DVC Availability Checker

[DVC Dude]

FYI - I actually have been using this app before it was posted here and I love it.

I wanted to book a room at a resort that was sold out and put in my request. My only issue is that the current version of the app kept sending me notices that one of the days was available when I really wanted ALL the days so I could book the entire trip.

Then this afternoon, I got an email on my iPhone that the entire request at the exact location and room type was available so I immediately booked it.

Honestly, I have no idea how I could have booked this trip without this program unless I was checking multiple times per day and even then, I might have missed the window.

Bravo to the developer of this awesome service.

 

[DeDobber]

FYI - I actually have been using this app before it was posted here and I love it.

I wanted to book a room at a resort that was sold out and put in my request. My only issue is that the current version of the app kept sending me notices that one of the days was available when I really wanted ALL the days so I could book the entire trip.

Then this afternoon, I got an email on my iPhone that the entire request at the exact location and room type was available so I immediately booked it.

Honestly, I have no idea how I could have booked this trip without this program unless I was checking multiple times per day and even then, I might have missed the window.

Bravo to the developer of this awesome service.

This is what I love to hear. I'm sure there's a much higher cancellation rate on DVC than a normal hotel, as people make first choice selections and later trade them in for more preferable dates. It creates a need to stay on top of things.

I do want to add the "only email me when all days are available" requirement, but that's not really why I built this. In my opinion, people should be able to piece together a reservation using this tool in a way that would not be possible using waitlists. Did you have a waitlist for the same room/dates? If you did, then it says something about how waitlists are filled (perhaps only at the end of the day, for instance).

 

[Erineliza38]

Just used this app for the first time the other day and snagged a two bedroom at Beach Club for this coming Saturday. I was shocked and really excited. I would have never been able to get this room without the app. Thank you for making this available!!

 

[ludari]

I like the idea but don't have a need to make any reservations at the moment. I did test it for an actual confirm time I am booked at VGC and it seemed to work just fine. I can't wait to put this to use.

Do you plan on releasing this as an actual app at some point or keep it primarily as a web site?

 

[DeDobber]

I would love to make an app, but I live on constant fear that DVC will shut me down at some point. The hours are also starting to add up, so I'm starting to wonder if there's money in this thing somewhere.

 

[Brava Centauri]

Thanks for sharing this. I really like the feature that shows the last time a date was available. We were thinking ahead to Christmas 2014 and it was nice to search for Christmas 2013 and see when the dates filled up. Thanks again.

 

[DVC Dude]

I do want to add the "only email me when all days are available" requirement, but that's not really why I built this. In my opinion, people should be able to piece together a reservation using this tool in a way that would not be possible using waitlists. Did you have a waitlist for the same room/dates? If you did, then it says something about how waitlists are filled (perhaps only at the end of the day, for instance).

I am happy with the current site, but would be happier with the all days check box.

I never booked a room as I did not want to book SSR and then wait list for OKW (or any other location) as the only location that was available was SSR. I knew I could always get SSR and was holding out for OKW and actually missed booking it about 3 weeks ago when I checked on my own, so I figured the odds were in my favor that it would reappear again, but I was getting tired of checking 4x per day and your site was a HUGE time saver for me. I also took the opportunity to add some more options to check with your site that I was not doing with my online search myself. Remember that Disney limits the display of rooms when you make a request and it is a hassle to check them all.

I agree that studying how wait lists are matched would be an interesting experiment, but the wait lists may get filled before it is open to the public and on your site.

I would love to make an app, but I live on constant fear that DVC will shut me down at some point. The hours are also starting to add up, so I'm starting to wonder if there's money in this thing somewhere.

That is what google and facebook and twitter and amazon said at the beginning.

Thanks for sharing this. I really like the feature that shows the last time a date was available. We were thinking ahead to Christmas 2014 and it was nice to search for Christmas 2013 and see when the dates filled up. Thanks again.

I did not pay attention to those fields when I was searching, but now think they would be great historic trend making data points.

 

[DeDobber]

Yes, I also want to add history, as I find it fascinating. For example, the 2 BR at SSR on 12/8 has changed availability 78 times since the end of September! It seems to come available in the middle of the night a lot (12am-6am EST), and then gets booked between 5pm and 10pm.

| hour | times_available | times_unavailable |
| 00 | 10 | 2 |
| 01 | 6 | 0 |
| 02 | 0 | 0 |
| 03 | 3 | 0 |
| 04 | 7 | 0 |
| 05 | 4 | 0 |
| 06 | 1 | 0 |
| 07 | 1 | 1 |
| 08 | 0 | 2 |
| 09 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 1 | 2 |
| 13 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 0 | 3 |
| 16 | 0 | 1 |
| 17 | 0 | 3 |
| 18 | 0 | 6 |
| 19 | 2 | 7 |
| 20 | 0 | 6 |
| 21 | 0 | 3 |
| 22 | 2 | 1 |
| 23 | 1 | 0 |

 

[GDUL]

I love the app!!
My only suggestion/question is there anyway to have the check out date pop to same month as the check in date once you enter the check in date instead of it staying on the existing month?
Thanks for creating this

Great app! My only thought was as suggested above.

 

[drusba]

I would love to make an app, but I live on constant fear that DVC will shut me down at some point. The hours are also starting to add up, so I'm starting to wonder if there's money in this thing somewhere.

My initial reaction after seeing it and becoming familiar with what it does was that you should be selling this, but then, apparently like you, my second thought was what would Disney do if you did so? I don't know the answer. The one function it has that I think everybody wished they could do before is the ability to check availability for a room category, e.g., such as a 2BR, at all the WDW resorts at once. That function alone is worth its weight in gold. In fact the next thought I had is: why didn't Disney hire you to do its DVC reservation site?

 

[glvsav37]

Amazing tool. Thank you for creating this and sharing.

As long as we are adding requests--not even sure if it would be info avail---but it would be cool to be able to see "how many" rooms are avail on each day. Say there were "x" amount of 1br villas at the resort and as of last check "y" were avail.

Where do you make money on this? Right there. There would be a basic version and then a paid membership version with more power tools like this one and other filtering/saving options avail.

I could see this as a 1x year fee vs a month to month type membership.

I don't really think DVC can shut you down because you are taking general public info and just reorganizing it for a specific task that in the end DVC would profit from.


Shameless plug--if you want to take the next step and look to design this in a contemporary UX let me know. I've been a designer for both print and web for over 15 years. And yes, it's how I make my living, not a hobby.

 

[Brian Noble]

what would Disney do if you did so?

I'm going to guess that Disney's Terms for the DVC Member web site forbid scraping. They do for most of their other sites.

because you are taking general public info and just reorganizing it for a specific task that in the end DVC would profit from

Except that the information is not "general public". It is still owned by Disney, even if they provide a tool for Members to access it. They can set whatever limits on re-using that information that they want.

Disclaimer: not an IP lawyer, but have looked into similar questions in the past.

 

[childsplay]

I would tend to agree with Brain, without putting too fine a point on it, you would be taking information owned by Disney and profiting from it.
I still love though!

 

[DeDobber]

I do not have access to the number of rooms. In fact, I don't have access to anything that you don't have access to.

For kicks, I went ahead and made it so that the checkout date is automatically set to the checkin date + 2 weeks if it was previously set to be further out than that.

 

[DeDobber]

I would tend to agree with Brain, without putting too fine a point on it, you would be taking information owned by Disney and profiting from it.
I still love though!

I can find lots of threads on here where people talk about availability for rooms on specific dates and aren't punished for it. Nor are the owners of the board, who, in theory, are profiting off of this information being made available on their forum site. I'm not making anything except internet hugs from you guys.

 

[Sammie]

I can find lots of threads on here where people talk about availability for rooms on specific dates and aren't punished for it. Nor are the owners of the board, who, in theory, are profiting off of this information being made available on their forum site. I'm not making anything except internet hugs from you guys.

It is a fascinating app, but you are sharing info that DVC does not share with general public or even to members. I think there in lives the problem.

And actually the board moderators have asked that no one ask someone on here to check availability for others.

Besides the inventory changes so quickly, unless one is actually ready to book it might or might not be accurate.

I can see maybe doing it for oneself and that would probably fly under the DVC radar but once you share it to the public and it runs up hits to DVC's site through your account then pretty sure you are in violation of the Terms of Use for the DVC website.

I personally would not want to risk upsetting my personal standing with DVC for Interent hugs. JMO

 

[DeDobber]

What about what all the rental guys do? They get calls from non-members, then go look up availability for them before finding them a member who will rent the points, don't they? Seems like the same potentially-frowned-upon use of the member site data.

 

[Deb & Bill]

What about what all the rental guys do? They get calls from non-members, then go look up availability for them before finding them a member who will rent the points, don't they? Seems like the same potentially-frowned-upon use of the member site data.

They can only seek availability if they own at the resort the non-member wants to book.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

What about what all the rental guys do? They get calls from non-members, then go look up availability for them before finding them a member who will rent the points, don't they? Seems like the same potentially-frowned-upon use of the member site data.

DVC doesn't restrict owners from checking availability but they do not have it open for the general public to see. I'm not certain if you mean frowned upon by the DIS boards? I think that had a great deal to do with concerns of quantity of such requests flooding the boards and also that the data did not mean much unless someone was able and willing to book immediately.

 

[DeDobber]

DVC doesn't restrict owners from checking availability but they do not have it open for the general public to see. I'm not certain if you mean frowned upon by the DIS boards? I think that had a great deal to do with concerns of quantity of such requests flooding the boards and also that the data did not mean much unless someone was able and willing to book immediately.

I suppose all I'm really saying is that when a non-member calls a rental service, the rental service will tell the non-member whether their dates are available, essentially passing information from the DVC member website to the non-member. My website does the same thing.