Entertainment Rate Board

[dis3fam]

I just wanted to say that I'm really disappointed in whoever is taking care of the Entertainment Retro Rate Board. Last year the board was kept up on at least two months out. Now I only see it updated the day of or a few days before the actually Retro Rate is available and it only shows for that particular month. I don't know how anyone is suppose to plan a trip that way. Since we go through the trouble of buying an Entertainment Book in order to take part in some savings benefits it would be nice that the things claimed in the book were true. I feel like writing in to Entertainment Book to tell them that you don't really offer a Entertainment Card Rate since on Oct. 31 you decided to put Nov. 1 on the board. Well for all of us out of towners who have to fly into Anaheim, I'm sorry but we can't buy a ticket and fly down that exact day to get that rate. If you want people to fill your hotel then maybe you should offer the rates you are known for. The internet is full of Disneyland sites that praise Howard Johnson Anaheim for their discussion boards, great customer service, a nice hotel and the Entertainment and AP Rate offered. But lately all I read is that the discussion board was better when Loreal ran the boards and gave better feedback. Or I hear about how great the Entertainment Card Rate was awesome YEARS ago. At least release dates two months out so people can plan better trips to come to your hotel. I first stayed at your hotel last January, and I couldn't stop telling people about how great the preplanning process was on here, to the actual stay and the great rate I got on this hotel and now all I want to tell people is that there are better deals at better hotels out there. Bring back the kind of service culture you had a year ago.

[HoJo Elf]

Hi dis3fam!

I am so sorry to hear about your frustration over the Entertainment discount. You bring up an excellent question and a very common misconception about the Entertainment discount as it applies to hotels. Hopefully by answering your question we'll be able to alert other folks to how it works as well.

The Entertainment Book/Card was created entirely to assist businesses during specific times when business is low, and for the benefit of people who live locally to the business. It is a win-win situation for the locals and the local businesses. People could, say, go to a restaurant on a slow Monday night for a great discount, just when the restaurant needed the business the most. For hotels, this "low business season" was established for periods when the hotel expects to run below an 80% occupancy level.

At the HoJo, the hotel runs well above 80% full on average for the entire year - even in low season. However, this was not always so! Back when Lorealle was with us (actually several years ago now), the hotel was running at lower occupancies and we were able to participate with the Entertainment company more often. Over time the hotel has filled to higher levels all year. When you see a date open up "last minute", it is because the hotel thought it would be above the 80% mark and for some reason the goal was not met. We receive cancelations from groups and individuals sometimes that slide us backward on the occupancy scale.

Don't forget the Entertainment card also benefits you in our normal high seasons by getting you a 15% discount.

That said, our regular commercial rates are always kept very fair and in line with our market. You will notice we do not have wild swings in rate where you can find the same room selling for $20 one day to $200 the next. Other hotels take advantage of consumers during peak periods and then practically give rooms away during lower times. We do not operate in that fashion. It's confusing to consumers and it doesn't accurately show the value of the product.

We hope this answers your questions. We have a really unique hotel with facilities and a location that is hard to match. Thank you for your recent support of the HoJo and our team (many of us have been here for over 30 years). We really hope to see you back with us soon.

Have a great day!

[dis3fam]

Thank you for replying so quickly to my post! I really appreciated your comments and I think you did clear up the perception of how the Entertainment Book and Card work for the community. I definitely agree with you that your hotel does offer a unique experience unlike many other hotels in the area. Thank you for excellent customer service and I hope to return to your hotel soon!

Thank you!
Dis3Fam

[lwilkison]

Lorealle is gone?

How sad, her and Willy were staples of Hojo.

I hope she moved onto something good for her.

We sure do love the Hojo and I wish the ET rate came up more often, we watch for it every Monday to see when we can book the next Hojo/DLR trip!

Our next visit we are hoping to bring 2 more families with us so saving $$ on rooms is a must!

Thanks so much! We look forward to our next visit with you guys!

We have been to DLR/Hojo 8 times and we have loved the stay each time! You guys take such good care of my family, especially since we have a whole day of travel to get there, 3+ hours plane ride, drive from airport and our room is always a nice welcome sight, we haven't stayed anywhere else and I doubt if we ever will!

Thank you Hojo, our home away from home

[Cyette]

Missing Lorealle, too, but.......thank you so much for keeping this e-rate option alive! And I appreciate any HoJo Elf or Helper you have on staff to help us out.

We were able to take advantage of the e-rate while it was still available for this coming November for our wedding anniversary.

I guess we have all done our duty over the years to get the "secret" of HoJo's out.....

Congrats on the 80%+ occupancy and THANK YOU for the e-rate. It's the only way we can afford to come from out of state and stay at a place we know and trust and make our dreams come true at the Happiest Place On Earth.

[HoJo Elf]

Hi Cyette!

Thanks for posting and GREAT to hear you snagged the Retro Rate for you upcoming trip. Yeah, you do have to be a bit diligent to catch the low rates when they come open now that we run a lot more full...but they still do come open!

We'll see you in November and happy anniversary early!