A Solution to Walking

[Maistre Gracey]

Booking at the end day sucks. I like to go for 3-4 weeks so would probably never get a solid block.

You can book at the end, every week, everyday.... however you like. No need to wait.

 

[jerseyduke]

Right now you don't have to update it daily....you could just add on once every 6 days. If you allow people to add days without penalty then you're just making it so that people with more points have a greater advantage as they can simply make a really long reservation and then drop the majority of it in one modification.

Exactly. Its not walking, but it is the same principle. When you have a room booked for a week, no one can book that room until 11 months prior to your check out date, you have it blocked.

The caveat being if disney has a few rooms pulled out of inventory for cash rentals

 

[crvetter]

The caveat being if disney has a few rooms pulled out of inventory for cash rentals

Disney can not pull rooms for cash rental different than our rules for booking. The only thing they can do is pull rooms to be placed aside for scheduled maintenance.

 

[Sandisw]

Disney can not pull rooms for cash rental different than our rules for booking. The only thing they can do is pull rooms to be placed aside for scheduled maintenance.

Which probably won’t show up at 11 months

 

[crvetter]

Which probably won’t show up at 11 months

Yeah true. I just wanted to highlight that is the only time DVC should be pulling rooms in advance of the 11 month + 7 day rule for cash bookings. Now what DVC has the advantage of is probably giving themselves priority right at 8 AM for reserving a room over the members trying that exact same day.

Though recently they did pull all the Value Studios at AKV in advance of 11 months (while not being forward about why they went missing) because of the resort renovations (not DVC) that required hallways to be closed.

 

[jerseyduke]

Disney can not pull rooms for cash rental different than our rules for booking. The only thing they can do is pull rooms to be placed aside for scheduled maintenance.

Good to know, but, since disney owns 2% can they remove rooms from inventory that way?

For example, with the VGF having (at most) 47 studios. Could they theoretically make all studios unavailable on Thanksgiving day 2020? they have enough points to do it with their 2% and also don't they only sell 51 weeks?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Good to know, but, since disney owns 2% can they remove rooms from inventory that way?

For example, with the VGF having (at most) 47 studios. Could they theoretically make all studios unavailable on Thanksgiving day 2020? they have enough points to do it with their 2% and also don't they only sell 51 weeks?

Don't forget about all the points they have from members booking cruises, Adv by Disney and other Disney hotels on points. They have to pay for those somehow.

 

[jerseyduke]

Don't forget about all the points they have from members booking cruises, Adv by Disney and other Disney hotels on points. They have to pay for those somehow.

That is what I was thinking, but I am not sure of the 11 month rule as pointed out by @crvetter which I took to refer to rooms that fall into this category. Can they remove a room from inventory say 12 months out to pay for the cruise someone traded for?

Walking has one Achilles heal at 11 months, and that's if a day you can not get to yet is totally blocked by Disney for 1 of the above reasons.

 

[crvetter]

That is what I was thinking, but I am not sure of the 11 month rule as pointed out by @crvetter which I took to refer to rooms that fall into this category. Can they remove a room from inventory say 12 months out to pay for the cruise someone traded for?

Walking has one Achilles heal at 11 months, and that's if a day you can not get to yet is totally blocked by Disney for 1 of the above reasons.

No if they putting a room into CRO it has to be coming from points or breakage. Points can be what they own, get traded in from Members, or Foreclosure/Liens/etc but they are all subject to the same booking rules as members. However, given the slightest advantage to them because they will always beat everyone at 8 AM.

Good to know, but, since disney owns 2% can they remove rooms from inventory that way?

For example, with the VGF having (at most) 47 studios. Could they theoretically make all studios unavailable on Thanksgiving day 2020? they have enough points to do it with their 2% and also don't they only sell 51 weeks?

This 51 weeks sold out of 52 weeks is where maintenance inventory comes from. In theory this rolls up over the years for the members will have less booking power eventually because say in the first year the members used 52 weeks of points (needing to borrow 1 week) so the second year they only have 50 weeks of booking power left. Now if maintenance is projected to eventually not needed for the slush those Rooms go to CRO subject to the breakage rules.

And yes DVC could remove Thanksgiving if they walked a new room for a few days at 11 months + 7 days. Because remember members can book Thanksgiving day 7 days early thus they would have to book then but members can book that day 7 days early, and etc. Therefore they would need to walk a while themselves to guarantee they get every room that day (essentially they would need to be walking 47 studios at VGF a while to get every room booked). I actually asked this of DVC (if they could take every room every day)--the answer was yes but it was difficult and not something they want--and the fact that DVC members walk actually is to our benefit because it prevents DVC from easily grabbing every room for a given day. If we went back to the old booking ways that used to exist then DVC would be able to do exactly what you suggest and would have the ultimate advantage to doing so.

 

[Dizzydizney]

Maybe stopping step by step instructions on social media sites on how to go about "walking a DVC reservation" would help. First heard about it right here. Of course DVC doesn't give a darn...no skin off their nose. And this was not an issue 10 years ago. Social media was really not very prevalent then. It seems the issue arises because everyone wants cheap studios. Our remedy was to go to a one bedroom and reduce our stay by a day. And stay at an Orlando area airport hotel with free breakfast and free airport transfers. Go back to the airport to pick up our rental car. Much easier and a lot less stress.

 

[kboo]

I don’t care about walking one way or another. If someone wants to walk for a month to get a room, then so be it. I didn’t want the room badly enough to do the same. I’ve had good luck booking at 11 months. The few times I have walked reservations, it was mostly a waste of my time. I think only one time did it matter. Even then, I think the walkers went past my dates a few days afterwards when it opened up again, so I should’ve just waited. To be fair, I don’t walk AKV value or concierge because I don’t own there, so I am not dealing with it there which seems to be the worst of it. I have walked for a BWV standard 2BR and standard 1- and 2-BRs at BLT. It wasn’t necessary.

How bad is walking, really? I have also had good luck booking at 11 months.

I've seen it done at 7mo at VGC (but managed to book my 1 night at 8am)

Otherwise it's all at 11 months, right? AKV value and concierge, BWV standard studios during fall frenzy, CCV studios in winter, and VGF standard studios in December?

In the general scheme of things, it affects very few DVC owners and only a very few home resorts.

It is often suggested on this board to buy 10% or more points than you think you'll need, so that then you can stay in a preferred view studio, or a 1br, maybe for a shorter time. This is why.

 

[n2mm]

Maybe stopping step by step instructions on social media sites on how to go about "walking a DVC reservation" would help. First heard about it right here. Of course DVC doesn't give a darn...no skin off their nose. And this was not an issue 10 years ago. Social media was really not very prevalent then. It seems the issue arises because everyone wants cheap studios. Our remedy was to go to a one bedroom and reduce our stay by a day. And stay at an Orlando area airport hotel with free breakfast and free airport transfers. Go back to the airport to pick up our rental car. Much easier and a lot less stress.

absolutely. People post stuff like they are whispering it in secret when all they’re doing is yelling it to everyone. It reminds me back in the day when folks would want toll free phone numbers to call Disney. They posted it all over disboards and bam, Disney would shut it down. I have no issue with walking. It’s available for any Bwv member to do. i do think the waitlist is working so well now, it’s grabbing it exactly at the 8:00 hour. I have more faith in the waitlist then I use to.

 

[Dean Marino]

Deleted

 

[Sandisw]

Trying to figure this out.... What is the issue?

1) No DVC Owner can START a booking, prior to 11 months.
2) We always do so, at our home resort. Don't care about the 7 month thing.
3) How am I being screwed by other owners? Seems reasonable that Home Resort owners should be allowed to EXTEND a Vacation past 7 days, as we can not book at 11 months, beyond 7 days?

Perhaps the answer is simple. HOME Resort? Get rid of the 7 day wall. At 11 months - Home Resort - allow one to book & pay for as much as 30 days. What - don't want the money?

Look - this DOES cost WDW money. Hundreds of people gaming the phone lines. Get rid of the Home Resort WALL.

I think that one of the benefits of the online system is that it doesn’t require additional phone CMs at MS. People can just modify online.

If one books at 11 months and gets the 7 days, all the need to do is go on a few day’s later and extend. So really, no need to institute a charge.

 

[lehrsj]

Let’s say no one walked. Most people still wouldn’t get those value rooms anyway. It would be “I always start my booking on Sundays so all the people that start their vacation on Saturday get the value rooms.” Or the people who start their booking on Wed, Thu, or whatever stops me from getting the room I want.

Personally I don’t consider it a problem if you can’t get a value studio at 11 months. It’s only a problem if you can’t get any studio at 11 months.