Anyone else wish they would stop allowing "walking a reservation" UPDATE POST#80

[castleri]

I was online checking for a BWV SV studio for December on the 3rd and it was showing December 3rd, 4th , and 5th booked by noon. It wasn't even the 11 month for the 4th and 5th yet but they were booked so at least in this case, rooms were showing unavailable even before the window.

I think it's possible this year there is more competition and maybe walking because the first week in December is also the week after Thanksgiving and maybe there is some overlap... Just a thought....

The 4th and 5th were available to those whose reservations started before the 3rd if they started their reservations on the 1st or even earlier. They would not be available to those who wish to start the reservation on the 4th or 5th.


I still liked the old way of making reservations although it could be a challenge for the busy times but apparently not more so than the issues caused by walking a reservation or being able to book 7 days at a time. A person with enough points could have booked the 3rd by making a 7 day reservation with that being the last day and then calling back and cancelling the first days once the 11 month window opened for the 3rd.

 

[rlduvall]

How about booking a regular studio and waitlisting for what you want? If others are walking reservations, maybe they'll ultimately end up cancelling the nights you want.

I will definitely do that, but it would have been nice to just had it all taken care of. Oh well, if this is the worst thing that happens to me this year, heck - this week, I've got nothing to complain about.

 

[Sammie]

How can you tell if the problem is because of "walking" or simply that rooms have been booked already by people who checkin 7 days or less before you? My brain starts to spin when I try to figure this out. I know that I could not book a room I wanted to get when I tried right at 11 months but I think that was simply because someone else booked the room for a week and they checkin a few days before I wanted to checkin. I had to wait to book and changed our checkin date to several days later than we had originally planned.

I am so glad I am not the only one that this gives a headache too. I am glad I have never even considered trying it.

 

[Sandisw]

The 4th and 5th were available to those whose reservations started before the 3rd if they started their reservations on the 1st or even earlier. They would not be available to those who wish to start the reservation on the 4th or 5th.

I still liked the old way of making reservations although it could be a challenge for the busy times but apparently not more so than the issues caused by walking a reservation or being able to book 7 days at a time. A person with enough points could have booked the 3rd by making a 7 day reservation with that being the last day and then calling back and cancelling the first days once the 11 month window opened for the 3rd.

Yes, at 8:00 am the morning when the 11 month window opened for the 3rd, all dates going forward were still showing availability but by noon, not only was the 3rd gone, but so was the 4th and 5th. My point was more to say that if things are really booked, the online system will show them booked, even if the 11 month window for them has not opened.

The one poster thought that availability would always show up if the 11 month window for that date had not yet opened even though the rooms might be really be booked. And that was not the case with this studio.

 

[dcfromva]

If member services wanted to stop the reservation walking, they could quite easily do so without major impacts to legitimate changes.
They could simply say no changes to reservations that are more than 11 months in the future--only cancel and rebook (until the last night is 11 months or less in the future).
So, for example if you make a ressie on 1/5/2013 for 12/5/2013-12/12/2013. You can not make any changes to this reservation until 1/11/2013 unless you want to cancel and rebook.
I haven't had any luck with std view at BLT (studio or 2BR) since they implemented this new policy. I haven't tried walking, yet. Usually, I just switch to lakeview.

 

[DebbieB]

The first week of December has always been crazy. I used to do day by day under the old system. I'm planning to reserve BWV Dec 7-13 boardwalk view studio on Monday. I checked this morning and Dec 5 is already gone, makes me nervous. I have to be sure to jump on at 8:00 on Monday.

 

[rlduvall]

I know. I have been doing this for five years for this time period and it has never been this bad.

 

[rlduvall]

The first week of December has always been crazy. I used to do day by day under the old system. I'm planning to reserve BWV Dec 7-13 boardwalk view studio on Monday. I checked this morning and Dec 5 is already gone, makes me nervous. I have to be sure to jump on at 8:00 on Monday.

I hope you get it, but this has been my exact same scenario with AKV. Just seems wonkie to me.

 

[jekjones1558]

If member services wanted to stop the reservation walking, they could quite easily do so without major impacts to legitimate changes.
They could simply say no changes to reservations that are more than 11 months in the future--only cancel and rebook (until the last night is 11 months or less in the future).
So, for example if you make a ressie on 1/5/2013 for 12/5/2013-12/12/2013. You can not make any changes to this reservation until 1/11/2013 unless you want to cancel and rebook.
I haven't had any luck with std view at BLT (studio or 2BR) since they implemented this new policy. I haven't tried walking, yet. Usually, I just switch to lakeview.

Even this rule is not foolproof. Someone with lots of points can afford to book lots of extra days and then cancel all of the extra days later on. There was a LONG thread when MS first changed from booking 11 months from checkout to booking 11 months from checkin. That long thread first coined the term "walking" and it was felt then that those with lots of points would have an unfair advantage in using "walking" to book tough reservations. I am still not totally convinced that "walking" is a big issue. It is just that there are certain booking categories that have few rooms and there are a few dates, like NYE and first week of December, that are hugely popular with DVCers. It stands to reason that somebody is going to be disappointed when trying to book those few rooms on those dates. Twice now I have run into problems booking first week of Dec. at 11 months. We have enough points that I could easily "walk" a reservation but I just don't do it. I am sure that I am not the only one who chooses not to do so.

 

[luckyman_apd]

Yes, at 8:00 am the morning when the 11 month window opened for the 3rd, all dates going forward were still showing availability but by noon, not only was the 3rd gone, but so was the 4th and 5th. My point was more to say that if things are really booked, the online system will show them booked, even if the 11 month window for them has not opened.

The one poster thought that availability would always show up if the 11 month window for that date had not yet opened even though the rooms might be really be booked. And that was not the case with this studio.

Thank you. I w curious, and you responded to my thread earlier today. I only own at BLT but if you are seeing 2 days past the booking window as full then it has to be that almost all the rooms are booked and whoever that lucky person is at 8 am is getting that one available room. If I can get the Friday of dec 6th tomorrow morning at 8 then I will get to save 9-15 points on my trip. If not, let's hope for wait list. Being exactly 11 months out, I have to imagine I'm one of the first on the wait list order.

 

[tjkraz]

...before 8 am (if my memory is correct lol), Dec. 3rd was available. At exactly 8 am, Dec. 3rd became unavailable, but the 4th, 5th, etc were still open. Dec. 4th, BEFORE 8 am, Dec. 4th (and 5th, etc.) was available. After 8 am, Dec. 4th became unavailable, but the 5th, etc as well as Nov. 30 were still available. December 5th (today)...rinse and repeat...

I think you're missing the most obvious solution: someone else is beating you to the punch when reserving online.

Another poster states there are a maximum of 18 value studios. When you see availability before 8am, all it means is that there is ONE room unbooked. Could be more than one but it could also be just that one room.

If 10 people are popping on-line right at 8am to attempt to reserve and there is only one opening (or two, or five, or any number less than 10), some members will not get what they are hoping for.

"Walking" is a manual process of adding and dropping nights which can only be performed by calling member services after 9am. There is no way to automate a "walk" to be processed right at 8am.

Short supply plus high demand means people won't get what they are seeking. It's been that way with DVC for many years...particularly during periods like early December.

 

[Song of the South]

I have been trying to book a dedicated 2 bedroom standard view at BLT beginning 12/4 since yesterday. When I did some fake reservations beginning on the 2nd and 3rd it showed 12/4 booked and gave me the option of waitlisting. Yesterday morning 12/4 was booked but 12/5-on was open (again option of waitlisting. I decided to wait until today, book 12/5-on and just waitlist 12/4. Today when I got online at 7amcst (OH MY that is early for me!) 12/4 was suddenly available but 12/5 was not. So, I booked 12/4 and will see what tomorrow brings.

I guess the opening for 12/4 was from it being dropped from someone's reservation but it makes little sense to me. I don't imagine dropping days is part of the "walking" schema. I'm not sure why someone would drop a day 24 hours after booking it at 11 months out.

Just wanted to share. Hopefully tomorrow the internet wizards will smile up on and pixie dust with rain on all our reservations...

SotS

 

[Inkmahm]

How about booking a regular studio and waitlisting for what you want? If others are walking reservations, maybe they'll ultimately end up cancelling the nights you want.

This is what I've done for BWV in October for 8 days at F&W. We decided to try a standard view studio rather than the normal one bedroom BW view that we would book so that we can save points this year to use for a family reunion trip in 2014. But we decided several weeks after the booking opened so standard view was only available for about half the nights we wanted.

I booked what I could in std view and the rest in preferred view. I check often online and book days as I can, redoing my waitlists. I now have a whole week in Std view and am just waiting for the very first night on the 23rd to come through.

There is plenty of time for waitlists to come through for December.

 

[Muhlenberg]

I have been trying to book a dedicated 2 bedroom standard view at BLT beginning 12/4 since yesterday. When I did some fake reservations beginning on the 2nd and 3rd it showed 12/4 booked and gave me the option of waitlisting. Yesterday morning 12/4 was booked but 12/5-on was open (again option of waitlisting. I decided to wait until today, book 12/5-on and just waitlist 12/4. Today when I got online at 7amcst (OH MY that is early for me!) 12/4 was suddenly available but 12/5 was not. So, I booked 12/4 and will see what tomorrow brings.

I guess the opening for 12/4 was from it being dropped from someone's reservation but it makes little sense to me. I don't imagine dropping days is part of the "walking" schema. I'm not sure why someone would drop a day 24 hours after booking it at 11 months out.

Just wanted to share. Hopefully tomorrow the internet wizards will smile up on and pixie dust with rain on all our reservations...

SotS

That sounds like (at least) one person is doing the same thing as (at least) one person with AKV value(s)...booking one night right at 8 am.

 

[Muhlenberg]

I think you're missing the most obvious solution: someone else is beating you to the punch when reserving online.

Another poster states there are a maximum of 18 value studios. When you see availability before 8am, all it means is that there is ONE room unbooked. Could be more than one but it could also be just that one room.

If 10 people are popping on-line right at 8am to attempt to reserve and there is only one opening (or two, or five, or any number less than 10), some members will not get what they are hoping for.

"Walking" is a manual process of adding and dropping nights which can only be performed by calling member services after 9am. There is no way to automate a "walk" to be processed right at 8am.

Short supply plus high demand means people won't get what they are seeking. It's been that way with DVC for many years...particularly during periods like early December.

Nope...didn't miss the point. That's what's happening. And that lucky person (the one getting the last room) is only booking one night into the future at a time. It's very frustrating seeing. I've mostly given up on even being able to get it, and will be surprised if my waitlists come through.

When 7 months rolls around, it'll be "interesting" as well, as forewarned by Drusba's December Time thread.

 

[CoolDisneyCat]

Man, I'm glad I got what I wanted for the first week in Dec! But maybe BCV isn't in as much demand.

The calendar did fall funny with Thanksgiving being so late this year. I'm just hoping its not toooo crazy busy!

 

[CarolMN]

As far as the BWV goes, it's only a problem for standard view studios and standard view 2 bedrooms.

As I type, 1 bedrooms are available for the entire first week of December for all 3 booking categories as are the Pool/Garden studios and 2 bedrooms.

For at least the BWV, this tells me it is just too much demand for the limited booking categories for what is arguably the most popular week of the year for DVC members to visit. It appears that this is the case for AKV value ,AKV concierge and BLT standard view as well.

Even if walking could be eliminated without the cure being worse than the disease, there would be many disappointed. It's the nature of the beast!

P.S. It's also a problem for HA villas at BWV. But I have no experience with that room type and defer to Jean (jekjones1558) for that booking category.

 

[Song of the South]

Update: I was able to get BLT 2 bedroom dedicated standard view from 12/6-on. 12/5 is still unavailable so I waitlisted it. So I've essentially got what I need 12/4, 12/5 waitlist, and 12/6-on. Another magical, early December "show me the Christmas" vacation is on the books! Yahoo!

I hope that those looking for AKV value rooms and BLT studio standard view rooms were successful this morning as well!

SotS

 

[tjkraz]

And that lucky person (the one getting the last room) is only booking one night into the future at a time.

Doubtful. Availability later in the week simply reflects the varying end dates of different people's trips. Right now I assume everything is booked through December 6. The reason you see openings on Dec 7 and beyond is because some of those people staying the night of 12/6 are checking out the next morning.

There is no benefit to be gained by "walking" one day at a time for a date 11 months out.

 

[HayGan]

I can completely understand your frustration. I'm sure that there are quite a few of us out there trying to get those coveted value studios for the week or two after Thanksgiving. I'm trying for a check-in anytime between Thanksgiving and Sunday but I don't want to play around and book day by day. (The Friday & Saturday after Thanksgiving are now available as is the following Thursday.) I have to use borrowed points so I don't want to complicate matters too much. I've waitlisted but if it doesn't come thru when the 7 month window opens I'm going to try for OKW. (We were lucky enough to get our entire June reservation - 12 nights - at AKV value so I'm not going to be too heartbroken if someone else gets the opportunity to save points over us.)

Personally, I don't think walking is a big issue except for a few particular units & time periods. If there is any walking going on, I'm quite sure that it is happening for the AKV value and after Thanksgiving/early December. Frustrating but completely legal under current rules.