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The Future Walt Disney World Resort
- Thread starter "El Gran Magnifico"
- Start date
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
If there's an unavoidable fee that I have to pay every night of my stay, it should be part of the room rate. Resort fees are a way to deceive customers about the true cost of their stay.
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
How would it be deception if you know of the fee and what it includes upon booking.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
Why would they do it, if not to deceive? It lets them advertise a $99 nightly rate with a $12 resort fee in the small print. Also, if you book on a site like Hotwire, you don't see resort fees.
MaryJaneP
Well-Known Member
Master of the House!!!
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
Its separate as it is not a part of rooms revenue. And not sure what you mean by small print.
If hotwire isn't showing the resort charge sometime during the booking process then its a lawsuit waiting to happen. Hotel companies have been sued for things like this...and lost.
I would rather have hotels be upfront with the resort charge and what I get for paying it, rather than hiding it in the room rate. Hiding in the rate seems more deceptive to me.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
They could handle situations like that by either getting gift cards, or they could have way to pay cash at guest relations that would go into an account tied to your magic band.
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
But they're not going to. That is just way too complicated. If they were to ever do anything like that, then it would already be present everywhere.. Outside of Disney as well. Cruise lines, gas stations, restaurants, anything really.. The only understandable use for this is hotels in my opinion.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
I think if you tried to explain Fastpass+ to people 10 years ago, they would have said it was too complicated.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
How is it "more deceptive" to charge $111 per night with no fees, as opposed to advertising a $99 rate with a mandatory $12 fee?
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
The $12 fee is hidden in the room rate so you have no idea you are being charged it. Therefore, you do not have an opportunity to understand what the $12 fee includes.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
But on the flip side, hotel web sites tend to advertise the price without the fee, so you think you are paying one price, but when you go to book the room you find out it's actually more. Also, what difference does it make what the fee is paying for, if you have to pay it?
WondersOfLife
Blink, blink. Breathe, breathe. Day in, day out.
And they would have been right.
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
As I said before on this thread (I think I said it here) if the hotel is not properly disclosing a resort charge during the booking process, they are opening themselves up for lawsuit. This has happened in the past to major hotel companies who did not have their act together.
It is good to know what is included to make a determination ahead of time if paying this resort charge is actually worth it. If you decide it is not, you may stay somewhere else.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
I'm not even sure what this means, so agree to disagree, I guess.
danlb_2000
Premium Member
I know the Swan and Dolphin (don't get me wrong, I love these hotels) don't show it on the first page of rates, but as soon as you start the booking process you see all the charges.
Again, what difference does it make if you don't have a choice? All the matters to me is the total price I am going to pay, and a list of the amenities at the hotel. I don't care which amenities are part of the resort fee and which ones aren't.
Andrew C
You know what's funny?
Yes, this is typical for many hotel chains. Others show it immediately on the first page as soon as you shop room rates, which is better in my opinion.
Because you could have a choice. If you can get the exact same amenities at a similar property that has a smaller resort charge amount, it can make a difference.
copcarguyp71
Well-Known Member
There must be a legal loophole somewhere...cruise lines are famous for this too! Somehow a $299pp introductory fare ends up being $3000 for three people by the time you get to the booking page and scrap the whole idea.
The point is that comparing costs would be easier if all mandatory charges were included in the room rate and a single list of amenities provided. With a "resort fee," the guest has no choice; the fee is automatically charged and so might as well be included in the rate as it cannot be avoided. You would still know exactly what you are paying for if the hotel included all mandatory charges in the rate and provided a list of all amenities rather than quoting a rate with a list of amenities included in the rate and quoting a separate resort fee with a separate list of amenities included in the fee, but the single rate and single list of amenities would be easier to understand and would make comparing different hotels easier.
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Retroman40
Well-Known Member
Now that I've had a chance to really think about the original post, I will stand by my comment that the OP was hardly delusional and I don't think they were trying to get a rise out of anyone (although they did in a couple cases). I do think however that this almost could be 10 different discussions although some of the thoughts could be merged.
One that amazes me is the cashless discussion. I often wonder why people want to deal with cash for small purchases anyway. I started using reloadable cards (the little ones with a wrist strap) some time ago. When they were younger I would "issue" them to my kids (particularly when they got old enough to ditch mom and dad) and venture out on their own. I for one would love to see the ability to link one to my Magic Band - especially if I could reload it online (or through MDX). While the realist in me knows that total elimination of cash transactions in the near future isn't likely, I could see it being made "easier" for people without cash (separate lines at QSRs perhaps). Heck, I'd like to see the MDX app include a QSR order module that would allow me to order/pay from my smart phone and skip that register line altogether. Only problem here is that so of the QSRs are so efficient in putting out meals that some of the smaller ones run out of tables. MM+ has so much potential that I can't wait to see what's next.
The only constant in the world is change. When I visited WDW the first time there were two parks, one water park (River Country) and Discovery Island (and I miss them both). There were a fraction of the hotels on property. If you would have told me then what the place would look like today I would have laughed at you. What it will look like in 30 years is anyone's guess.
One that amazes me is the cashless discussion. I often wonder why people want to deal with cash for small purchases anyway. I started using reloadable cards (the little ones with a wrist strap) some time ago. When they were younger I would "issue" them to my kids (particularly when they got old enough to ditch mom and dad) and venture out on their own. I for one would love to see the ability to link one to my Magic Band - especially if I could reload it online (or through MDX). While the realist in me knows that total elimination of cash transactions in the near future isn't likely, I could see it being made "easier" for people without cash (separate lines at QSRs perhaps). Heck, I'd like to see the MDX app include a QSR order module that would allow me to order/pay from my smart phone and skip that register line altogether. Only problem here is that so of the QSRs are so efficient in putting out meals that some of the smaller ones run out of tables. MM+ has so much potential that I can't wait to see what's next.
The only constant in the world is change. When I visited WDW the first time there were two parks, one water park (River Country) and Discovery Island (and I miss them both). There were a fraction of the hotels on property. If you would have told me then what the place would look like today I would have laughed at you. What it will look like in 30 years is anyone's guess.