-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Direct to Room Check-In coming?
- Thread starter Minthorne
- Start date
betty rose
Well-Known Member
I so hope that is not true.
Nick Pappagiorgio
Well-Known Member
Any Disney examples of what you describe?
Nick Pappagiorgio
Well-Known Member
Probably work a resort map into the email. Parking pass at the gate.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
The charge for missing a ADR without cancelling day before, Finagle help you if someone is sick or the weather is miserable and the kiddos don't want to venture forth.
Nick Pappagiorgio
Well-Known Member
That was because people were making 20 ADRs a day, making restaurants even harder to get into. Hardly screams of a cash grab.
jakeman
Well-Known Member
What's the connection between missing an ADR and using in person check in? What are the steps that tie the two together?
jakeman
Well-Known Member
There is currently no evidence that Disney is moving in this direction.I so hope that is not true.
1023
Provocateur, Rancanteur, Plaisanter, du Jour
Well....here is one of many examples....
Parking as a profit center:
In 1971, on October 1st when the Magic kingdom opened, parking was a reasonable 50 cents per day. Let's just call it a dollar to make the math easier. Adjusting for inflation 1 dollar in 1971 should be $2.92 in 2014 dollars, let's just call it $3.00. Currently, parking is $17. Does it really cost 5 times more than the rate of inflation to operate the parking lot? Has parking your car fundamentally changed? Wouldn't you think that parking should be less at an amusement park than at a baseball stadium?
To prevent the conversation turning towards the transportation from said parking lot being worth the disparity, I will simply point out that on previous iterations of park entry tickets, transportation elements on property were included there-in.
One more for fun....
Disney's Hollywood Studios:
Recently, this park has closed attractions and features within it's gates. The reduction in attraction count has removed overall value. As each or all of these attractions were shuttered, was a corresponding price reduction passed along to guests? Was a portion of Annual Passholders money refunded? Nope...$97 please....for six attractions and weathered shows. Oh...and Parking is $17 dollars.
Here's one for all you DVC members out there....
Disney's Mousekeeping in it's properties, is a pretty good thing. An outsider would certainly think that your DVC maintenance fees and the property management fees there-in, would include at least making up your bed everyday. Nope. You get mousekeeping service on the 4th day of your stay and trash and towel service on the seventh. If you want more service, you pay.
Ultimately, there is very little on Disney World property that you don't pay extra for. There is reason to expect current management to find new ways to make you pay more. Staffing the front desk at your resort costs money. Money that normally would come out of just the rack rate for the room. If Disney could offset that further, to maximize profit by charging to talk to a person at check in, don't you think they'd do it? If Disney could eliminate some staff by having fewer people visit the front desk to check in, don't you think they'd do it?.... Either side of this equation makes WDW more money.
Keep in mind that during an investor conference call (within the last 18 months), Jay Rasulo said outright that the purpose of the MDE/MM+/MagicBand boondoggle was to get more from the "guests" wallet. If you can't take the CFO's word for it, I am not sure what I can tell you.
Please refrain from the tired statements that TWDC is a for profit blah,blah,blah.... Please refrain from the vote with your feet blah,blah,blah.... Trot out something more original.
These are just a few things of the top of my head...I don't wish to spend time to walk through more. If you can't see this as a reasonable outcome, that's fine. Stockholders are counting on these types of "new" revenue streams...so are the execs...
*1023*
jakeman
Well-Known Member
The thesis is built on the framework that money is the only driver for decision making. You can justify almost any conclusion when only using one variable.
By your logic, It is imminent that Disney will post a guy outside the door of the resorts to punch you in the face if you don't pay him and therefore Disney.
There has been no indication that Disney is going to charge for an industry standard service in the near future and honestly if those are the best examples you can come up with then I think my point is made.
1023
Provocateur, Rancanteur, Plaisanter, du Jour
Perhaps you find the context of my statements and the relevant other contributor's comments confusing. Nowhere in my post/premise/thesis did I articulate that my examples were "the best examples" I could come up with. Clearly, you myopically ignored my statement,"These are just a few things of the top of my head...I don't wish to spend time to walk through more." If your point is, "They haven't announced, tested, or done this yet", then you are right, good for you.
You are wrong to assume that this could or will not happen. Financial institutions did not charge for the "industry standard service" of speaking with an teller. There are now financial institutions that do. Airlines now charge an early bird fee to get a better boarding position or for checked bags. "Standards" change. Just look at the difference in the maintenance standards at WDW alone.
You are patently ignoring that TDO's and to a large extent TWDC's driver for nearly a decade has been money. Money is the single driving force for decision making in all aspects of management. From decisions that defer maintenance until problems can no longer be ignored to delivering cemented spaces to allow greater attendance numbers with no greater ride capacity to eat them up. Perhaps reading a few of @ParentsOf4 posts might illustrate more clearly how "money" and "stockholder value' drive this company almost exclusively.
Please walk me down the logistical path where I have a guy punching you in the face. I would love to read that. Better yet do it pictorially or as a flow chart. If you don't, then nothing in your statements or posts is relevant...see what I did there....?
*1023*
EDITED to add.... As an aside, I would certainly take advantage of the "e-check in" service as I would be happen to go straight to my room.
Ranch Dressing
Well-Known Member
Somewhere Michael Stipe is crying.
Jon81uk
Well-Known Member
I really don't see them taking away or charging for the check-in desk. All they will do is reduce the staffing levels so you have a longer queue to wait in, unless you do direct-to-room, but if enough people use direct-to-room the the queue should be shorter anyway.
As an international guest I would have to go to the check-in desk anyway as they won't ship magic bands to me, therefore I hope the queues don't get too long!
Maps and entertainment schedules could just be left out in a holder for guests to help themselves to in the lobby. Parking permits could be handed out by the guard, or they might give the theme park parking windows magicband readers to confirm if you have free parking.
As an international guest I would have to go to the check-in desk anyway as they won't ship magic bands to me, therefore I hope the queues don't get too long!
Maps and entertainment schedules could just be left out in a holder for guests to help themselves to in the lobby. Parking permits could be handed out by the guard, or they might give the theme park parking windows magicband readers to confirm if you have free parking.
konthego
New Member
Financial institutions are not in the hospitality business, and your examples don't relate directly to a service (parking fees, park tickets, baggage fees) besides perhaps DVC housekeeping. Housekeeping once or twice per week at a timeshare is the standard service. Daily maid service is always an upgrade.
And to point to your airline example - airlines have been using ticket kiosks for years, and don't charge you to see a gate agent instead.
dreamfinder
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't lump this in with the others. Other timeshares I am familiar with have similar practices. For instance, one I know of lets owners book a room outside of their week 3 nights before for cash. They are charged a reservation fee, and then a nominal fee for each additional night to cover the housekeeping. Basically covering the cost of letting you use an otherwise empty room.
Owners know up front about the housekeeping. And the decision was made (and I believe technically voted on, perhaps by proxy) to keep it that way to keep costs down. A few years back owners were given the choice of raising costs, or loosing the free valet parking. The owners chose to keep costs down. Not all guests are pigs, (most days we reuse our towels so Mousekeeping typically just pulls up the sheets) so the owners collectively decided to keep fees down somewhat, and only pay for minimal Mousekeeping. The costs and services associated with member dues are published and accountable.
Yeah they do. See Spirit Airlines here -> http://www.spirit.com/OptionalServices (Expand Other and then Booking Services)
Charge for Airport Agents printing Boarding Passes $10 per boarding pass printed
I believe Allegiant, as well as some in Europe like RyanAir do as well.[/QUOTE]
konthego
New Member
That is true, but I wouldn't really equate the market segments for a Disney property and Spirt/RyanAir. I don't think anyone would consider Disney a "budget" hotel, even their value hotels!
jakeman
Well-Known Member
I'm not confused at all. A statement of fact was made. I asked for a source. One was not provided. I asked for a correlation between past actions at Disney predicting future ones and 3 pretty thin examples were presented.
I've made my point. There is currently no indication that Disney will be implementing a charge for checking in at the front desk and to make statements of fact in that regard is in error.
Your math is off as the cost to run and maintain a parking lot is not linked to inflation. It is linked to the price of labor, the cost of fuel and building materials such concrete and asphalt as well as insurance.
The farthest I can go back on asphalt is 2005. Since 2005 the price of asphalt has more than doubled going from $242/ton in October of 2005 to a current price of $510/ton (the high was back in September of 2014 at $618/ ton).
The cost of diesel fuel has risen by as much as a factor of 4.
The minimum wage in 1971 was $1.60. It currently stands at 7.25 or 4.59 times what is was in 1971.
liability insurance rates have grown by an average of 11% per year since 2000.
So yes, it is quite conceivable that the cost to run a parking lot has gone up by a factor of 5 or more times the rate of inflation in a little more than 43 years.
Last edited:
wdwfan757
Well-Known Member
AP-holders and on-site guests don't have to pay anything extra to park. I'd assume that covers a pretty significant proportion of the people at WDW on any given day. And before you retort with "but that price is already included in your pass/hotel cost" the same way everyone does when DME comes up, I have to pay to park at Universal (parks or hotels) regardless of whether i'm paying to stay in their hotels or not. Their ticket prices are right in line with WDWs as are their parking costs. Busch Gardens Williamsburg doesn't give me free parking just because I'm a local annual passholder either. This isn't a Disney only thing.
epcotWSC
Well-Known Member
Charging for using the front desk is unheard of in hospitality. It will never happen. The most you'll see is them cutting staff and having less people work the front desk. Additionally, every hotel needs people on site at the front desk. When guests have issues, questions, and such they need someone who can help... often times in person. If you take away the front desk, who can they go to? Many chain hotels have online check-in and they still retain the front desk and don't charge for it.