Ok, trying not to start a rant thread but...

Could someone, aka Mark F. or some other very impotent person , please call Fontana Village & get a clarification of the rental policy for the cabins from Fontana Village? It appears as though many people had the cabins that they have booked at MOTDs for years snatched right out from under them for 2008.

Last year the policy was that you could not book for next year until checkout. This year it appears that they began letting people start booking this April for May '08. I feel that they need to set a prebook date in stone for us all so we can continue to stay in our cabins. If not & they plan to let it be a free for all then I would like to know that too. I really think if they plan to go the free for all route that it will tick enough people off that they will start looking for accomodations elsewhere or stop going all together & eventually they will see the booking numbers begin to decline. Or MBE they won't & they prefer to see fresh & rotating faces each year at Fontana. Who knows & MBE that's a gamble they are willing to take.

Either way I would really like to know their policy ahead of time as I found them to be too disorganized at the desk to be able to prebook me when I requested them to on Saturday & now I find it a bit distressing to hear that so many people were not able to book their cabins for next year upon checking out Sunday.

Thanks
Teresa

 

Teresa,

You made many excellent points and I agree completely!

Hopefully Mark F. or someone else on NAM staff will contact the powers-that-be at Fontana...

I did notice that several lots seemed to be in early prep stages for some construction...perhaps someone on the NAM staff can find out if there are new cabins/lodging in the works at Fontana...

 

Matt (PassatDotD also soon to be know as BrewSwapGuy) made a good point in another thread, there are so many changes of plans and last minute cancellations that we needn't panic yet as far as getting rooms for MOTD 08 goes. HOWEVER, I also agree with others that it would be nice to know for sure just what Fontana's policy is, especially considering that there's been a policy change over the last year.

 

While I agree to some extent there were many people who have stayed in the exact same cabin # for many MOTDs. Those people were shut out of their regular cabins without even having the opportunity to rebook them & I just don't agree with that business practice

 

Registration opens up 1 year to the date from check-in date. That is what the front desk told me.

 

I tried to get reservations at Topaco today for 08 MOTD. Was told they don't take advanced reservations that far out.

I was told to call at the end of summer.

I know it has nothing to do with Fontana but it doe effect getting accommodations for 08 dragon.

 

Wow... when we tried to book the next year , as we checked out, we were given a cabin. a killer cabin at that, then the day we were leaving , we checked and found out the cabin we were given was not ours now..... but given to the people that had the cabin for the past 5 years and we were put in a different location and cabin!! ( Hey it is STILL North Carolina, and the MOTD!!)

I feel like most... it is and should be first come first serve!! Sorry but that is the way it should be... why should the guys with the great locations.. be able to keep those locations.. we are susposed to all be equal, and that means ...... awwww.. you have to have a different cabin!! I dont feel sorry you guys...

All that being said... we were dissapointed that we didnt get the killer location... but like I said, it IS the MOTD !! and it doesnt get better than that you Charley Baker!!

Just me..............................................

Thumper ( happy to get what they have!!)

 

Did they just tell you this today or had you been told before? If that is true then reservations would have opened on Tuesday May 1st for next year (depending on when you plan to arrive). Just curious because some people have been saying they were told reservations for next May were opened in April

I still say if you are staying in a cabin you should get 1st crack at it when you check out & then they can open reservations to everyone else on the Monday after everyone leaves
but that's just my humble opinion

 

Perhaps because for some it will be their 6th MOTD. I had to horn my way as a newb into a cabin last year & I think it should stay that way. Plus I hosted a dinner this year & plan to do it again next year & it would be really nice if it was in the same location.

Either way I think what Fontana did wrong was not to give anyone advanced notice of their poilicy change even though I am not sure I even know their policy yet

 

OK, who is most?

Second, first-come-first serve is the very model we are talking about. We WERE FIRST! By a few years!!! That is the very point.

Sorry, I'm not mad at you but I am incensed about the situation.

 

Well, the other half of the point is that we weren't notified in advance of any policy change. We found out too late to have the opportunity to do anything about it.

 

I was not able to get a cabin this year at Fontana Village. I had a cabin in the Robbinsville area that was down a half mile dirt road. I booked a cabin (one bedroom) on Thursday night. I don't want to boot anyone out of anything but I would like to enjoy the event without driving 40 minutes one way to get there. I hope they will build on to the property.

 

The two lots by the General store are for a new outdoor pool and a "lazy river". I believe that the lot behind the banquet hall is where they are moving the playground that was next to the general store.

While I would like to see some new cabins, or another large lodge building, I am not sure that Fontana's business the rest of the year could afford such an expansion.

I am sorry that not everyone was able to get reservations again next year. It really is a sad situation. I too was under the impression that i could re-reserve my room upon checkout, however when I stopped by the front desk for somthing unrelated I found out that they were already taking reservations and only had a few rooms remaining. Just got lucky I guess.

As a glimmer of hope to those who couldn't re-book, we got out room for our 2nd dragon by our name coming up on the waiting list. There are always cancellations, and I am sure that it is not as bad as it looks right now.

 

"We're going to have to build a new motel just for you guys" the friendly Fontana clerk mentioned upon check-out.

Suppose she was tired of taking reservations.

 

If you think you have a reservation, I would check back and make sure. We made our reservation on Saturday. Sunday the desk clerk said they had no record of that reservation and had nothing else for us to get. We eventually got them to honor the reservation even though not for as nice of a cabin as we originally reserved. With the other problems we had with them this year I think Fontana has some problems that their management needs to get under control.

 

UGHnow I'm worried about the reservation that I made being valid. They ran my credit card but said the written confirmation would come in the mail. I just called & they said the reservation desk was closed til in the morning.

 

I still say if you are staying in a cabin you should get 1st crack at it when you check out & then they can open reservations to everyone else on the Monday after everyone leaves
but that's just my humble opinion [/quote]

I disagree. There is no way Fontana can just sit around with open cabins, HOPING that the people who reserved them for the past few years will STILL want them. They don't have a crystal ball, and it's just business to give the cabins to the first people to book them. No place will just hold your room or cabin on good intentions. When they have money in hand, it's yours. First come, first served. It's business, baby. Anyone who owns or operates a business will agree with me.

 

Hey, I found out the cabins are privately owned. If you want your cabin so damned bad, buy the thing. Then it's yours, fair and square, and you can have it every year. I'm sorry the Fontana won't book years in advance for you and that a "newb" may have "stolen" it out from under you. We all learned in preschool how to take turns and share nicely.

 

The guy in front of me on Thursday was re-booking, so I figured it was a good a time as any. I just slapped my CC down and I was done.

 

kamofrogg, "first-come first-served" aside, try to remember that many of the folks who were there last year were told that they couldn't make the next year's reservation until they checked out. Applying that same "Policy" this year resulted in many people not getting reservations for 08 because the rooms/cabins they were in had been booked by others. I think that's where alot of the disappointment/aggravation is coming from

 

Maybe Fontana needs to open up a public space hostel-style for those who don't want to camp and don't need privacy, but still wish to stay close to the action with a place to leave their sleeping bag... I would probably go for something like that, especially if it was at a cheap rate. (I know, not a cabin issue, but still accommodations...)

 

Ok...I'm jumping back into this thread again....

Yes, business is business...HOWEVER, it appears that a policy change was implemented and guests were NOT notified in a courteous manner.

A very simple solution for Fontana would've been to post a sign at the check-in desk announcing that reservations for next year were being accepted.

When I checked in, the gentleman in front of me asked about making reservations for next year; the clerk told him that he could...but since the desk was so busy, she asked him to do it during a "slow time". ((I checked at the desk during obvious "slow times" (no one was at the desk except the employees) and I was told I couldn't make a reservation at that time.))

Now, perhaps it's just me, but I feel that Fontana could've quite easily handled his reservation during the check-in process for these reasons:

1. His information was on the screen. (Name, address, phone, etc.)
2. His room preference was on the screen.
3. His credit card information was on file. (If he wants to pay his deposit a year in advance & perhaps pay interest to the credit card company, that's HIS choice. Fontana would have money in hand.)

Since Fontana asked him to come back to the desk at a later time to make his reservation, additional payroll time was wasted because all of his information probably had to be re-entered. If none of his information had to be re-entered, it wasn't good customer service to make him return to the desk at a later time. If Fontana had "reservation cards" printed, they could be part of the standard check-in packet of information and the guest would have the option of filling out the card and dropping it in a box at the desk at their convenience.

Heck...having a computer station for self-reservation service would be a convenient option for Fontana. The cost of the computer & the program would be less expensive than having to pay an employee to do it AND the saved payroll expense would pay for the system in a short amount of time!

Lastly, there is a H-U-G-E difference between holding a room/cabin without money in hand and holding a room/cabin that has been paid for via deposit or paid in full.

Hopefully NAM administration will be able to play liason in this unfortunate situation.

 

When I checked in on WED, another gentleman was already reserving a cabin for next year. I thought that was strange because I remember everyone reserving cabins during checkout last year. I was surprised later that evening when I heard another person mention that the cabin they were in this year was already reserved by someone else for next year before they checked in on WED....

The next morning I reserved my current cabin for next year. I guess I'll need to call Fontana in the morning to make sure they made the reservation...

 

Kamo, last year we were specifically told by Fontana we could not pre-reserve until we check out. So we did to make sure we had the same cabin two years in a row. This year during check out the room, as well as most, were already taken. In other words unlike last years policy. Apparently a new policy was in effect for this year and unfortunately most return visitors like myself were unaware of the change. It's our loss I understand and they make the rules. But it still sucks no matter the situation.

I called Fontana today to get the reservation desks version of an answer. Last year no MOTD date was given to Fontana for 07 so they told us to wait until check out. This year 08's MOTD date was given to Fontana in advance so reservations could be taken early. What this has to do with just wanting to reserve a cabin a year in advance I have no idea. For some reason they thought it important.

 

I did not stay at Fontana this year. Upon my arrival to the grounds Thursday I asked to make a room reservation for next year and was told I would have to wait until checkout was complete on Sunday allowing those that had a room this year to make a reservation at that time. When I went back Sunday afternoon I was then told I should have made it when I arrived then I could have bumped someone. As it stands now I was not able to reserve a room. The policy was incoherent at best. The Lodge's business practices leave a lot to be desired in this manner.

Hopefully they will do the right thing and allow those that have have a history to retain their spots if desired.