Basic Strategies on How to Use the Waitlist, and Improve your Chances

[Frederic Civish]

I have 4 memberships, spread accross 3 different Use Years. This does make it a bit difficult to combine reservations at times. (Though it can usually still be done, even when different days on the same visit are from different memberships. Just call and ask them to combine or LINK together.) But having 4 memberships and 3 different use years accross 3 different resorts means that I can usually make MULTIPLE Waitlist requests, rather than just the usual TWO.

In general, at most resorts, the RESORT VIEW (Standard View) STUDIOS go first. And then the PREFERRED VIEW Studios. Then the Resort View 2 bedrooms before the Preferred View 2 bedrooms. And finally, the Resort View 1 bedrooms followed by the Preferred View one bedrooms. Of course, ALL of these things are happening at once, and it also deponds on the RATIOS of these different categories at each resort.

Learning to use the Waitlist is one of the best things you can do, when you are looking for a particular type of unit at a particular resort, and when you are still AT LEAST 2 or 3 or 4 months out. Of course, you are also much more likely to have Waitlist requests filled, if it is a LARGE resort with lots of rooms, since this tends to provide more turnover, to potentially fill your request. So SSR, OKW and AKV tend to top this list of places where you are likely to get your waitlist requests filled.

Waitlists increase my satisaction tremendously. Learn to use the Waitlists, and use them as early as possible. I have had great success with them. Always make sure to reserve SOMETHING, SOMEWHERE (If anything at all is available) and this will be your FALL BACK reservation if the waitlist doesn't come through. And then set up 1 or 2 waitlists and specify that they should REPLACE the current reservation, automatically, if they come through.

Good luck.

 

[Frederic Civish]

I asked a MS rep about this a few months ago and she was pretty adamant that it was every couple of minutes. She said it with authority so I took it as fact. But again who knows.

Stalking CAN be helpful and it works sometimes faster than Waitlists. I don't know why.

Somebody in our group just got a reservation for 5 days at Beach Club, scheduled for about 20 days from now, and they didn't use the waitlist (since we are within 30 days and it works less well when you get that close.). First, they got 2 days, then over the next week, they checked multiple times per day - I think they essentially had a browser open on their computer - and they were able to find and add one day at a time, until they got them all.

Even if you do this using multiple memberships or multiple contracts, the DVC people can generally 'link' them so that they can operate as ONE reservation. But they need to be for the exact same 'View' and type of room. Then you need to call them and have them do it, otherwise, you will probably be checking out of your room and back in to a different room, every time the reservation details 'change.'