Day by Day Reservations

[willory549]

I have seen the topic "day by day reservations" touched upon in many emails, but never fully explained....is this where if you have a trip planned for say 5 nights and you are concerned about availabiliyt if you wait until 11/7 months from your actual check out date that you start with the first day of your trip and make a reservation then call the next day and do 2nd day and so on...does this make sense?? I am going to be trying for a GV and thought it would be safer to do it day by day (the way I understand it...)

 

[InstImpres]

You got it. Rumor has it that is best for Grand Villas and Standard Views at BW.

 

[disneydiz]

I always call day by day to book a standard view at BWV for Easter Week. I always call early in the day. Once, I forgot to call until 2:00 pm, and they only had one standard view left. It all depends on the time of year that you want to go, and it depends on how popular the unit you want is.

 

[Connears]

I have been a member since 1994 and have NEVER called day to day for any reservation (even during x-mas week or Easter week or week of July 4th). I usually stay at OKW, but have not had issues at 7 months at BCV or BWV either. The only thing that seems reasonable to do day to day is at BWV for standard view because there are so few. When we stayed there we had to get preferred view at 7 months. I think that it is not neccessary and holds up MS for other folks waiting to get reservations. You can call at your check-in day and ask MD how booked they are if you are overly concerned. I just don't see why people advocate this for all resorts!
Connears

 

[goofy4tink]

So....we are planning our first trip 'home' for Dec.'04, probably mid-Dec. Want a one bedroom, standard view. It seems that I'll be better off if I start booking day by day from my arrival date? Then do they tie all the days into one? Thanks, we're new at this and don't want to mess it up!!

 

[Deemarch]

In our case...SSR owners...There are going to be limited availabilities, too. So I guess that is why we are being told to do it day by day....That plus the fact that I happen to be very anal.

 

[willory549]

I am planning on doing grand villa at SSR--then trying to switch it to GV at OKW---we are going in Jan. 2005, but I am still leaning toward day by day because this is an extended family vacation and I am in charge of the reservations...I sure don't want to mess it up!

 

[dianeschlicht]

For a GV, I would definately do day by day at SSR, since it will be new. I think you will be taking your chances at OKW at the 7 month window, but I don't think it is impossible. I will be making my December ressie for a 2 bedroom for next December 1-10 on January 11. I don't feel a need to do it day by day at OKW for a 2 bedroom even though this is a busy time at the resorts.

 

[SamS]

We called last January day-by-day for a BCV studio from Xmas day to Jan 2nd. The first MS reservationist told us it was probably not necessary to call day-by-day, but of course couldn't make any guarantees. Rather than risk being shut out at such a busy time of year, we made 8 separate calls. We also called this past July for 2 proximate BCV studios for June - probably not necessary, but gave us peace of mind. This res necessitated 12 calls. We're relatively new to the DVC, and will probably gradually eliminate the day-by-day habit as we get used to the process.

 

[spiceycat]

for early December - yes - I would definitely call day-by-day - you can always ask the MS when you are making the first one - how they look - if she says no problem have plenty - you can generally wait to the last day - if she says this is the last one - I would call every day as early as possible for the rest of the reservations.

the summer vacation you will hardly ever have to do this...

anytime you want a standard view at BWV I will definitely ask the availability left.

when you first make a reservation for one night the MS should ask you if you are making more - then they know to just continue the reservation (add nights - not make a new reservation) - but always make sure that is what they are doing - you certainly don't want to have to check out and then back in (which is what would happen if they made a new reservation) - only when all the reservations have been made will you receive a confirmation.

now if being on a wait list doesn't bother you - then make all your reservations the last day.

If you can only go certain times of the year - like Spring Break or Thanksgiving - I would definitely call the first day and ask how they look - MS is pretty good about telling you if they think the availability would be gone fairly quickly. you can decide at that point what you want to do.

some weeks in Spring break - the place is almost vacany - other weeks you can't turn around for the crowds.

 

[JVL1018]

Originally posted by goofy4tink
So....we are planning our first trip 'home' for Dec.'04, probably mid-Dec. Want a one bedroom, standard view. It seems that I'll be better off if I start booking day by day from my arrival date? Then do they tie all the days into one? Thanks, we're new at this and don't want to mess it up!!

I book standard view all the time at the BWV and NEVER call day by day. A couple times I'll break it down into 2 calls, but usually just the end of the week. if you are not going at a crazy busy time, I wouldn't worry about it. If you do decide to call day by day, tell them tht you eill be calling back, and they do tie it into one ressie.

 

[goofy4tink]

Thanks for the helpful answers!!! And my dh wonders why I frequent these boards!!

 

[Caskbill]

Originally posted by goofy4tink
So....we are planning our first trip 'home' for Dec.'04, probably mid-Dec. Want a one bedroom, standard view. It seems that I'll be better off if I start booking day by day from my arrival date? Then do they tie all the days into one? Thanks, we're new at this and don't want to mess it up!!

Actually you call on what would be your theoretical check-out day for each date you want. You don't call on your arrival date.

Example: You want Dec 12th as the check-in date you would call Jan 13th which is 11-months from your <u>theoretical</u> checkout date for a single day of Dec 12th

For Dec 13th, you would call on Jan 14th, again the theoretical checkout date for a single day reservation.

On the first day tell them you are booking day-by-day and give them the full vacation plan. Each time you call they will add the additional day, and then will not close the full reservation until after the last day is book. This way you only get one room for your entire stay, and only one reservation confirmation will be sent to you.

Now, Shameless Plug:
If you don't have it, download my free vacation planner program. It will give you the dates to call for your day-by-day reservation, adjusting for weekends and holidays. You can click the link in the signature block below for more information.

 

[Desperado]

Day by day calling of MS helps drive up the number of CM required to staff the operation (currently at 100?) and increased use of this method helps increase our dues. From another thread:

Originally posted by timC
Wow. Is that true? I never knew it was that big. Check this out.

MS agents = 100
Assume 50 calls per day per agent.

= 5,000 calls/day
= 1,300,000 calls/yr
= AVERAGE 17 calls/yr per member (~75K members)

Now. I've got 420 points, and make 2 trips/yr, which is a little higher than average according to the polls on this forum... I make maybe 4 calls/yr.

What in the world is everyone making so may calls for?

Unless it is those targeted hard to get reservations, minimizing the use of this practice might benefit the wider-majority, IMHO.

Of course, then there's the "it's all about me" crowd. Before they flame, I'm only suggesting it may not be helpful to use this method when not needed, especially for normal reservations that will be readily available. You can always ask MS the first call if you'll really need to call day-by-day.

 

[Dean]

It is this type of access and system that drives the dues now, among other things. As in many situations we've discussed, this is another example where the flexibility has a cost. If it's allowed and it's important to you, you certainly could call day by day. I wouldn't hold off because it might cause them to hire one more person at MS. I doubt most members do it, heck, even the savvy ones on the board don't call day by day that often.