Connecting Room Fiasco

[captainkidd]

I swear, I need to become a travel agent. My friends always get these people on the phone at Disney who don't know what they're talking about. In this case, it's a lot of my friends fault for being paranoid, but regardless:

Another one of my friends is going to WDW in February and staying at ASMovies. He has one son (6 years old) who is autistic. The grandparents have decided to go as well. The grandfather is officially handicapped. Friend calls to book another room for his parents last night and says the rooms have to be connecting. Personally, I have my reasons why I don't think connecting rooms in this case is a big deal, but that's besides the point. He does and it's his trip. So, he calls to book 2nd room for his folks. Is told they will put request in, but can not guarantee connecting rooms. He calls back and speaks to a manager who confirms this, and tells him to stay at a Deluxe Villa if they all need to be together. He gets so angry, he cancels reservation.

I call and speak to someone and the lady says although they can't guarantee, they will make every effort, and given that son is autistic and father is handicapped, they should be able to guarantee connecting rooms.

So, as things stand now, my friend, who is incredibly stubborn, won't risk going and not having connecting rooms. Does anyone think if they didn't get connecting rooms that if he made a stink upon arrival, that Disney wouldn't rectify this? I know Disney CS has slipped some over the years, but they wouldn't just tell him "Sorry - Out of luck."

Ugggh, it's so frustrating trying to help people that don't want to be helped. New Years Resolution - Only help friends with Disney trips if they will let me book everything.

 

[Phonedave]

There are times when regular hotels will not even guarantee you a room, even with a reservation. There have been many times I have Platinumed in at Marriott when a place was full.

You know how to TAKE the reservation - anyone can do that.

You just don't know how to HOLD the reservation, and that's what it is really all about.




-dave

 

[captainkidd]

You know how to TAKE the reservation - anyone can do that.

You just don't know how to HOLD the reservation, and that's what it is really all about.




-dave

LOL - Every time I see that episode I crack up at that line.

"Would you like to purchase the optional insurance?"
"Yeah, you know what, you better give me the insurance, cuz I am going to beat the living hell out of this car."

 

[MichWolv]

Disney will never guarantee a room request, and I can't think of any hotel that I have ever stayed at that will. Guarantee's are dangerous should anything unforeseen happen and they can't make it work anymore. In that regard, Disney is very good with requests though and I have almost always been accommodated when I asked for something when I make my reservation. Unfortunately though, this doesn't really sound like a Disney problem as much as your friend just being somewhat annoyed at the long standing rule.

I have stayed in plenty of hotels that will guarantee not only requests for a particular type of room, but even requests for a particular room. But these guarantees have only been offerred for a documented disability and/or after a discussion with a manager.

Case in point -- I used to work with somebody who was extremely afraid of heights. On booking a stay in a high-rise hotel in the downtown area of a major city, a discussion with the manager elicited a guarantee of a first floor room.

Disney doesn't offer guarantees, which is fine. But I have never failed to have a request fulfilled.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I called the CBR directly 3 days before my clients were arrriving and explained their situation. It still was not a guarantee but, I felt better that another notification was made. The outcome.....They had adjoining rooms.

It is next to impossible to call a resort directly. All resort phone numbers are handled by a call center that screens and handles 99.5% of all resort phone traffic. If they determine that someone at the front desk or luggage services needs to be contacted, they will transfer you.

For requests for rooms and locations etc - they will just reconfirm the note on the reservation.

 

[MichWolv]

There are times when regular hotels will not even guarantee you a room, even with a reservation. There have been many times I have Platinumed in at Marriott when a place was full.

Happened to me once. But, as required by law (I think), the hotel I was bumped from had to secure me a room at a comparable hotel at their cost -- not mine. I wound up with a free room about 5 blocks away (Manhattan).

 

[SpoonOfSugar]

Due to being a family of 5, we always ask for connecting rooms at a value. No matter what, our rooms are always right next to each other, just sometimes without the connected door. It was annoying with the number of adults outweighed the number of children and me and DH had to stay in separate rooms because all our children were under the age of 13 but we made it work. Now it's not a big deal at all if our rooms are just next to each other. My DD15 and DD19 gladly jump on the opportunity to say in their own room

In the end, I wouldn't make a big deal about it. They truly do try to fit accommodations. When My DH had surgery 3 weeks before going, we informed Pop Century and told them the ages of our children (who at the time were 12, 7, and 4).We requesting connecting rooms and the first floor. They gave us the same answer you received; that nothing is guaranteed but due to the circumstances, you should be all set.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Happened to me once. But, as required by law (I think), the hotel I was bumped from had to secure me a room at a comparable hotel at their cost -- not mine. I wound up with a free room about 5 blocks away (Manhattan).

Yes you are correct. They have to find you alternative lodging at no additional cost to you.

 

[Mrs.Skellington]

Check In: November 24, 2012
Check Out: December 2, 2012
Length of Stay: 9 days, 8 nights
Disney Resort Hotel Category: Value Resorts
Disney Resort Hotel Room Type: Standard Room
Special Requests: Connecting rooms (guaranteed)
This is the exact copy off of my reservation. The reason is we needed a double bedroom that had a roll in shower. They could not accommodate this request so Disney called me a few months after and confirmed my request. They told me they did not have any rooms like that but can give me a king room with the handicap bath and a connecting double bedroom for the same price as one room. Of course I jumped on this.

 

[DisneyJoe]

Check In: November 24, 2012
Check Out: December 2, 2012
Length of Stay: 9 days, 8 nights
Disney Resort Hotel Category: Value Resorts
Disney Resort Hotel Room Type: Standard Room
Special Requests: Connecting rooms (guaranteed)
This is the exact copy off of my reservation. The reason is we needed a double bedroom that had a roll in shower. They could not accommodate this request so Disney called me a few months after and confirmed my request. They told me they did not have any rooms like that but can give me a king room with the handicap bath and a connecting double bedroom for the same price as one room. Of course I jumped on this.

Sounds like they guaranteed it for medical reasons? This they will do.

 

[Mrs.Skellington]

This and the fact that two of the four guests are children. And from what they told me, if there is is one adult and four children who need connecting rooms, they will guarantee this as well.

 

[disneydiva72]

We have had many occasions where we wanted connecting rooms with family members, and we have gone at some of the very busiest of times, we never had a problem getting the connecting rooms and we did not have any kind of situations such as your friend does....I am sure they would not give him any issues.

 

[nh10ring]

I know a lot of you are saying that it isn't a guaranty for getting connecting rooms, but the chances are good. Honestly, I am a bit gun-shy. I have only been to WDW once and made reservations well in advance. Disney couldn't even get me in the right section of POR (requested alligator cove and received a mansion) during the off season. If I can't get a room in a building in a section of a resort, then how in the heck am I suppose to feel optimistic that I would get a connecting room?

 

[Tom P.]

If you get moved it is always a lateral or upgrade meaning that if you paid 500 a night they will move you to a suite at Contemporary or Poly or even upgrade you at the GF and you would not have to pay the difference. Fine print is an important thing if people read it more then there would not be so many angry guests.

That's all well and good, but there's a reason why people book one resort over another. Contemporary, Poly, and GF may all be deluxe resorts, but they are not all the same. Someone might love the Poly but hate the Contemporary or vice versa.

Recently, for example, we stayed at Art of Animation. Had they wanted to bump us to, say, Port Orleans, I would have been very upset. Yes, in Disney's eyes, that is an upgrade because we're going from a value to a moderate. But for us, we specifically chose Art of Animation over other resorts because of the appeal to our young children. We would have not viewed Port Orleans as an upgrade in that circumstance.

Now, realistically, I understand that Disney cannot control all the circumstances in all their resorts 100% of the time. If the plumbing springs a leak on the day we check in and a floor of rooms is flooded, there's not much they can do besides move us. I get that. But under the 99% of circumstances that are 'normal,' I do expect that when I book a particular resort, I am 'guaranteed' that resort. Saying 'we can't guarantee that you'll get a room next to the elevator' is far different from saying 'well, you booked Caribbean Beach but we can't guarantee you won't stay at Coronado Springs.' And, quite frankly, I've never heard anyone from Disney ever try to claim that your reservation for a particular resort wasn't guaranteed the way they say that room requests are not guaranteed.