Are the Days of Walking a DVC Reservation Numbered?

[Brian Noble]

I remember it more as "The Who" or "Van Halen" TicketMaster days, sleeping in front of the record store. lol
Ah, the 80's were magical.

And then there was the self-addressed stamped envelope plus a postal money order mailed to:

Grateful Dead Ticket Sales
P.O. Box C-S 8190
San Rafael, CA 94912

 

[davidhr]

I don’t know why I feel a strong urge to start walking a CCV studio for a week in December. I don’t even have a planned trip in December 2025, but if I can beat everyone and get it I might do a victory trip.

 

[tx911]

I don’t know why I feel a strong urge to start walking a CCV studio for a week in December. I don’t even have a planned trip in December 2025, but if I can beat everyone and get it I might do a victory trip.

Keep it a secret so you can dominate as many people as possible!

 

[emchen]

hmmmm If it used DVCfan to get its info I feel like DVC Fan admin may not allow people to vent about commercial renting, I cant say for certain but just a hunch.

I just linked the dvcfan article and it used that and other online sources to generate the solutions to walkers.

 

[Chili327]

And then there was the self-addressed stamped envelope plus a postal money order mailed to:

Grateful Dead Ticket Sales
P.O. Box C-S 8190
San Rafael, CA 94912

I just stood out front with a sign asking for "a miracle".

 

[emchen]

I think my position is similar to yours. Walking is the way things work so im going to do it to make sure I can book what I want. To me there’s no morality concern as Im using the system as designed to make the booking I want within the established rules everyone plays by. Now if I had a vote I’d support measures to block/limit walking because I do see issues with it but whatever new system they put in place I’m sure I’ll find the loopholes to that as well to get advantage when booking because I find the value worth my time/effort.

1. **Implement a Reservation Modification Limit**:
- **Solution**: Introduce a limit on how many times a reservation can be modified within a certain period. For example, members could be allowed only a set number of modifications (e.g., three) per reservation. This would make it less feasible to "walk" a reservation, as continuously shifting the dates would not be allowed past that limit.
- **Rationale**: This approach would deter members from exploiting the system while still maintaining some flexibility for genuine changes in plans. It would help ensure that reservations reflect true intended use rather than speculative booking.

Curious, what do owners like you and @AstroBlasters think of this? It seems the most flexible among the three …

 

[Chili327]

That is fact. It needs to not affect regular users in the process, but having a limit of changes (lets say 3) within the 1st month of booking should all but eliminate the problem, or at least hinder walkers, without any issues for regular members... no?

Here is one point for you. I modified the room for two of my four days of my January trip three times in the last three weeks!!! Lol

Curious, what do owners like you and AstroBlasters think of this? It seems the most flexible among the three …

That's what i thought.. 3 seems pretty generous, even if it may cause an issue it would be very rare, 3 would be enough to prevent walking. If you needed to make more than 3 changes, you'd have to call in.

 

[Sandisw]

Curious, what do owners like you and @AstroBlasters think of this? It seems the most flexible among the three …

I think limits are tough because there are so many different situations that could cause someone to want or need to change given number of room types, views, and resorts.

Stopping the changes prior to 10 months might be even more flexible

 

[AstroBlasters]

Curious, what do owners like you and @AstroBlasters think of this? It seems the most flexible among the three …

I have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into this program and am on the hook for around $17k in dues a year.

We also easily spend over 10k in Disney tickets, merch, food, special events, etc.

Next year we have WDW (BWV GV, VGF 2BD LV), Aulani (GV OV), and Disneyland (VGC 2BD) booked.

I have gone in and tweaked either the room or the dates of these things so many times because of our schedule or room availability (BW GV 2Bd to BC 2BD, to BW GV), or my Mom’s schedule (Aulani), or my Aunt’s schedule (Aulani), or my Kid’s summer classes (Grand Cal)…..

Anything that materially reduces my flexibility means that I am more likely to cash out and not deal with the headache.

I don’t think walking is a serious problem and so I don’t think it needs to be “fixed”. If a room that I want is not there then someone beat me to it. I accept responsibility for not starting sooner and don’t try to demonize or blame anyone else. (Except for spec renters…. I do not like you one bit!… you are just a scalper)

I also purchased enough points at my desired home resorts to stay away from the Hunger Game rooms…..

 

[Chili327]

I have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into this program and am on the hook for around $17k in dues a year.

We also easily spend over 10k in Disney tickets, merch, food, special events, etc.

Next year we have WDW (BWV GV, VGF 2BD LV), Aulani (GV OV), and Disneyland (VGC 2BD) booked.

I have gone in and tweaked either the room or the dates of these things so many times because of our schedule or room availability (BW GV 2Bd to BC 2BD, to BW GV), or my Mom’s schedule (Aulani), or my Aunt’s schedule (Aulani), or my Kid’s summer classes (Grand Cal)…..

Anything that materially reduces my flexibility means that I am more likely to cash out and not deal with the headache.

I don’t think walking is a serious problem and so I don’t think it needs to be “fixed”. If a room that I want is not there then someone beat me to it. I accept responsibility for not starting sooner and don’t try to demonize or blame anyone else. (Except for spec renters…. I do not like you one bit!… you are just a scalper)

I also purchased enough points at my desired home resorts to stay away from the Hunger Game rooms…..

Understanding that flexibility is a key to enjoying DVC... What if the limit (of 3) changes was only on dates, not room types? Would that make more sense, & be less (if not zero) headache for you?

Obviously we aren't making new rules here, just debating how it could work better... for ALL.


And of course we need to hinder the commercial renters.

 

[tx911]

Understanding that flexibility is a key to enjoying DVC... What if the limit (of 3) changes was only on dates, not room types? Would that make more sense, & be less (if not zero) headache for you?

Obviously we aren't making new rules here, just debating how it could work better... for ALL.

You could even tweak that to 3 changes of the check-in date.
Modify the tail end to your heart's content.

 

[Tatebeck]

Understanding that flexibility is a key to enjoying DVC... What if the limit (of 3) changes was only on dates, not room types? Would that make more sense, & be less (if not zero) headache for you?

Obviously we aren't making new rules here, just debating how it could work better... for ALL.


And of course we need to hinder the commercial renters.

I would assume they could put in on same room type + check in date only. Extensions are normal and changing room type is basically a cancel and rebook anyway since you aren't using any of the original reservation anymore

 

[AstroBlasters]

Understanding that flexibility is a key to enjoying DVC... What if the limit (of 3) changes was only on dates, not room types? Would that make more sense, & be less (if not zero) headache for you?

Obviously we aren't making new rules here, just debating how it could work better... for ALL.


And of course we need to hinder the commercial renters.

There are just too many things that can happen between work, or kids, or life in an 11m period of time.

I am just not convinced at all this is a “problem” that needs ”fixing”.

Get rid of bots, get rid of commercial renters, crack down on spec rentals, and lower the costs of 1 bedrooms and raise the cost of studios and watch happens!

 

[tx911]

There are just too many things that can happen between work, or kids, or life in an 11m period of time.

I am just not convinced at all this is a “problem” that needs to be”fixing”.

Get rid of bots, get rid of commercial renters, crack down on spec rentals, and lower the costs of 1 bedrooms and raise the cost of studios and watch happens!

Just make sure all owners know about walking, and let them know it is expected in order to secure reservations.
Then I'm fine with it.

For example, with the lines you are fond of mentioning. A person gets burned by that one time, and then they wise up because they know how the game is played. Just do the same for walking.

 

[Leight19]

Curious, what do owners like you and @AstroBlasters think of this? It seems the most flexible among the three …

I am against any proposals to limit the number of modifications or that recommend charging for modifications. I am supportive of changes that eliminate modifications for rooms that are past the 11 months. My favored being you can only modify reservation that extends 11mos +7 if the 11mos is also available outside inventory you are holding (e.g I can book 11mos+7 today but can only walk that to +8 if a separate room is available for eveyone to book tomorrow).

I haven’t thought through mathematically how this all works but general idea is if you grab 11Months date you can at least get a week to ensure a decent stay but youre not able to use “winning” the booking lottery one day to book a 3 week trip or something (can still get 3 weeks but others have chance to compete with you days past 7).

 

[Chili327]

There are just too many things that can happen between work, or kids, or life in an 11m period of time.

I am just not convinced at all this is a “problem” that needs ”fixing”.

Get rid of bots, get rid of commercial renters, crack down on spec rentals, and lower the costs of 1 bedrooms and raise the cost of studios and watch happens!

Shots Fired!! lol

 

[Orsino]

I am against any proposals to limit the number of modifications or that recommend charging for modifications. I am supportive of changes that eliminate modifications for rooms that are past the 11 months. My favored being you can only modify reservation that extends 11mos +7 if the 11mos is also available outside inventory you are holding (e.g I can book 11mos+7 today but can only walk that to +8 if a separate room is available for eveyone to book tomorrow).

I haven’t thought through mathematically how this all works but general idea is if you grab 11Months date you can at least get a week to ensure a decent stay but youre not able to use “winning” the booking lottery one day to book a 3 week trip or something (can still get 3 weeks but others have chance to compete with you days past 7).

Personally, I don't view booking a 3 week block as "walking" or something that would need to be regulated. I view walking as cancelling check-in day to move a reservation to a later check-in day.

 

[Chili327]

Personally, I don't view booking a 3 week block as "walking" or something that would need to be regulated. I view walking as cancelling check-in day to move a reservation to a later check-in day.

I would agree, that is the only thing we should be talking about, moving off from one date never intended to use to another, not just adding on to a trip.

 

[Sandisw]

I would assume they could put in on same room type + check in date only. Extensions are normal and changing room type is basically a cancel and rebook anyway since you aren't using any of the original reservation anymore

That could be an option….just have a hard time seeing DVC coming up with rules that have all this vs that vs then situations.

My guess is it will be simple…and fairly black and white…

 

[TCRAIG]

No worries. In reality, I am sitting with my leg in a tension brace bored out of my mind and just being an agitator because I'm feeling snarky. I have no real problems with walking a reservation. It typically takes so much dedication that most people don't bother with it, but still like to complain about it. I don't actually even know how to do it.

I guess your tryout for the Rockettes is a no-go for now…