And The Beat Goes On!

[MakiraMarlena]

I've stayed in hotels with resort fees. They can change them anytime they want. I think if you booked the Dolphin when their fee was $23 per night and between the booking and the time you checked in, it changed to $25, you'd pay the $25. I haven't experienced them changing in mid-stay, but I'd assume it might work the same because that's the whole point of having a separate fee. Unless you paid all the resort fees for each day when you checked in, and not when you checked out. They might actually charge it nightly to your bill, it's been awhile since I stayed at the Swolphin.

Also, you don't pay the resort fee until you are actually present at the hotel. I've never experienced one that worked any differently. No telling how Disney will work this with packages.

I recently checked the Swan via Orbitz and when you clicked through to the booking page it did say "does not include $25 per night resort fee charged by the hotel" when it gave you your total...but you didn't see that until you checked on the total. However, once you book and then complain that you didn't see the resort fee, they can say "you just didn't see it, it was right there on the booking page, so you had notice."

 

[CMNJ]

My point that you missed was they aren't going to reduce dues and they aren't going to reduce room rates. The resort fee will be added on top. Don't say they can't do it for DVC ~ because they can.

DVC dues are more regulated than hotel rates. Currently our dues pay for some of those amenities Disney is considering charging for (if not all). So if they charge DVC owners the fee at check in to cover those expenses they can't also charge for those same expenses through our dues. Our dues cover many things like property taxes, capital expenditure reserves (to pay for needed refurbishments), DVC administration costs, but also the cost of operating our resort (wifi, transportation, resort activities, etc). DVC actually has to put out a budget every year for each DVC resort with itemized lines such as housekeeping, transportation, etc. See link below

https://*******.com/financial/dvc-resort-budgets/resort-budget-for-bwv/

So if they were to charge the proposed fee for DVC owners too they would have to decrease the portion of our dues that previously would have paid for those items since the newly generated revenue would decrease operating costs of the resorts we own.

 

[larryz]

Hotels charge a nightly resort fee pretty regularly. I know Swan/Dolphin have had one for years. Started at $10 and you could waive it, now it is $25 and it's mandatory. The big issue is that Disney hasn't tried to charge one before. They've done a lot of new stuff to bring themselves in line with the way resorts operate in the "real world..." maybe if they go for this one it could be the breaking point. Why not go stay at the Marriott or the Dolphin or the Four Seasons then?

But in the "real world," a 4-star resort is known for "Deluxe" quantity. In Disney terms, a "Deluxe" just means it's closer to a park.

 

[TheFloatingBear]

Maybe everyone should vote in favor of it. If everyone is in favor of it, Disney will think they are making a mistake...

I am going to go try and complete it - I am reading that people are getting booted out of it, so will try not to answer as if I research my Disney vacations...

 

[larryz]

A Disney Vacation is fast becoming on par with costs for vacationing in Tahiti.

And as we all know, Tahiti is also a magical place...

 

[larryz]

Oh, you wanted the premium package. That will cost you...

Besides, it's already available in the gift shop.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

DVC is a timeshare, their accounting practices are different.

Also I think that for hotels (and all of them do this) to tell guests that their resort fee covers certain items is probably a bit of doublespeak, because what they really want to do is start a second income stream for accounting purposes that isn't subject to variation due to use of discounts, comps, commissions, resales or seasonal pricing. So they tie it to the kind of stuff hotels do all year long, I guess to make it sound like it makes sense to the guest.

 

[JimmyV]

Somewhat randomly selected dates of October 6-October 11 (5 nights) for a family of 2 adults, one pre-teen and one teen:

Yacht Club Standard room = $496 per night x 5 nights = $2,480
Beach Club = $589 per night ($2,945)
Swan = $216 per night ($1,080)
Bonnet Creek (a little of an "apples to oranges" comparison but I added it because of the quality of the hotel) = $199 per night ($995).

If Disney thinks that raising resort rates by way of adding a resort fee isn't going to make people pay attention to this math, they are crazy. At the Swan you get the 60 day FP+ booking and the Disney Transportation, but lose Magical Express, the ability to buy a Dining Plan, and a "free" Magic Band. Anyone going to argue that a "free" Magic Band and a ride on a Disney bus are worth $1,865?

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Bonnet Creek and the Swan both add a $25 per night resort fee, so they'd still select Disney if they wanted Disney. But those who are on the fence about a Disney resort might well go to the cheaper ones.

 

[JimmyV]

Bonnet Creek and the Swan also add a $25 per day resort fee,

But the point here is that Bonnet Creek and the Swan already add that fee. If Disney tacks on the fee, it will only widen the gap, not narrow it.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Really? Disney's proposed fee is $15, not $25. i don't think that will make them flock offsite to pay offsite prices. Not with the guests that Disney really wants to reach. I saw on here that the survey kicked out anybody who said they had multiple stays a year, so that is not who they are trying to reach.

 

[Tess]

The only that really got me was charging for Extra Magic Hours. So you want me to pay your high ticket prices + your ridiculous hotel price AND even more to be able to stay an extra hour or two and ultimately end up spending more money on food, drinks, etc.??? No, thank you.

Disney has BTDT pre-EMH--you paid $10 (E-Night) for the privilege of staying a couple of extra hours in MK. This was actually a worthwhile charge because there were no more than 5,000 people there and usually way less. After 9/11 the Disney bottom line was in trouble due to travel fears and the poor economy. It came up with EMH along with pretty healthy resort discounts to entice folks to stay on property and to visit WDW. I believe Disney would love to do away with that EMH perk OR find a way to profit from it.

Now we have those overpriced parties MNSSHP and MVMCP as well as the multitude of dessert parties and other paid special events that cause the parks to close early to regular ticket holders--none of which we choose to attend due to the cost and lack of interest. While we are not huge fans of EMH we may utilize it once in a while--I certainly don't want to pay for it--ditto parking since we don't drive and ME because we prefer private services for transportation.

While Swan/Dolphin do charge a resort fee, the cost of the rooms is considerably less than any of the deluxe Disney Resorts and even adding in the fee--makes it roughly $100 less per night and oftentimes more. Although I have to admit, those rates are slowly creeping up as well. When Disney lowers its overpriced room rates to the S&D level--I might be amenable to a resort fee. Don't get me wrong, a business should be in business to make money--but when is enough enough?

 

[Lisann]

Honestly, I won't be too surprised to see, in the very near future, an additional charge for the bed and sheets.

 

[jbharr1]

Resort fees also aren't part of your contracted booking rate - They can change on a whim

can they? I've never had them change on me on my Vegas trips and those are booked a minimum of 4 months in advance. even if they can, your budget should probably be able to absorb $50 in increased cost.

That's just for parking, I thought. I didn't think there was a resort fee.

according to orbitz self park is $20, Valet is $27. doesn't say if it is one time or per day. Last time I drove to New Orleans it was about $20 a day to park as a registered hotel guest. I never drive in Vegas but I heard the parking fee last year. The opening of the tmobile arena was driving the conversation.

 

[emilymad]

I suspect they're not far off from fixing those parking issues for their guests' convenience -- but it's going to come at a price of course. I've heard rumblings they're not far from pulling the trigger on resort parking fees as well.

From what I can tell they must be trying to drive attendance down to a more easily managed level. I wonder if they've ever heard the old adage about being careful what you wish for.

I am against a resort fee especially as a DVC member but if we are going to have to pay it they better fix a lot of these issues. Adding MB entry to the pools isn't enough to stop people from pool hopping. I want CM walking around the pool deck scanning everyone's bands if they are going to be charging a $25 resort fee. The parking situation is even worse. If I can't park at my hotel AND I have to pay a resort fee the front desk would certainly be hearing from me.

If Disney gets to the point of forcing the resort fee on it's guests they better improve policing their own policies.

 

[soniam]

according to orbitz self park is $20, Valet is $27. doesn't say if it is one time or per day. Last time I drove to New Orleans it was about $20 a day to park as a registered hotel guest. I never drive in Vegas but I heard the parking fee last year. The opening of the tmobile arena was driving the conversation.

It's per day. Well, per night that you stay.

 

[emilymad]

Bonnet Creek and the Swan both add a $25 per night resort fee, so they'd still select Disney if they wanted Disney. But those who are on the fence about a Disney resort might well go to the cheaper ones.

We stayed at the Hilton Bonnet Creek last September. Yes, they had a $25 resort fee plus a parking fee. Our nightly rate before these charges was $88. That is far less than a Disney hotel even with the fees. We very much enjoyed the Hilton and saw very little reason to want to stay at a Disney hotel especially a value or moderate resort that lack the walkabilty to a park.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Offsite resorts have always been far less than Disney resorts and people still pay for Disney resorts because they want the proximity to the parks. At what point will they stop paying for proximity to the parks, though. With this change everything? They're trying to find out via the survey.

 

[Day-Day]

$15 resort fee per room...or per person!?

WDW once charged for the special extra 3 hours in the MK available on some nights (E-Nights). Also, charged for airport transportation through Mears. Now all resort guests are paying for these whether they use them or not. Of course that wouldn't change with a resort fee but maybe the a la carte would take care of this.

I'll be happy with whatever Disney decides as long as I end up paying less for the total cost of my trip.

I'm giving off-site more and more consideration.

 

[uccats97]

I want to know who is actually going to take the survey and answer yes to this question.

Why yes, Disney, I would like to pay an additional $15 fee for services that are already included in my stay, thank you for asking.

Did anyone agree to the tiered ticket pricing? Probably not many, if anyone. Disney went to tiered ticket pricing anyway. These surveys are a cover for what their intentions already are. They help to shift the blame to the people taking the survey. "Surveys show guests wouldn't be bothered by implementing a $15/night resort fee..." I agree with so many of you. Raise the room rates like always and don't tell me I'm now paying a resort fee for special perks that have always been included with my Disney resort stay. And while I'm whining, I'll offer my opinion about opting out of new MagicBands. If I got a $12/person discount by opting out of new MagicBands, I wouldn't get them with every trip. I'm paying for them either way, so I'm going to keep getting new ones.