Summer discounts are out!!

[Madonna3]

Just their new name for a pin code.

What's it stand for?

 

[Roxyfire]

What's it stand for?

Unique Offer Code maybe?

 

[Madonna3]

Unique Offer Code maybe?

Oh, that would make sense. Thanks.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

The "oc" are offer code...drawing a blank on the "u"

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think they have a good system in place.

Discount when needed (All stars are $100 in Sept today), DVC expansion to fill in.

Massively overpriced deluxe rooms that they can't sell is a "good system"?

What is better for business? People who sit around stormalong bay discussing "we're happy with our room..." who they know (firsthand) are more likely to spend more on stuff, tickets, food and drink...or those that book and "swallow the price" and then show up looking to comparisons between the price they pay and other hotels they've paid premium for? Because that brings into play the subconscious question of "value" even if the money isn't an issue.

 

[MiDigh]

What is the opinion on a site like DVC reservations? There are some pretty nice nightly rates on there...

 

[Roxyfire]

Massively overpriced deluxe rooms that they can't sell is a "good system"

What is better for business? People who sit around stormalong bay discussing "we're happy with our room..." who they know (firsthand) are more likely to spend more on stuff, tickets, food and drink...or those that book and "swallow the price" and then show up looking to comparisons between the price they pay and other hotels they've paid premium for? Because that brings into play the subconscious question of "value" even if the money isn't an issue.

I feel like with Orlando it's just par for the course. People have lots of options and they can choose what works for their wallet. It's easier to rationalize it away with "that's the cost of vacation" or "let's splurge just this once!" Regardless of the impact it has on the rest of the business, that's what's driving the cost upward beyond the surface level greed.

What burns me up is paying over $150 a night (back home) for a hotel room over Labor Day weekend. There's next to no options in this town and that's one of the cheaper ones unless you're looking for roach motel quality. I could stay with family for free but why ruin an otherwise nice weekend?

edited for some complainy clarity

 

[jade1]

Massively overpriced deluxe rooms that they can't sell is a "good system"

What is better for business? People who sit around stormalong bay discussing "we're happy with our room..." who they know (firsthand) are more likely to spend more on stuff, tickets, food and drink...or those that book and "swallow the price" and then show up looking to comparisons between the price they pay and other hotels they've paid premium for? Because that brings into play the subconscious question of "value" even if the money isn't an issue.

Yes it is. DVC is expanding into and onto Deluxe. And the prices of all categories can be discounted if needed, exactly like we are seeing.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Yes it is. DVC is expanding into and onto Deluxe. And the prices of all categories can be discounted if needed, exactly like we are seeing.

Why is dvc expanding? It's two fold...and its honestly not good for dvc or the rack customer

 

[jade1]

But why do I want to pay $400 for a $200 room just so there's vacancy?

Only you can answer that. But if you indeed pay $400, that room just became a $400 room.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I feel like with Orlando it's just par for the course. People have lots of options and they can choose what works for their wallet. It's easier to rationalize it away with "that's the cost of vacation" or "let's splurge just this once!" Regardless of the impact it has on the rest of the business, that's what's driving the cost upward beyond the surface level greed.

What burns me up is paying over $150 a night (back home) for a hotel room over Labor Day weekend. There's next to no options in this town and that's one of the cheaper ones unless you're looking for roach motel quality. I could stay with family for free but why ruin an otherwise nice weekend?

edited for some complainy clarity

The resort system operated at its highest occupancy and best - 1995-2005 - when Disney didn't have such a huge despairity between what they charged and what you could pay outside.

Look no farther than these boards...the mentality used to be "why wouldn't I stay on property?", when now you see "why should I pay that much?"

It may not be a majority trend...but it is growing and that hurts the bottom line longterm

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Only you can answer that. But if you indeed pay $400, that room just became a $400 room.

Nope...never...because it yields too high of a percentage of one time customers. No business succeeds with one timers...ever.

Except funeral homes

 

[lockedoutlogic]

What is the opinion on a site like DVC reservations? There are some pretty nice nightly rates on there...

Because all timeshares have to have a percentage offered to the public by Florida law and there isn't much of a demand for dvc for cash....

So that is a good, underused angle.

 

[jade1]

Nope...never...because it yields too high of a percentage of one time customers. No business succeeds with one timers...ever.

Except funeral homes

I get that, I think most said no to $400, therefore the discounts. But if more and more pay $400, that is it's value.

 

[Roxyfire]

The resort system operated at its highest occupancy and best - 1995-2005 - when Disney didn't have such a huge despairity between what they charged and what you could pay outside.

Look no farther than these boards...the mentality used to be "why wouldn't I stay on property?", when now you see "why should I pay that much?"

It may not be a majority trend...but it is growing and that hurts the bottom line longterm

I think it's still a major mentality. But you have people shifting categories if they can, renting DVC points, cutting days from their vacation. It stings one way or the other. Just like with other things (e.g. cost of healthcare/insurance) these prices will not go down, it's just the new floor (used the wrong word there) for the next couple of years. I'm sure they expect people to empty their pockets for Star Wars, and they may very well do so.

 

[Madonna3]

Only you can answer that. But if you indeed pay $400, that room just became a $400 room.

Exactly and I'm not paying that price

 

[elaine amj]

I remember in 2007, I got CBR for a sale price of $99. I remember value resorts being as low as $59 for special pricing, but about $69-$79 on average. 2007 sticks out to me because that's when my son turned 5 and I started taking him to Disney.

IMHO, $99 is the correct rate for value rooms. I think they are worth $100/night up to about $125ish, depending on season/room (preferred). Anything above $130 and there's no way I am staying.

Its tough - and I agree, I have my limits to how much I will pay to stay onsite. I have a post-resort stay (staying on an extra night after my SSR reservation). There's my brother's family and my family and we finally decided that an extra $500 for our SSR 2 bedroom was a good value, but our trip budget is maxed and we REALLY don't want to spend a penny more than necessary. Anyway, so I'm comparing the costs of staying offsite vs onsite for the extra night (I'm staying 1 night, he's staying 2 nights)

I just booked AS Movies for $80+taxes for myself and $95+taxesx2 nights for my brother (no standard rooms left for him) for our Sunday stay at the end of August.

AS Movies, total: $321
Myself: $80+taxes = $105
My brother: $95x2+taxes = $216

Offsite in a cheap hotel on IDrive (e.g. Ramada Plaza), total $230
Myself: $50
My brother: $50x2 = $100
Uber costs from WDW to IDrive and Uber to airport = $80++
No park days so no need for transportation back to WDW

So it would cost our 2 families an extra $90 to stay onsite at Disney.
Onsite advantages would be:
- more familiar product. I know the standard and vibe at the All Stars (last stay was in Sept 2016). It's clean, cheap, and cheerful. A $50 hotel on IDrive is much more suspect and reviews for those I have seen are all over the place, which does make me nervous. A room with a reputable chain is about $70-80/night, which brings us in line with WDW prices.

- easy luggage transfer. We will be doing a full park day on our change day so being able to return to our new hotel to find our bags there will be easy. Otherwise, at some point, we will have to take a bus back to our old hotel, collect our bags, and then uber over to our new hotel. Being a larger group with varying ages, we will probably do this in 2 separate groups, which lends to more complications.

- Magical Express, including being able to check in our luggage in the morning. If we are offsite, we would have to Uber - which is fine really (we've done it before).

- staying in the Disney bubble may be more relaxing? My flight is at 7:45pm on Monday and my brother's family fly out at 11:30am on Tuesday. So we could just stay and enjoy the resort/Disney Springs with not much extra fuss.

- free transportation within WDW is easily available.

- no worries about carseats in taxis for my 3 yr old niece.

- In general, we would be able to stick to free entertainment. If we go offsite, we would likely pay for a couple of extras.

Offsite advantages:
- Variety. After a 2 week on-site stay, we might be ready for a change and none of us have spent any time on IDrive. The hustle and bustle might be fun. My DS14 would love a chance to hit Fun Spot USA for the go-karting.

- My brother and family are from the UK and would probably like to try some typical US chains like Denny's, etc. BUT - lack of transportation might make things more difficult. Using uber, the IDrive trolley, and/or rental car would drive up the price.

- Food might work out cheaper? Might not be that much different though as we would stick to QS onsite (we would have spent 2 weeks on DDP prior).

I don't like paying extra - but I'm VERY tempted to stick with WDW because it feels "easier" - ESPECIALLY the luggage transfer!

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I get that, I think most said no to $400, therefore the discounts. But if more and more pay $400, that is it's value.

That's not how the leisure market works...but ok.

Every night a room goes empty is an opportunity permenantly lost...no more so than in WDW where the rooms are to drive spending...not make meager hotel profits.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

I think it's still a major mentality. But you have people shifting categories if they can, renting DVC points, cutting days from their vacation. It stings one way or the other. Just like with other things (e.g. cost of healthcare/insurance) these prices will not go down, it's just the new floor (used the wrong word there) for the next couple of years. I'm sure they expect people to empty their pockets for Star Wars, and they may very well do so.

A growing portion of the audience - ma, pa and the kids from Ohio - don't have pockets deep enough and that number is increasing without question

 

[Madonna3]

Its tough - and I agree, I have my limits to how much I will pay to stay onsite. I have a post-resort stay (staying on an extra night after my SSR reservation). There's my brother's family and my family and we finally decided that an extra $500 for our SSR 2 bedroom was a good value, but our trip budget is maxed and we REALLY don't want to spend a penny more than necessary. Anyway, so I'm comparing the costs of staying offsite vs onsite for the extra night (I'm staying 1 night, he's staying 2 nights)

I just booked AS Movies for $80+taxes for myself and $95+taxesx2 nights for my brother (no standard rooms left for him) for our Sunday stay at the end of August.

AS Movies, total: $321
Myself: $80+taxes = $105
My brother: $95x2+taxes = $216

Offsite in a cheap hotel on IDrive (e.g. Ramada Plaza), total $230
Myself: $50
My brother: $50x2 = $100
Uber costs from WDW to IDrive and Uber to airport = $80++
No park days so no need for transportation back to WDW

So it would cost our 2 families an extra $90 to stay onsite at Disney.
Onsite advantages would be:
- more familiar product. I know the standard and vibe at the All Stars (last stay was in Sept 2016). It's clean, cheap, and cheerful. A $50 hotel on IDrive is much more suspect and reviews for those I have seen are all over the place, which does make me nervous. A room with a reputable chain is about $70-80/night, which brings us in line with WDW prices.

- easy luggage transfer. We will be doing a full park day on our change day so being able to return to our new hotel to find our bags there will be easy. Otherwise, at some point, we will have to take a bus back to our old hotel, collect our bags, and then uber over to our new hotel. Being a larger group with varying ages, we will probably do this in 2 separate groups, which lends to more complications.

- Magical Express, including being able to check in our luggage in the morning. If we are offsite, we would have to Uber - which is fine really (we've done it before).

- staying in the Disney bubble may be more relaxing? My flight is at 7:45pm on Monday and my brother's family fly out at 11:30am on Tuesday. So we could just stay and enjoy the resort/Disney Springs with not much extra fuss.

- free transportation within WDW is easily available.

- no worries about carseats in taxis for my 3 yr old niece.

- In general, we would be able to stick to free entertainment. If we go offsite, we would likely pay for a couple of extras.

Offsite advantages:
- Variety. After a 2 week on-site stay, we might be ready for a change and none of us have spent any time on IDrive. The hustle and bustle might be fun. My DS14 would love a chance to hit Fun Spot USA for the go-karting.

- My brother and family are from the UK and would probably like to try some typical US chains like Denny's, etc. BUT - lack of transportation might make things more difficult. Using uber, the IDrive trolley, and/or rental car would drive up the price.

- Food might work out cheaper? Might not be that much different though as we would stick to QS onsite (we would have spent 2 weeks on DDP prior).

I don't like paying extra - but I'm VERY tempted to stick with WDW because it feels "easier" - ESPECIALLY the luggage transfer!

Ok, so what am I missing here? You're paying about what I said a value room was worth. I'm trying to figure out if you agree with me or ?