When Marriott went to tiered pricing for awards, the idea was that they could offer rooms at reduced prices during low-season and charge more for rooms when there was high demand. While not a popular system for those who like to use points for hotel rooms, it’s totally understandable from a revenue management perspective.
What better better time to offer off-peak pricing for rewards to stimulate travel than after a global travel lockdown, right? That is, unless you have hotel rooms near Walt Disney World.
When I saw this post about how Marriott Bonvoy was offering rooms at off-peak pricing at many hotels, I went to check out the hotels Marriott has on or near WDW.
Turns out that Marriott still thinks the Disney hotels are going to fill up this summer. So if you were thinking about waiting to visit this fall or during the holidays, be ready to pay peak prices for award rooms.
If you’re forgetting about summer and deciding to wait until October to visit during the time of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, rooms at the nearby Orlando World Center will still cost peak prices.
This is really amazing as the hotel has over 2,000 rooms and I know the convention business for this fall is at nowhere near peak levels.
What if you wanted to try to get a room at the Dolphin on WDW property? They’re pricing at peak for rewards, even though cash prices are quite reasonable.
While the note says the cash price is non-refundable, that’s not Marriott’s current policy for rooms booked before July 5th.
For guests making new reservations for any future arrival date, including reservations with pre-paid rates, between today and July 5, 2020, we will allow the reservation to be changed or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before your scheduled arrival date.* Please note that changes to the reservation will be subject to availability and any rate differences.
If I wanted to stay, I’d probably pay $269 instead of 60,000 Marriott points a night. You’re going to have to pay the parking charge and resort fee regardless of which type of reservation you book.
Final Thoughts
Many Marriot Bonvoy hotels are offering rooms at off-peak prices to try and stimulate business. However, the Walt Disney World area hotels aren’t playing by those rules. They still think that business will recover immediately after the parks reopen. If the opening of Universal Orlando and SeaWorld are any indication, there will be some pent up demand for the initial opening days but after that, there will be plenty of hotel rooms to spare.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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