What happened to HoJo?

[GatorChris]

HoJo has been my go-to hotel since 2013 for our Disneyland trips. The distance to the park gate isn't super short like some others, but it was close enough to not have to worry about waiting on buses, and just as close as PPH. The rooms are spacious, and we always tried to get into a Superior room for the awesome park view. And it all made sense with a pretty good price on the rooms.

But I keep checking their prices for an upcoming trip and they are up. Way up! In the past, I could get a Superior room with the Wyndham Rewards/AP discount for around $175/night. It would pop up to $190/night during busy holidays and the DisneyRun events, but it was usually a very affordable place. Now, it's not. Comparatively, I can get a room with 2 queens and a pull-out couch from a certain hotel right across the street from the gate for hundreds less on a 5-6 night trip.

I know they recently updated the rooms. But the cost of a Superior room (plus roll-away) is almost the same as a room next door at the new Courtyard...which is a bit closer to the gate and has a huge waterpark. And not just a waterpark that's good for kids under 10 like at HoJo. A park with some pretty awesome slides. So what gives? Anyone else notice this bump in pricing?

 

[beachdreamr1229]

It has gone up a bit. I don't know. We were able to get a room in building 1 last month with no view for about $250 per night. That used to be what we paid for a room with a view. I will always love this HOJO. They have great quality, are friendly, and have a good location, but to be honest, we probably won't be staying there too often when the whole family goes. For a family of 5, the rooms get a little crowded now that the kids are older and we usually take my mom, too. For 6 people at the current prices HOJO has, it's a better deal to go across the street to the Courtyard or stay a little further away at the expense of our feet and either get a suite down by the convention center or for a really cheap trip, stay at Stovall's in 2 rooms for less than 1 at HOJO.

 

[figment_jii]

I don't necessarily think this is an issue that is affecting just the HoJo. I noticed the same thing for the BWPPI; the prices have been steadily increasing.

 

[katyringo]

Noticed too. Sign up for their email list. We scored a $145 a night rate in building one during a email list only promotion.

I had watched their prices for a long while, and I saw the biggest jump when wynham recently changed their rewards program. I’m saving my points (I use Wyndham for work a lot).. with points and the “go fast” reward I can get it down under $200 again.

I agree with the above tho, that room rates in general have gone up on the harbor hotels.

Again, go sign up for the different hotels email lists. Like I scored a $99 night rate at grand legacy too by getting a flash sale email.

 

[philliplc]

It was just 10 years ago in 2009 I remember we scored HOJO email list rates $59/night. Times have changed.

 

[LizzyS]

Staying practically anywhere in a hotel that isn't a total dump is expensive these days, unfortunately.

 

[deejdigsdis]

It was just 10 years ago in 2009 I remember we scored HOJO email list rates $59/night. Times have changed.

I was thinking about that too. I remember getting the pirate-themed Kids Suite (really 2 rooms) for just $99 total a night!

 

[deejdigsdis]

Noticed too. Sign up for their email list. We scored a $145 a night rate in building one during a email list only promotion.

I had watched their prices for a long while, and I saw the biggest jump when wynham recently changed their rewards program. I’m saving my points (I use Wyndham for work a lot).. with points and the “go fast” reward I can get it down under $200 again.

I agree with the above tho, that room rates in general have gone up on the harbor hotels.

Again, go sign up for the different hotels email lists. Like I scored a $99 night rate at grand legacy too by getting a flash sale email.

Was this Grand Legacy email recent? I am on the list too. I recently started checking out hotels for my sister and Mom who are going in Oct. Her dates are currently listed as $217/night (best available rate) and $197/night (whatever the special is right now)!! I stayed for $118/night in May.

 

[katyringo]

Was this Grand Legacy email recent? I am on the list too. I recently started checking out hotels for my sister and Mom who are going in Oct. Her dates are currently listed as $217/night (best available rate) and $197/night (whatever the special is right now)!! I stayed for $118/night in May.

No it was in June.

 

[philliplc]

Staying practically anywhere in a hotel that isn't a total dump is expensive these days, unfortunately.

Just reserved a 2 bedroom at a highly rated place in Kissimmee 15 minutes from WDW for $89/night. Once you've shopped offsite prices in Florida getting a room near DL is all the more painful

 

[tarheelalum]

All of the hotels in the area are probably hurting financially. You would think they would be cutting rates to entice business but maybe the are going the other way and holding the price to profit from the few bookings they do get and keep labor costs low. When I was in downtown Disney last week the restaurants were not crowded for lunch. Normally when I'm in town for only a few hours I have to eat counter service due to most places being to crowded but I was able to walk up and sit inside at Jazz Kitchen for lunch with no wait and that is not normal in my experience. My server told me it has been really slow this summer so the hotel bookings must be down as well. But you would think the rates would reflect that since there is no light at the end of the tunnel this summer. Maybe they think the lower pass holders will save them when they are unblocked. But since the bulk of them are local, I kind of doubt it. Who knows.

 

[Cal-Pie]

I've definitely noticed the Hojo increases. Even though they only remodeled bldg 1, all rates have increased. Their increases aren't quite as steep as Trop and Camelot though. They both recently remodeled and rates are well more than double what I've paid the last couple years.

 

[VandVsmama]

Yeah, I totally agree with you. We've basically removed Hojo off of our hotel list because of the price increases. I loved staying there, though.

 

[LizzyS]

Just reserved a 2 bedroom at a highly rated place in Kissimmee 15 minutes from WDW for $89/night. Once you've shopped offsite prices in Florida getting a room near DL is all the more painful

Great rate!

I didn't price anything offsite when we went to WDW last year, so I have no frame of reference for the area.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I admit I don't understand the rates for Hojo lately either. They have been very dynamic and sometimes crazy high, but there have also been some great bargains. There have been at least two e-mails this summer featuring discounts for certain dates and even before that I was able to find a very good rate on the website for one night in June to visit SWGE during the reservation period. There are other dates though where I just can't stomach the rate even though Hojo is still my favorite. The only thing I have found to do lately is to check all the hotels I am interested in for my dates, maybe book something somewhere that is cancellable or changeable, and then just keep checking. I have noticed a lot of volatility with rates at other nearby hotels as well though, so I keep ending up back at Hojo more often than not. I am looking forward to the remodel of building 2 at Hojo, but I am nervous that the updates will push the rates even higher.

 

[DizMe]

It was just 10 years ago in 2009 I remember we scored HOJO email list rates $59/night. Times have changed.

I was just talking to my daughter about that. We're going to the HM event and were looking for lower-priced lodging, but we didn't find much. Best we did was Candy Cane Inn at $150. We used to grab those AP rates and get one of the fun old rooms at Hojo with the up high eyebrow windows (or whatever they're called). There were 2 beds, and they were on the smaller side, but it was perfect for us, the room was cool, and the rate was only $49/night! We would couple that with a SW special on flights for $29 each way and it was a cheap trip (relatively speaking). Crazy now to think of $120 total for flights and $150 plus tax for hotel for 3 nights. Had APs so didn't need to buy tickets, and APs were cheaper then by quite a bit. What a difference a decade makes!

 

[Malcon10t]

HoJo has been my go-to hotel since 2013 for our Disneyland trips. The distance to the park gate isn't super short like some others, but it was close enough to not have to worry about waiting on buses, and just as close as PPH. The rooms are spacious, and we always tried to get into a Superior room for the awesome park view. And it all made sense with a pretty good price on the rooms.

But I keep checking their prices for an upcoming trip and they are up. Way up! In the past, I could get a Superior room with the Wyndham Rewards/AP discount for around $175/night. It would pop up to $190/night during busy holidays and the DisneyRun events, but it was usually a very affordable place. Now, it's not. Comparatively, I can get a room with 2 queens and a pull-out couch from a certain hotel right across the street from the gate for hundreds less on a 5-6 night trip.

I know they recently updated the rooms. But the cost of a Superior room (plus roll-away) is almost the same as a room next door at the new Courtyard...which is a bit closer to the gate and has a huge waterpark. And not just a waterpark that's good for kids under 10 like at HoJo. A park with some pretty awesome slides. So what gives? Anyone else notice this bump in pricing?

I checked 2 time periods. Aug 12-Aug 16, 2 queens in tower 2, $147 a night. Aug 22-Aug 27 2 queens in tower 2, $193 a night.

Could there be something going on the timeframe you are looking? What rate are you seeing?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I checked 2 time periods. Aug 12-Aug 16, 2 queens in tower 2, $147 a night. Aug 22-Aug 27 2 queens in tower 2, $193 a night.

Could there be something going on the timeframe you are looking? What rate are you seeing?

Exactly. I think Hojo pricing is just more dynamic than it was in the past. You used to look up their rate and that was generally just the rate for whatever day of the week or month during the year with little highs or lows here or there. Then there were the really low special rates everyone remembers fondly. I used to be able to book a Hojo room 6 months out and see little to no change in the price between booking and time of the trip. Now the rates change much more frequently and drastically, but there are still definitely nights that have what I consider good rates for the area. You also have to factor in that Hojo still doesn't tack on extra for parking so when comparing to other properties, parking and sometimes "resort" fees have to be factored in. I still find plenty of dates for which a room at Hojo is competitive with Candy Cane or another of the walking distance hotels. When it's not competitively priced, I will consider other options, but I still keep checking the Hojo rates.

 

[GatorChris]

I checked 2 time periods. Aug 12-Aug 16, 2 queens in tower 2, $147 a night. Aug 22-Aug 27 2 queens in tower 2, $193 a night.

Could there be something going on the timeframe you are looking? What rate are you seeing?

I had checked the first week of June. When that was pricey, I checked my normal time in mid-Nov and then another time in early March (both had been cheap in the past). They were all a lot more than it used to be.

It used to be a LOT cheaper than say Park Place Inn. Now it's way more expensive for that same time slot in June. I prefer the customer service of HoJo, and I love the park view. But to be able to save a city block of walking and save $400-500, makes a decision pretty easy.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I had checked the first week of June. When that was pricey, I checked my normal time in mid-Nov and then another time in early March (both had been cheap in the past). They were all a lot more than it used to be.

It used to be a LOT cheaper than say Park Place Inn. Now it's way more expensive for that same time slot in June. I prefer the customer service of HoJo, and I love the park view. But to be able to save a city block of walking and save $400-500, makes a decision pretty easy.

Yeah, I've been seeing those high prices too for November and March. Last I heard, the building 2 renovation was going to start in November if it's still on track. I am guessing they are expecting building 2 to be unavailable for booking for at least 4 months, maybe longer. I have a feeling that's part of why we are seeing the high prices on the rooms that are available for booking.