Direct Incentives/Negotiation

[E2ME2]

I must have had a bad guide because she never mentioned anything about a Welcome Home trip. When working with my guide, I wasn't a DVC member yet so I couldn't login to check what resorts had availability. I very specifically asked about DVC availability for exact dates in December as I was figuring out where to buy, how many points to buy, whether or not to get a fixed week, etc. She seemed to be working with me and telling me what was or wasn't available for reservations, and even offering to temporarily hold one for me if was ready to purchase immediately.

Finally I purchased at RIV, but I wasn't told about the welcome home trip. I was trying to piece together a reservation. After much stalking, I finally pieced together a Poly + BLT split stay; DW and I had a wonderful vacation. A Welcome Home trip would have made it so much easier.

Yes - I never heard the term "Welcome Home Trip", until I found these boards, long after I purchased, Direct.

 

[Sandisw]

No. Sorry I didn't provide all the details before. I was buying at RIV. She was only looking at current availability at all the resorts, and not cash side Welcome Home availability at RIV. She left me a message that OKW was available for my dates. A couple of hours later when I got a break from work and got back in touch with her, OKW was no longer available.

The thing about the welcome home trip is that they can’t guarantee you any specific dates or place.

They will simply try to make it happen. But even their own availability has limits. Even RIV may not be available especially if you are going at a very busy booked up time like December.

 

[npatellye]

The thing about the welcome home trip is that they can’t guarantee you any specific dates or place.

They will simply try to make it happen. But even their own availability has limits.

Yep! We had a welcome home trip (scheduled 5 months out) and it was cancelled because Disney was closed in May 2020. Since they had scheduled it for us already, we didn’t get a re-do. I appreciate that they made it happen and found us rooms at RIV when we first bought our points.

 

[garegco]

I’ve been talking with a guide about a direct RIV purchase and she’s mentioned a couple of times about something called a “guide hold” where they find room availability for dates using room’s from Disney inventory that aren’t normally available for booking and make it a condition of purchase as long as you sign the contract within 48 hours of placing the hold.

I do have a cash stay booked for the fall and have been trying to get the additional $500 credit for it that others have mentioned, but the guide keeps saying there is no such credit. I’m thinking about asking to elevate to a manager to see if I make any traction. I am getting the $500 referral credit though.

 

[varyth]

We started talking to our guide about VGF mid-April and had already booked a vacation at Grand Californian for the end of April. We did ask our guide if there would be any additional incentive to wait and do an "on-site" tour, but they said no. Also didn't get any additional credit for having that cash stay booked, just the $500 from our friend's referral.

 

[WDWfantasy]

I do have a cash stay booked for the fall and have been trying to get the additional $500 credit for it that others have mentioned, but the guide keeps saying there is no such credit. I’m thinking about asking to elevate to a manager to see if I make any traction. I am getting the $500 referral credit though.

We stayed at POR in May and were offered a $500 credit if we purchased 200 pts or more within a certain time after returning home from our trip. I’ve heard of others getting the credit for purchasing before a scheduled cash trip. Not sure how many points your considering purchasing but 200 is definitely the ground floor on that one, while 150 is the minimum for the Dream It Forward $500 referral credit.

It’s actually called the “Pre Arrival Additional Credit Offer”.

 

[garegco]

We stayed at POR in May and were offered a $500 credit if we purchased 200 pts or more within a certain time after returning home from our trip. I’ve heard of others getting the credit for purchasing before a scheduled cash trip. Not sure how many points your considering purchasing but 200 is definitely the ground floor on that one, while 150 is the minimum for the Dream It Forward $500 referral credit.

It’s actually called the “Pre Arrival Additional Credit Offer”.

We are purchasing 375 points so we should meet the minimum. I’ll ask some additional questions about it from the guide tomorrow.