I can't believe this!

[AKV707]

Sorry this has happened to you. I would definitely insist on an ocean view. And whatever you do, have a great vacation and don't let this ruin the fun.

 

[Chuck S]

Sounds like all's well that ends well...

I would take offense at the manager's comment however. Why should anyone be disappointed due to their poor planning? Reminds me of a sign that a secretary at my school had hanging by her desk -

"Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."

It was Disney's poor planning, and to assume that you would take on the responsibility of accomodating them is inconsiderate. Especially since this is to be your 1st 1BR experience. Enjoy Vero Beach. Besides our home resort of BWV, it is the only DVC resort that we have been to more than once!

I'm sorry, but unless we know the exact reason the unit was taken out of service for painting, you can not say it is "poor planing" on Disney's part. It could need repainting because of the actions of a prior occupant, or a maintenance issue (fire, burst pipe, etc.) Certainly nothing any resort could have "planned."

 

[CheapMom]

I'm sorry, but unless we know the exact reason the unit was taken out of service for painting, you can not say it is "poor planing" on Disney's part. It could need repainting because of the actions of a prior occupant, or a maintenance issue (fire, burst pipe, etc.) Certainly nothing any resort could have "planned."

I think bnbelles point was in reaction to the OP saying- that they somewhat resent being made to feel bad by the manager who stated "someone else will be disappointed." That manager should not make comments to guests that might make them feel guilty for asking DVC to live up to their obligations, implying that the OP getting the 1 bedroom they reserved will cause disappointment to some other person.

We don't know if it is or isn't poor planning on DVCs part, but either way it is crappy to try to put a guilt trip on a member for the room shortage.

 

[Doctor P]

I think bnbelles point was in reaction to the OP saying- that they somewhat resent being made to feel bad by the manager who stated "someone else will be disappointed." That manager should not make comments to guests that might make them feel guilty for asking DVC to live up to their obligations, implying that the OP getting the 1 bedroom they reserved will cause disappointment to some other person.

We don't know if it is or isn't poor planning on DVCs part, but either way it is crappy to try to put a guilt trip on a member for the room shortage.

Actually, "the squeaky wheel gets the grease" approach bothers me. The determination was made that the OP was low person on the totem pole in terms of being switched. What is happening is that someone else's room is now being given to the OP. The problem is still the same one, but unfortunately the new party will have even less notice of the change (if at all) and we won't necessarily hear about it unless the person is on the DIS. I think it is 100% appropriate to inform a customer of the consequences of making a special exception and letting them know that this is simply a "screw thy neighbor" situation.

 

[alldiz]

Glad things worked out for you.....

I would have been disappointed also....considering it is your
1st 1 BR stay.

Let us know how your trip went.
Kerri

 

[CheapMom]

I think it is 100% appropriate to inform a customer of the consequences of making a special exception and letting them know that this is simply a "screw thy neighbor" situation.

Why is onus being placed on the OP here? This is not a case of the OP screwing their neighbor. If anyone is doing the screwing- it is DVC.

 

[Paticake]

Making my reservation at 7 months day by day I hardly think that I was low man on the totem pole!

 

[Doctor P]

Why is onus being placed on the OP here? This is not a case of the OP screwing their neighbor. If anyone is doing the screwing- it is DVC.

That is simply not true. The OP has a reservation made at 7 months. DVC made the determination that the OP's reservation was the one to be affected due to it's position in the queue of reservations I would have to believe. I didn't hear the conversation with the front desk, but by being the "squeaky wheel" the OP somehow ended up with someone else's room. Accepting that outcome is nothing but selfish, "screw they neighbor" behavior. Not saying I wouldn't do the same thing, but the bottom line is that it just shifts the problem to someone else--it doesn't solve the problem, but only makes it worse!!!

 

[Doctor P]

Making my reservation at 7 months day by day I hardly think that I was low man on the totem pole!

Well, you were certainly much lower than anyone that made their reservation in the four months prior to that date. If you were making the reservation day-by-day, you must have felt there was very high demand and/or very few rooms left. That would indicate to me that you yourself believed there were a lot of people in front of you in the queue. Your reservation was chosen for a reason, IMHO, and I think it likely was because of lateness of the reservation among other factors. BTW, I do NOT believe that you were being treated fairly with the original offer and deserved better consideration. I AM glad it worked out for you, but very sad and upset that someone else, unsuspecting, is going to have to go through the same thing on a lot shorter notice than you had apparently.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Lot's of good suggestions. You all know my love for VB. I am really dissappointed with this situation. I am particularly troubled by the CM telling you that someone else would be dissappointed. Basically, problem not solved, just given to the next unexpecting person with even less time to consider the options.

DVC should have resolved the problem with you and sweetened the deal to the point you were satisfied and happy. This being your first visit I know you don't know the differences in experiences between the OVIR and the 1bdrm, but I can tell you from experience that if they were to offer me a free OVIR, it alone would be enough for me to quickly say yes. Unless of course I had more than 2 in my party. This is at least what they should have offered you.

I might even say "I agree to moving down to an Inn room, however; if, when I get there, you have either a 2 bedroom or GV unbooked for during my stay I want it for my 1bdrm points rate."

I just hope the person that inherits this problem is a seasoned member and VB visitor that will know how to make this a "lucky situation" for them.

On our first visit as members in 1998 to BWV, we arrived at 4pm (thinking we couldn't check in sooner ), but they couldn't give us our room key because the key printer was down and they were waiting for a replacement. We ended up having to wait until about 6pm to get our key, but they gave us 4 Parkhopper passes free for our stay . We we're in awe and VERY happy. We didn't make this happen, we were just lucky.

To the Op... I completely understand how you might feel like your problem was passed on to someone else, but this was truly not your problem, it is Disney's problem, and hopefully they will find a way to make it a win/win situation. Have a great (guilt free) time. Contrary to this experience, you will find the CMs to be the best.

 

[DisneyBride'03]

Paticake...

Hope you have a great time! Hopefully you can put this behind you, especially what the manager said, that was totally uncalled for! ENjoy the beach, the sunsets and your 1 bdr!!!

 

[CheapMom]

but by being the "squeaky wheel" the OP somehow ended up with someone else's room. Accepting that outcome is nothing but selfish, "screw they neighbor" behavior.

We are just going to disagree on this point. Although I do understand your point- I think our disagreement lies in the gray area between a member speaking up for what they [feel they] deserve and a member demanding special treatment.

OP please enjoy your trip, without guilt. I am glad it worked out.

 

[PEANUT1]

I think alot of people are too judgemental. No one should have to suffer by having their vacation changed at the last minute..it doesn't matter if your reservation was 7 months or 11 months out. I think that manager was talking out of line...and I doubt it was a truthful statement. She was obviously trying to make the OP feel bad about complaining.

Btw...if this was not a DVC reservation and a ressie at let's say the poly, or another on site resort....disney would have been much more eager to please its guests. Just my opinion.

 

[BroganMc]

Btw...if this was not a DVC reservation and a ressie at let's say the poly, or another on site resort....disney would have been much more eager to please its guests. Just my opinion.

Obviously. That is the differing natures of timeshares vs. hotels. Hotels need to woo guests to hand over their money. Timeshares do the wooing with the sale; the rest is managing the sharing practices of competing owners.

While I understand DoctorP's and OP's viewpoints on the squeaky wheel vs. member promises, what concerns me more is what MS said VB management was doing. That VB "overbooked" the resort and the issue would come up at the next meeting.

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't "overbooking" something hotels do rather than timeshares? I thought timeshares do a straight exchange of available units vs. member points. Hotels will doublebook rooms under the theory that people will show up late or cancel a reservation early in the day. Doublebooking ensures the rooms are occupied because you have more possible check-ins.

So perhaps VB management has overbooked their CRO rooms leaving little wiggle room for DVC rooms. (That 1% they own to account for emergency repairs.) If so then the no DVC member is being shunted but a CRO guest. I can see the hotel management (especially if they come to the job with that perspective) getting a bit snippy with a DVC member. He/she's been forced to risk pissing off a high-paying guest to accommodate someone on a low-paying member system.

Not an attitude I'd want from a DVC manager but I can see it happening.

 

[sean-1966]

Let me jump on here. If VB had stepped up to the plate I'm sure the OP would have been satisfied. A $75 or $100 a day room credit is more than in line for what is going on here. Offering breakfast is just not going to cut it. This is just like the airlines that over book flights. They are gambling that if everyone shows up they'll be enough people willing to offer the "buyout" of next flight free to keep everyone happy. Breakfast would cost this resort for 2 people about $10 in actual cash outlay a day. A $100 room credit would probably cost them about $50 a day in outlay.


BTW, to the OP don't feel bad. I seriously doubt you were the first person they called with this debacle. I'm sure everyone before you did the same thing you did.

And just as another side note, this is a DVC resort. We own it. It's ours. If Disney screwed up the reservations let a Disney guest suffer the consequences. Not a member. A little militant maybe.

 

[BeckyV]

This may happen at other resorts, too. I know someone last year who booked a one bedroom at Beach Club for three nights and arrived but had no room. It was a rental through CRO. Beach CLub tried to get them to take a room on the concierge level. They had just left the Contemporary and said no because the room was smaller than what they were just in. Then they tried to get them to take a one bedroom at Saratoga Springs. They really wanted to stay at Beach Club because of the pool. Beach Club found a one bedroom. Maybe CRO overbooks. I was told during our stay August at Beach Club Villas that the resort is always full and some people who wanted to add extra days were having to more to other resorts.

 

[Pootle]

It could be an "emergency" paint job due to a previous guest making a royal mess, or some type of last minute maintenance issue.

Refurbishment at the resort started on Monday September 17th and they anticipate completion early February 2008.

I'd say it's far more likely that they need to take out of service more rooms than they had planned because of the scaffolding.

 

[disgal1]

We are leaving sat for our trip to Vero Beach.....wonder if I am next on the list for them to call ...We also booked day by day at the 7 month window.

Hopefully since no one has called yet, maybe we are in the clear
We did recieve a letter a month or so ago saying there would be painting going on, and it may interfere with our view.

Ought to be an interesting trip

 

[Lexxiefern]

Refurbishment at the resort started on Monday September 17th and they anticipate completion early February 2008.

I'd say it's far more likely that they need to take out of service more rooms than they had planned because of the scaffolding.

This is exactly what I was going to say. I received a letter recently about the painting at VB and that there would be scaffolding up. It definately seems to me that this is what is causing this room to be out of service.

I would be pretty perturbed if this happened to me. It would be one thing if they offered to compensate the room, but they did not. They only offered to reimburse the difference in points. If the OP had wanted an inn room, they would have booked one.

I check in the end of the month to my first ever stay in beach cottage. I cannot imagine what I would do if they called me up and said that due to painting the beach cottage I booked day by day at 11 months out is not available. It would not be pretty.

OP, I am glad you got what you booked. Enjoy your stay!!

 

[Dean]

I won't takes sides as there are issues on both sides of this discussion and I could easily argue either side. I will say that sometimes units go out of service or mistakes happen and someone has to be disappointed. I know of II canceling this late and saying sorry, see ya. Under their rules they have absolutely no technical or legal obligation once they secure an exchange although IMO they have an ethical one. The entire resort could be wiped out one day or 8 months prior to your travel and they are not obligated. At times they will accomodate what they can but can't generate something that isn't there. I've had this happen twice where we simply had to change our dates as there was nothing else available. On one occassion I got a call from II who said that the unit I had was deposited by mistake and asked if I'd be willing to change to a Sat start day (same week) instead of Friday. I had another unit for Sat and said sure but I wanted to make certain I had the new unit. We would have preferred the extra day but it wasn't a big deal and by my making a minor change, it helped someone else out a lot. The other option was much worse where I had gotten time at Gatlinburg for family for Oct but they had to change to mid Sept. It worked out and they loved their unit.

Dr. P is correct in that there should be a pecking order. I'm doubting someone who booked day by day at 7 months out was at the bottom though. For DVC it should be exchangers first on the block followed by cash guests then other DVC members (non VB owners) then Owners in reverse order of when they booked. I'm curious as to whether the OP was the first person or only person affected, my bet is not. What DVC or the resort should have done was decide the pecking order and start calling offering the benefits much like the airlines do when oversold. Heck, guarantee me one of those larger corner OV Inn rooms and free food and I'd have been calling them to be the one affected.