From a MS CM: recent "enhancement" to room requests

[BEASLYBOO]

To be honest, those that check in first, should get first dibs

I agree! Just the same some consideration needs to be given for viable issues, such as, I can't imagine anyone with knee/walking issues being able to tout their luggage and themselves up to the 3rd floor of OKW! It's not for the faint of heart! Unfortunately I think that there are a limited handicap access rooms and those with minimal health issues probably don't request them as long as they can be near an elevator etc.

I rarely make requests, really only make them at SSR, and that's only because the first three times I stayed there, I didn't make a request and they stuck me in the Carousel Bldg. facing the street each and every time. I didn't even complain after the 2nd time, I just asked at check-in if any other bldng. was available and was told, "I'm sorry the resort is full", which was by no means truthfull because the parking lots were empty at night, except for the other 2 schmucks they stuck there with us and activity picked up a few days later on Sunday. Subsequently, when I did request the Congress Park, DTD view, I got it each and every time.

So there has to be a happy medium somewhere!

 

[DebbieB]

Which is actually why I prefer that they do not assign the room until check in. To be honest, those that check in first, should get first dibs. Most hotels do not pre assign rooms, but rather they check what is available at check in. When you get there and ask for a room request at check in, the clerk tells you that either A: its not available B: yes or C: the room is not ready, if you don't mind waiting for it to be serviced.

Many people will give a little on their specific requests if they arrive at the resort and a decent room is already cleaned and ready to go. If I get there at 9 am and they can give me a room on the spot vs someone who arrives at 6 pm has a room that is sitting empty while I am still wandering around waiting for one to be cleaned.

I understand why they do what they do, but honestly, I think it would be better if they stopped taking requests on the reservation and just let the CM's at the front desk do it.

DVC did announce a system a few years ago called "room ready". This was where rooms were assigned at check-in. But I think little by little they went back to pre-assigning. I think part of the problem with DVC is they have to juggle lockoffs and dedicateds. So if they fill a studio & 1 bedroom separate, they have to make sure both will be available when someone checks in for a 2 bedroom lockoff. Otherwise they could end up with studios & 1 bedroom available but none are connected for the 2 bedroom reservation. So that involves some pre-planning. That is the way the concierge at AKV explained it to us, he said it's like a puzzle.

 

[Sandisw]

What's the deal on even numbered rooms?
Why are they more desireable?

The even numbered rooms at BLT that are on the northern end have a view of the MK from the balcony--granted, you have to look at slight angle--and the fireworks can been watched easily.

We have stayed twice in rooms ending in xx04 and xx06 and had wonderful views of the fireworks. These were LV rooms and last summer, I saved almost 30 points over what it would have cost me for an MK view room.

 

[Sandisw]

Which is actually why I prefer that they do not assign the room until check in. To be honest, those that check in first, should get first dibs. Most hotels do not pre assign rooms, but rather they check what is available at check in. When you get there and ask for a room request at check in, the clerk tells you that either A: its not available B: yes or C: the room is not ready, if you don't mind waiting for it to be serviced.

Many people will give a little on their specific requests if they arrive at the resort and a decent room is already cleaned and ready to go. If I get there at 9 am and they can give me a room on the spot vs someone who arrives at 6 pm has a room that is sitting empty while I am still wandering around waiting for one to be cleaned.

I understand why they do what they do, but honestly, I think it would be better if they stopped taking requests on the reservation and just let the CM's at the front desk do it.

I guess if they went to a system that didn't preassign and went with booking when you arrive, then it could work at. At least, people would know upfront rooms would be assigned based on arrival.

But, no matter what they do, as mentioned, people will be unhappy.

 

[ToddyLu]

I like the Forrest approach....requesting rooms is like a box of chocolates...you never know what your gonna get. Am I tired at the end of the day when I have to walk down the hall at Kidani to my room, sure...does it affect my happiness on vacation.....ahhh, no. Why can't people just take what they get, smile and move on.

Could they charge extra for a "close to lobby request?". People would pay it, be happy and DVC would get a little money too. They would take your points and charge you $20 (or more) for filling your request. .

I have my Sherpa ready for our next trip--his name is Todd.

 

[Chuck S]

Could they charge extra for a "close to lobby request?". People would pay it, be happy and DVC would get a little money too. They would take your points and charge you $20 (or more) for filling your request. .

I have doubts that such a system would be considered legal under timeshare laws. It would be the equivalent of having some declared DVC inventory only available to owners that want to pay additional fees, when they should be available to all owners. They could make a booking category that takes more points for some rooms, but they would also have to drop points for other rooms to keep the charts on balance.

 

[dis-happy]

I also don't like the whole idea of room requests. There are a few necessary exceptions but overall all it just clogs the system and is really unfair to easy going people like me.

What do I mean? Well, nobody requests "room with the farthest walk" or "room with the worst view". I suspect people that don't make a stink with requests generally end up with these rooms more than they should because of all the picky people making requests (oh boy and do some of you out there EXPECT to get exactly what you request...you know who you are.) When people make these requests, in a way they are really saying "I deserve priority over someone else simply because I'm mentioning this now". They get what is probably a preferred room at someone else's expense who would have also loved to have that location. Over generalization yes, but just to illustrate the point....

Just book your room category and enjoy. Overall, if we all did this then over time we should all get our fair share of the various locations.

My personal experience has been far different. I never make requests and honestly, we get a great room every time. I know at BLT we were given the angled MK view room with our lake view reservation (and the text message saying the room was ready came about 2 minutes after our early check-in).

My thoughts: up to now, at least, CM's are so happy to NOT see a room request they go out their way to give a great room.

 

[ParrotBill]

My experience in the 15 years we've been owners:

If I don't make a request I am pretty well guaranteed to get a room that is the farthest walk to everything, and no view.

If I make a request, there is 50% chance I get it. Of course, the more general I make it the better.

For example, at BWV I often request first floor facing quiet pool. At SSR, I request Grandstand as close to the pool as possible. These are almost always successful.

I made a reservation last week for SSR and had no trouble making that request by the way.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

yes, you're probably right. i am not sure of the reasons why but
i think you know the factors that limit the choices. [ that one thing
our guide avoided, anything about the details trading into rci ,
except to say we could & he made it sounded like easy as pie].

therefore, i am beginning to believe those having experience in
other time shares have major advantages to new dvc owners.

my guess, he omitted key details about getting our room
requests.

one problem , i think would be all those over lapping revs during
the same time frame.

however, i do think these computer changes should make it possible
to do room requests by owners' first.

i saw a thread awhile back. it was a cast member buying dvc @
ssr. somehow she was able to get a blt revs for a week stay.
for june, this year. ugh! how does that happened when owners
could not? [ i know we were deny our first time @ 11 mos., & my
wife got right in @ 9am on the dot! that got me wondering how
rampant the "string pulling" being done inside. i think this was
a good example.]

this is why i prefer to see a "system" in place that would "protect"
owners @ their resorts- for requests. just like some previous posters
observed...who wants the room with no/awful views or located
far, far, away?

while the girl was excited about going to blt....wonder who was left
out to grant her miracle request? [ just saying, if her revs had
been for the same dates of ours, i would have printed her thread off
& phoned member services.]

 

[TisBit]

DVC did announce a system a few years ago called "room ready". This was where rooms were assigned at check-in. But I think little by little they went back to pre-assigning. I think part of the problem with DVC is they have to juggle lockoffs and dedicateds. So if they fill a studio & 1 bedroom separate, they have to make sure both will be available when someone checks in for a 2 bedroom lockoff. Otherwise they could end up with studios & 1 bedroom available but none are connected for the 2 bedroom reservation. So that involves some pre-planning. That is the way the concierge at AKV explained it to us, he said it's like a puzzle.

Very good point and something that could become problematic....

 

[Chuck S]

i saw a thread awhile back. it was a cast member buying dvc @
ssr. somehow she was able to get a blt revs for a week stay.
for june, this year. ugh! how does that happened when owners
could not? [ i know we were deny our first time @ 11 mos., & my
wife got right in @ 9am on the dot! that got me wondering how
rampant the "string pulling" being done inside. i think this was
a good example.]

It is often the case with a new purchaser, being a CM really has nothing to do with it. If someone says to a guide "Yes, I'd like to purchase DVC, if I can use my points for my trip in the next month or so." The guide can often "create" a reservation from inventory NOT owned/controlled by DVD They use room inventory represented by points still owned by DVD. And it is certainly not surprising that it is at BLT, as that resort is not fully sold.

For instance, say that 80% of the total points of BLT resort is sold to DVC Members. That means Disney/DVD still owns 20%. 80% of the rooms are available for point reservations, 20% of the rooms are available for whatever use Disney/DVD sees fit. Giveaways/promotions like for Extreme Home Makeover, cash rooms, and developers point promos come from that 20%. Guides can also often use that 20% to make a reservation for a new member on short notice. It really has no bearing whether the new owner is or is not a CM, it happens all the time for new membership sales.

You seem so very focused on being treated unfairly, and always implying that DVD/DVC or a cast member have some special availability perk. This is not the case. It does not affect other owners availability. There is no secret stash of rooms for RCI/non-owners or Cast Members. It is the way any timeshare works in regards to availability. The developer is free to do whatever they want with unsold interest in the resort. Most timeshare use their unsold ownership interest to offer those highly discounted cash weeks, as long as the person agrees to a 3 hour sales tour. DVC chooses to use their unsold ownership interest in other ways, including "finding" a reservation for a new purchaser.

 

[Lil' Grumpy]

facts are facts.

when i see a pattern repeating then it is pretty reliable in
finishing off the conclusion.

for example, i have read many new members having to rebook outside
their home resorts, outside the 7 mos window. this was a first,
and this person is also booking outside her home resort but
@ a resort that even members couldn't get within the 11mos
window. her home resort is where most my ended up. then
you add the fact, she booked it less than a month out.

what's up with that? you are making a personal conjecture
based on your reasoning. [we have never met]. we see this
all the time, and it used as a distraction. let me redirect.
i have yet to read any other new owner having their guide
do this within the 7mos period except to ssr.

i have read many of these types of "defensive rationalizations"
covering many issues with dvc. fyi, just because a person works
@ the dvc means they not capable of wrong doings. and from
what i am learning, there are a lack of standards & accountability
within. one of the things that get my attention is when someone
make false statements, over & over again.

as for these enhancements, i am all for using the computers to
be fair. why are you against that unless you have insider connections.

p.s., all human behaviors have meanings. since we don't know each
other, i don't think you are judging me without a reason. pretty
evident what that could be.

 

[dianeschlicht]

facts are facts.

when i see a pattern repeating then it is pretty reliable in
finishing off the conclusion.

for example, i have read many new members having to rebook outside
their home resorts, outside the 7 mos window. this was a first,
and this person is also booking outside her home resort but
@ a resort that even members couldn't get within the 11mos
window. her home resort is where most my ended up. then
you add the fact, she booked it less than a month out.

what's up with that? you are making a personal conjecture
based on your reasoning. [we have never met]. we see this
all the time, and it used as a distraction. let me redirect.
i have yet to read any other new owner having their guide
do this within the 7mos period except to ssr.

i have read many of these types of "defensive rationalizations"
covering many issues with dvc. fyi, just because a person works
@ the dvc means they not capable of wrong doings. and from
what i am learning, there are a lack of standards & accountability
within. one of the things that get my attention is when someone
make false statements, over & over again.

as for these enhancements, i am all for using the computers to
be fair. why are you against that unless you have insider connections.

p.s., all human behaviors have meanings. since we don't know each
other, i don't think you are judging me without a reason. pretty
evident what that could be.

It must be tough in the ivory tower. We have been members of DVC for 14 plus years, and I can honestly say I have NEVER seen any evidence of the "inequalities" you seem to believe are present.

 

[disneynutz]

In any business favors are possible and used all the time. I'm sure that Disney is no exception but I don't see any on going evidence that it is more prevalent at Disney. Are there VIP processes in place at Disney, sure there are. Is it fair for us non VIPs, not really, but that's the world that we live in.

Bill

 

[DonDon]

I'm confused now.

Just got off the phone with MS. Booked Kidani 2 BDR, and requested
"close to lobby" and "close to transportation". She replied that
"close to lobby" was a valid request that had a computer code associated with it, but "close to transportation" is not. The CM was nice and sounded knowledgable enough, she stated that "close to lobby" is no problem, but for "close to transportation" she would have to put it in the notes, but the computers probably won't read it (no idea what that means)

 

[ospopo5]

Couple questions.

If you do online checkin and when you check in is your room assigned to you that you will know about, or do you still have to wait until you arrive at resort.

Also for BLT i requested non 1st floor. We are standard view so besides that, any know of our chances of that being requested. We will have 1 toddler and 1 baby with us and we dont mind the elevators and strollers but we do not want to be on the 1st floor.

For this resort, we toured in October on our own in the evening after dinner and the 1st floor rooms we didn't like since the resort is much more OPEN and close to the action at Magic Kingdom for our liking.

Also to comment on the early post, when we finally closed our contract our guide was able to get us our reservation for BLT. He said that since it was our first stay he could see what we wanted. Since we were traveling in off peak I took him up on the offer. They were able to get us our reservation without a problem.

When I called back as I wanted to make a slight change, he said there was nothing he could do at this point. But gave me some tips. So yes the guides can help with the 1st stay when you are a new member.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Li'l Grumpy

It may come down to expectation and possible ill feelings set in motion by promises/representations made by your guide which were inacurate or completely false. In the end your experiences seem to have left you with bitterness about the whole process of reservations, booking windows and personal requests.

Speaking only for myself, as a member since 2000, I've always been able to book my home resort at 11 months and further more every other resort within the 7 month window. As I am flexible, I've had great rooms in and out of my home resort evena t the 4 month mark. I make few room requests, and to date in 35+ trips I've only been disapointed with the location of my villa 3 times, but not so disapointed as to ruin my DVC experience. Regarding the few room requests I have made, 6 to be exact, all of them, simple & reasonable were granted.

Now, I'm certainly no VIP, I have a minimal amount of points (210) so there is really nothing that would signal a CM to grant me preferential treatment. A history of 35+trips, beautiful views and locations, I can't call that luck, to this point the DVC system has been fair, at least IMO!

Are exceptions made, sure. Sometimes people get ugly and complain and a CM will cave and give someone something to which they weren't entitled. Maybe someone who has 3000 points and is better known may get a better room than me, but I don't think it's the norm, it's the exception!

 

[princessbride6205]

I prefer being able to make requests. Why not provide the room assigner with some guidance to help make guests as comfortable as possible? For example, at OKW most buildings do not have an elevator so some guests might prefer to be on the ground floor. I prefer to be on a higher floor, even when it means taking one or two flights of stairs. At BWV, some guests prefer to be close to the elevator, especially if they have kids in strollers. I don't mind being far away from the elevator (less hallway noise, better fireworks viewing, happy to take the stairs). Due to the long hallways at Kidani, many people request "close to lobby". I would prefer to be on a lower floor closer to the animals, even if it means a 5-minute walk to the lobby. Without requests, I could end up close to the lobby feeling annoyed at all the hallway noise while someone else is miserable trekking 1/4 mile to their room.

I'm with you! While I'm sure there are certain room requests that are made all too frequently, showing a preference can/should help room assignments. At Kidani, we don't care so much to be close to the lobby, but we do request to be on the closer-to-Jambo half of the resort. Also, someone with their own car may not care how far they are from the lobby or buses. For our first stay at BWV this October, I may not put in a request at all, just be okay with a surprise and know what to request for the next visit.

 

[Dean]

facts are facts.

when i see a pattern repeating then it is pretty reliable in
finishing off the conclusion.

for example, i have read many new members having to rebook outside
their home resorts, outside the 7 mos window. this was a first,
and this person is also booking outside her home resort but
@ a resort that even members couldn't get within the 11mos
window. her home resort is where most my ended up. then
you add the fact, she booked it less than a month out.

what's up with that? you are making a personal conjecture
based on your reasoning. [we have never met]. we see this
all the time, and it used as a distraction. let me redirect.
i have yet to read any other new owner having their guide
do this within the 7mos period except to ssr.

i have read many of these types of "defensive rationalizations"
covering many issues with dvc. fyi, just because a person works
@ the dvc means they not capable of wrong doings. and from
what i am learning, there are a lack of standards & accountability
within. one of the things that get my attention is when someone
make false statements, over & over again.

as for these enhancements, i am all for using the computers to
be fair. why are you against that unless you have insider connections.

p.s., all human behaviors have meanings. since we don't know each
other, i don't think you are judging me without a reason. pretty
evident what that could be.

I think you're reading too much into the limited information available. I don't see any pattern of abuse by the CM. I don't think I've ever seen anyone be able to reserve a home resort they didn't own at during the home resort priority window, repeat EVER. The only exceptions I can think of are lottery and special season priority lists as specifically spelled out in the POS and maybe transferred points. As noted, it's not uncommon for DVC to pull non declared inventory to make a reservation as part of a purchase situation, IMO, that's reasonable. My guess is that the very nature of timeshares, including DVC, will always make them unfair in your view. You got off on the wrong foot by thinking your sales guide lied to you and it seems like it's been down hill ever since based on your postings on this board. Your lack of understanding of the system combined with your skewed view of "fairness" seems to me to suggest you'll never be happy with timeshares. Timeshares are like dealing in used cars and with used car salespeople, there are times when you've either got to hold your nose or get out of the system altogether.

 

[drusba]

Couple questions.

If you do online checkin and when you check in is your room assigned to you that you will know about, or do you still have to wait until you arrive at resort.

Also for BLT i requested non 1st floor. We are standard view so besides that, any know of our chances of that being requested. We will have 1 toddler and 1 baby with us and we dont mind the elevators and strollers but we do not want to be on the 1st floor.

For this resort, we toured in October on our own in the evening after dinner and the 1st floor rooms we didn't like since the resort is much more OPEN and close to the action at Magic Kingdom for our liking.

Also to comment on the early post, when we finally closed our contract our guide was able to get us our reservation for BLT. He said that since it was our first stay he could see what we wanted. Since we were traveling in off peak I took him up on the offer. They were able to get us our reservation without a problem.

When I called back as I wanted to make a slight change, he said there was nothing he could do at this point. But gave me some tips. So yes the guides can help with the 1st stay when you are a new member.

On-line check-in simply speeds up check-in process itself (sometimes); Otherwise it makes no changes and you still have to wait for room assigment if room is not ready.

Don't know chances of getting non-first floor but understand standard views are only on first and second floor at BLT so random chance is a little better than 50% (there are more second floor rooms than first floor because front of resort where MK view also is does not have first floor rooms at all but only second floor standard views and part of floor on other side facing lake also has no first floor rooms.