Change in cash reservation cancellation policy

[Mickey Fliers]

Sorry if this has already been discussed.

Just spoke with a CM from member services and he said that there is a big change coming in the cancellation policy of cash reservations made through MS. I was interested in booking a cash room for the marathon weekend and asked about cancellation in case a better discount comes along (AP or FL res). The CM said that the policy would soon be changing from 6 days no penalty to an automatic one night charge for cancellations.

So, needless to say, I didn't book the reservation. The thought that I would lose my one night deposit for canceling steered me right back to Disney reservations and the hope of a good discount.

 

[Sandisw]

Wow! That could be a hefty penalty. As long as rooms direct from Disney carry a more relaxing cancellation policy, then many members might think about going that route instead.

 

[JimMIA]

It doesn't seem logical that MS would have a more restrictive cash reservations policy than CRO.

I wonder if CRO has been slammed with numerous cancellations by people changing because of better discounts or extensions to "free" DDP, etc, and is instituting a system-wide charge for all cancellations?

 

[Mickey Fliers]

It doesn't seem logical that MS would have a more restrictive cash reservations policy than CRO.

I wonder if CRO has been slammed with numerous cancellations by people changing because of better discounts or extensions to "free" DDP, etc, and is instituting a system-wide charge for all cancellations?

Does seem like a pretty hefty penalty. He said that there should be an announcement as soon as the agreement is ironed out with CRO. He mentioned that they still didn't have their prices worked out for next year and the cancellation change would be made at that time.

 

[Chuck S]

I'm thinking DVC and CRO will have the same cancellation policies, as they work toward unifying the reservation systems.

 

[JWG]

Frankly, I'm surprised anyone is booking cash reservations through MS. With 30-40% off room rates, free dining, etc. I've not even thought about booking a cash resie through MS versus CRO. 25% given the other deals just doesn't seem like much on a $335+ room.

 

[Mickey Fliers]

Frankly, I'm surprised anyone is booking cash reservations through MS. With 30-40% off room rates, free dining, etc. I've not even thought about booking a cash resie through MS versus CRO. 25% given the other deals just doesn't seem like much on a $335+ room.

I have never booked a cash reservation with MS before, but I was hoping to book a room with some sort of discount until CRO hopefully releases a better deal.

 

[robinb]

I would think that the cancelation policy would be set when you make the reservation so if you made it now any changes to the policy should not effect you.

 

[JWG]

I have never booked a cash reservation with MS before, but I was hoping to book a room with some sort of discount until CRO hopefully releases a better deal.

I'd anticipate news on winter discounts coming soon, sometime first part of August mayber? Similar to timing last year.

 

[DenLo]

I would think that the cancelation policy would be set when you make the reservation so if you made it now any changes to the policy should not effect you.

I'd have to agree on the above post. In fact I pulled our reservation for Pop Century for September 29th, the night before our DVC. But now that I read the cancellation policy on our one night reservation, I'm not so sure.

Cancellation Policy: In order to receive a refund of your deposit, including credit card deposit transactions, notification of cancellation must be received 5 days prior to your arrival date. To cancel, call. . . . The cancellation and refund policy are subject to change.

I think there's a gotcha phrase at the end of the policy. And that Disney can change their policy any time they want. Whether they would is another story. I think that they would abide by the policy as printed and change future reservations.

 

[5forDiz]

Maybe MS is hoping to discourage members from making cash reservations through them ?; especially if MS records show a large percentage of cash reservations end up being canceled anyhow.

 

[oct2014]

I do my cash reservations through DVC because I usually am combining them with a points reservation (like if some nights are not available for points). I also cancel often because someone else cancels a points reservations and now I can book that way instead.

Caroline

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'm thinking DVC and CRO will have the same cancellation policies, as they work toward unifying the reservation systems.

I agree. If DVC goes to this for cash ressies, then my guess is CRO is doing it too.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm thinking DVC and CRO will have the same cancellation policies, as they work toward unifying the reservation systems.

I agree..I think the CM was a little confused on the changes coming.

DVC has previously stated that members will soon be charged a one-night deposit for cash bookings just like rooms booked through CRO. But nothing was said regarding more restrictive cancellation policies.

 

[DebbieB]

I would wait for an official announcement. That doesn't sound right. Almost any hotel accross the country allows for cancellations within so many days before arrival unless it is some kind of special event. I agree with Tim, I think the cm is confused with the new deposit requirements.

 

[delauzons]

I booked a cash reservation for VB Columbus Day weekend combined with a point reservation.I used cash reserve for higher weekend points and points for Sun and Mon. I was told 5 days before for cancellation

 

[kristenrice]

I just booked a Saturday night at HHI in April with the DVC cash discount. We don't have enough points for all 5 nights and $200+ tax is cheaper than "renting" 56 points for a Saturday night. I will continue to watch for discounts (AAA, Disney Visa, etc) but I would like to keep the nights "linked" and I can only do that if we book through MS. The CM cited the 5-day notice cancellation policy when I made my reservation so I am sticking to that. I'm hoping to cancel the reservation anyways. We are taking a 5-night trip and *if* we can get a 1BR (Su-Th) then I won't have to shell out any cash for the lodging. If there are no 1BR's available, then we'll end up doing 4 weeknights in a 2BR on points and arriving on Saturday (instead of Sunday) and paying cash for that night.

 

[VLee]

Frankly, I'm surprised anyone is booking cash reservations through MS. With 30-40% off room rates, free dining, etc. I've not even thought about booking a cash resie through MS versus CRO. 25% given the other deals just doesn't seem like much on a $335+ room.

The CRO discount is usually better to do IF you are making the entire reservation on cash; however, as another poster pointed out, the MS cash reservation can work great if you are combining it with a point reservation--especially a split point reservation. For example, the first two nights are on points, the third night was unavailable on points, but was available through MS on cash, and the remaining nights of your trip is booked on points. You would probably not want to move and a MS cash reservation can be linked with one on points--avoiding a move......which might be worth the extra money it takes.

There are also some resort accommodations that can be booked only through MS. I believe the "boardwalk" view is one of these...not sure if the boardwalk view can be made with MS cash reservations, but I think it can. I know it can't be booked through CRO.

 

[lark]

The CRO discount is usually better to do IF you are making the entire reservation on cash; however, as another poster pointed out, the MS cash reservation can work great if you are combining it with a point reservation--especially a split point reservation. For example, the first two nights are on points, the third night was unavailable on points, but was available through MS on cash, and the remaining nights of your trip is booked on points. You would probably not want to move and a MS cash reservation can be linked with one on points--avoiding a move......which might be worth the extra money it takes.

There are also some resort accommodations that can be booked only through MS. I believe the "boardwalk" view is one of these...not sure if the boardwalk view can be made with MS cash reservations, but I think it can. I know it can't be booked through CRO.

Good points. We just did a split stay at BLT where we did a DVC cash reservation for the two weekend nights. It turned out really good, because the cash rate was during value season, but on the DVC points calendar it was magic season. Basically, the cash rate was $6.45 per point, with tax and everything included. I figured it was a better use of points to hang on to them and instead use cash. With each promo, I tried to see if those 2 dates were available through CRO. I might have given up the linked reservation (and instead just begged the front desk not to move me) if I had found a significant discount like 40 percent. But I never saw a single MK view room pop up at a discounted rate. (Another reason why a BLT guest might not want a CRO reservation is that (as I understand it) you don't get access to TOTW on those days, but if you book through MS and pay with cash you have linked reservations and can use TOTW. Then again, the daily mousekeeping might be nice.)

For 2011, they have normalized the points a bit more between weekday and weekend. And the dramaticly low price per point was in large measure due to the odd season disparity between rack rate seasons and DVC seasons. Still -- late July is an interesting time when DVC points are near maximum but deluxe resorts drop to value season and so there is an opportunity for a heavy discount for those willing to use cash instead of point.

 

[Brian Noble]

Almost any hotel accross the country allows for cancellations within so many days before arrival unless it is some kind of special event. I agree with Tim, I think the cm is confused with the new deposit requirements.

While I do suspect this is a case of a CM inventing rules as s/he goes along, many other "resort" style destinations (as opposed to regular old hotels) *do* have a non-refundable deposit policy.