asking for a room upgrade at AKL

[ariels]

i booked a standard room at AKL for Jan 2 - Jan 9 and my travel agnet said to ask if they have any room upgrades when i get there (like to a savanah room) because it's a slower time. Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Is it possible?

 

[DisneyJoe]

It never hurts to ask, and anything is possible, however, don't get your hopes up in case it doesn't happen...and...it is possible that they may ask you to pay for the upgrade.

 

[Cubs Brian]

Possible, yes. Probable is a different story.We had difficulty booking a 2bedroom villa with a savannah view for that exact week.It took 2 weeks of calling every day to get all the days we wanted. But if it's a regular room(which there are more of) tour chances may be better. Just a word of advice, if you really want a savannah room, book it. Don't count on a free upgrade as those don't happen as much anymore.You may be able to pay the difference to upgrade at check-in if one is available.

 

[jjgoo]

If you cannot afford to pay for it go ahead and ask if they have any free upgrades available. My advice is to ask as descretly as possible and try to be humble about it.

We asked only for an upgrade to a King bed at Coronado Springs in Sept. '07 and because we were celebrating our anniversary and my wife's birthday they upgraded us to a suite.

It is really the luck of the draw and depends on who you have at the desk checking you in. However, while I think it should go without saying, being nice and humble will get a lot more than loud and demanding.

At the same time as we were being upgraded there was a woman loudly complaining that her water view did not have enough of a water view and they basically told her, sorry that's all that is available.

 

[Monty]

As I understand it:

- If you ask for an upgrade and it's available, you pay the cost to upgrade.

- If they offer an upgrade because it's available, it's free.

Gone are the days of free upgrades at the whim of the CM checking you in. If they offer an upgrade it's because the Standard rooms are booked or over-booked and there's demand, but the higher-priced rooms are available. They're more likely to be able to fill the Standard rooms with last-minute arrivals.

 

[jjgoo]

One other thing. Don't be too disappointed if you don't get a Savanah room. While looking at the animals from your balcony in the morning is nice, there are so many places to view the animals you will have a lot of opportunities in other spots.:wave:

 

[Master Yoda]

By policy if you ask for an upgrade and it is available you will be charged for it. Free upgrades are no longer at the discretion of the CM checking you in and are only made due to operational needs of the resort. The manager that assigns rooms prior to your arrival is the one who decides if free upgrades are available and who will get them.

 

[krankenstein]

As others have said, if you ask for it expect to be charged. I have been upgraded from standard to savanna view at AKL before. Nothing was said about the upgrade, it just happened. It is possible you will be upgraded, don't get your hopes up though.

 

[shoppingnut]

When we were there in July, they upgraded me from a standard room to savannah. I didn't ask and didn't realize it was savannah until we walked into the room. While at the front desk and before you ask, see what the room is that they are giving you, as you might already have been given an upgrade.

 

[disney dude]

When we stayed at AKL 2 weeks ago we had booked a standard room. On arrival I asked if an upgrade was possible, only to be told we were already in a Savannah room....so you never know, its a fantastic hotel btw

 

[maryt01]

we did not ask. we were given an upgrade to savannah. hopr you have the same luck:xmas::xmas:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

All depends on the availability of the "better" rooms - if they're in use then you ain't going to get an upgrade

 

[ToTBellHop]

I don't think it is ever appropriate to ask for something for free...

 

[jjgoo]

I don't think it is ever appropriate to ask for something for free...

You are not getting the room for free, more like negotiating for a better room at a lower price. So if you are in a negotiation, why not ask?

Its a win, win situation. If they have the room available and empty it will not cost them anything more to put you in that room. You are happy to have the better room and they have a happy customer that will tell their friends (who may be willing to pay full price).

Disney offers discounted rates all the time. Why shouldn't you ask for the discounted rate for the room you prefer? It may not have been available when you booked but is when you are checking in, so take it.

 

[slappy magoo]

Disney offers discounted rates all the time. Why shouldn't you ask for the discounted rate for the room you prefer? It may not have been available when you booked but is when you are checking in, so take it.

I don't think that's the situation. It wasn't that the room wasn't available, it was that she booked a standard room, at the advice of an agent who suggested that upon arrival, asking for the upgrade won't hurt.

Yeah, I understand how some people feel, that if you don't ask, you never get. Me, I'm not one to feel comfortable asking for something more than what I'm expecting to get. It's not like price haggling for something like a car, when you book the room, you don't say "Throw in the Savannah room and you got yourself a deal." And while every agent does things differently, I think your odds are much better of getting a better room if you don't ask for it. If you're going to ask for the upgrade, be prepared to pay for it. Maybe couch the request, like "I was wondering how much more it would be to get the savannah room," and see if maybe they're feeling generous.

 

[KYMouseFan]

We were there 3 weeks ago and asked for an upgrade when we arrived (at 9:10 am after driving all night from KY and resting 2 hrs at the FL welcome center on I-75....another story for a different thread) at AKL. We had booked a bounce back deal in April where all that was available at that time was a pool view room. Our DD wanted bunk beds so we asked upon check-in. Then we asked about availability of a savanna view (with bunk beds). To our surprise, there was a savanah view with bunk beds available. The funny thing was was that they said they owed us back money, $56 dollars I believe it was. I haven't checked to see if the $56 dollars was added back to our credit card. We were in the Kudu trail room 4222 which overlooks the savana opposite of the where the DVC villas are being built. Maybe that had something to do with the discount. It didn't affect the animals any. We had two giraffs that we outside our room everyday.