Priceline room canceled at check in?

[Lauraly85]

Hi someone on a facebook group scared me? Just curious if anyone has had their priceline room cancelled at check in due lack of availability?

 

[fla4fun]

Hi someone on a facebook group scared me? Just curious if anyone has had their priceline room cancelled at check in due lack of availability?

All hotels overbook, like airlines, in the hopes that the no shows will bring them down to 100% occupancy. Occasionally there aren’t enough no shows and the hotel ends up with more guests than rooms. In that scenario, many hotels will prioritize guests who booked directly over guests who booked through third parties. The guests who cannot be accommodated are usually sent to a partner hotel which has rooms available. This is called “walking the guest”. Hotels try to avoid being placed in this position.

Disney keeps a pretty good eye on their occupancy and often calls guests before arrival to arrange alternate accommodation so there aren’t any surprises at check in. Sometimes this is in the form of an upgrade, sometimes it’s a lateral move, and sometimes it’s a downgrade. It’s a lot more rare to be moved upon arrival, but I have heard of it happening a few times when hotels are under refurbishment and either aren’t completed in time or the construction is causing more disruption than anticipated.

I have booked with third parties in the past when staying at Disney, and I have not had any reservations cancelled due to occupancy issues. That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen, but I believe it’s a rare occurrence and if it did happen, they should try to find you an alternate resort. I would do online check in, especially if you are arriving late in the day. If only one person in a Facebook group is saying it happened to them, I would not be overly concerned.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

If it’s very important trip, never book third party. The hotel itself can not help you. Only the 3rd party can.

Not saying I had a bad experience in the past but it does happen.

 

[tzeitel]

I was a CM, did rooms control at the Y&BC. We would sometimes have to walk people but we would not just cancel a reservation. No matter how it was booked your reservation was honored.
We never had to walk off property. It is hard when the hotel is a deluxe because you don't have as many options to keep the guest happy. If in a mod you can go up, with a deluxe and getting walked down it was a nightmare for the front desk.
So yes, it can happen but it's not an everyday thing.

 

[gottalovepluto]

A Disney hotel? I don’t think we’ve heard of a Disney hotel res not being offered an alternative Disney hotel. Walking happens though- maybe they didn’t like their alternative? This is definitely lacking details…

 

[Robbie Cottam]

I have had that happen at check with a room booked on the Hilton app.
like others have said over booked, hotels, rooms taken out of service etc

it happens

I forgot to mention when my room at the Palm Beach Hilton was canceled. the only rooms available were in the Fort Lauderdale Conrad...... It was what might call an upgrade.

 

[Lauraly85]

If it’s very important trip, never book third party. The hotel itself can not help you. Only the 3rd party can.

Not saying I had a bad experience in the past but it does happen.

Thanks I didnt realize it wasnt a good idea to book with a 3rd party! Just cancelled my all star movies reservation and obviously its no longer available!

 

[Lauraly85]

A Disney hotel? I don’t think we’ve heard of a Disney hotel res not being offered an alternative Disney hotel. Walking happens though- maybe they didn’t like their alternative? This is definitely lacking details…

Yes i booked all star sports from feb 26 to march 6 from priceline 99$ a night

 

[Lauraly85]

A Disney hotel? I don’t think we’ve heard of a Disney hotel res not being offered an alternative Disney hotel. Walking happens though- maybe they didn’t like their alternative? This is definitely lacking details…

Sorry yes i booked all star sports for 99$ a night through priceline feb 27 to march 6.
I then cancelled my all star movies reservations and saved 400$, thought it was a good deal but then someone mentioned I could not have my reservation honored :S

 

[Lauraly85]

I was a CM, did rooms control at the Y&BC. We would sometimes have to walk people but we would not just cancel a reservation. No matter how it was booked your reservation was honored.
We never had to walk off property. It is hard when the hotel is a deluxe because you don't have as many options to keep the guest happy. If in a mod you can go up, with a deluxe and getting walked down it was a nightmare for the front desk.
So yes, it can happen but it's not an everyday thing.

Thanks its a reservation at all star sports end february to beginning march. Looking at off site options if ever we check in and its not honored :S

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Its kind of crazy that riverside is showing for 211 those nights royal guest room garden view on priceline, when its over 300 on Disney ( which I assume is woods view )

 

[gottalovepluto]

Thanks I didnt realize it wasnt a good idea to book with a 3rd party! Just cancelled my all star movies reservation and obviously its no longer available!

Disney saved you from making a bad call. Every hotel except Disney hotels walk people. Disney somehow always manages to find people a room somewhere when something goes wrong despite running at very high occupancy rates. We have never had a report of someone being walked by Disney and told tough cookies.

Disney is also unique in that 3rd party booking customers are not made to feel cheaper than other customers. They are treated the same.

Thanks its a reservation at all star sports end february to beginning march. Looking at off site options if ever we check in and its not honored :S

Stop wasting your time and feeding your anxiety. Like seriously. Anything off-site will have changed if you ended up in that spot and as stated we have not seen anyone end up in that spot with Disney. Disney didn’t even leave people homeless when they opened during Covid. Shuffled to other resorts and rooms that sometimes made people mad? Yup. Homeless? No.

When they couldn’t honor my booked view due to an emergency maintenance issue at RIV I got a call from the hotel on check in day advising me, telling me they would refund the price difference to a standard view and that they wanted to give us an apology credit. Disney does NOT want conflict at its front desks when the issue is under their control.

Its kind of crazy that riverside is showing for 211 those nights royal guest room garden view on priceline, when its over 300 on Disney ( which I assume is woods view )

Gives some insight into those Disney margins eh? I believe the way it works is OTAs buy chunks at wholesale rates, which Disney is still making a profit selling. Math works as a safety net for Disney because those rooms are guaranteed sold to the OTA.

 

[Robbie Cottam]

If you have any status at all, you can get the same price direct from the hotel that you see on Priceline or any other third party vender..

You are also more likely to get an upgrade, when you book direct, if the hotel is running out of rooms....

 

[lanejudy]

Thanks I didnt realize it wasnt a good idea to book with a 3rd party! Just cancelled my all star movies reservation and obviously its no longer available!

So... do you no longer have any reservation for your vacation? Or am I misunderstanding? Honestly, overbooking and "walking" can happen at any hotel. As PP mentioned, it's very rare to hear of it happening at WDW resorts (though I won't say impossible). That is a busy week, it's February/winter break in my area. Any time you travel during a busy time it's a risk, albeit a relatively low risk. I hope you didn't let fear of an unlikely situation impact your ability to take your planned vacation.

 

[Sykes]

If you have any status at all, you can get the same price direct from the hotel that you see on Priceline or any other third party vender..

I'm definitely a fan of booking directly (and am willing to pay a small premium to do so when necessary), but that's not 100% true. Most hotel price matching or "best rate guarantee" programs only cover the base room-only rates so if there are additional inclusions they'll deny a best rate claim. They also won't match the 4th night free promotion that my credit card can provide on a lot of hotels (since the base rate for the paid nights is the same). And there are a lot of package deals where hotels are significantly cheaper when purchased with airfare.

 

[R&RsMom]

So... do you no longer have any reservation for your vacation? Or am I misunderstanding? Honestly, overbooking and "walking" can happen at any hotel. As PP mentioned, it's very rare to hear of it happening at WDW resorts (though I won't say impossible). That is a busy week, it's February/winter break in my area. Any time you travel during a busy time it's a risk, albeit a relatively low risk. I hope you didn't let fear of an unlikely situation impact your ability to take your planned vacation.

I think she had Movies booked thru Disney, but found Sports cheaper on Priceline and booked that. The she cancelled the Movies booking, so the Priceline one is all she has.

 

[lanejudy]

I think she had Movies booked thru Disney, but found Sports cheaper on Priceline and booked that. The she cancelled the Movies booking, so the Priceline one is all she has.

Oh! I read that as she had a Priceline reservation and cancelled it, now can't find anything. If she still has the Priceline reservation -- just hold it. The chance of getting bumped is low.

 

[Dulcee]

We've gotten bumped twice at Disney. Once they caught it before and called us a few days before our trip. The other was at check in. Both times they moved us from a moderate to a deluxe and it was a very happyily recieved surprise. There was never any notion of not accommodating us at all.

 

[Lauraly85]

Its kind of crazy that riverside is showing for 211 those nights royal guest room garden view on priceline, when its over 300 on Disney ( which I assume is woods view )

Some nights are even 170$ I saw!

So... do you no longer have any reservation for your vacation? Or am I misunderstanding? Honestly, overbooking and "walking" can happen at any hotel. As PP mentioned, it's very rare to hear of it happening at WDW resorts (though I won't say impossible). That is a busy week, it's February/winter break in my area. Any time you travel during a busy time it's a risk, albeit a relatively low risk. I hope you didn't let fear of an unlikely situation impact your ability to take your planned vacation.

I had a reservations at movies, but then cancelled my movies reservation when I got the 99$ a night deal on priceline!
Most people here reassured me that it could happen but chances arent high so I feel better about the whole situation!

 

[Lauraly85]

Oh! I read that as she had a Priceline reservation and cancelled it, now can't find anything. If she still has the Priceline reservation -- just hold it. The chance of getting bumped is low.

Thanks! Feel better about the answers I am getting here I think it might of been a travel agent trying to scare me lol