Fees to book the Disney Collection (hotel rooms)

[jim and meesie]

All you legal eagles out there....

I spoke to Member services about booking a room at the Yacht Club or Carribean Beach using points. They informed me that starting January 1st there will be a $95. charge per reservation for any stay using points for "reservation points" to stay at any of the Disney Collection hotels, there will also be another $95. charge if you change the reservation. Since I was just looking for 1-2 nights, the fee combined with the very high point values required to book the hotel rooms make this ridiculous to consider. I checked all the DVC "terms & conditions" I had (both hard copy and on-line) and realize that no one has ever notified us of this change. Doesn't Disney have an obligation to notify us of such a major change to the terms & conditions???? When I purchased they made a big deal about the ability to book hotel rooms at Disney World in addition to Vacation Club rooms. It seems pretty difficult to use points these days at anything but the 11 month window at your home resort. I'm trying to book a Sat,Sun & Monday night January 26-29 and am being told that there is nothing available for ANY of the days (even just one night) anywhere!!!! What would you suggest?

 

[DebbieB]

It was announced on the member website and I believe in the magazine. You can still book tomorrow under the old rules.

"Consistent Transaction Fee for Member Getaways Exchanges
In order to maintain consistent service and to ensure efficient processing, transaction fees at non-Disney Vacation Club Resort locations will be standardized to $95. Starting January 1, 2008, Member Getaways exchanges in The Disney Collection, Concierge Collection, Adventurer Collection and World Passport Collection will charge a non-refundable $95 fee for booking or changing reservations. Reservations at the eight Disney Vacation Club Resorts and the three resort hotels at Disneyland® Resort in California will not require a transaction fee. If you have any questions, please e-mail or call Member Services."

"New Booking and Banking Guidelines for Members: The Rule of Four
In an effort to simplify Membership, new guidelines combine the three current banking windows into one, so that Members are now required to bank any unused Vacation Points and book Member Getaways exchanges at least four months prior to the end of the Use Year.

This rule does not apply to Disneyland® Resort hotels in California and World Passport Collection vacations, which have separate guidelines. Members can still travel at any time to these locations, based on availability; the rule applies only to the booking date. If you have any questions, please e-mail or call Member Services at "

I'm not happy either, I frequently book last minute stays as an add-on to a business trip and it doesn't make sense to pay a $95 fee for 1 night if there is no DVC available. Plus with an April use year, I would not be able to do a last minute non-DVC stay between 12/1 and 3/31 (booking date).