"Book now and keep checking"

[BearFamily]

So...trying to plan a mid-November trip and it's our first time to Universal. Flights are booked - still working out the hotel thing. We're decided on RPR for various reasons, just looking for a decent deal.

I've got the MouseSavers emails coming and am stalking discount codes.

Here's where I'm clearly missing something. I see people on this forum recommending "book a room now and rebook if the prices go down/a good code comes out."

But if you book through the Universal website, you're only really going to be able to rebook if their prices on that site come down, and if you book through Orbitz/Cheaptickets, you're only going to be able to do it with an Orbitz/Cheaptickets code, yes? So either way, you're taking a gamble that the good deal is going to come from that source? Or am I missing some piece of the puzzle....can you book through Universal and cancel without a fee if you find a good deal through Orbitz? Or vice versa?

Thanks in advance for the clarification!

 

[macraven]

If you book room only for the onsite hotels, you can cancel 6 days out and won't pay any penalties

I have platinum status with the YouFirst program
To keep at my level, third party bookings do not apply to my YouFirst account

Therefore, I only book with UO

At plat level, I can get the free upgrade of room at time of booking, get a late check out, and get a $100 food/beverage credit in my stay

But, I have to keep my credits current so I don't use 3rd party vendors

 

[vatmark]

I'm glad we booked early. Me and DH are spending a few nights at RPR for our 25th anniversary. I booked a king room on Universal site a while ago for November to make sure we had a room. I figured we could cancel if something cheaper came along such as APH or a Cheaptickets code. Well there are no standard king rooms left on either site.

 

[nfceagles]

Just cancel the first booking if you find a better deal.

 

[bumbershoot]

Just cancel the first booking if you find a better deal.

But make sure you've booked a rate that CAN be cancelled. Don't book something that's nonrefundable, or has a change fee.

 

[cats mom]

But make sure you've booked a rate that CAN be cancelled. Don't book something that's nonrefundable, or has a change fee.

^ This

I actually have 2 bookings for our stay (just one night, so I'm not holding a ton of rooms we won't be using) because I can't decide whether to splurge on club or take advantage of the deal I got before discounts codes largely went away. One booking is directly through Lowes and one is through Cheap Tickets and they both have the same cancellation policy: no penalty if cancelled 5 days prior to arrival. I did have to pay in full at time of booking since our stay is just one night, but I'll get a full refund when I cancel the extra room.

Be especially careful on some of the 3rd party booking sites as some rates are non-refundable, and I'd steer clear of booking a package as there are generally all kinds of conditions on those.

 

[BearFamily]

Thanks for the explanation! I don't think I've ever had occasion to cancel a hotel stay, so I don't usually pay much attention to the cancellation policies and it hadn't occurred to me that they'd make it so easy to cancel with no fee.

I went ahead and reserved a room through the Universal site and the SMSM discount and will keep stalking other codes.

Thanks again!