Frustrated New DVC Member

[KAT4DISNEY]

I haven't been able to book a a DVC room on my last trip or this upcoming trip. Both have been about a month out and it's really annoying to see them for rent for cash but not for points and me having to use my points to book a non-DVC resort. Actually it's been my last two trips I haven't been able to get a DVC resort for. Sept 2011 I was headed to CA with a 3 month notice and got nothing, December 2011 we only knew about a month out for WDW, and the end of this month we booked just a month out and nothing in CA DVC again. Would love to try GCV instead of the Disneyland Hotel again.

You've seen VGC rooms for cash on the CRO site? There ought to be from time to time but I haven't run across it.

 

[JWG]

I think it's silly. My choice would not be to not stay DVC and trade my points of I had one. So, my lack of options makes someone else have a lack of options and so on. It stinks !

The only solution to this is to remove the option to trade out to Disney Collection, Adventures by Disney, etc. Are you saying you wish you only could book DVC or trade to RCI/II and not have any other Disney options?

 

[Dean]

I think it's silly. My choice would not be to not stay DVC and trade my points of I had one. So, my lack of options makes someone else have a lack of options and so on. It stinks !

such is the nature of timeshares and exchange options, esp when planning very short notice. Lets say that you owned at BLT with a reservation in hand for a 2 BR Standard View and had a wait list in for BWV. That I in return had a reservation in hand for BWV for the exact parameters of what you wanted and that I had wait listed for exactly what you had reserved and that we both planned to cancel our current reservation for the WL and use those points if the WL came through. The only way DVC would match them both in that situation is if we both were at the first position for the WL in question. They will not skip over someone and make our WL happen just because they happen to match exactly. This is the exact process that exchange companies deal with thousands of times a day. One can feels it's silly but anyone that owns DVC should understand the basis of what is involved. They will let cash rooms go empty rather than give them to you in these type situations.

 

[princessdawn2011]

I think it's interesting Sue hasn't returned. Sadly DVC may not be for all. I think it's Important to keep in mind that not all resorts are the same size. Grand Californian is small and it's the only DVC Resort in DL. I would expect difficulty reserving close to travel dates, but I'm glad we can use our points to exchange for another DL resort. Staying off property isn't as magical for me

 

[BEASLYBOO]

The sales pitch and the Disney pixie dust after glow shouldn't prevent a buyer from reading the fine print and/or from doing their homework. Timeshares and/or DVC isn't for everyone!

I enjoy every DVC resort, sure some I do prefer over others. I start with the dates I want and work my way down my list of preferred resorts till I get the dates I want. Getting a certain resort or not isn't going to ruin or break my vacation!

But if the OP wants to travel during peak times (and we don't know this at this point) like Food & Wine, Christmas, Spring Break/Easter etc., then it's imperative to book at the 11 month mark with little guaranty of success at switching resorts at the 7 month mark!

 

[caracarn]

I will first preface this by saying I have not booked a DVC property since 2010, so it had been a couple years. I have been a member for over 10 years now and have not had a problem booking though our process was book at home resort at 11 month window and then swap at 7. Only had one time when I was not able to fully switch in normally 10-day stays either in October or early December.

Sure I had to at times move one day at a time and I was worried once that I would have to switch back and forth five times on a 10 day trip, but it almost always worked out. I do think it has a lot to do with your attitude. The one trip we were not able to fully swap, we ended up in three resorts. Sure it was a little bit of a pain to switch and we lost time each of those morning when we needed to get our luggage moved over and to the new resort, but after that vacation everyone thought it was neat to have those different stays. It made it seem like a new experience every few days.

 

[RookieMouse]

We have been DVC owners since March of 2009, and have very limited times of the year when we can travel to WDW - mainly March Break and Christmas - chiefly due to kids being in school. (Neither DW or I can tolerate the Florida heat and humidity in summer).

That said, we have not had a problem yet, primarily because I am a meticulous planner and will book our home resort at 11 months and try to swap out at 7 months. I did just that for next March, booked a 2-BR at BLT for a week, then called MS at 7 months and switched over to a AKV-BLT split stay.

Because we are not able to go as often, we tend to bank points and splurge when we do go, or we gift points to family, or rent them out.

 

[hjgaus]

While I can't say if it was a "mistake" to join, I can certainly say you have to be flexible and learn when DVC resorts are busier. Our first DVC stay after we purchased was 2 nights at WLV and 1 (yes, 1!) night at BLT. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of switching, but I booked the trip 6 weeks out so I took what I could get. And it was great. Then I decided in October to run the marathon in January. All I could get was SSR. I was bummed, but did it anyway. And we loved it! We spent more time at DTD than we ever had. We've had no problem booking at 11 or 7 months, except we can never seem to get standard view at BLT for more than a night or two... even calling at 11 months. So we now assume we are getting lake view there.

So I think you just need to learn when it is a requirement to book at 11 or 7 months and when you can make do waiting longer. And try not to get too set in where you want to stay, as you may need to divide a trip between two resorts. We've done that twice now and it has been fine.

All that said, I'll be really testing my patience soon when I try to book VGC and Aulani for a 2014 trip. Given the lower inventory, I'M VERY WORRIED about this one. And we aren't too flexible in our dates. I may be frustrated like you after that one.

Good luck!

We own VGC & BCV so just recently making more reservations @ 7 months out or less is more challenging but can be done! Just by learning from advice such as yours "note the busier times thus working around it" so DO NOT be discouraged about getting in VGC cuz you will get there & love it!

 

[fishermouse]

Our cm made it very clear to us that DVC was for people that can plan trips from11 to 7 months out. Not a problem for us since we usually have several trips planed at least 11 months out. Often we will switch to another resort at 7 months just for something new.we own at SSR and AKV and love them both but have stayed at all but BCV and BLT.

 

[webcs]

Are you using cancellations effectively.

It is hard to book so far out for some people but what you can do it book far out and then cancel the reservations as you get closer as you dont need them.

What I do is book every holiday 11-7 months out and then just cancel reservations as we decide not to go. Since we keep booking reservations, we have options.

If u are doing it as a "one shot deal" then it will not work for you and it would be best to sell your DVC I think.

 

[NewJerseyDVCMembers]

For over 14 years we have traveled based on incredible airfare deals. Sometimes that means a flight within days of booking. We do this about 4-5 times per year and have never had a problem getting a room. My thought however is that if the airfare is super low its probably because its a slow time for the airline, thus the resort as well.