Maximum night stay for certain room type?

[Lesley Wake]

I was booking a December 2018 trip and planned to stay at WL. It would be 8 nights in first week of December. When I went to book there was no availability for 8 nights in a standard room (they instead had courtyard view which was $50 more per night). But if I searched for 6 nights (either spanning night 1-6 or 3-8), standards were available. I know sometimes people can find individual rooms here and there it just seems that the booking site won't allow 8-straight. Anyone else have that?

It actually will work out fine for me, as instead I'm going to do a split stay of AKL for nights 1-2, and WL nights 3-8, both in standard view.

 

[AngiTN]

Not exactly maximum stays requirements but they have started trying to prevent what they call orphan rooms.
In their algorithm they see that for your stay they have a 2 overlapping blocks of 6 nights but a block of 8 nights would leave them with a gap that they don't think they can sell. Orphan rooms. It's a real PITA and made it harder to book stays. While I can't grasp my head around it they have decided that they'd rather leave the 6 nights unsold than have orphan rooms.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

This happened to me in 2016. I booked a 6 night then called a few days later and changed my package to 8. We really wanted to get a full 7 days in the parks and it was no problem adding the extra nights. For this year we booked a 10 night. Then 2 days before checkout we added another night due to Irma. On check out day, we did bounce back and booked another 10 night for 2018. Also, I think you get more options if you call. Good luck!

 

[gypsy_at_heart]

I had a sort of similar thing happen to me today. I'd booked for six nights and wanted to extend for another two. Checked online, those two nights were available in the exact same room type I'd booked, same deal. Great. So I called in to extend my booking.... And apparently nothing was available

I told the CM that I was looking at a booking online right now that said those two nights are available. She told me she'd have to book it separately... But when she quoted me the price it was $150 them online! I ended up having to book it online and she put a note to leave me in the same room

It just seems like a crazy amount of effort just to add a couple nights...

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Yes, this appears to be rampant now. Same thing happened to us when booking for this December. We are staying in a 1-bedroom at CC, but I keep checking to see if something pops up in WL CL. When I go to check, I could piece together standard rooms at WL, but can't get a continuous 7 night stay. We are staying put at CC (and are really looking forward to it!), but based on reports on these boards, this is happening a lot!

 

[mom2rtk]

If they can make this work and still sell those days, then more power to them. It's their right.

But I for one hope it blows up in their faces and they are left holding a bunch of unsold rooms.

 

[dansdad]

If they can make this work and still sell those days, then more power to them. It's their right.

But I for one hope it blows up in their faces and they are left holding a bunch of unsold rooms.

Since they started using this new system the occupancy rate has gone up 13%. I don't see it going away.

 

[mom2rtk]

Since they started using this new system the occupancy rate has gone up 13%. I don't see it going away.

If that's the case, then it's here to stay. It is what it is.

 

[Lesley Wake]

If that's the case, then it's here to stay. It is what it is.

Yup, if it works ok for Disney's bottom line, they don't seem to care if it inconveniences their guests! (She says as she plans 2 trips to WDW next year, even though she lives 45 min from DLR...)

 

[AngiTN]

Since they started using this new system the occupancy rate has gone up 13%. I don't see it going away.

I don't see it going away either.
Though it makes me wonder if the new system just reads data in a new way. We all know numbers can be presented in a varying numbers of ways to show almost whatever you want them to show.
That could be it would be up even without the new booking method. Heck, for all we (and they) know, they'd be up 20% if you could book the actual trip length you want like you used to could.
I just don't think most people are booking longer trips just to fit the trip length that MDE shows as available

 

[kiford]

While I can't grasp my head around it they have decided that they'd rather leave the 6 nights unsold than have orphan rooms.

My guess is that they believe that there is a higher percentage that they will sell those 6 nights as a block whereas orphaned rooms have a much lower probability so they don't think that those rooms will be unsold. In general, leaving a block of 6 nights unsold here and there while minimizing orphans leads to higher revenues overall. Given occupancy rates, I suspect they're probably right and I'm sure they've designed mathematical probability or linear programming models and algorithms to develop their practices and occasionally verify using historical data.

It is a total PITA, that I agree. But still easier than trying to book flights that you actually want using points! And I don't have time to develop my own models to determine the optimum dates between the two if I want to go in December this year. Guess I'll just have to do the search and slog method until I find something that works. Now if I can figure out how to make DH work so that he agrees with whatever I come up with. There's no model that can be developed there.

 

[kreckl]

I don't get this at all?

 

[writerguyfl]

My guess is that they believe that there is a higher percentage that they will sell those 6 nights as a block whereas orphaned rooms have a much lower probability so they don't think that those rooms will be unsold. In general, leaving a block of 6 nights unsold here and there while minimizing orphans leads to higher revenues overall. Given occupancy rates, I suspect they're probably right and I'm sure they've designed mathematical probability or linear programming models and algorithms to develop their practices and occasionally verify using historical data.

This stuff is known as Revenue Management. I spent about 5 years working as a Revenue Manager in two different upscale hotels in Minnesota. I finally tired of the weather and moved to Orlando and started working at Disney World. I worked at the Disney Reservations Center for a couple of years.

When a position in Disney's Revenue Management Department opened, I applied. I made it through two rounds of interviews mostly because of my past work experience and the fact that I knew Disney's systems from working at the Reservations Center. Then I got knocked out of contention because every other external applicant had a Master's degree in a relevant social science or computer science field.

The Cast Members in Revenue Management are crazy smart.

Not exactly maximum stays requirements but they have started trying to prevent what they call orphan rooms.

In their algorithm they see that for your stay they have a 2 overlapping blocks of 6 nights but a block of 8 nights would leave them with a gap that they don't think they can sell. Orphan rooms. It's a real PITA and made it harder to book stays. While I can't grasp my head around it they have decided that they'd rather leave the 6 nights unsold than have orphan rooms.

Disney has a huge advantage over "normal" hotel chains because they now have detailed guest information gathered via Magic Bands (also known as the MyMagic+ data). Disney knows the approximate total spend (room, tickets, meals, merchandise) of guests based on resort, room type, number of nights, and other factors.

Keep in mind this is hypothetical. But in this case, perhaps a guest staying 8 nights in that resort tends to spend significantly less than a guest only staying 6 nights. It might be smarter to have a room stay vacant for a night if the average 6-nighter is one of those "once-in-a-lifetime" guests that spends money like water.

 

[AngiTN]

Disney has a huge advantage over "normal" hotel chains because they now have detailed guest information gathered via Magic Bands (also known as the MyMagic+ data).

They have another huge advantage over "normal" hotel chains, that I think even trumps the My Magic Data, they haven't got any competition. If someone wants to go to Disney and plans to stay on site, they get a room from Disney (either direct or through a 3rd party). It's not like someone who is planning a trip to Disney and planning to stay on site will suddenly change their plans and not stay on site or go elsewhere. A Disney trip is what they want, they'll book one, one way or another.

Most any other hotel chain does have competition, aside from the guest who is brand loyal. So if someone goes to book a room and can't get it at Hotel X, they'll just look over at Hotel Y instead. I can understand the desire to reduce Orphan rooms more with regular chains than I can with Disney for this reason. Disney is gonna sell the rooms. Without blocking rooms out in advance (which Disney doesn't do, right?) I can't even figure out how they can know as much about their orphan room status as they do. But, like I said somewhere, I'm sure their computers are telling them this is how to do it and with the right manipulation of data, I'm sure it's shown that this is successful. I believe personally, the increase in occupancy is due to an overall increase in guests, not the new policy. That they would have the same, or even higher, increase if they sold rooms as they have for years.
But, seeing how we haven't got anywhere else to go to book a room at Disney, we have to do what they direct.

 

[DG25]

I was thinking of this in a totally different way tha others have. Disney requires a one night payment for stays, and this is stays well in advance also. If you stay 2 nights you pay one in advance, if you stay 8 nights you only pay one in advance. Yet Disney sells out most rooms three months in advance depending on season. And with room only they only way I do it, you have up till five days to cancel. I am going to assume that if someone cancel 5 days in advance Disney has less change of selling those 8 days. In comes a new system, a while ago, maybe 2 years.

Now every time I go I have to play around first with my resort part of my stay which unbelievably is harder than my DVC part of my stay. And no matter what for me, I can never find more than four nights at a time. So when we go in Jan I booked 4 nights POR and 4 nights POFQ, but in the beginning it was 4 nights Poly and 4 nights GF. No matter what I do it always comes out 4 nights, if I move to yacht I can get only 4 nights, if BWI all I can get is 4 nights.

So my thoughts are, it is a way for Disney to make a few more dollars on the people who cancel 5 days before, on room only. By booking just four nights at a time they get to collect twice you need to put two deposits. If you cancel they at least get two nights pay instead of one and they have a block of a few nights for those lucky few who want to come very last minute or who has to stay a little longer when they get there.

Just my thoughts anyway, but it does seem like a very strange way of doing business since it s a vacation resort and most people go on vacation from Friday night to Sunday night a week later, so 8 or 9 days. We always take the 9 pm flight out on Friday and get back with a 4 pm flight a week and two days later Etta get home at 9pm. Others may do Saturday morning to Sunday morning or Saturday but still you are talking 7 to 9 days so why will Disney only allow a4 day stay.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I've tried to book a 9 night stay for POFQ November 2018. A Friday to the following Sunday. No standard rooms available for all 9 nights but they have king rooms. But if I break up my 9 nights into two separate bookings of 2 nights (Friday-Sunday) and then 7 nights (Sunday to Sunday) I can get all 9 days in a standard view. I wonder if they are trying to sell their pricier rooms first.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I've tried to book a 9 night stay for POFQ November 2018. A Friday to the following Sunday. No standard rooms available for all 9 nights but they have king rooms. But if I break up my 9 nights into two separate bookings of 2 nights (Friday-Sunday) and then 7 nights (Sunday to Sunday) I can get all 9 days in a standard view. I wonder if they are trying to sell their pricier rooms first.

I think that is certainly the case! Don't let the standard rooms go to someone who will occupy them for a longer period of time. And I think it must be relatively recent, as I was able to get 9 nights at POFQ when I booked in March for September 2017 without any problem (originally offered a Standard, but Garden was only $50 more total, so I went with that).

 

[AngiTN]

I think that is certainly the case! Don't let the standard rooms go to someone who will occupy them for a longer period of time. And I think it must be relatively recent, as I was able to get 9 nights at POFQ when I booked in March for September 2017 without any problem (originally offered a Standard, but Garden was only $50 more total, so I went with that).

It's very recent, only within the last 30 to 60 days that they started this. Maybe 90 days (time tends to get away from me)

But I don't think they are trying to sell more expensive rooms at all. This is all about avoiding orphan nights, not forcing folks in more expensive rooms.