I’m tired, Grandpa…

PRmamiDEdos

DIS Veteran
Joined
Apr 14, 2006
Messages
2,541
I’m coming to complain. I’ve had DVC for almost 15 years. We own at AKL and use our contract to do short trips here and there so we usually get a value studio. Within the past year and a half, it has been downright impossible to get a value studio during the dates that I want. In fact, it’s impossible for any date even if I’m trying to be flexible. Until recently, I’ve never looked at the availability calendar and seen every single date unavailable. It’s crazy!!!

Is there something going on at AKL Jambo with the values?
 
I’m coming to complain. I’ve had DVC for almost 15 years. We own at AKL and use our contract to do short trips here and there so we usually get a value studio. Within the past year and a half, it has been downright impossible to get a value studio during the dates that I want. In fact, it’s impossible for any date even if I’m trying to be flexible. Until recently, I’ve never looked at the availability calendar and seen every single date unavailable. It’s crazy!!!

Is there something going on at AKL Jambo with the values?
That is just the way it is now and has been for quite a while. They tend to book full year round for any given start date at exactly 8 a.m. eastern at 11-months out (unless the start date is already filled before 11-months out by those making multiple day reservations). That results from a combination of factors including that: (a) there are only a limited number of those studios; (b) they have the lowest point per night cost of any AKV rooms; (c) Disney, between 2010 and 2020, had a minimum point purchase for AKV for new members of only 75 points (and at times only 50) and thus helped create a large number of members who would mainly seek low point cost rooms ; (d) "walking" reservations, where members attempt to get a reservation for time before they actually want to go, and then constantly modify that reservation until they reach the dates they actually want; and (e) member renters also seizing times via walking to highly desired times of year to do rentals.

There are at times a chance of getting a desired reservation after the 11-month period passes by picking up openings that occur as walkers pass by, but that can take a lot of time constantly checking and having to get only part of the reservation you want at a time, and thus you have to keep checking to add more dates.
 
I’ve had DVC for almost 15 years. We own at AKL and use our contract to do short trips here and there so we usually get a value studio.
We bought in there early & have added on since to point it's our biggest contract

Reason for adding points, we needed more to accommodate non value studios. They started to disappear at 11 month booking day long before Covid/revenge travel etc

While we were at it made sure we had enough points in the pit going forward to cover a couple of extra, non value trips a year.

Depending on time of the year, almost as difficult for BWV standard studios, in particular, race weekends, Fourth of July & F&W
 
I’m coming to complain. I’ve had DVC for almost 15 years. We own at AKL and use our contract to do short trips here and there so we usually get a value studio. Within the past year and a half, it has been downright impossible to get a value studio during the dates that I want. In fact, it’s impossible for any date even if I’m trying to be flexible. Until recently, I’ve never looked at the availability calendar and seen every single date unavailable. It’s crazy!!!

Is there something going on at AKL Jambo with the values?

Most of the brokers/people who rent reservations tend to gobble these up and then sell them compared to Disney cash rates for a studio.

I think these are some of the highest margin rooms when reselling.

Unfortunately Disney doesn't care a ton about the practice.
 


I’m coming to complain. I’ve had DVC for almost 15 years. We own at AKL and use our contract to do short trips here and there so we usually get a value studio. Within the past year and a half, it has been downright impossible to get a value studio during the dates that I want. In fact, it’s impossible for any date even if I’m trying to be flexible. Until recently, I’ve never looked at the availability calendar and seen every single date unavailable. It’s crazy!!!

Is there something going on at AKL Jambo with the values?
My suspicion is that the AKV values are like the canary in the coal mine & the first to show the increase in the DVC rental business - particularly spec rentals & the rumored practice of some of the bigger players using bots to secure hard to get high margin reservations such as the value villas. That said, there are so few of them it’s not like they were ever easy to get.
 
I believe it is the bots - big company DVC rentals. We owned AKV and sold them sadly, as there was no advantage to owning. We are staying in 1 BR Values this month HA, HA bots we got 3 nights with our OKW points LOL!!

:poop:
If it is bots, I wish Disney would do the bot safeguard on the reservations. I've seen the dates available a few times and as soon as my watch hits 8, I click reserve and I get an error. I assumed it was because of the demand that crashes the page. It's so frustrating.
 
There are at times a chance of getting a desired reservation after the 11-month period passes by picking up openings that occur as walkers pass by, but that can take a lot of time constantly checking and having to get only part of the reservation you want at a time, and thus you have to keep checking to add more dates.
I was counting on this but there is NOTHING. I was willing to piecemeal a value stay and I'm amazed at how it's all gone.
 
At Jambo, isn't there a MAXIMUM of 18 value studios, 8 dedicated, 10 lock-offs connected to a one bedroom to make a two bedroom unit? The odds would be pretty low of getting them anytime, when you consider just how many owners and points there are between Jambo and Kidani. This is where Disney allowing lower point original contracts comes into play, rather than sticking with the original 230 point requirements when OKW first opened., Lower point contracts = a higher number of owners trying for the same reservations.
 
At Jambo, isn't there a MAXIMUM of 18 value studios, 8 dedicated, 10 lock-offs connected to a one bedroom to make a two bedroom unit? The odds would be pretty low of getting them anytime, when you consider just how many owners and points there are between Jambo and Kidani. This is where Disney allowing lower point original contracts comes into play, rather than sticking with the original 230 point requirements when OKW first opened., Lower point contracts = a higher number of owners trying for the same reservations.
I purchased AKV with 160 points in 2010. Haven't had an issue booking until the end of 2022. I was even able to get TWO 2-BR value units for a vow renewal in October 2023. It is as of late that all dates are taken.

Let's say there's one day available, give it a few more days past the 11 month mark and they'll all be snapped up. I do believe it's the 3rd party rental market that's doing this.
 
I will say I don't understand who would want to pay an inflated cash price for a value room. The people who advertise them definitely oversell it compared to a atandard.
 
















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