Has anybody else ever arrived only to be told their reservation had been canceled?

[Geyser Gazer]

After a great night at AKL we arrived at BCV (our new home away from home away from home {VWL} 11/17. Instead of a "welcome home" we were told that we were not on the check in list at the gate. At the front desk we were told that our reservation had been canceled in August. We certainly had never canceled our vacation and could not even imagine how any past discussion with MS could have been misunderstood as such. CM quickly calmed us down by stating that there were still rooms available and coordinated check in with MS. We were afraid that our room might be less desirable because of this late booking but were pleasantly surprised. Interested if this has ever happened to anyone else?

 

[wdwendyd]

Oh, that's terrible! It sounds like my worst nightmare! I am so glad they had an available room for you.

 

[natt]

Making a newbie very nervous here!!

 

[CarolMN]

Oh, no! This comes under the category of "things I don't need to know" (aka too much information)!

So now what do I do? Should I call and confirm my reservation or will that create an opportunity for something bad to happen to my reservation? What if something bad has already happened? Wouldn't it be better to know now, before we leave???


The above are rhetorical questions - even though I actually do worry that MS will inadvertently cancel my reservation. But so far, they haven't missed a one!

 

[Lisa P.]

I think this is one of those things that can happen anywhere and thankfully, it rarely seems to be a problem. Nobody's perfect. It's unfortunate but unintended cancellations or overbookings or sections temporarily (and unexpectedly) closing can happen with any company - timeshare, hotel, B&B, etc. For the most part, strong, established businesses in the industry (like DVC) do a good job, I think.

Calling back to verify a reservation anywhere, a week or so prior to arrival, is a good idea, IMHO. Then, if there is a problem, the reservationist or supervisor would have time to calmly try and accommodate our need. For us, so far, so good.

 

[ILuvDVC]

I've never had this happen with any of my reservations. I can't even imagine how that happened. Did you ever call back Member Services and find out how and why this happened?

To any new member out there....I've been a member since 1994, and I've never had this happen, and I've made on the average 3 reservations per year. But, this even makes me nervous! LOL, I don't want to get in the habit of double checking Member Services. I know they have made mistakes in the past, but this is a biggy!

I'm so glad that you were able to get a room, and it was all straighten out!

 

[Sims]

This makes me think it may be a good idea to email a request for a confirmation of your reservation a month before you arrive. Print out the confirmation response and bring it with you to show them in case they say there is no reservation.

 

[Lesley]

A hotel once lost my reservation as well...not DVC, but one of the hotels in Orlando that has advertised here on the DIS and offered special rates. We had two separate reservations there for the beginning and end of our trip....and they had no record of our first reservation! Luckily they did honor it.

I wonder what would happen with DVC if there weren't other rooms available? Wow...total nightmare!

Glad to hear it worked out for you, though I think I would be wanting some answers as to how your vacation got cancelled without you knowing!

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

For all travel a confirmation just before you leave home is a wise thing to do. Other than that...save all documentation and bring it with you.

 

[DVC-Don]

We showed up at OKW last January and got our ID/Room cards. It was about noon and the room was not ready we were told. No surprise so we hit the parks. At about 5 PM I called the # on the card they gave us. The operator could find no info on and kept asking "Are you sure?" 20 minutes of stress later he "found" us.

 

[Geyser Gazer]

For the record, nothing like this has ever happened with us either and I do not want to cause undo alarm. I just wanted to make sure that others havent experienced this in the past. I had all my paperwok with me confirming our reservation but they claimed it was canceled. I will contact MS next week. I also want to recognize the CM at BCV for the way she handled this. I guess I would have expected a letter from MS "confirming" any presumed cancellations. I suppose that they could have found us a room somewhere on site DVC if BCV were full but we were glad we were able to stay put. I will post a quick trip report on another thread, we ended up having a nice time.

 

[Donna]

One time, while on the phone with MS, somehow the CM got confused and cancelled a current reservation when i was ONLY making a new one (at a different resort). Luckily, i had him go over the whole transaction and he proceeds to tell me "cancel this at that and so on". I said, WHOA, no, i never said that! It would have been a tough one to get back, Hilton Head in the summer. Had i hung up, i probably would have lost the reservation altogether to someone on the waitlist! This person was having a hard time understanding (not a language barrier) what i wanted. If that happens again, i will just call back.

 

[manning]

Had a situation one time when I was checking into a hotel. I walked into the room and saw the luggage on the bed and heard the shower going. I turned around and walked out pronto!! Whoever was in the shower never knew I was there. The front desk claimed all of the keys where there.

That's why I use the latch to secure the door.

 

[smiley]

Just for the record, I've belonged since 1993 and have never had this happen to me. Knock on wood!!!

 

[Carrieberry]

A couple of years ago we had a split reservation between ASMo and DxL. When we checked into ASMo the CM asked us why we were only staying two nights and if would we like to extend our trip by a couple of nights. We then told her we were actually moving over to Dxl. Well she looked at the computer, did a little typing and then said "Oh dear.... That resort is currently booked and there does not seem to be any reservation for you in the computer." Well of course I was in immediate panic mode!! She then dissapeared for a minute and was talking to the supervisor in the corner. A few minutes later she got on the phone and was on it for about 5 minutes. Then she came back and told me to go to my room and call CRO to verify this reservation, and if they could not find us in the system to come back to the front desk and talk to her and she would help us get a room for those nights. Well I ran to my room, called CRO and of course, everything was fine. The reservation was there and there was absolutely no problem with it at all! I don't know what was going on at the frint desk at ASMo but I was panicked for nothing!! I won't ever forget those 30 or so minutes!!

 

[Andrew Bichard]

Two years back, before I joined DVC, my reservation got itself 'lost'. When I checked in at Boardwalk Inn, they didn't have my reservation on the computer. I was able to produce the confirmation slip, so they had to concede that I had a reservation. Apparently, it turned out that Central Reservations had my reservation on their system, but they hadn't passed this on to the Boardwalk.

Although they had plentty of rooms available, none were 'handicap accessible with roll in showers, and I use a wheelchair. After two hours wait with the supervisor in a back room having discussions with central reservations, I took pity on them and said I would accept a room without a roll in shower, and wait a couple of days until they could move me to take a shower.

Bad, Bad mistake. The room they put me in had no view (I looked out across a six foot garden to a fence, and could see the main entrance porch through the slats just beyond it.) Never again!

I am certain that had it not been for the fact I had to have a roll in shower, I would have been given a substantial room upgrade. If you have special needs though, it is probably best to phone (do not fax) two days before arrival to check they have your reservation.

Andrew

 

[EROS]

I've never had such an experience in DVC though it has happened to me in various travels elsewhere. When I have canceled DVC reservations, I've always received a written confirmation in the mail......... I wonder why you didn't receive one.

 

[Geyser Gazer]

Eros,
Thats the scary part. I never received a cancellation confirmation nor did I ever request a cancellation.

 

[EROS]

Geyser, even if a cancellation was issued in error, you should have received a confirmation in the mail. I'll be interested in the response of Member Services........please let us know ....

 

[Pa@okw95]

Make sure you get a copy of your reservation mailed to you. If you do not get it then call them. It takes about a week to 10 days. I will tell you we do not need people calling to double check reservations, it is bad enough with people getting reservations one day at a time.