Disney Survey on implementing a $15 resort fee

[devoy1701]

We opted for the Hyatt Grand Cypress last month after I tried to get a room on-property for what I would consider a decent price. Now granted, my idea of a decent price on-property is booking a Value at $54/night and a Mod at $99/night (prices circa 2010), but I digress.

Anyway...fees and all, we ended up paying a little less than $225/night. The closest comparable was Port Orleans at $185/night plus tax. FWIW, a Grand Hyatt is definitely worth paying $35/night more than Port Orleans, considering that the Mods really are just themed motels. Adding a $15/night resort fee with just increase the divide between the perceived value of staying on-property vs not. Being APers and having 2 young kids in tow (read: we pretty much drive ourselves everywhere right now instead of using transportation), it's not worth the price to stay on property. At least not for our quick weekend getaways.

 

[wogwog]

Price out your next vacation. Price WDW. Then a place in Europe you love or always wanted to visit. Or another favorite place in the world. You may be surprised. I have traveled many times to Europe and Asia and always felt it was a better value and adventure than Disney. Look at Spring and Fall away from USA school vacations.

 

[devoy1701]

Price out your next vacation. Price WDW. Then a place in Europe you love or always wanted to visit. Or another favorite place in the world. You may be surprised. I have traveled many times to Europe and Asia and always felt it was a better value and adventure than Disney. Look at Spring and Fall away from USA school vacations.

I joke about this all the time when passing the Poly. For the price people pay per night to stay at the new Bora Bora Villas or whatever they are called, you could ACTUALLY visit Bora Bora!

 

[Pirate665]

There's more and more hotel chains in Orlando having these "resort fees" and some are outright pricey. The Marriott wanted 35$ a night in resort fees. If WDW jumps in on this, expect it to be 15$ the first year, then go through the roof then next. Give a inch, they take a mile now and days.

 

[ford91exploder]

It could also be that they can use social media to gather data about people who post there, and want to use the survey to gain views into those opinions that are not readily available. Or, the survey had already been received and completed by the preset number of people who answered yes, so the number of responses needed to ensure equal measurements Had already been met. Pretty simple, standard, and non-nefarious reasons to limit response demographics or specifically target demographics who cannot be reached elsewhere.
For example, at work, we have a whole lot of data about our customers. Tons. We have 0 visibility into those who decide not to buy with us. Looking for ways to gain understanding into those people is a large undertaking to try and reduce known bias from our data, rather than to introduce bias as you tend to believe is happening.

Great points but you are neglecting the psychology of the survey, Now the word is out that you have to LIE to the survey to participate which will skew the results even further. If you want to collect good DATA which even facilitates longitudinal surveys and comparisons between demographics like social media users and non social media users.

Part of why I think the person commissioned the survey added this behavior was so they could answer truthfully this is ALL the survey data because as we know the other way the same result could have been achieved would have been something like the SQL select statement below to begin the analysis of the data.

SELECT * FROM RESORT_FEE_SURVEY_RESULTS WHERE SOCIAL_MEDIA_USER EQ FALSE;

This would have selected only the respondent community of interest and would likely have given BETTER results because the respondents had no incentive to lie on the survey in order to participate. Collecting the data like this would also allow other questions to be analyzed like which community is most accepting of resort fees.

 

[ford91exploder]

I joke about this all the time when passing the Poly. For the price people pay per night to stay at the new Bora Bora Villas or whatever they are called, you could ACTUALLY visit Bora Bora!

Actually @The Empress Lilly found rates on bungalows at the real bora bora for 219/Night, Toss in airfare of 1800-2500 pp and a week in Bora Bora is about the same as 3 nights in the Pizza Hut Houses.

 

[alissafalco]

If its just the $15 fee alone I will be bitter about it, but I don't think it will stop me from staying on property. Now if its the $15 resort fee & no more night time magic hours combined (also rumored to be coming), and I always rent a car when I'm there so I don't need transportation, I really have no more incentive to stay on property and pay those exorbitant prices (even with a CM or AP discount).

 

[RSoxNo1]

There are a few ways to look at this. First and foremost. This is already built into the price of the room right now. I suspect that by making it an a la carte option would be in lieu of (or part of) whatever other rack rate price increase they were planning.

 

[bunnyman]

Not for nothing, but the only reason we stay at their hotels is for the perks, which I realize I'm really paying for already in their inflated room rates. But since I don't see a separate line item on my bill for the resort fee, I don't think about it. I've always felt that their hotels were not really worth the price other than the proximity to the parks, the transportation, theming, etc. If they're going to charge me extra for those items now, I will start looking off property. We travel to many other locations, and no, resort fees are not all that common unless you're staying in a metropolitan area where they charge you for parking, wifi, etc. Many other major chains give you newspapers, free breakfast of some kind, rewards points, etc., but of course not at Disney. They're bringing the nickel and diming to a new level.

 

[BrianV]

There are a few ways to look at this. First and foremost. This is already built into the price of the room right now. I suspect that by making it an a la carte option would be in lieu of (or part of) whatever other rack rate price increase they were planning.

That's a big assumption.

 

[EOD K9]

. But I am thinking buying DVC points might not be objectionable. Based on posts here, there should be a good number available.

I'll be happy to rent you some of mine.

 

[PhotoDave219]

And people say that and I could agree, but who do they need to justify it to? Who is trying to justify what to whom? If this is Chappie's horrid idea, does he need any "BS proof" before he pushes the change? If this is George K's idea, well then, I'd have some less-than-kind words for him, but does he really need to show his bosses these survey numbers to get this approved?

And on that note, wouldn't every high-level person at Disney know these numbers are bollocks? Therefore, they must be doing this to justify the decision to people outside of the company. The Board of Directors? Maybe they just like to have the numbers in the rare event that any investors/ board members question it?

I don't know and you could very well be right, I'm just confused on who they're justifying it to.

Themselves. SO that they can justify it to upper management and come out to the press and say "Our research said that..... (blah blah f'ing blah)"

 

[Gabe1]

Hotel WiFi is part of the operating cost of the hotel. In general, the Hotel WiFi is only available within the hotel. WiFi in the parks and common areas are part of the WDW operating expenses. This WiFi infrastructure is in place to help all guests spend more money easier.

I don't believe you are correct. At one time back several years ago that was true though. Even Disney's Website clarifies.

Theme Parks, Restaurants and More
Whether dining at Walt Disney World Resort or spending a magical day at the theme parks, be sure to make the most of complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access (Wi-Fi) in the majority of public spaces.

 

[ParentsOf4]

With more than 23,100 onsite rooms running at last year's 87% occupancy rate, a $15 resort fee represents more than $110 million in pure profit for Disney.

 

[GoofGoof]

With more than 23,100 onsite rooms running at last year's 87% occupancy rate, a $15 resort fee represents more than $110 million in pure profit for Disney.

Gotta make up for losing the sales of Turkey Legs at AK

 

[GoofGoof]

I've said that for years, WDW is a knock off of the original thing. The whole park is so why not go see the real thing? Not the same thing as having everything in one spot but I would say you get much more out of traveling to some of these places in real life. All about pirates? The Caribbean is easy for most people to get to and you can see a real fort, real ships etc. from that period. Like the old West? Go to the West of the US, rent a car and do some sight seeing, simple as that and cheaper then what most people spend at Disney.

You get the idea. For the money people spend on WDW for a week or two you can go just about anywhere in the world.

Simple answer for me. I do both. I've been to plenty of places besides WDW but still enjoy the parks too. It's insanely expensive compared to a lot of other vacation options (some of which are virtually free) but it's still actually cheaper than a few.

For someone who only visits WDW and nowhere else it's probably a valid point.

 

[emcclay]

I can't wait until we are charged for using the bathrooms in the parks!

 

[JohnWD]

I don't believe you are correct. At one time back several years ago that was true though. Even Disney's Website clarifies.

Theme Parks, Restaurants and More
Whether dining at Walt Disney World Resort or spending a magical day at the theme parks, be sure to make the most of complimentary wireless high-speed Internet access (Wi-Fi) in the majority of public spaces.

Your quote from Disney is consistent with mine. The Hotels have wifi networks with a Hotel wifi ID. The parks and public areas have a wifi network, with a different ID. If you are in the hotel, you can access the hotel wifi. If you are not in the hotel, generally there is a wifi network available which is different from the hotel network. The hotel networks are paid through the hotel operating budget, the parks and common areas are part of the parks operating budget. My explanation is not inconsistent with the Disney website, but rather just provides implementation details.

 

[UncleMike101]

I can't wait until we are charged for using the bathrooms in the parks!

Or the Resort rooms.

 

[RonnieHare]

They needed to be introduced once the parks were in good shape, not when they are in their worst shape in history.

No new attractions in years, not one e-ticket attraction under Iger's tenure - yet prices always go up.