What is up with this scam????

[Tikiman]

Well here is one for you. I just booked the Grand Californian for value season and there was only standard city view left (no problem) and the Disney Web page says $265 a night. Well I get the total for the stay and it is 425.50 a night plus $10 a night resort fee. Well after my travel agent talked to a few people higher up (the others could not give an answer) they said that the rate online is the normal rate and when the rooms get booked up and are limited they go up in price so I am paying $160 more because there are less rooms available but it is the same room that other people have at $265. Well I love in California but I mostly vacation in WDW and they post a rate and a season and it is that price up to the point that the last one books….period!!!! What the heck is up with Disneyland and the price scam going on at the Grand Californian??? There is nowhere on the web page that tells you that this “price adjustment” happens or why.

Anyone else notice this?

 

[All Aboard]

Yep, noticed it too. The seasonal rate at Disneyland Hotel for my stay is $205. However, I booked at $260. The caveat, the rates are listed as "Starting Rates" which gives Disney the freedom to charge a variety of rates within each season.

Yes, it differs significantly from WDW.


~here's the cut and paste from the Disneyland website...~

Use the information below to find Resort Guest Room rates by room type and view. Please note that these are general rates - for a specific offer based on availability, your travel dates, needs and preferences, visit the Tickets and Reservations section.

2005 Starting Room Rates (tax not included)

~block of rates here~

 

[Tikiman]

Can you imagine the riots there would be if they did that to the WDW resorts. People are fighting to get all these low rates, discounts, codes. If they ended up paying 30% more for their room that the posted rack rate they would EXPLODE!!! Getting the best deal doesn’t bother me but being charged that much more for the same room as the guy next to me is enough to even make me upset.

 

[Janet2k]

I sat on a plane in the last row. The guy in the seat in front of me complained that he was paying $250 for his seat. When he asked me what I paid for my seat, I told him $1,200. He didn't say a word for the rest of the flight. I guess he felt sorry for me.

 

[Tikiman]

All I can say is I am sorry

I only paid $400 more for my first class ticket to Maui. Was it a last minute booking or what?

 

[All Aboard]

The Disneyland Resorts definitely use a different pricing scheme. Most notable is the rates offered on Expedia. For example, right now, you can book the Disneyland Hotel for the two days after Memorial Day for $129 a night. Check back there in a couple of days and those same dates may be selling for $169 a night.

At WDW (as you know) the rack rate is the rack rate for the entire season - it never gets modified. And, discounts are announced in advance and are fixed until a given expiration date. Disneyland seems to adjust its rates on the fly - more like the airlines or other non-Disney hotels.

 

[RADOPT]

This sucks. I did not relize that Disney did this. I know the the hotels around there do the same thing - but we are talking under $100/night either way. They may do it because a number of people will pay it and there are only 3 hotels where at WDW there are a number of hotels on property and they need to fill it. I know that around WDW there are a number of option including homes with pools for the same amount of $$ as the deluxe wwd hotels. They would have to give me alot more for $410/night - maybe if it was in the castle and breakfast in bed!

 

[crazymomof 4]

Are you talking about paying that much a night just for the room or are there at least some tickets involved? Still a lot of money either way.

 

[karylrocks]

The online rates are not the same (they are lower) as the rates you get if you book through a travel agent, or even if you call Disney reservations. This is also true for many other hotels. If you go to the booking page and put in your dates, it will give you the total including tax for the entire stay. The rates may be different from day to day, making your total more than if you were getting the lowest rate for all nights. The same thing applies to Expedia - you might see different rates for each night of your stay, not only at Disney hotels but at others as well. Either way, you would be able to verify the total charge for your stay before you book it, so I don't understand how you would not know that until after your reservation is made.

 

[Briarmom]

The Disneyland Resorts definitely use a different pricing scheme. Most notable is the rates offered on Expedia. For example, right now, you can book the Disneyland Hotel for the two days after Memorial Day for $129 a night. Check back there in a couple of days and those same dates may be selling for $169 a night.

At WDW (as you know) the rack rate is the rack rate for the entire season - it never gets modified. And, discounts are announced in advance and are fixed until a given expiration date. Disneyland seems to adjust its rates on the fly - more like the airlines or other non-Disney hotels.

Yeah, that whole $129 thing for Mon, Tues is ticking me off because it is then $265 for Wed!! I keep looking at expedia to see if Wed will go down in price. Is it a 'big day' there or something? It also shows GC and PP as unavail, but they are avail if you call Disney. $129 is better than the AP rate of $159, but they wouldn't let me book just one night at the 159 rate and book the other 2 at the expedia rate.

 

[All Aboard]

karylrocks, I think Tikiman's question (concern) stems from being used to booking resorts at WDW. While you are correct, the practice at Disneyland seems to be similar (perhaps even the same) as what is done at "other" hotels; the resorts at WDW do not do this.

The rack rate is the same if you book online at Disney's website, call Disney directly, or call your travel agent. If the rate at the Polynesian during Value Season is $290, then that's the rate that everyone pays regardless of where they book and regardless of how close/far from arrival they book.

And, the discounts offered are also very uniform. If they are offering $100 off Deluxe ressorts to all guests for checkins 8/1 to 10/1, then everyone (who asks about that rate) will be offered $190 a night. It won't go up as you approach 10/1. And, when the general discounts come out and Expedia is used by Disney - the rate is $190 for all nights from 8/1 to 10/1. It doesn't go down on Mon / Tue then back up on Wednesday. And, it doesn't go up as your checkin date approaches.

 

[disneychrista]

Guess you don't travel much but this is the same as MANY hotels do. Their price is based upon available rooms. Book your room 12 months out and you get a low rate, book the same room a month out and your rate might be double. Its just the way it is.

 

[Tikiman]

Actually I travel many times a year from Hawaii to Florida and in between. Almost never pay full rate and get free upgrades often or use my points to stay free. Many times if I call a Hotel last minute I actually get a deal not a higher rate.

 

[hookedup]

I agree that this sort of pricing is frustrating and infuriating.
I am now a stay-at-home-mom but in a former life I was a high level executive in the travel industry and the pricing strategy that DLR is using is a yield management technique that is becoming more and more common througout the industry. As the companies inprove their reservation system technologies they can manipulate pricing according to inventory.
It was actually started by the airlines. They have yield management strategists that do nothing but control the seat inventories and raise prices according to flight load history and use a computer pricing program that adjusts entire flights depending on load factor. Hotels, tour companies, and cruise lines are now utilizing this same pricing method - of course depending on the "load" the prices are many times discounted too. A lot of other factors have changed things too, like the Internet discounting (expedia, priceline, consolidators). Now many of these hotels & airlines have an easy and quick distribution methods for "distressed merchandise". Of course the airlines have an even bigger yield issue because their planes have to fly whether they have 3 or 300 passengers on board so the fuel costs are always consider in the pricing formulas.
DLR only has 3 hotels (unlike WDW) and so the yield management can be much more easily manipulated.
Sorry, I probably went on a little too much here but I guess my point is that DLR is not alone in this practice - WDW probably does also utilize it to an extent and more and more hotels and tour companies are jumping on board. As their reservation systems technology improves so will their ability to maximixe profits - which is not necessarily good news for us, the consumers.

 

[All Aboard]

Guess you don't travel much ... Its just the way it is

Again, the whole point here is that we are just surprised because it's Disney. And, we're not used to Disney operating their hotels this way.

OK, we get it now. Disney plays the "rate games" with their Disneyland resorts and is more guest friendly with their Walt Disney World resorts. Got it. Thanks.

And, since there are 29,000 WDW rooms and 2,200 DL rooms, which way is the "standard" way for Disney to price it's hotel rooms?

Speaking for myself, yes I travel plenty.

 

[Ergens2]

So I guess what you have to do is book when the rates are released? We are going next Oct and I really don't want to be paying (gasp) rack rate or more! Any idea when I should book? This will be our first trip to DL and I am completely lost already.

Hey Steve, We are headed to Maui next year! We are stopping off at DL before we jump the pond. This will be my first trip back since the early 90's and a first trip together for my DH and I.

 

[daannzzz]

Don't be sorry hookedup. That was nice of you to take the time to explain that. It was interesting and kind of what I was figuring in my head but I called it instantaneous supply and demand.

 

[Tikiman]

Shelley,

Hey that will be a cool trip. I guess we are sort of doing the same thing but with a month in between. We just had a baby in February so it will be interesting to see how he does on the ride over to Maui. I can’t wait to see the faces in first class when we strap a car seat into the seat but hey he paid for his ticket also…well we did atleast

Have a great time in Maui. We still have not decided on next year. We were thinking Maui but I think I will want to be back in WDW with the new room going into the Polynesian.

Thanks for all the info everyone. I just found out the CM rate at the Disneyland hotels is the same thing so I don't feel so bad.

Aloha

Steve

 

[PrincessSitka]

Hookup how about hooking us up and getting us good deals on tickes and hotels? Do you have a web page with discounts. I would like to be on your mailing list. WE need people like you to watch out for us.

 

[hookedup]

Sorry it took me a few days to reply - I have been at DL this weekend!

I love being a SAHM 100 times more than the stress of my previous life - although I do miss the double income At least my knowlegde from my previous career has helped us to still enjoy traveling since we are now on a much tighter budget.

Hookup how about hooking us up and getting us good deals on tickes and hotels? Do you have a web page with discounts. I would like to be on your mailing list. WE need people like you to watch out for us.