Disney Survey on implementing a $15 resort fee

[Andrew C]

I checked a number of upper end Orlando hotels online and none of them are taxing the resort fee.

Remember, this isn't a question of whether a hotel chooses to do this or not, it's a matter of state and county regulations.

I am speaking to one specific hotel company and their chain of hotels...which i know collect taxes on resort charges... And I know this company pays what they collect to the state/county. That is the only information I have.

 

[fillerup]

I am speaking to one specific hotel company and their chain of hotels...which i know collect taxes on resort charges... And I know this company pays what they collect to the state/county. That is the only information I have.

I'm not doubting you, but either the chain you mention is collecting taxes illegally or the hotels I looked at - Swan, Hyatt Regency, & Peabody are failing to collect the required taxes.

One or the other of them is going to pay a big price next time they're audited.

 

[raven]

Did I miss the announcement that P.T. Barnum took over as Disney Parks Chairman?

 

[fillerup]

From a 1/28/16 column by Scott Maxwell in the O'Sentinal:

Resort fees' in Orlando, elsewhere add up big

"You're probably familiar with the increasingly common (and dreaded) travel trick — the "resort fee."

This is the practice of tacking on a charge, above the basic room rate, and claiming it pays for services that hotels already offered, such as WiFi, newspapers and fitness rooms.

What you may not know is that Florida is actually the leader in this add-on movement.

Reuters recently reported that Florida has the highest resort fees in America — averaging $29 a day.

This in a state where hoteliers often claim that something as small as a 1 percent fee to pay for police protection or lifeguards would scare away tourists.

Let me give you a real-life example.

In a couple of weeks, the Maxwell clan is heading toward theme-park territory for a staycation — rest, relaxation and all the "Leave your brother alone!!" chidings a loving family could ever want.

We found a great place with a good price — $119 a night.

Really, though, it's laughable for me to refer to that as the price. Because the fine print reveals a $25 "resort fee" and another $22 for "on-site parking fee."

So now we're talking $47 in additional fees — not government-imposed taxes, mind you, but hotel-dictated surcharges — that jack up our room price by nearly 40 percent."

Full Article

 

[Andrew C]

I'm not doubting you, but either the chain you mention is collecting taxes illegally or the hotels I looked at - Swan, Hyatt Regency, & Peabody are failing to collect the required taxes.

One or the other of them is going to pay a big price next time they're audited.

The chain I am referring to go hit bad on resort charge practices in the past, so I know for a fact they got their stuff together in this regard. It is very closely monitored.

You mentioned Hyatt. Below is a screenshot of what I pulled from their site. The resort fee they are calling out isn't a flat number so maybe taxes are already rolled into it? Maybe not. I can't speak to their practices. Maybe later I can look at the taxes in Orlando and try to figure it out. Haha

 

[mouse_luv]

Dear Disney,

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I think one of the things that people have already long forgotten is that the OP stated that the survey was only for stay at a deluxe resort. Nothing was mentioned about a moderate or value resort fee, yet y'all get your backs up like it's going resort wide next week.

 

[wm49rs]

Why wasn't it done a while ago? One reason - BOB 'i only care about profits' IGER. What makes you think he'll ever change? He has not produced any e-ticket attraction under his decade long tenure, and let the parks rot.

Only fools don't look at history and learn. Bob Iger will never change.

Gee, why were you banned before, Jordan Nite? Something about yammering the same thing over and over again?

 

[rob0519]

if you don't use any of the amenities at a deluxe resort, why do you stay at them? Convenience?

Convenience for sure. The Polynesian, CR and GF are the closet to the Magic Kingdom where we spend the majority of our time. The park view from the CR is tremendous. You can hear the ferry and train whistles in the early morning. Valet parking is a plus for us as well.

The rooms are slightly bigger. The décor of the lobbies is pleasant. The choices of restaurants at the deluxe resorts is plentiful.

We're very fortunate to be able to stay at these resorts. Should the day come when we may not be so fortunate we will of course stay at a moderate or value resort.

 

[Pirate665]

In the end, whether or not we like it, we know that they will add the resort fee. There's so many other companies doing it in Orlando already, they might as well go with the flow. My biggest problem is that I know given the current management structure (the same that forced me to retire) they will up the price in a years time. I expect it to be in the Marriott territory at 35$ a night. It's like with the reason I went back to Sprint from T-Mobile... At least my unlimited data is truly unlimited. And that's my issue... I am already paying to stay on property, you shouldn't charge me more to access basic services... (And yes, internet is now a basic utility so we should get access to it like electric.)

 

[hopemax]

Just to shut up the Bora Bora bashers. It's true.

I sort of think an AirBnB rental is cheating. So I went to Trip Advisor, and sorted by ranking. The sponsored site is the
Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach Resort Hotel, which is a luxury brand by Accor Hotels (French chain). It is ranked 13th on Trip Advisor, but 4 stars, with over 1000 ratings. If you go to the hotel website directly, the price for an overwater luxury bungalow (dates: 8/22-8/26 - this is when we would usually travel when going to WDW). Cheapest option comes up $2405 including taxes. Or $601 per night. They are currently running promos based on length of stay, and it's more for a non-refundable rate. This also includes breakfast. No resort fee (there is a $2 per night local tax) but wifi is not free. No, it's not $220 a night. But...



Polynesian Bungalow for those dates comes up $2272 per night (tax not included). I can never get the Disney websites to let me change the ticket option, so I don't know what the post-tax total is. So 4 nights is 9088, so $10K-$11K. vs $2405. I think I'll be able to find airfare for the difference between Bora Bora and Florida Swamp. Flying to Hawaii, non-stop from Denver, is desensitizing me from airfare prices, but also teaching me that, "Yes, I can afford nice things. If I'm not paying theme park admission." As has been stated before, if you have a dream trip you think you can't afford, run the numbers.

But not this year. We're staying on points at Aulani (as well as a couple vacation rentals on Oahu and Hawaii). A huge reason, because that way we avoid parking and resort fees.

 

[BernardandBianca]

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.

Just a quick caution - when figuring expenses, don't forget to add in visa fees if required. With a lot of international countries reciprocating on the U.S. fees, they can run $200 per person per country. Our last cruise we added over $1000 inn landing fees alone.

New castle stage show
Frozen ever after
Soarin over the world
Toy Story land with two additional rides
Rivers of Light
Night safaris
Pandora with two attractions

I might be more impressed if you listed something that exists and is open.

And just for keeping score, while I hate the thought of resort fees, and will do everything I can to avoid them, this is more based on hiding the costs and lying to me like I'm an idiot rather than on the actual final cost.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

another way to look at this is with what we are paying to vacation at WDW, we shouldn't have to pay an extra $15 a night

That is another way to look at it, but if I'm saving to take a week long vacation, I'm not going to complain about saving an extra $100 or so. I'm paying for the convenience of staying on property, being immersed in the full "world" of Disney, and taking advantage of perks that people who stay off site don't get.

I've stayed off site for a couple short weekend trips and it has a different feeling leaving for the hotel then when I stay on property. Like I said...I'm in the minority, but an extra $15 a night isn't a game changer for my family.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I've stayed off site for a couple short weekend trips and it has a different feeling leaving for the hotel then when I stay on property. Like I said...I'm in the minority, but an extra $15 a night isn't a game changer for my family.

I'm pretty sure this is the majority opinion of Disney visitors.

Disney constantly raises prices. Every time they do there is a predictable chorus of "they've gone too far" and "they're too greedy". And yet, attendance continues to grow.

Disney will always raise prices. People will always complain. People will still pay those prices.

 

[BrerJon]

That was me and I would bet on that happening all over the parks. It wouldn't surprise me if Disney "delayed" the opening of attractions to the public to do a pay for sneek peek type of thing.

I will be amazed if Star Wars isn't open for a two-month 'Be First With The Force' period where you can pay regular admission price at MK/Disneyland, but without access to Star Wars Land... that will require a $200 bonus ticket, before it opens as part of the regular park admission price.

 

[Todd H]

I'm done Disney. It's not that I can't afford to visit it's just I can't see paying your ever increasing prices for a product that has become stale. Looks like my vacation dollars will be going elsewhere.

 

[BrerJon]

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.

It's so common at Epcot to hear guests saying 'Oh I wish I could visit Europe', and then when asked about their WDW trip say 'we're here for two weeks, we have DVC so come twice a year'. Whatever's stopping people from visiting Europe, it sure isn't money.

 

[DarthMileZ]

this is annoying, im the only person in my extended family that can afford to go disney, the rest of my family would love to go but its impossibly expensive now.

 

[Nmoody1]

You said they weren't investing. I listed items they are investing in. Just because you don't like what's being done doesn't mean it's not investment.

I do like what's being invested. I just don't understand how 10 years of neglect happens and when they finally reinvest in the parks, replacing things that are long overdue they increase prices for everything - tickets, resort fees etc... yet the new stuff isn't even open yet. Also, capacity is still down.

What I am saying is its fine if you want to increase prices.... but you need to increase capacity and build world class attesctions you have been historically known for. Not clone attractions (star wars) for both coasts, not reduce character experiences, not charge more for tickets at busy times before you increase capacity.

This is a billion dollar company squeezing money from people for very little effort

 

[Figments Friend]

There is indeed something seriously wrong when a potential Guest who lives on the East Coast cannot afford to visit and stay 3/4 days at Walt Disney World that is a two hour flight away....but CAN afford to stay a week at Disneyland Resort on the West Coast 3,000 miles away.

Yep.
Tis' crazy, but tis' true.

When considering Park Tickets, flights costs, ground transportation, meals, and hotel room costs it is actually far cheaper to make the trek out West.

Disneyland is great.
More WDW vets need to make the switch like i did some years ago.




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