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Anyone else panicking over Florida hotels ????

Shippy

By Shippy,
in Royal Caribbean International

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reallyitsmema

reallyitsmema

Posted
Posted
Lago Mar is opening today. Pools are closed and there are no umbrellas or cabanas available on the beach until further notice.

 

We have stayed at Lago Mar a few times, I make sure I travel with my DH when he has to stay there for business.;) I can't even imagine how much sand must be in their pools. With their location, I am surprised they are able to open so quickly.

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Lucy Jane

Lucy Jane

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We are supposed to arrive on the 21st at the Hilton Doubletree Galleria.

 

We absolutely love this hotel & always stay there when we cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.

 

Latest info I have on them is that they may not reopen until the 24th.

 

I realize this is a horrible situation for them.

 

All we can do is keep checking everyday & see if there is a change. I am sure most other hotels are in the same situation so do not know if we will be able to find a last minute alternative.

 

We will be sailing on the Harmony & I am sure that will be fine as well as our flight from California.

 

Suggestions, anyone ?

 

 

 

I'd try to change my air to day of travel or night before & sleep on floor of airport if necessary

 

 

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mrsgotrocks

mrsgotrocks

Posted
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I am at the Hilton Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort for the 5th and I just did a mock booking for this Thursday, which they took. Beach web cam's have been showing them bulldozing sand out of the street in front of the hotel.

 

Hilton has been pretty good at posting notices for their properties. We also have stayed at the Doubletree Galleria and love the hotel and location. The Beach Resort was cheaper this trip. Did you find the little French cafe across the street on the first floor of the tall apartment building? It's well worth it for a latte and pastry or sandwich.

 

We also have beachfront rooms at the Doubletree Melbourne for the 6th & 7th. I hope the ocean front isn't in the living room. I also did a mock booking there for this weekend and it took it. But I will probably call them direct next week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Shippy Great Review Rare

Shippy

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May be worth trying an aggregator like hotels.com, but calling a given hotel before booking (even if they show availability).

 

Definitely !

Most of those sites WILL take a booking but then when I call Hilton direct....they say they can NOT assure you that the hotel will be open !

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Domino D

Domino D

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Definitely !

Most of those sites WILL take a booking but then when I call Hilton direct....they say they can NOT assure you that the hotel will be open !

 

Shippy, without going into a lot of detail, there are a number of factors at play, and it makes picking an exact date difficult. The best information I got from Hilton was that the first date they are taking reservations for is the 21st. They said the message on the website should confirm this. In all honesty, I would be a little concerned, as you are on the first day they are shooting to open, and that can change.

 

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/galleryone-a-doubletree-suites-by-hilton-hotel-FLLTSDT/index.html

 

Have you heard anything directly from the hotel? Have you asked if they will find you other accommodations if they can't honor your reservation?

 

FYI, the major chains are all now moving towards offering significant discounts to members of their Loyalty Programs. This is happening as a means to move people away from booking on OTA's (like Expedia, etc) by offering special rates not available through other booking channels. As the other response mentioned anyone can join, and you don't need a certain status to get the discount, you are eligible as soon as you join.

 

Hope this all work out.

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Artemis908

Artemis908

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Homewood Suites might have some rooms open if anyone ends up looking for a room. We are scheduled to go out to FLL Saturday evening and so I have been watching their Facebook and they said they were open and had rooms available, but their phone line was down. They also would only be able to accept cash if anyone didn't make reservations online.

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Shippy Great Review Rare

Shippy

Posted
  • Author
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Shippy, without going into a lot of detail, there are a number of factors at play, and it makes picking an exact date difficult. The best information I got from Hilton was that the first date they are taking reservations for is the 21st. They said the message on the website should confirm this. In all honesty, I would be a little concerned, as you are on the first day they are shooting to open, and that can change.

 

http://doubletree3.hilton.com/en/hotels/florida/galleryone-a-doubletree-suites-by-hilton-hotel-FLLTSDT/index.html

 

Have you heard anything directly from the hotel? Have you asked if they will find you other accommodations if they can't honor your reservation?

 

FYI, the major chains are all now moving towards offering significant discounts to members of their Loyalty Programs. This is happening as a means to move people away from booking on OTA's (like Expedia, etc) by offering special rates not available through other booking channels. As the other response mentioned anyone can join, and you don't need a certain status to get the discount, you are eligible as soon as you join.

 

Hope this all work out.

 

Still hoping for this one because we are so familiar with area & the hotel. They said to keep calling back every day.

I will wait until this weekend. If no firm date by Sunday, I will book elsewhere I know there are other hotels open.

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Domino D

Domino D

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Still hoping for this one because we are so familiar with area & the hotel. They said to keep calling back every day.

I will wait until this weekend. If no firm date by Sunday, I will book elsewhere I know there are other hotels open.

 

Just a suggestion. Book a back up now and cancel it when you hear for sure. Just make sure it is not some kind of nonrefundable rate.

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jamesr3939

jamesr3939

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FYI, the major chains are all now moving towards offering significant discounts to members of their Loyalty Programs. This is happening as a means to move people away from booking on OTA's (like Expedia, etc) by offering special rates not available through other booking channels. As the other response mentioned anyone can join, and you don't need a certain status to get the discount, you are eligible as soon as you join.

 

 

DIL used to work for Hilton in Colorado Springs and a couple of other properties. If you call the hotel direct and tell them you can buy on XYZ 3rd party for $XX they will usually try to match it if they can.

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Domino D

Domino D

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DIL used to work for Hilton in Colorado Springs and a couple of other properties. If you call the hotel direct and tell them you can buy on XYZ 3rd party for $XX they will usually try to match it if they can.

 

Yes she is right, but things are changing. The lowest rate will likely be available though the brand website as a special rate to Loyalty Program members.

 

Until the most recent contracts, the OTA's required a hotel to give them last room availability and lowest rate guaranteed. This made it easier for people to book through those websites because they could see more hotels to choose from and get the best rate. Those reservations however, cost the hotel revenue in the form of a commission owed to the OTA. This year the hotel companies have begun renegotiating those contracts and finding ways to work around the agreements. Often the brand website can offer a rate 12% less than the one on Expedia (for instance) and still make more, because the commission is 15% - 20%. The rate won't be the first one you see on their site, and you will probably have to find it. Some companies now even guarantee their brand website rate is the lowest, or you will get an additional discount.

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bingomamma19

bingomamma19

Posted
Posted
We are supposed to arrive on the 21st at the Hilton Doubletree Galleria.

We absolutely love this hotel & always stay there when we cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.

Latest info I have on them is that they may not reopen until the 24th.

I realize this is a horrible situation for them.

All we can do is keep checking everyday & see if there is a change. I am sure most other hotels are in the same situation so do not know if we will be able to find a last minute alternative.

We will be sailing on the Harmony & I am sure that will be fine as well as our flight from California.

Suggestions, anyone ?

 

 

We fly in 9/30 for a 10/1 allure cruise...staying at embassy suites in FLL....I haven't checked anything yet as we have a few weeks. I will check later next week....hoping no bad news :)

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payitforward

payitforward

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Posted
We fly in 9/30 for a 10/1 allure cruise...staying at embassy suites in FLL....I haven't checked anything yet as we have a few weeks. I will check later next week....hoping no bad news :)

 

I spoke with my sales rep there yesterday. As of right now, about 1/2 of their rooms have water damage, and the other 1/2 are occupied by national guard, utility workers, first responders, etc. It sounds like most of their clean up won't take too long.

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