How can you tell if a room type is being walked?

[kandlsutton]

New owner this year and really haven’t had any issues booking home resort at 11months and have been successful with a December 21 RIV 2BR-P and May 22 Poly DS.. But with Fall Frenzy next year, I am starting to check availability now for the 2nd week in November.
I have checked the last 4-5 days right at 8:00 EST for a standard view DS at VGF. Granted, I could just be a half second late and that is Columbus Day weekend, but the day of 11 months out (10/12 for example) hasn’t been available, but the following 6 days and the preceding weeks are available.
Is this what walking looks like? If anyone has any explanations, I’d like to be able to recognize it.

 

[Lorana]

New owner this year and really haven’t had any issues booking home resort at 11months and have been successful with a December 21 RIV 2BR-P and May 22 Poly DS.. But with Fall Frenzy next year, I am starting to check availability now for the 2nd week in November.
I have checked the last 4-5 days right at 8:00 EST for a standard view DS at VGF. Granted, I could just be a half second late and that is Columbus Day weekend, but the day of 11 months out (10/12 for example) hasn’t been available, but the following 6 days and the preceding weeks are available.
Is this what walking looks like? If anyone has any explanations, I’d like to be able to recognize it.

Yes, that’s what walking looks like. You’ll often see current day - and sometimes prior or next day - gone but other days free.

If you can’t snag the room you want at 8am, it sometimes works to walk the walkers - which is to say, pick up the prior days and move it forward as the walkers move their reservation forward.

 

[CarolMN]

........standard view DS at VGF.

You can expect those to be walked all the way through New Year's. They are the least expensive villas available at VGF, there aren't many of them, and late September through Marathon weekend is the most popular time of the year for DVC Members to use their points.

 

[JETSDAD]

If you see the 11 month date unavailable and then in the coming days it comes back available, that would likely be walking. If it's not available and never comes back available that would just mean it got booked up. This time of year walking is common especially for a room type like that.

 

[drusba]

What you are seeing is not just walking. There are undoubtedly a large number of members making actual reservations. It is very common for rooms that fill at 11-months out for the day that is exactly 11-months out to fill quickly and all days thereafter are shown as open. Even though members are reserving both the start date and days after, those days after the start date are showing as open, not just because of walking, but mainly because the rooms are mostly filled but you have more check-outs than check-ins existing for those future dates.

 

[sndral]

New owner this year and really haven’t had any issues booking home resort at 11months and have been successful with a December 21 RIV 2BR-P and May 22 Poly DS.. But with Fall Frenzy next year, I am starting to check availability now for the 2nd week in November.
I have checked the last 4-5 days right at 8:00 EST for a standard view DS at VGF. Granted, I could just be a half second late and that is Columbus Day weekend, but the day of 11 months out (10/12 for example) hasn’t been available, but the following 6 days and the preceding weeks are available.
Is this what walking looks like? If anyone has any explanations, I’d like to be able to recognize it.

Since you are a new owner I assume your points aren’t at the VGF because DVC isn’t selling any direct points there ATM & you booked both Riviera & Poly, thus you didn’t buy resale. Trying to book a VGF studio @ 7 months for fall ‘22 will likely be challenging, there are only 47 studios (30 standard view/17 lake view.)
You might get lucky if they open the new VGF resort studios in the Big Pine Key building by the end of ‘22 (I’m guessing it’ll open in ‘23, tho’,) once that happens I suspect that it’ll be much easier getting a studio at VGF since it’ll add about 200 studios to VGF’s inventory.

 

[JETSDAD]

Since you are a new owner I assume your points aren’t at the VGF because DVC isn’t selling any direct points there ATM & you booked both Riviera & Poly, thus you didn’t buy resale. Trying to book a VGF studio @ 7 months for fall ‘22 will likely be challenging, there are only 47 studios (30 standard view/17 lake view.)
You might get lucky if they open the new VGF resort studios in the Big Pine Key building by the end of ‘22 (I’m guessing it’ll open in ‘23, tho’,) once that happens I suspect that it’ll be much easier getting a studio at VGF since it’ll add about 200 studios to VGF’s inventory.

By the looks of their signature they've already purchased at a number of resorts including VGF.

 

[sndral]

By the looks of their signature they've already purchased at a number of resorts including VGF.

Oops, good catch, I think I need more coffee - it’s still pretty early in the morning here on the left coast
Sorry OP, looks like you have 5 home resorts & 2 use years, quite the collection!

 

[kandlsutton]

Since you are a new owner I assume your points aren’t at the VGF because DVC isn’t selling any direct points there ATM & you booked both Riviera & Poly, thus you didn’t buy resale. Trying to book a VGF studio @ 7 months for fall ‘22 will likely be challenging, there are only 47 studios (30 standard view/17 lake view.)
You might get lucky if they open the new VGF resort studios in the Big Pine Key building by the end of ‘22 (I’m guessing it’ll open in ‘23, tho’,) once that happens I suspect that it’ll be much easier getting a studio at VGF since it’ll add about 200 studios to VGF’s inventory.

I have points at VGF through resale, just not very many, which is why I’m looking at standard view.

 

[kandlsutton]

Oops, good catch, I think I need more coffee - it’s still pretty early in the morning here on the left coast
Sorry OP, looks like you have 5 home resorts & 2 use years, quite the collection!

Yep, all this year too. Addonitis hit quickly and we were lucky to have the funds available. Wanted the ability to book multiple places at 11 months, so stayed with some smaller point contracts at PVB, CCV and VGF. VGF was a good deal so offered on it even though we weren’t originally looking there. Figure we can get a couple of nights to do parties at MK and walk back.