Booking rooms wasn’t always this…challenging… was it?

[Brian Noble]

Part of the solution might be to continue to increase the points needed during parts of Fall Frenzy, and correspondingly reducing them from maybe July and August.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Part of the solution might be to continue to increase the points needed during parts of Fall Frenzy, and correspondingly reducing them from maybe July and August.

It almost seems like that has to happen at some point, doesn't it?!

 

[Sandisw]

It almost seems like that has to happen at some point, doesn't it?!

They did do some adjustments with the 21 and 22 charts? Or 22 and 23?

And, maybe further adjustments will help…but remember, the point chart balance against demand for resorts is about home resort and not trading.

They don’t really use what happens at 7 months. So, in this case, not sure how much impact it is on the person trying for popular resorts

The thing is that fall and the holidays are when they are and I don’t think you can really balance it out against summer when those reasons for going are not happening.

Another thing to remember is that since resale points bought post 2019 are locked out of RIV, that does increase some demand on the near park resorts.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I wonder if the Member Magic Beyond One Time Use for 24 points is creating this 7 month demand …They have to be used in the 7 month window.
Also July 4 and Halloween are on Friday nights this year.

 

[Tatebeck]

I think I said it in the OP, but I'll restate it... we go at the same time, every year. It's an anniversary trip for the grandparents.
We always have 3 family groups, sometimes we may get a 2br and a 1br, but it's often three 1BR units.

Our family unit goes at other times, but this is the only trip where we get more than 1 room.

We had a list of preferred locations, but it checked down to the 4th preferred option in a matter of minutes.

To summarize: If it's this bad now, how bad will it be in a few years? I would love the option to book a non-home resort 11 months out every now and then.

This is why it is important to buy where you want to stay. Or at least where you don't mind staying. Everyone who buys the cheapest points available to swap at 7 months may run into problems as the number of both direct points and resale SAP grows.

1. Buy at a resort you want to stay at.
2. Book a room at 11 months
3. Make a list of rooms you would want to try instead at 7 months
4. Try at 7 months for the room you want. If you don't get it, not a huge deal and can try again next time while still enjoying this stay.

 

[AdamsMum]

I would love the option to book a non-home resort 11 months out every now and then.

I know memberships are promoted on the premise that you can stay anywhere by moving at the 7 month window, but I think people should buy where they will be happy to stay if nothing else is available at the 7 month window.
I bought where I wanted to stay, and I book at the 11 month window. It would be unfair to me if people who don't own there were able to compete with me 11 months out. JMO
That isn't to say I've never booked another resort at 7 months, but if other resorts aren't available, I'm always happy to be at BWV and BCV.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I can remember when I could snag a value studio at AKL at 7 months. I did it at least 4-5 times in the early years. And I've gotten a Boardwalk view studio at Boardwalk two or three times, but not in the last 10 years. I even got a standard studio at Boardwalk at 7 months once.

 

[Sandisw]

I think I said it in the OP, but I'll restate it... we go at the same time, every year. It's an anniversary trip for the grandparents.
We always have 3 family groups, sometimes we may get a 2br and a 1br, but it's often three 1BR units.

Our family unit goes at other times, but this is the only trip where we get more than 1 room.

We had a list of preferred locations, but it checked down to the 4th preferred option in a matter of minutes.

To summarize: If it's this bad now, how bad will it be in a few years? I would love the option to book a non-home resort 11 months out every now and then.

Be aware that they can never allow owners of other resorts book the same time as non owners.

The POS guarantees owners a one month advantage over non owners.

 

[guy_incognito]

Be aware that they can never allow owners of other resorts book the same time as non owners.

The POS guarantees owners a one month advantage over non owners.

yes, hence why I said "I would love to" i.e. a benefit, a perk, a future motivator to demotivated owners. They add perks all the time, sort of.

 

[guy_incognito]

I can remember when I could snag a value studio at AKL at 7 months. I did it at least 4-5 times in the early years. And I've gotten a Boardwalk view studio at Boardwalk two or three times, but not in the last 10 years. I even got a standard studio at Boardwalk at 7 months once.

We stay at SSR... a LOT. I don't mind it, but that's the reality.

 

[guy_incognito]

I know memberships are promoted on the premise that you can stay anywhere by moving at the 7 month window, but I think people should buy where they will be happy to stay if nothing else is available at the 7 month window.
I bought where I wanted to stay, and I book at the 11 month window. It would be unfair to me if people who don't own there were able to compete with me 11 months out. JMO
That isn't to say I've never booked another resort at 7 months, but if other resorts aren't available, I'm always happy to be at BWV and BCV.

But why not a 1-time allowance, for instance? Or during a window, etc.. there are a thousand ways to slice it. When sales slow down, they'll have to start throwing some other perks. We have AKL and it's nice, but after 12 years of it, we realize we'd rather be near a park or DS. It's just a conversation.

 

[Brian Noble]

They add perks all the time, sort of.

They do. But this particular perk is forbidden by the governing documents---the contract states in black and white that there will always be a home resort priority of at least one month. It is possible that they could do something halfway---offer a limited number of "9 month" bookings, for example, but I am not sure that the governing documents as written would allow it.

I do own in another system that does something similar for their owners "with status" (meaning: bought many points from the developer). In that system, home resort bookings are at 13 months, and non-home bookings are at 10. Owners with status can book a limited number of vacations at 11 months at most of the non-home resorts---the number you get each year is determined by your status tier.

 

[guy_incognito]

This is why it is important to buy where you want to stay. Or at least where you don't mind staying. Everyone who buys the cheapest points available to swap at 7 months may run into problems as the number of both direct points and resale SAP grows.

1. Buy at a resort you want to stay at.
2. Book a room at 11 months
3. Make a list of rooms you would want to try instead at 7 months
4. Try at 7 months for the room you want. If you don't get it, not a huge deal and can try again next time while still enjoying this stay.

Contracts are long. Kids age fast. What is appealing today isn't the same a decade later.

What you state is LITERALLY what we do every year. It doesn't make it any less frustrating.

We always grab AKL because we can (usually), and then grab rooms or waitlist what we want later. In this human being's opinion, which doesn't have to match your own, it has become increasingly difficult to make reservations for multiple rooms compared to previous years.

Even with a list of resorts, which we had, it is irrelevant when you can't see real time inventory online to know if the number of rooms is there, and any number of factors. Having phone lines open an hour after the booking window opens is also a little inconvenient.

Like many things with Disney, it has become less and less focused on customer satisfaction as time passes. These are easy fixes.

 

[Brian Noble]

What are those easy fixes?

I ask because I don't think there are any. The core problem is that more people want those rooms than there are rooms to be had. No matter what DVC does, and no matter how those rooms are allocated, someone is going to be disappointed. There might be easy fixes that make you happier, but that's going to make someone else less happy, and DVC is obligated to serve the members as a whole, not individuals.

The only way to solve the core problem is to have fewer people want those rooms. Cutting back on spec renting might help at the margins. Building a super popular new resort might also. Arguably, they've been trying to do that. It's also possible that we are still working through the COVID backlog---I know I am, and I can't be the only one. Combine that with significant demand for domestic travel over the last few years, and owners have been more proactive at booking their time.

Maybe the best thing you an hope for is a recession, but that's an odd thing to want.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Contracts are long. Kids age fast. What is appealing today isn't the same a decade later.

What you state is LITERALLY what we do every year. It doesn't make it any less frustrating.

We always grab AKL because we can (usually), and then grab rooms or waitlist what we want later. In this human being's opinion, which doesn't have to match your own, it has become increasingly difficult to make reservations for multiple rooms compared to previous years.

Even with a list of resorts, which we had, it is irrelevant when you can't see real time inventory online to know if the number of rooms is there, and any number of factors. Having phone lines open an hour after the booking window opens is also a little inconvenient.

Like many things with Disney, it has become less and less focused on customer satisfaction as time passes. These are easy fixes.

The fix is to own points at more than one home resort.

 

[Tatebeck]

Contracts are long. Kids age fast. What is appealing today isn't the same a decade later.

What you state is LITERALLY what we do every year. It doesn't make it any less frustrating.

We always grab AKL because we can (usually), and then grab rooms or waitlist what we want later. In this human being's opinion, which doesn't have to match your own, it has become increasingly difficult to make reservations for multiple rooms compared to previous years.

Even with a list of resorts, which we had, it is irrelevant when you can't see real time inventory online to know if the number of rooms is there, and any number of factors. Having phone lines open an hour after the booking window opens is also a little inconvenient.

Like many things with Disney, it has become less and less focused on customer satisfaction as time passes. These are easy fixes.

It sounds like you are trying to book multiples of the most popular room types. Usually that means studios. Is there a reason you are avoiding the bigger rooms that can hold more people or the view categories that are more expensive? Are you just trying to book multiples of the cheapest view category studio to save points? That will definitely be hard to do a at some resorts.

As far as booking by phone, they don't want to you to. That's why the online system exists and why it opens for booking before member services. The online system is faster anyway.

And there actually IS a way to see the actual number of rooms available after you search, it has been explained in a couple other threads and I managed to get it to work recently so I could see the number of 3br Grand Villas available at 7 months for an upcoming trip with the 7 month window approaching.

As others have said there is no easy fix if you are trying to book the most popular room type (cheap studios). It can help to own at multiple resorts so you are checking at 2+ resorts at 11 months instead of 1

 

[AdamsMum]

But why not a 1-time allowance, for instance? Or during a window, etc.. there are a thousand ways to slice it. When sales slow down, they'll have to start throwing some other perks. We have AKL and it's nice, but after 12 years of it, we realize we'd rather be near a park or DS. It's just a conversation.

I get that it's just a conversation, I mean no offence. However, we all need to make that decision when we buy in, where do I want my points to be. Booking is difficult at various times of the year at various resorts, and booking multiple rooms at a popular (or any) time of year makes it even more difficult. And you're right, it never used to be this difficult but maybe that's because with every new resort there are so many new owners. Everyone was told they can book any resort at 7 mths out. I'm sure sales reps don't point out that it's hit and miss, you might be lucky, you might not.

To allow thousands of other members a 1 time allowance to book non home resorts at the 11 month window makes it unfair to the owners who are trying to book their home resort window. This isn't a perk, the rules for booking are defined in the contract we sign. As far as sales slowing down, I thought the resale restrictions on Riviera would be the end of it, and the outrageous direct price increases haven't seemed to hurt either. For some reason people keep buying.

I own at BC and BW. One of the main reasons to buy there aside from loving the resorts, was the ability to not wait in a parking lot with thousands of other weary guests for a bus, I can walk to my room from Epcot. I also frequently go in the fall, sometimes I can't get the lower points room I want because it's a popular time, walking, limited number of rooms, maybe other reasons. There are drawbacks to owning there. Many don't buy because they expire in 16-17 years. When my ownership has expired, those people have many more years to keep booking DVC. I don't. I like many resorts, but I love BW/BC. When you decide on a resort, you are doing so (hopefully) with the knowledge that you must wait until 7 months to book resorts you don't own.

Everything we do has pros and cons. None of us are clairvoyant so to know that we'll still like a resort in 50 years.

Some people solve your dilemma by purchasing several resorts, some have sold what they previously owned and purchased a different resort that they prefer, but getting multiple rooms is difficult anywhere anytime.

 

[sndral]

…
We’ve gone the same week in October for 14 years, it has gotten noticeably harder in my opinion. I think reservation-squatting has become worse than ever.

I’m not sure what ‘reservation-squatting’ is. I book my home resorts at 11 months & I don’t change at 7 months but I don’t think of choosing to keep the reservation I am contractually guaranteed home resort access to to be ‘squatting.’ If more owners are doing the same, then there’s less inventory for those hoping to move at 7 months.
In early years DVC built 4 resorts (OKW 1991, BWV 1996, BR 2000, BC 2002) & sold around 23 million points.
Then they built the behemoth SSR in 2004 w/ it’s 14 million points, they also added AKV 2007 & BLT 2009 - those 3 resorts more than doubled the points in the DVC system adding around 27 million more points. Many long time owners at the time complained about the impact all of those SSR owners had on 7 month reservations.
Since you bought in 2012, DVC has been building/converting more resorts, VGF 2013 & 2023, POLY 2015 & 2024, CCV 2017, & Riv 2019, which has steadily added more points, to the tune of 22 million once Riv & Poly tower are sold out.
The inevitable result is that an ever increasing number of people are eligible to try & change resorts at 7 months, thus getting a reservation at resorts that are popular - due to a more preferred location &/or lower point charts - inevitably has become more challenging at 7 months.
It doesn’t help that during that time renting DVC points has become a more common practice amplifying demand for popular times/resorts & perhaps distorting booking behavior since people who rent points during home resort booking don’t change at 7 months.

 

[guy_incognito]

I’m not sure what ‘reservation-squatting’ is. I

It's booking dates that you "might" want, just so you can have them if you choose to use them, for instance. Or in the case of renters, booking high-value dates specifically to market your points.

 

[Sandisw]

yes, hence why I said "I would love to" i.e. a benefit, a perk, a future motivator to demotivated owners. They add perks all the time, sort of.

This wouldn’t be a perk, though…that was my point.

They can’t change the contract like that. Owners are guaranteed the one month advantage.

The only way it could go away is if owners at the resort to make that material change.

DVD can’t offer non resort owners the ability to trade into another resort until at owners have at least a one month head start.

I even believe it is part of the timeshare law for those that have a deeded interest in a specific resort, which is what we have for all resorts except CFW, which is part of a trust with a RTU plan.

Now, they can amend home resorts windows up or down…but as a VGF, RIV, and SSR owner I have to be given my one month at each of those over someone who doesn’t own there