DVC must stop rentals.....

[Sandisw]

One more comment because members seem to push this idea of “you knew it when you bought.” I did as much research as I thought I possibly could before buying. Did I know about rental boards? No. There are just some things you won’t even know to research as a new member. It wouldn’t even occur to me that people spec rent or over-reserve multiple rooms at a time, because that is something I wouldn’t even consider. So I resent being told I should have known that I wouldn’t be able to book my home resort at 7:02 at 11 months. Brokers certainly won’t tell you this.

I am not sure that is what people are trying to do. It’s just that once you are an owner you get to know more about the system and how other owners use their points to maximize ownership.

I do agree that highlighting how hard certain reservations will be is not going to happen unless you find it in your research. Many new owners think DVC booking might match cash booking and it doesn’t.

But, the reality is that certain times of the year, booking at 11 months is needed in a point based system to secure certain rooms. And things have changed over the 13 years I have owned,

I used to have no problem getting SV studios at BWV for Columbus Day weekend when I owned there…then I couldn’t…so I had to adjust.

The great thing about the boards is you will learn and figure out how to maximize your ownership!

 

[Alicia22]

I am not sure that is what people are trying to say. Just once you are an owner you get to know more about the system and how other owners use their points to maximize ownership.

I do agree that highlighting how hard certain reservations will is not going to happen unless you find it in your research. Many new owners think DVC booking might match cash booking and it doesn’t.

But, the reality is that certain times of the year, booking at 11 months is needed in a point based system to secure certain rooms. And things have changed over the 13 years I have owned,

I used to have no problem getting SV studios at BWV for Columbus Day weekend when I owned there…then I couldn’t…so I had to adjust.

The great thing about the boards is you will learn and figure out how to maximize your ownership!

I agree! However, everyone is not nearly as polite as you with their comments. One thing I have learned is that I need more points like you!

 

[tjkraz]

Okay. In all my years I have never done anything like this. I just don't agree with grabbing up rooms you aren't going to use. To each their own though.

Dictating members' travel confidence level before booking is a non-starter. I understand the philosophical objections to some rental practices, but neither DVC nor fellow members have any right to set conditions for making a personal reservation. Especially not in the interest of giving you more time to make up your mind. You could have booked 5 months sooner.

 

[PrincessMati]

I agree! However, everyone is not nearly as polite as you with their comments. One thing I have learned is that I need more points like you!

They would be polite if we were into renting points, I guess. I have been a member for a year now and already need more points

 

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

To be clear I have no problem with what Sandisw is doing or someone booking for her friend Sally even if she isn’t going. What I was talking about are people who book every Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter with the INTENTION of selling it. Booking for Sally upfront is a fair use of points. Booking and then changing names *frequently* is a sign of speculative rentals, particularly in high demand times.

 

[xdan0920]

Dictating members' travel confidence level before booking is a non-starter. I understand the philosophical objections to some rental practices, but neither DVC nor fellow members have any right to set conditions for making a personal reservation. Especially not in the interest of giving you more time to make up your mind. You could have booked 5 months sooner.

I said it was unproductive and I meant it.

 

[PrincessMati]

Actually, it's not renters who got priority over owners. No one got priority. The owner who rented out the reservation had the exact same opportunity as any other owner and chose to use their points in this manner.

I wish you luck as a new member and hope you get many happy years out of your ownership. But if you allow issues like renting to get under your skin, your head is going to explode over walking, lock-off premiums, point reallocations, website issues, 50% borrowing limits and long hold times for member services. It's best not to allow those things to bother you because none of them are within your control. You will enjoy your membership so much more if you direct your focus on how to use it to make you happy.

I have read of those issues already now that I found Disboards. Have been to WDW and DL many times and always enjoyed everything despite all the mess that comes with it. Thank you! Don't worry that I'm still as excited as the day I signed all the papework and not regrets at all these boards allow us to express our thoughts even though other people don't agree with us

 

[Marionnette]

I have read of those issues already now that I found Disboards. Have been to WDW and DL many times and always enjoyed everything despite all the mess that comes with it. Thank you! Don't worry that I'm still as excited as the day I signed all the papework and not regrets at all these boards allow us to express our thoughts even though other people don't agree with us

Yeah. No worries. I find that it's a lot less stressful if you ignore how the sausage is made and just enjoy the meal.

 

[Genie+]

One of things I love best about DVC is flexible planning. We can all speculate 100% of our points. Trying to disrupt that would ruin the system imo. I like being able to switch resorts at 7 months and finding availability as other resort owners do the same, tacking on a few days extra for better flight picks, or getting home resort advantage in exchange for knowing what we want to do 11 months out. Some people buy Guaranteed Weeks cause they aren't into all that.

 

[Leight19]

I agree with concern of spec renting as an issue because I think it blurs line into commercial renting and can negatively impact booking patterns. My issue is any solution to prevent it based on number of bookings or name changes imo would be more negative then the practice. The only solution I would be supportive of is if they tried to regulate from advertisment side to some degree (e.g. they target people who are openly posting multiple rentals that’s clear commercial use).

On the other topic I can’t remotely see how anyone would have problem with what Sandisw does. The idea of booking multiple trips and canceling what you don’t need isnt abuse but is way the system is designed to function and is as far from abuse as I can imagine. The whole system is based on booking your resort at 11mos then trying to switch at 7mos. This almost always results in me booking multiple trips over different weeks at different places as I try to string days together that become a possible trip. I’m not sure anyone is recommending changes but any change to limit ability of guests to do this would be complete destruction of the product.

 

[wnielsen1]

Can somebody enlighten me on which studios book up consistently at exactly 8 AM 11 months out besides AKV value and club rooms? I'm not talking CCV studios in December, I mean consistently throughout the year.

 

[Marionnette]

Can somebody enlighten me on which studios book up consistently at exactly 8 AM 11 months out besides AKV value and club rooms? I'm not talking CCV studios in December, I mean consistently throughout the year.

Those are the only studios that book up right at (or before) 8 AM 11 month out throughout the year. All others tend to be available for longer.

 

[Alicia22]

Can somebody enlighten me on which studios book up consistently at exactly 8 AM 11 months out besides AKV value and club rooms? I'm not talking CCV studios in December, I mean consistently throughout the year.

I don’t think it matters that they don’t ALL book up at every date. What matters to people like me is that SOME (like the ones you mention) book up at 7am and then show up on rental threads for non-members to use and profiteers to abuse. We all get that there are more desirable rooms and dates and that these will go fast. I’m fine if I don’t get the popular room, but I would prefer it go to an actual member who wishes to vacation there. This is the spirit of DVC.

 

[wnielsen1]

Those are the only studios that book up right at (or before) 8 AM 11 month out throughout the year. All others tend to be available for longer.

Thank you. I keep hearing about how people can't get studios at 11 months and can't help but wonder if I was missing something or all of these people are trying for AKV value studios.

 

[lowlight]

On the other topic I can’t remotely see how anyone would have problem with what Sandisw does. The idea of booking multiple trips and canceling what you don’t need isnt abuse but is way the system is designed to function and is as far from abuse as I can imagine. The whole system is based on booking your resort at 11mos then trying to switch at 7mos. This almost always results in me booking multiple trips over different weeks at different places as I try to string days together that become a possible trip. I’m not sure anyone is recommending changes but any change to limit ability of guests to do this would be complete destruction of the product.

I don't think what Sandisw does is wrong, certainly not per the rules, nor is she a bad person for doing it. It's the same with people who book 20 ADR's and cancel most of them as their plans solidify, they aren't doing anything wrong. The problem arises when everyone starts doing it and the system is already stressed due to demand. Like Genie+, it may be great if only a handful of people use it, but when everyone is using it, it's a mess. If everyone walked their week 6 months out, it would be a mess. If everyone booked 20 ADR's and canceled all but a few 24 hours before, it would be a mess. If everyone booked 20 DVC reservations and canceled all but a few 31 days before, it would be a mess. I don't think anyone should be blaming someone else for taking full advantage of their own membership they paid for, and I am not asking anyone to change behaviors because it's none of my business, but we should also recognize that these behaviors at this point in time are certainly creating issues for people. We can argue about how widespread the issues are, but they are still there. I know someone is going to come on here and say "I get all the ADR's I want every time I go", but to that, I will say that we live different realities I suppose.

 

[wnielsen1]

23 pages in and I'm still trying to figure out what the problem is. I'm not talking about the OP. I get OP's issue. They were used to booking Jersey week 6 months out and the availability wasn't there this year. OK, totally get that. But there seems to be a lot of other comments on availability. For many of these other comments, what is the actual problem? Is the problem you can't get what you want at 11 months? AKV value studios were hard to get 5 years ago. That hasn't changed. Are there other studios that are harder to get now at 11 months as compared to pre-pandemic? Or are people finding that their SSR points aren't quite as useful at the 7 month window? I know people want to blame renting, but it's just one factor out of many that all add up to the same thing: higher demand looking for the same number of rooms.

 

[lowlight]

23 pages in and I'm still trying to figure out what the problem is. I'm not talking about the OP. I get OP's issue. They were used to booking Jersey week 6 months out and the availability wasn't there this year. OK, totally get that. But there seems to be a lot of other comments on availability. For many of these other comments, what is the actual problem? Is the problem you can't get what you want at 11 months? AKV value studios were hard to get 5 years ago. That hasn't changed. Are there other studios that are harder to get now at 11 months as compared to pre-pandemic? Or are people finding that their SSR points aren't quite as useful at the 7 month window? I know people want to blame renting, but it's just one factor out of many that all add up to the same thing: higher demand looking for the same number of rooms.

Like most threads, it's become a collection of gripes that are tangential to the OP's complaint. Booking anything Disney (ADR's, DVC, events, etc) has gotten more painful this year, and it's interesting to read the various ideas and suggestions as to why, or how things can be improved. If someone thinks nothing has changed since the pandemic, I, and I am sure many others, envy that position. I bought a contract at each of my favorite resorts so I don't have to worry about 7 month bookings, but there are other issues that impact me now.

 

[Marionnette]

Is the problem you can't get what you want at 11 months? AKV value studios were hard to get 5 years ago. That hasn't changed. Are there other studios that are harder to get now at 11 months as compared to pre-pandemic? Or are people finding that their SSR points aren't quite as useful at the 7 month window?

I think that there has been a tightening of availability due to revenge travel. A lot of people didn't feel comfortable or were unsure about what their country's rules concerning foreign travel when it came time to book for spring break and early summer. That has only intensified competition to book non-home resorts at 7 months for the fall. There will always be periods when certain studios will be difficult to reserve. But this year has been especially hard.

 

[Brian Noble]

I said it was unproductive and I meant it.

Here's maybe a different way of thinking about it.

When it comes to managing our timeshare portfolio, my job is getting my family on vacation, while using my assets sensibly. As long as I am booking within the rules of each system, what I am doing is arguably "good" because I am securing vacations for my family. I may be competing with other people, but I am not trying to get vacations for other people.

Next year my kids will both be graduate students, at different schools with different spring breaks. My wife and I would like to vacation with each of them. One has a deep affection for theme/amusement parks, and lives in the Midwest. The other is moving to Southern California, is more of an outdoor adventure person, and needs to establish residency there to maintain funding, so plans on leaving CA as little as possible.

Thinking about this, we'd like to vacation in Central Florida with the first, with a focus on Universal because it's been a while since we've been there. We'd like to visit southern California for the second, but probably will avoid Anaheim in favor of something either coastal or in the desert near some interesting hiking.

I have (non-DVC) Interval deposits that could cover both vacations, and II has some great candidate resorts, but nothing in the II spacebank right now fits our particular desires. So, I have ongoing searches for both of them for a healthy set of resorts over each week. In the meantime, I'm going to speculatively book some time at Wyndham resorts in those two areas for the weeks in question.

I would rather take the exchanges than use the points, but I have to wait and see if that happens. I will probably know one way or the other at least four months prior to check-in. If an exchange happens, I will cancel the corresponding Wyndham unit in plenty of time for someone else to get book it. If an exchange doesn't happen, I'll keep the corresponding Wyndham unit.

Those are speculative bookings, but made in a way that doesn't prevent the unit from being used by someone eventually--either my family, or someone else's. Could someone in the interim find the resort fully booked and be disappointed? Yes. But they also could have booked that unit earlier, when I was booking them, and had the same chance at it.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

But, the reality is that certain times of the year, booking at 11 months is needed in a point based system to secure certain rooms.

It wouldn't if the charts were properly balanced.