who buys at rack rate at deluxe hotels?

[BUZZCRUSH]

So we keep going round and round about dvc, however the last few stays at deluxe resorts we've gotten 40% off the room so we're not inclined to buy in.

That got me to wondering, does anyone pay rack rate? Did you?

 

[MickeyPeace]

People often pay rack rate so that they can get free dining which they really paid for by paying rack rate.

 

[jlsHouston]

guilty...I guess I just decide when I want to go... and if there are no discounts and I want to go.. I pay..

 

[dreamfinder]

People that don't care about money, or don't know about discounts. There are still people that walk into a travel agency and say I want to go to WDW. And the TA sets them up with a rack rate vacation, very possibly not knowing any better.

 

[CaptainShortty]

You also usually pay rack rate if you get free dine.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Paid rack rate for our first stay at the Contemporary in early December 2007 because there were no discounts for the room we wanted. We had the money but had never paid that much before. It came down to what we wanted more than anything. So, we paid full rack rate, $455/night for 9 nights. That's the last time we have or would pay rack rate without another discount attached (ie. free dining at POFQ in November 2010).

 

[Master Yoda]

Paying rack rate at the deluxe resorts, especially the monorail resorts, is becoming more and more common even without free dining. Both the Contemporary and the Poly are very popular and are quite often blacked out or have incredibly low availability for many promotions.

 

[bethymouse]

Not easy to find a real "discount" for the deluxe hotels. But, save the money. It's well worth it!

 

[MickeyPeace]

Paid rack rate for our first stay at the Contemporary in early December 2007 because there were no discounts for the room we wanted. We had the money but had never paid that much before. It came down to what we wanted more than anything. So, we paid full rack rate, $455/night for 9 nights. That's the last time we have or would pay rack rate without another discount attached (ie. free dining at POFQ in November 2010).

I would have never left the room. I'm paying $455 a night? I will stare at the walls if that means getting my money's worth! That is an insane price unless it's some sort of Presidential suite.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I would have never left the room. I'm paying $455 a night? I will stare at the walls if that means getting my money's worth! That is an insane price unless it's some sort of Presidential suite.

Try a 2-Bedroom Club Level Suite at the Grand Floridian, only $2,200 per night.

Of course, WDW has even more expensive suites for you to spend all your spare change.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I would have never left the room. I'm paying $455 a night? I will stare at the walls if that means getting my money's worth! That is an insane price unless it's some sort of Presidential suite.

Yep. I understand. That was 5 years ago. Look at tower/MK view rack rates now. Last May I looked at a discount rate for 2 nights pre-cruise and the discounted rates were a joke. Currently rack rate for what we paid $455/night is over $500/night on week nights and over $600/night on weekends. Disney's rack rates are set for discounting. The thing is there are better resorts within spitting distance of WDW for considerably less. There's a definite upcharge for the convenience if Disney's resorts. Personally, I'm less inclined to even visit WDW in the foreseeable future for lack if interest and value. I paid the big bucks and did the dream stay. It's nice but there's plenty of other awesome stuff to do & see that's a lot more reasonable and aren't forced to master the web of discount offers to do them. Lol!

 

[PhilharMagician]

I have only stayed @ deluxe with AP discounts. DVC for most and in the past we have taken advantage of buy 4 get 3 free and stayed @ moderates.

We mostly travel during off season. Have been over Thanksgiving many times and that was always DVC points.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Yep. I understand. That was 5 years ago. Look at tower/MK view rack rates now. Last May I looked at a discount rate for 2 nights pre-cruise and the discounted rates were a joke. Currently rack rate for what we paid $455/night is over $500/night on week nights and over $600/night on weekends. Disney's rack rates are set for discounting. The thing is there are better resorts within spitting distance of WDW for considerably less. There's a definite upcharge for the convenience if Disney's resorts. Personally, I'm less inclined to even visit WDW in the foreseeable future for lack if interest and value. I paid the big bucks and did the dream stay. It's nice but there's plenty of other awesome stuff to do & see that's a lot more reasonable and aren't forced to master the web of discount offers to do them. Lol!

WDW has increased rack rates largely to pay for the numerous "Room-Only" and "Free Dining" discounts now being offered during the slower times of year. An outer building Garden View room at the GF costs about $820/night for this Christmas. This same room can be had for less than $350/night during one of the Value Seasons when WDW offers a 35-40% discount.

This strategy made sense as long as occupancy rates remained high. However, there are signs that WDW occupancy rates are declining. Like so many other decisions, TDO made a short-term decision to prop up occupancy rates by increasing rack rates for the busier times of the year while simultaneously offering steep discounts for the slower times of year. However, long-term, this strategy is sure to boomerang.

At the high end, fewer and fewer want (or can afford) to pay $800+ a night for a room. Without offering anything new at the parks, they simply look to spend their vacation dollars elsewhere. At the low end, people who initially were attracted to the idea of staying at (for example) the GF during the slow season with a 40% discount observe that a stay this year is going to cost 30% more than their stay 5 years ago, even with the steep discount. Again, without adding something to the theme parks to encourage repeat business, these people look at alternative vacations. (Note that I'm not speaking of WDW loyalists who vacation at WDW no matter what; I'm speaking of "normal" vacationers who view WDW as simply one possible vacation option.)

I recall a time (fuzzy memory?) when it was really hard to get a room at the GF for Christmas. However, today I have no problem finding rooms even though Christmas is less than 2 months away. This makes me suspect that the increased prices are convincing people to vacation (or at least stay) elsewhere.

Like so many of its recent business decisions, TDO focused on short-term gains rather than sustainable long-term growth.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

At the high end, fewer and fewer want (or can afford) to pay $800+ a night for a room. Without offering anything new at the parks, they simply look to spend their vacation dollars elsewhere. At the low end, people who initially were attracted to the idea of staying at (for example) the GF during the slow season with a 40% discount observe that a stay this year is going to cost 30% more than their stay 5 years ago, even with the steep discount. Again, without adding something to the theme parks to encourage repeat business, these people look at alternative vacations. (Note that I'm not speaking of WDW loyalists who vacation at WDW no matter what; I'm speaking of "normal" vacationers who view WDW as simply one possible vacation option.)

Former WDW loyalist here! LOL! What you described is a lot of the factors that prompted us to shift our attention & vacation dollars away. Currently we're hooked onto the Disney cruising but I don't see that staying the same forever either. There's do many places to go & see, adventures to be had. If the oober Disney planning entertains you, imagine the excitement of studying, learning, and experiencing all new stuff. It's just as much fun if not moreso for me.

BTW, Disney Cruise Line is offering Bahamian sailings out of Galveston that include a stop at Port Canaveral. Bus transport & 1-day park hoppers are provided. Well, looks like we'll be able to see the "new & exciting" stuff at WDW (because that won't require more than a couple hours) without ever worrying about WDW's discount webs or insane rack rates. I'm not even booking any sit-down meals that day. Why? Meh. Nothing new or interesting outside Be Our Guest which we can walk-up at lunch for. Dinner reservations are unattainable even if we wanted one.

 

[coachwnh]

we booked our christmas trip at full price and waited for passholder rates to come out. so i guess i can answer yes and no.

 

[luv]

People who don't care about saving money
People who don't know any better
People on dining plans (they may actually pay more than rack rate)

 

[AndyS2992]

So we keep going round and round about dvc, however the last few stays at deluxe resorts we've gotten 40% off the room so we're not inclined to buy in.

That got me to wondering, does anyone pay rack rate? Did you?

No. Waaaaay too expensive.

We always stay at Pop Century but will be trying Art of Animation next time. Why spend loads of money on a room when you are only sleeping in it? You can always take a trip to the other resorts to dine if that is the reason why you choose deluxe.

Plus all the money you save staying at a value can be used to buy other luxury treats and such.

 

[jlsHouston]

No. Waaaaay too expensive.

We always stay at Pop Century but will be trying Art of Animation next time. Why spend loads of money on a room when you are only sleeping in it? You can always take a trip to the other resorts to dine if that is the reason why you choose deluxe.

Plus all the money you save staying at a value can be used to buy other luxury treats and such.

Well I kind of think like this too if it is going to be the park marathon vacation which we did do that the first time we visited and we stayed at POP and that was a perfect resort for doing the sleep/shower thing. We also had a car so if we didn't do the bus thing which over the 4th of July they were rather crowded, we would drive to the POLY, park and ride the monorail into MK.

The thing I discovered about staying at CSR or a deluxe that I really like is I really value the ambiance and little extras disney puts into those categories of resorts. I loved sitting by the bodies of water both at CSR and BC and sipping coffee in the morning or ice tea in the afternoon and just relaxing. I liked having a TS restaurant available onsite although I have to confess I didn't miss that perk at POP. I do appreciate the more elaborate pools at the moderate and deluxe locations, and the hammocks on the beaches at CSR and CBR. And with 4 of us in the room, queen beds were a bit more comfy and the dressing/bathrooms a bit larger.. So I think rack room rates are overpriced for deluxe..yes of course.. do/did I just pay it.. yes to get what I wanted, when I wanted it and where I wanted to stay I did.

But I would not hesitate to stay at POP again and of course we would like to visit AofA at some point.

 

[disneygirl1]

Personally, I don't think I would ever pay rack rate to stay at a deluxe resort. This is just simple my opinion, but for the amount of time that we are actually at the resort it's just not something seems economical to me. Only time we have stayed deluxe is when we are able to get a discount.

 

[DISR]

After reading another thread that quoted rack rates for the Contemporary, I became curious as to how many people actually pay those rates. I know there are folks out there that do, but it seems like more of a marketing gimmick to highlight the passholder/resident/military/promotional discounts you are receiving. I've never paid rack rate, but it certainly makes me feel better to see $300-400 per night on the bill when the "list price" is 30-40% higher. Even "free" DDP often becomes a decision to opt of of a room discount for the dining, which, in effect, is paying for the dining. A credible answer would probably have to come from a company insider with access to the data, but I'm still curious.