Day by Day booking

[Marc A.]

Could someone please explain this to me. The concept just seems insane!!!!
Thanks

 

[dairyqueenmom]

I made a reservation at 11months at AKV for a studio for Sept. That secured my reservation. What I really wanted was BWV for this trip. At exactly 7 months from our 1st day I called MS, the minute they opened and switched one night. Then the next morning I called again and switched another night, and so on for the next 4 mornings until I had my entire stay at Boardwalk. I was able to just book that night I needed and then they canceled that same night at Animal Kingdom. I had points to do that. You can also do this for you original reservation if your booking at a high occupancy time like Christmas or New Years. I did it because I wanted a value studio, they go fast because of the low points. You just need to let the CM know what you are doing. They do this alot.

 

[tiggerrr]

Could someone please explain this to me. The concept just seems insane!!!!
Thanks

A Day by Day booking is one where you call in every day at (usually) the 7 month window for each day of your trip. It is commonly used for hard to get resorts at peak times. Since the 7 month window is calculated from your check out date, a day by day booking basically treats every night as a "new" booking.

For example, if you are going from November 22 to November 29, you would call in on April 23 (7 mos from November 23) and book your first night, checking out on November 23. You do this for each night until you have booked the whole trip.

Tell Member Services that you are doing this while you are doing your booking each day and they can link it all together so that you only get one confirmation letter for your booking.

It may seem insane on the surface, but if you really, really want a certain place, you may have no choice. If you wait until April 29 to book your trip, you may find your nights are already gone for earlier dates, because a lot of other people used the 7 month window already.

 

[LisaS]

A Day by Day booking is one where you call in every day at (usually) the 7 month window for each day of your trip. It is commonly used for hard to get resorts at peak times. Since the 7 month window is calculated from your check out date, a day by day booking basically treats every night as a "new" booking.

Another (and I think easier) way to do it is to start with a 1-night reservation and then modify that reservation on each call to extend it by adding one more night. You end up with one reservation rather than a series of 1-night reservations that need to be linked. It makes each call after the first one very quick since all the MS CM needs to do is add a night to an existing reservation rather than create a new reservation each time.

Tell the MS CM that you are booking day by day when you make that first call. He/She will make a note of your real check-out date and hold your confirmation letter until you have added your last night.

 

[Marc A.]

But what about the problems when you can't get the 2nd or 3rd..... nights????? and say you do get the 5th, 6th???

 

[RLRDA]

But what about the problems when you can't get the 2nd or 3rd..... nights????? and say you do get the 5th, 6th???

I remember calling day by day in October (7 months out) for a May reservation at BCV. I wasn't sure if it was necessary to call day by day but we really wanted to stay at BCV for this trip and I didn't want to regret not calling DBD. The first day that I called I asked the CM what the availabilty looked like for the rest of my dates and I was told that I should be fine with the entire reservation i.e a good number of 2BRs available. I still called early each morning for my own piece of mind but it was smooth sailing.

I would imagine if you're calling at 7 months for a high demand time and smaller resorts, like December at VWL or F & W at BCV/BWV, the chances of some nights not being available are more likely. You would have to book the 2nd and 3rd night somewhere else and waitlist for the resort you want or change the entire reservation to a resort that can accomodate you for all of the nights.

 

[Kurby]

Could someone please explain this to me. The concept just seems insane!!!!
Thanks

it is insane - it;s the part of DVC i hate.

unless you are flexable with your dates it during peak periods it;s hard to get a long run of days.

i booked an April trip for someone in November - only 5 months out and got the full 8 days.

i dont think it;s as important to do it during times that most people dont go - ie Feb, May, early Oct, early Nov

 

[LisaS]

But what about the problems when you can't get the 2nd or 3rd..... nights????? and say you do get the 5th, 6th???

That generally does not happen when you are calling day by day at exactly 11 months out (and if it did, you would have a very good chance of getting those days on the wait list) but it can happen when calling day by day to try to switch resorts 7 months out. If you want to avoid that possibility, wait until 7 months from your real check out date and try to switch the entire reservation over at once. You may end up disappointed but at least you won't end up changing resorts every other night. Another suggestion is that if you want to stay somewhere that is very hard for a non-owner to book (standard or Boardwalk view at BWV, Concierge at AKV) go at a less busy time of year such as late January, early May or in September. If you have your heart set on a Boardwalk View room for New Years Eve and you don't own there, you are probably setting yourself up for disappointment.

But if you decide you really want to try for a BWV standard view or guaranteed Boardwalk view room during Food & Wine or early December and a preferred room at BWV just won't do, then call day by day and grab the days you can get and wait list for the rest. If you don't have enough points to hold your backup reservation while you wait for the waitlisted days to come through, that will be a problem because you cannot cancel days in the middle of an existing reservation. I suppose you could book your initial (backup) reservation as a series of 2-night reservations so that you can cancel any individual night as you secure those nights at your non-home resort.

Another option is to do what many of us do: if you know you will want to stay at a particular resort at a time of year that it is hard to book, buy a small add-on there and use banking and/or borrowing to book there in the 11-month window every other year or every third year. Many members added on at BCV or BWV just so they can book 11 months out for F&W for example.

 

[BroganMc]

Re: the insanity of the idea

I was very suspicious of the concierge rooms at AKV just for the idea that you'd see a feeding frenzy and not be able to get consecutive nights for a stay. But that seems to be working out ok for folks.

DBD ressies seem as dangerous and therefore totally bonkers, but my explorations into it have been remarkably painless. (Kinda like going to the dentist fearing gutwrenching pain and then being told, "We're all done.")

MS is very schooled in this. When you call that first time, you let them know your intended check-out date. They then open a reservation, book the first night and advise you to call back each day as you complete it. The final written confirmation is held until the booking is done. And I found that when I need a special room like HA with roll-in shower, they have already put that room on hold for the length of stay as I booked.

That first call is the longest. They check availability, take names of occupants, open the ressie. The subsequent days are extremely short. You just say "I'm calling for the next day in my DBD ressie for X date and location". Call lasts about 2 minutes, most of it spent listening to the CM at MS typing on his/her computer.

That said, I've only used DBD bookings thrice: twice for NYE and again to switch at 7 mos to BWV for opening of F&W festival. I called before my 7 mos. switch a few times to feel out availability for the time just so I didn't get my hopes artificially inflated. MS is very good about telling you what they have even if you can't book it yet.

 

[LisaS]

I was very suspicious of the concierge rooms at AKV just for the idea that you'd see a feeding frenzy and not be able to get consecutive nights for a stay. But that seems to be working out ok for folks.

I think it might be too early to tell. MS only started accepting concierge reservations about nine months ago. Those of us who booked a concierge room during that time have been competing against a small number of owners. Many owners wanted a guaranteed savanna view for their first stay at AKV so they didn't opt for concierge level. That left some concierge rooms open for non-members at 7 months. As AKV continues to sell and owners have had that first savanna view stay and are looking to try concierge (and some of those who tried it want it again next time) I think it will get very difficult. That could be the one booking category where you may not get all your nights 11 months out and the waitlist may not come through. Worst case, Member A gets every other night and Member B gets the alternate nights and each waits for the other to cancel so their wait list comes through.

 

[ead79]

I'm a new member, and I've only made 2 bookings total. One of those I did make day by day at the 11-month window. We own at AKV and really wanted to book a 1BR concierge villa during the very popular first two weeks of December. It was really a painless process other than having to make a note to remember to call each morning. It gave me peace of mind to call day by day instead of waiting until my checkout date to try to book the entire reservation at once.