Confused about Walking your Reservation

[Sammie]

Ok, I will admit I have had a very hard couple of months lately at work and maybe due to stress, my brain is just addled, but for the life of me, I see no advantage to this "walking" a reservation.

It was being discussed in the very long thread about point reallocation and I did not want to get it off topic, so can someone please make my dense head, understand the advantage to this.

Because to me, even if you book a reservation in advance of what you really need, as you cancel a day and walk forward, when you try to reserve that "new" day it is going to have to be available in order to walk forward.

So where is the advantage?

And anyone willing to try to explain this yet again to me, talk slowly.

 

[Chuck S]

Your new day is basically guaranteed to be available. Let's say there are 3 units available, Unit 1 is reserved January 1 for 7 nights. Unit 2 is reserved January 2 for 7 nights, and unit 3 is reserved January 3 for 7 nights.

If the person that reserved Unit 1 calls on January 3rd or 4th to extend, they will get the extension, as Unit 1, if reserved for 7 nights On January 1st won't go back into inventory to be reserved by a new person calling until January 8. It can't be, as it is occcupied until then. While DVC doesn't reserve actual rooms at time of booking, there is still one room removed from the availability pool for that reservation.

 

[rwcmath]

People who called in on January 31 to book Deceber 31 did not have the full inventory available. Anyone who called in days or up to a week before could have booked December 31 before them. So, if I really didn't want December 20, but I walked my reservation since then, I was able to get December 31 a week before others were simply calling in for that date. All I have to do is cancel the days leading up to what I really want. I can do this as I walk along. They are letting members cancel days in the beginning of the booking with no restrictions whatsoever. Some have mentioned if you go up to 20 cancellations you could be flagged as a commercial renter, but that could be an urban legend.

 

[Sammie]

People who called in on January 31 to book Deceber 31 did not have the full inventory available. Anyone who called in days or up to a week before could have booked December 31 before them. So, if I really didn't want December 20, but I walked my reservation since then, I was able to get December 31 a week before others were simply calling in for that date. All I have to do is cancel the days leading up to what I really want. I can do this as I walk along. They are letting members cancel days in the beginning of the booking with no restrictions whatsoever. Some have mentioned if you go up to 20 cancellations you could be flagged as a commercial renter, but that could be an urban legend.

when one books a reservation how many days can you book when you call on Dec. 20, if it's only 7, I don't see how moving it ahead and canceling one on the front end gives any advantage over someone that calls on Jan 24 to book Dec. 24-31.

Whether booking initally or cancelling one day and adding another, you can only be 11 months plus 7 correct?

Sorry I seem really dense about this but I truly must be missing the way it is done.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I don't really want December 23, I really want to stay December 29 to January 3rd. I call on January 23rd and book December 23 to the 30th. The next day I add on the 31st. I may not be as concerned about getting the rest of the stay, so I may not call day by day to add on eventually through January 3. At some time in the process, I cancel the 23 to the 28th because of airfare, or family concerns. The net result is that I booked my NYE stay before others could legitimately (I know, everyone could legitimately walk, but then we would have a problem!) do it.

Bobbi

 

[JasonDVC]

I don't really want December 23, I really want to stay December 29 to January 3rd. I call on January 23rd and book December 23 to the 30th. The next day I add on the 31st. I may not be as concerned about getting the rest of the stay, so I may not call day by day to add on eventually through January 3. At some time in the process, I cancel the 23 to the 28th because of airfare, or family concerns. The net result is that I booked my NYE stay before others could legitimately (I know, everyone could legitimately walk, but then we would have a problem!) do it.

Bobbi

OMG! so it's really 11 months minus 7 days

 

[Sammie]

I don't really want December 23, I really want to stay December 29 to January 3rd. I call on January 23rd and book December 23 to the 30th. The next day I add on the 31st.

Thanks Bobbi, I am afraid this is like word Math problems, which I was horrible at.

I guess what I am still not seeing is, you have to call on the Jan. 24th to get Dec. 31 added to your reservation. What advantage do you have to actually get that day added on, over someone that calls at the same time simply to book Dec. 24-31.

Both have to call on Jan. 24, correct?

 

[Chuck S]

Thanks Bobbi, I am afraid this is like word Math problems, which I was horrible at.

I guess what I am still not seeing is, you have to call on the Jan. 24th to get Dec. 31 added to your reservation. What advantage do you have to actually get that day added on, over someone that calls at the same time simply to book Dec. 31.

Both have to call on Dec. 24, correct?

You have an advantage because your room is already removed from available inventory. If you called on January 23, and reserved Dec 23 to Dec 30, your room would not be available to anyone else to try to reserve until January 31 (11 months from your December 31 check out day). They can't start a "new reservation" for that room until until January 31, but you can extend it on January 24.

Basically, you simply are not giving up the room, and placing it back in available inventory on December 31, but are extending your stay using the 11+7 day window.

 

[Sammie]

You have an advantage because your room is already removed from available inventory. If you called on January 23, and reserved Dec 23 to Dec 30, your room would not be available to anyone else to try to reserve until January 31 (11 months from your December 31 check out day). They can't start a "new reservation" for that room until until January 31, but you can extend it on January 24.

Basically, you simply are not giving up the room, and placing it back in available inventory on December 31, but are extending your stay using the 11+7 day window.

ok this I get, thanks. It works because the resort is sold out, that is what I was not taking into consideration.

 

[bobbiwoz]

OMG! so it's really 11 months minus 7 days

For those people booking on the exact 11 month date, yes, they actually are competing with everyone who began the process 7 days ahead of time, whether or not those early bookers really want the rooms then.

Bobbi

 

[WolfpackFan]

I have never understood this concept either. So basically this is a way to take advantage of the system so that you can get your reservation before anyone else can. Seems rather selfish to me. If it gets to the point where I have to do this to get my reservation, I'm just going to sell my membership.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I have never understood this concept either. So basically this is a way to take advantage of the system so that you can get your reservation before anyone else can. Seems rather selfish to me. If it gets to the point where I have to do this to get my reservation, I'm just going to sell my membership.

Wow, this seems pretty drastic. I walked my reservation for Dec and it was really less of an issue than doing day by day booking the year before calling at 6 AM pacific time 13 days in a row.

This year, we wanted to go for a long weekend in Dec, arriving on a Wed or Thur and leaving on a Monday or Tuesday. Our preference was the first weekend, but the 2nd weeked was also okay. We wanted a BWV SV studio. We need to fly so we need an extra day or so on each end for flexibility when we book flights later in the year.

Here's how I walked my reservation:

I called on 1/3 to book 12/3 to 12/9. My fault, but I didn't call until 1 pm eastern (10 am pacific). 12/3 was sold out, but I was told that 12/4 - 12/9 was available.

I called back on 1/4 at 9 am eastern and booked 12-4 -12/10; I also waitlisted for 12/3.

I keep checking the WL and by 1/9, it had not come thru. I called back on 1/9 and cancelled 12/4-12/7 and booked 12/11-12/15.

So now we are arriving to stay in a BWV SV studio on 12/8 and departing on 12/16. As I said above, we will probably drop more days when we book our flights. By walking our reservation, we didn't have to sacrifice an almost complete reservation on one set of days to take the chance on getting a complete reservation on other days. -- Suzanne

 

[JasonDVC]

For those people booking on the exact 11 month date, yes, they actually are competing with everyone who began the process 7 days ahead of time, whether or not those early bookers really want the rooms then.

Bobbi

While I will not be going to drastic measures as some have posted, I do think this is a shady practice. That said, I'm not sure how DVC can stop it.

I just practiced this routine on my calendar for my trip in 2010. You know what they say..."When in Rome..."

 

[Hopefully]

I have never understood this concept either. So basically this is a way to take advantage of the system so that you can get your reservation before anyone else can. Seems rather selfish to me. If it gets to the point where I have to do this to get my reservation, I'm just going to sell my membership.

I too think it is taking advantage of the system and drastic. I will not sell my membership, but I will not adopt this practice either.

 

[wdw1972]

I too think it is taking advantage of the system and drastic. I will not sell my membership, but I will not adopt this practice either.

I totally agree! I consider the behavior as scumbaggish, if I may invent a new word In any event, my opinion of anyone who'd purposely cheat the system to get an unentitled edge up over another member is lower than dog poop scraped off my shoe. I certainly won't sink to that level. Hopefully dvc will slam the door on this practice soon.

 

[bobbiwoz]

While I will not be going to drastic measures as some have posted, I do think this is a shady practice. That said, I'm not sure how DVC can stop it.

I just practiced this routine on my calendar for my trip in 2010. You know what they say..."When in Rome..."

MS is aware. If there are restrictions on the number of waitlists, maybe a restriction on the number of times a reservation can be altered. Someone here talked about walking a reservation way back...August? October? I don't remember for a December vacation. I think that if that's the truth (who knows if what's said here is) that's CRAZY and certainly taking more of MS's time than necessary or should be allowed.

Bobbi

 

[anna08]

I am saddened to read that folks would intentionally walk reservations. Where did the golden rule go???

 

[Sammie]

I am saddened to read that folks would intentionally walk reservations. Where did the golden rule go???

DVC broke it, others followed suit.

I agree with WolfpackFan if I truly must resort to this type of desperate measure to book a vacation, something is wrong with the system. It is simply too much work and I probably don't have enough points to even consider it.

I will sell mine too, which is on my mind lately anyway, and vacation elsewhere with the occassional stay at the Grand Floridian.

 

[TigerLaw]

Sammie brings up a good point - it would seem to me (a DVCer w. just enough knowledge to be dangerous) that to do this you have to have enough points (and not using borrowed points) so once again, this favor the 1000+ point members once again correct? (for example, I as a 250 point person couldn't really do this for a week-long vacation could I?)

 

[Anal Annie]

Sammie brings up a good point - it would seem to me (a DVCer w. just enough knowledge to be dangerous) that to do this you have to have enough points (and not using borrowed points) so once again, this favor the 1000+ point members once again correct? (for example, I as a 250 point person couldn't really do this for a week-long vacation could I?)

I think it might depend on your UY and the size unit you want. Personally, I am not really interested in this walking thing as it sounds too paranoid & time consuming...but we also don't have any plans to go over NYE at this time so I've got time to watch & read how things go over the next couple of years. But anyway, we also only have 250 pts. and we have a Dec UY. So if we WERE going to call in January to book Dec. at 11 months, providing we hadn't borrowed any of these new points, we'd have a fresh set of points to work with in January and would have enough to walk a studio at SSR for 6 nights (well, based on the 2009 point charts we could do 6...with the new charts for 2010 we'd be short 6 points and could only reserve 5 nights by walking). But yes, you could almost pull it off. Technically, if you started walking in Dec. in the "choice" season, BEFORE the "premier" season points start you might be able to get thru it with enough points. Depends on your exact plan (dates).