment of a child having to wait outside a character meal to see if there would be an opening...and possibly being turned away?)

Just not showing up for a character meal is denying another child the experience.

For other non-character ADRs I think even allowing cancellations up until the time the party was to be seated would help the situation. It is easy enough to walk up to any podium to cancel, or call from a cell phone once you know you're not going to make it.

 

[Ilovestitch]

I remember a dining CM saying on here once that the system is designed to handle no shows so it really wasn't a problem.

I think the way the system works is that once you check in at the podium- then you wait for the next available table.

So, if that's the way it works then there wouldn't be a table waiting for a no show--- the empty table is waiting for people who have checked in but haven't had someone take them to their table yet.

That's my theory