In general how hard to change dates

[SpanishForker]

I am renting points to stay at SSR in a 2BR for Jan31-Feb7th. Due to a work issue I might not be able to get out of I might have to change my dates to Jan 28th to Feb 4th. Same number of night same number of weekend nights, but different point pricing due to more nights in Jan. I have told the person I am renting from I would still pay the same amount of money regardless of the change (this was in regard to any change, I have not mentioned this specific change yet, I wanted to get at least a little info from you helpful souls before asking and maybe not ask at all if it is too difficult). I just want to know in general how troublesome assuming the dates are open at any resort to make such a change and what the ramifications for the owner might be.

Any help, info etc. would be greatly appreciated.

 

[RobDoc]

At this point, availability is the only challenge (unless the member is unwilling to make any changes). For the member you are working with, it just involves one phone call to modify the existing reservation. Your offer to pay the same amount certainly makes the complete transaction easier and the member will have a few points returned to his account. The only challange would be if there is a waitlist for the new dates you want and whether the member will need to cancel dates before being able to secure the new dates. In that situation, it could be possible to lose the new dates while the old dates are being cancelled since the DVC system doesn't always allow the MS rep to "hold" dates while the transaction is being completed.

I would certainly contact the member and give them a head's up about your situation.

Good luck!

 

[CarolAnnC]

Since February 1 is the date of Superbowl in Tampa FL, you may find it very difficult for the member to change the dates. WDW is expected to be in high occupancy due to that event since it is fairly close by. Good luck, I hope it all works out for you.

 

[SpanishForker]

I talked to the member and they are more than willing to work with me on this issue. I looked through the availability threads and if they are even close to accurate then we should be ok. By moving more of our days into January we actually open up a few more options because points are lower that month. The owner was slightly worried about the 30day cancellation window being an issue, but we still are outside of that for now. Also since this is actually a date change does the cancellation window come in to effect at all...just wondering.

Thanks!!!!

 

[RobDoc]

I talked to the member and they are more than willing to work with me on this issue. I looked through the availability threads and if they are even close to accurate then we should be ok. By moving more of our days into January we actually open up a few more options because points are lower that month. The owner was slightly worried about the 30day cancellation window being an issue, but we still are outside of that for now. Also since this is actually a date change does the cancellation window come in to effect at all...just wondering.

Thanks!!!!

Since the dates are still all more than 30 days ahead, the cancellation date will not affect the member at all - UNLESS - the waitlist is needed to change the dates and that takes the changes within 30 days. Once you are within 30 days of any dates in the reservation, any changes will affect the member - since the extra points will be in the Holding Account, so I'd suggest trying to change any dates ASAP to both maximize your chances for succes with the date change and to minimize any possible effects on the member. (But, if you will still be paying the same amount already agreed upon, the member will not be affected at all, even if he loses the points altogether.)

 

[JimMIA]

Also since this is actually a date change does the cancellation window come in to effect at all...just wondering.

Just to clarify, technically, there is no such thing as a "date change." ANY change is a cancellation and rebooking. You don't keep some of the days and add/subtract others.

Obviously, therefore, all cancellation policies and penalties apply.

 

[SpanishForker]

Just to clarify, technically, there is no such thing as a "date change." ANY change is a cancellation and rebooking. You don't keep some of the days and add/subtract others.

Obviously, therefore, all cancellation policies and penalties apply.

So if a change (cancel/rebook) is to be made it needs to be made before the 30 day window so as not to incur any penalties?

 

[JimMIA]

So if a change (cancel/rebook) is to be made it needs to be made before the 30 day window so as not to incur any penalties?

That's correct. If you try to change within the 30 days, the points will go into holding account...which means they can only be used for bookings within 60 days of arrival. That won't be a problem for the points you use, but the extra points left over would also be in holding and might be of no value to the owner.

 

[SpanishForker]

What about using more points? Right now we are at 274 but might need a few more (which the owner does have) to get to a different resort possibly. How does that factor in to the 30day window issue?

 

[RobDoc]

What about using more points? Right now we are at 274 but might need a few more (which the owner does have) to get to a different resort possibly. How does that factor in to the 30day window issue?

As long as the member is willng and able to provide additional points there is no problem. Again, as long as any changes are made 31 or more days before arrival, there would be no penalty. It would simply be cancelling one reservation and making another - but - the first reservation will need to be cancelled before the second can be made (unless the member has enough poinnts to have both reservations in place at the same time) and there is a chance that the availability could disappear during that time.

In addition to the cancellation issues you should also realize that any unreserved DVC villas have also been made available to CRO for cash reservations for your dates. So you are now competing with both other DVC members, the waitlist and cash reservations for these accommodations. I'd act as quickly as possible.

Good luck!

 

[SpanishForker]

Any idea on how accurate the availability pages here on the Dis are?

 

[dianeschlicht]

Any idea on how accurate the availability pages here on the Dis are?

What availability pages??? DVC availability changes from minute to minute, and a room type can disappear between the time the owner first gets on a call to MS, and the time he can make the reservation. If you are looking at avaiable CRO reservations, they are a totally different inventory.

 

[SpanishForker]

What availability pages??? DVC availability changes from minute to minute, and a room type can disappear between the time the owner first gets on a call to MS, and the time he can make the reservation. If you are looking at avaiable CRO reservations, they are a totally different inventory.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=168

Obviously things can change rapidly, but I was just wondering if these pages had any validity to them.

 

[RobDoc]

Sure, the availability reports are valid - but they only show dates members have been told were NOT available at the time the member called. They do not show dates which are available and, in some cases, availability changed 10 minutes after the report was filed.

The ONLY thig that actually matters is the availability at the time a member tries to make a reservation.

 

[SpanishForker]

Thanks for all the help and information. The owner was able to change my dates for me so all is well that ends well other than the flight change fees, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Yes, those flight change fees are a killer! It's almost like buying whole new tickets.

Glad you were able to change your dates without an issue.