Anyone else disappointed with booking lately??

[altobalk]

The last few times we've booked DVC we have been met with partial availability and wait lists. This is getting annoying. We used to be able to book 5-6 months out with no issues. Now, we struggle to put together stays and it seems like we have to change rooms multiple times to make something work. We are seriously considering selling our points. Anyone else feel the same way?

We just looked tonight (studio or 1 bedroom) for October and the only thing that had full availability was SS for a 1 bed. This is insane.... 6 months out and everything is booked, this is not the DVC we started with and loved. Just wondering if I'm going crazy or my feelings are justified.

 

[brertoad]

Yes, very disappointed. It is terrible. I can't find anything.
They need more inventory. Especially for studios. It has gotten to be ridiculous. I never had to look this hard before, it's been like this for about 6 months.

 

[LAX]

Yes, very disappointed. It is terrible. I can't find anything.
They need more inventory. Especially for studios. It has gotten to be ridiculous. I never had to look this hard before, it's been like this for about 6 months.

When you say "more inventory", do you mean more rooms at the preexisting resorts (ie: expansion)? DVD actually has been increasing inventory in the system through building new resorts, which is contributing to the problem you are facing at a particular resort. If you think about it, more inventory means more points, but the inventory at existing resorts stays the same. That obviously leads to more competition for those rooms. Plus, more available points mean more members looking to stay during the highly desirable time (ie: fall & major holidays). Thus, more inventory doesn't necessarily solve the problem you have been experiencing.

LAX

 

[brertoad]

I just mean more supply to meet the demand. However they have to do it, i.e. more resorts, more studios, more availability. The way it seems now is that there is nothing left. It's picked bare, even SSR and OKW don't have studios available. I think they have sold too many points if they can't meet the existing demand. It really wasn't this bad even 6 months ago. I don't know what has changed.

 

[brertoad]

Are they giving away too many freebie points with new contracts? Who pays for the freebie points/kickbacks and promos with new contracts?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Are they giving away too many freebie points with new contracts? Who pays for the freebie points/kickbacks and promos with new contracts?

When DVC "gives away" freebie points, they are only giving the member the points they are entitled to. They might giving them builder's inventory which is something you wouldn't be able to book on points anyway. Back in 1997 when we bought, there were only four DVC resorts and two of them were offsite. Now there are three offsite resorts, plus eight onsite resorts and one at DLR. That's a lot more competition for the days you want to book at seven months or less. In the past, you could "rent" your points, but you did it yourself and handled the process yourself. Now the brokers and site like Redweek or ebay make it much easier for a member to not waste their points if they can't use them during one year.

So if you want to stay at a non-home resort, you have to beat the others who also want that non-home resort by seeing what you can get exactly at seven months out, right when booking opens for the day. And if you aren't a fan of your home resort, sell those points and buy the resort you like the best so you can book it at 11 months out. Or walking a reservation at your home resort if that is tough at eleven months out (calling GFV studios or AKV Concierge level). DVC created the RAT to see what is still available for non-home resorts before the seven month timeframe. That helps others see what they can book before they can book it and they can follow that until they are able to book it.

DVC can't have more inventory to meet the demand. Inventory is based on the points that are sold to members at the resorts. If you want October through the marathon in January, you better book at your home resort when you have that option and see if you can change it at seven months out. You just need to go when no one else wants to go, early May, end of Aug, early Sept and you'll probably find more villas available.

If you are only booking today for October, you are only six months out. Even the new owners are understanding that they need to book F&W right at seven months out if they don't want their home resort.

 

[altobalk]

Freebie points would only affect the next use year for when they are giving them away, which is probably almost always , I'm not sure. It is a conundrum, the more DVC builds the more they sell. They have even started charging premiums for a guaranteed week, something that wasn't around when we started but not sure I would pay the extra money anyways. We started noticing this about a year ago, it is getting bad!

Deb & Bill, That is an issue for me. By nature, I'm not a planner. And Disney has sucked the fun out of WDW by making people plan so far in advance. I'm on vacation, not a business trip, to me spontaneity equals fun. I'm just getting discouraged with the whole thing.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...

Deb & Bill, That is an issue for me. By nature, I'm not a planner. And Disney has sucked the fun out of WDW by making people plan so far in advance. I'm on vacation, not a business trip, to me spontaneity equals fun. I'm just getting discouraged with the whole thing.

That is your problem. Timeshares require that you plan your trips in advance or you lose out. When it's the Best Kept Secret (remember that one?), it's easier to be a non-planner. But when the secret is out, non-owners can book using points through a broker, more owners want the same time you want, it's not so easy.

And those fixed weeks requires the new owner buy more points than it would actually take to book that same week in the same villa. So there are points that aren't even being used. But they get the prime weeks.

 

[BillPA]

I think the problem is too many are buying the lowest cost resale with no plans to stay there. Then at 7 months they try to get a non-home resort. We have been members since 1993 and I have never had a problem getting what I wanted, BUT I book my home resort typically at 10-11 months early. Buy where you want to stay!!!

 

[crisi]

I think the problem is too many are buying the lowest cost resale with no plans to stay there. Then at 7 months they try to get a non-home resort. We have been members since 1993 and I have never had a problem getting what I wanted, BUT I book my home resort typically at 10-11 months early. Buy where you want to stay!!!

Another problem is that there is a lot of information via the internet.

The people of the internet tells people Food and Wine is great, so we all want to go during Food and Wine (and Food and Wine is pretty great, so people tend to go back for F&W). The people of the internet tell us that early December is great - all the Christmas decorations, few crowds low points. When a large proportion of DVC members want to go at certain times of year, demand is skewed.

The people of the internet tell us how wonderful it is to rent DVC points, and we very helpfully point out availability windows - if you want BCV, you'd better find a BCV owner. So people go looking to rent points - and owners have easy ways to rent them out.

The people of the internet tell us to book early because availability is problematic much of the year - especially at the smaller and popular resorts. So the booking windows have moved earlier and earlier as more and more people are informed about the availability issues.

As people's actions are driven by more and more information, the behavior that worked in the past won't continue to work.

 

[hakepb]

Another problem is that there is a lot of information via the internet.

The people of the internet tells people Food and Wine is great, so we all want to go during Food and Wine (and Food and Wine is pretty great, so people tend to go back for F&W). The people of the internet tell us that early December is great - all the Christmas decorations, few crowds low points. When a large proportion of DVC members want to go at certain times of year, demand is skewed.

The people of the internet tell us how wonderful it is to rent DVC points, and we very helpfully point out availability windows - if you want BCV, you'd better find a BCV owner. So people go looking to rent points - and owners have easy ways to rent them out.

The people of the internet tell us to book early because availability is problematic much of the year - especially at the smaller and popular resorts. So the booking windows have moved earlier and earlier as more and more people are informed about the availability issues.

As people's actions are driven by more and more information, the behavior that worked in the past won't continue to work.

Plus, the internet tells people that they can bank unused points instead of letting them expire
And the Internet (i.e. Frequent Facebook ads) tells people they can rent points and get cash instead of just letting them expire.

There have been tons of stories of long-term owners that just let points expire if they couldn't use them that year...and that was great for the rest of us as it meant empty rooms we could book. Now owners are more likely to use all of their points for their own benefit, so it seems there is fewer rooms for the rest of us.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Owners are getting more informed about the product they own. Those who have done close in bookings just need to do the same.

Also, Oct - Dec needs a point reallocation perhaps offset by lower summer points. And now that Disney has built up interest during Oct-Dec they need to shift their focus to other times.

Then the complaint threads can start about all those things.

 

[LAX]

That is your problem. Timeshares require that you plan your trips in advance or you lose out. When it's the Best Kept Secret (remember that one?), it's easier to be a non-planner. But when the secret is out, non-owners can book using points through a broker, more owners want the same time you want, it's not so easy.

And those fixed weeks requires the new owner buy more points than it would actually take to book that same week in the same villa. So there are points that aren't even being used. But they get the prime weeks.

That's my understanding when I was researching into DVC. Now, I am not sure what the sales pitch by the DVD guides are like, and they might very paint a picture where reservations are easy to get whenever one wants. That "might" be true for some resorts (ie: SSR & OKW) and for certain times. I never thought timeshares are ever intended for people who like to be spontaneous. That's probably why cash rooms are more expensive. That's because they are fairly flexible and likely more available (I have seen some popular options sold out, too though).

LAX

 

[disneynutz]

Been saying this over and over, buy where you love to stay and book at 11 months. As time goes on the competition is only getting worse at 7 months. IMO it doesn't make sense to spend thousands on buying into DVC and thousands on vacations and having to worry about staying at a favorite resort and having to play the waitlist game.

Bill

 

[bobbiwoz]

That's my understanding when I was researching into DVC. Now, I am not sure what the sales pitch by the DVD guides are like, and they might very paint a picture where reservations are easy to get whenever one wants. That "might" be true for some resorts (ie: SSR & OKW) and for certain times. I never thought timeshares are ever intended for people who like to be spontaneous. That's probably why cash rooms are more expensive. That's because they are fairly flexible and likely more available (I have seen some popular options sold out, too though).

LAX

Well we went to the Copper Creek presentations, and the spiel was definitely if you want to stay there own there and book early! Our CM did not talk about ease of trading into other resorts.

 

[bobbiwoz]

We book early, but sometimes we we want a little extra, trip or days. I am thrilled to get OKW, SSR in those cases.

OP, perhaps you can think about F&W early on and book something according to your best guess.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Fall is now high season and cannot be relied upon for after-7 month bookings for prime resorts, or without waitlists even at places like Saratoga. It's the nature of fall.

This is a demand issue. The rules on how many DVC points are sold hasn't changed. The number of points in the system competing for the inventory in prime periods has increased with the increased capacities.

 

[DougEMG]

There have been tons of stories of long-term owners that just let points expire if they couldn't use them that year...and that was great for the rest of us as it meant empty rooms we could book. Now owners are more likely to use all of their points for their own benefit, so it seems there is fewer rooms for the rest of us.

When I bought a BWV contract back in 2011, it came fully loaded and the owner had already let 2 years worth of points expire just cause they n ever got around to using it. These days it seems like half the contract for sale are stripped and most likely the points rented out. So points are being us ed much more efficiently today than in the past, all of which makes bookings harder.

 

[brertoad]

I understand people don't want their points to go to waste, and they are probably banking and borrowing accordingly or renting as well. I'm not a typical DVC user, we live locally and use our points for very short stays 1-2 days, this probably isn't the norm, most people will need to walk reservations or book at their home resort or promptly at 7 months.

I am saying there isn't even 1 night stays available 'here and there' the way it used to be, we are flexible and can even take weekdays - it doesn't have to be prime time like Friday or Saturday.

All that said, I love our DVC timeshare, it is honestly the best thing we have ever bought ourselves in terms of a luxury buy. I'm just having to work a lot harder to try to find reservations. I typically don't plan 11 months or 7 months ahead due to sharing plans with friends and it is usually contingent on other people's work schedules, I usually get a window of 2-3 months and then like I said it's just 1-2 nights, last year I couldn't find anything for my friend's birthday in October, and all the value resorts were sold out too...F&W season.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I understand people don't want their points to go to waste, and they are probably banking and borrowing accordingly or renting as well. I'm not a typical DVC user, we live locally and use our points for very short stays 1-2 days, this probably isn't the norm, most people will need to walk reservations or book at their home resort or promptly at 7 months.

I am saying there isn't even 1 night stays available 'here and there' the way it used to be, we are flexible and can even take weekdays - it doesn't have to be prime time like Friday or Saturday.

All that said, I love our DVC timeshare, it is honestly the best thing we have ever bought ourselves in terms of a luxury buy. I'm just having to work a lot harder to try to find reservations. I typically don't plan 11 months or 7 months ahead due to sharing plans with friends and it is usually contingent on other people's work schedules, I usually get a window of 2-3 months and then like I said it's just 1-2 nights, last year I couldn't find anything for my friend's birthday in October, and all the value resorts were sold out too...F&W season.

What I see is different than what you see apparently. Now I'm thinking that you are referring to all other resorts except for SSR and perhaps OKW and AKV? Because SSR has a lot of random availability for studios during F&W and OKW and AKV - even PVB has a few. The other resorts would be really random.