Hurricane Frances-Member Services

[manning]

What is that area noted for between June and November?..........Hurricane season. And what usually happens in Hurricane season?..........Hurricanes.!!

 

[Dancind]

We were at WDW for Charley, and scheduled to move the day the storm was due, Friday. As you know, it didn't hit until late Friday night. But I was worried about moving during a storm from BCV to AKL (no car), so started calling on Wednesday. Thursday morning about 9 am, I called DVC Member Services and was told they had just been handed a notice about cancellation policies for the hurricane. They were refunding money on any resort cancellations, and returning points to the regular account for any DVC cancellations. We cancelled AKL, and remained at BCV at a discounted cash rate for Fri. and Sat. They would have given us the room for points, but I didn't have enough remaining.

Anyway, they were very accomodating once the hurricane's path looked pretty sure, and I would expect them to be so again. Even the day of the hurricane, it was expected to land in Tampa and pass north of Orlando, it changed that afternoon.

 

[tjkraz]

Originally posted by Deep-Thots
If you were on a jury, would you rule in favor of the little guy (who'd been saving up his hard-earned $$ for a very special Disney vacation) or for the big bad corporation?

Maybe it's just me, but I certainly wouldn't award money to any bonehead who drove his family into the eye of a hurricane to avoid losing a couple hundred dollars. Hurricanes don't hover over a city for days on end. If it looks like you're going to be driving into the storm, you leave your house a day later and, at most, run the risk of losing a day of your vacation.

In all likelihood, Disney would do the right thing and refund that missed day anyway.

I think this thread has already touched on all of the other relevant issues. Hurricane season...travel insurance...mother nature.

There are ways to protect yourself...

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You know---there is no lawsuit when it comes to the weather--no viable one anyone--unless some place put you in harms way at their own risk (i.e. A plane taking off during known excessive winds, beach hotel not evacuating guests for a hurricane). Everyone has a right to sue, but there is no way these companies can be held liable and it is on virtually every contract--this is considered "An Act of God" and unless you got trip insurance--there isn't a darn thing that anybody has to do about it--if it is a blizzard, rain storm, earthquake, whatever. Companies are only liabel for what they can control--the weather just isn't an option.

So to whine when you took the risk of planning your vacation at a volatile weather time in the Southeast without getting trip insurance--it isn't Disney's fault or any other travel industry company's fault that you failed to do this. To hold them accountable when you desire to cancel your trip--isn't fair to them and not fair to others who planned ahead!

Think with compassion and deal nicely with the mouse and you will be surprised at what they will do for you. Expect everything, they will do nothing. Expect nothing, they will do everything.

Time to get off my soap box and continue hurricane prep and packing everything I own so that I can go on my impromptu hurricane Frances Wilderness Lodge Vacation.

For those planning trips this weekend--be advised that the Governor of the state of Florida has discouraged vacationers to the state this weekend. If you choose to come and place yourself in harms way--please be careful when you do this.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Originally posted by Deep-Thots
It would seem to me that in our litigious society, if Disney were not flexible regarding these types of events, they could open themselves up to the possibility of lawsuits.

If a family on the way to VB or HHI, say, were to suffer some kind of catastrophic accident due (1) to the inclement weather which they encountered because (2) Disney refused to allow them to cancel their reservations, well.... I think that would be a lot more expensive to that particular business owner than allowing for cancellations.

Plus, it would be bad PR. If you were on a jury, would you rule in favor of the little guy (who'd been saving up his hard-earned $$ for a very special Disney vacation) or for the big bad corporation?

I'm not saying this is fair. But today, that's pretty much the way it is. Sigh.

Please that's like saying me driving to McD's in a rainstorm for a 2 for 1 burger deal and I get into an accident--I should sue McD's for having that sale in a rain storm. They should have picked a sunny day instead. Or I can sue b/c I don't eat burgers and it isn't fair to the non-red-meat eaters to not have sale opportunities in their food categories. The lawsuit would be frivilous and would be in favor of the defendent.

You want a full refund guaranteed in case something out of your control happens and prevents you from being able to take that vacation, then please get trip insurance.

In the meantime--have some respect for those that might lose their homes.

 

[PBB]

Hi,

Well I never received a phone call from MS. I called this afternoon and spoke with Michelle. She seemed to be on top of things. MS has agreed to waive the cancellation without penalty period until friday with no penalty. The points would not be put into a holding account if I chose not to go on friday. They would be redeposited in the regular account. On a side note, I did tell her that I spoke to Jim yesterday and explained my issue including the manager named Jim to Michelle. She placed me on hold to find out the policy regarding the cash reservation and told me she spoke to Jim about the matter. Who told her that I was next on the list to call.....LOL, yeah right !

It is beyond me how my post became a debate on lawsuits and such. My complaint and comment that it would be reasonable for MS to drop the 5 day cancellation policy if a hurricane was being tracked. Personally, I believe they should go back to the policy of having NO Cancellation policy for Members. They had this up until a year or so ago and I thought it was reasonable and goes along with the market. If I vacation at Marriott or Hyatt I have up until that night til 6:00 pm to cancel without penalty. I understand that Disney does not want to do this since they are a destination oriented resort and not a business travelers hotel. Their would be much more bookings and cancellations. Would this be considered a perk for the member......I would think so.

This continues to be a concern of mine that Disney does not consider us any different than the common traveler. Especially since the DVC resorts have sold out and are succesful. This was my biggest concern that Disney would treat us like the capture audience that we are. I was hoping they would avoid this fault of the timeshare industry.

Thanks for listening....


Pat

 

[Deep-Thots]

lisalovespooh and tjkraz --

I'm not disagreeing with your logic; in fact, I think you're right. Too many times, people abdicate the notion of personal respobsibility.

But, the fact is, logic has never stopped anyone from filing a lawsuit (witness the "I'm dangerously overweight because of McDonald's and the way they market their product" lawsuit). And while some of these lawsuits might appear to be frivolous and wasteful to a majority of people, some of these plaintiffs *do actually win* -- particularly against large corporations. That's why a whole business has been built around jury selection: "Which type of juror is more likely to rule in my favor? I'll pick that one...."

Again, it may not be right. But that's just the way it is.

 

[FutureWasYesterday]

PBB, sorry but I think you are dead wrong regarding your expectations from Disney. I believe that as a business owner, you must be allowed to have some level of predictability regarding bookings/reservations. What I "think" you are saying is that you should be able to cancel your ressie anytime you please with no penalty. This isnt reasonable and I believe totally unfair for not only Disney but for the other DVC guests in some circumstances.

You dont like being treated as just another traveler, you are a timeshare owner as you say. Well heck isnt the whole purpose of buying DVC is to save money on your future Disney vacations? You are already getting a great deal from Disney.

 

[nuthut]

No way Disney can relax the rules regarding point reservations. They would end up with too many points and not enough availibility and that is not legal with Florida law timeshare laws.. No way should the other members bear the cost of you being unable to make the trip. Buy travel insurance and don't expect us to pay for your mistakes.

 

[d-r]

quit beating around the bush and tell us what you really think

 

[uwate]

I am in a even trickier sitution. I became interested in DVC a few months back and went ahead and rented points (120 to be exact) to get a 2bdr Boardwalk for the Labor day weekend. We are scheduled to arrive on Saturday. The Hurricane is going to be on top of Florida on Saturday. I live in Miami so there is no way I am going as I plan to spend Friday and Saturday in South Florida (probably hunkered down in my house).

The DVC member who sold me the points has agreed to cancel the booking and he was looking into whether Disney would waive the policy of putting the points back into a holding acct where they had to be used in 60 days. Still not sure what is going on, but I know if this storm hits Miami, 120 rented points will be the last of my worries.

 

[belle3]

We were set to arrive on Friday and spend the weekend not on points, but with the AP rate..we have been monitoring everything very closely and thought we might still try and come down until this morning...then we started to think about the local residents and how they could use our room for the evacuation and decided we couldn't take a room away from a family who really needs it...so we are canceling our reservation...when I called, the recorded message at CRO said they would refund all deposits and there were no rooms available within the WDW complex...that convinced me our decision was the right one....Loads of pixie dust to all the Florida locals and be safe...PS If anyone is still undecided about whether or not to travel to Florida over the next few days, I'm sure the people in the local area would benefit greatly from your decision to pass this time.....

 

[madcoco]

Wow belle3 speechless here.What a wonderful and safe thing to do.The local news is predicting that MCO will start closing at around 2 P.M. on Friday. Got the evacuation notice off the Barrier Island (Melbourne Beach) for tomorrow.Left this evening. At the SIL's house now off the Intracoastal in Melbourne. It is not looking good for us here. Boarded up and heading out. SIL already had reservations for Friday,Sat and Sun at SSR and the only thing we were able to to find, were 3 rooms at the Grosvenor for tomorrow.(heard it is subpar) but they gave us a rate of $49/nt this morning and were very helpful and nothing but gratefulness here. We called back to try to find some more rooms for neighbors but by then they were playing the recording you heard and nothing was available.

On another note, ate lunch at VB this afternoon. There was actually a young couple complaining that there were no waves. It was an eerie feeling. The air was so thick and the water so smooth.

 

[PamOKW]

Originally posted by madcoco
On another note, ate lunch at VB this afternoon. There was actually a young couple complaining that there were no waves. It was an eerie feeling. The air was so thick and the water so smooth.

Did you tell them to stick around?

Stay safe -- hopefully you'll be able to turn around and come home with nothing but a memory of Frances turning out to sea.

 

[BuzzandWoody]

Anyone ever have a meeting in the morning and the afternoon?

My boss is always in meetings. Whenever someone comes looking for him they think I am pulling their leg. He is in another meeting? Hard to believe, but true.

Saying that they are telling a lie, maybe they are not.

 

[Beth]

Stay safe, Mike.

I'm going to call and cancel today - though I think the resort will probably close, anyway...

Even if Hwy 60 is passable on Sunday - we don't need to be on the road to add to the evacuation traffic.

Here's hoping the resort fares the storm with little damage/flooding.