Just told by member services..........

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for the feed back guys. I guess I'm just so disappointed with this entire organization.

I understand members exchanging for other reasons cruises etc. I guess I just don't understand why you would want to have empty rooms at any resort. If a DVC member wants to book the additional day to the end of an already existing reservation wouldn't that be better than no booking at all?

I appreciate being able to vent...............

So are you saying you would gladly give up your ability to trade out to cruise etc. just to make sure there was more member inventory????

Did you go on a waitlist? The inventory that COULD be brought back into member inventory MIGHT be available to a waitlist in the the last few days. In fact, it COULD come in while you are there.

I'd get on that waitlist ASAP and then I'd book something cheap off-site for that night "just in case".

 

[disneynutz]

IMO part of the OP's feelings may be coming from the realization that DVC Members are not special in the eyes of Disney, contrary to what that may want you to believe.

Disney does such a great job of marketing that you really feel that you are special as you go through the sales process. They give you juice and cookies, ice cream, they play with your kids, maybe take your family picture. They tell and show you what a wonderful time that you and your family will have as a Disney family. You are now a member of the Disney Vacation Club and you get to enjoy all of the perks and privileges of membership.

After the purchase, bit by bit the real world starts setting in, and you find out that maybe you aren't as special as you thought. There is more to the process of using your membership than you were told and sometimes it can get frustrating especially when you find out that you can't get a room on points, but the general public has access to DVC rooms. You feel betrayed by Disney and you may feel like you were taken advantage of by the Mouse.

Bill

 

[FLmomof2]

IMO part of the OP's feelings may be coming from the realization that DVC Members are not special in the eyes of Disney, contrary to what that may want you to believe.

Disney does such a great job of marketing that you really feel that you are special as you go through the sales process. They give you juice and cookies, ice cream, they play with your kids, maybe take your family picture. They tell and show you what a wonderful time that you and your family will have as a Disney family. You are now a member of the Disney Vacation Club and you get to enjoy all of the perks and privileges of membership.

After the purchase, bit by bit the real world starts setting in, and you find out that maybe you aren't as special as you thought. There is more to the process of using your membership than you were told and sometimes it can get frustrating especially when you find out that you can't get a room on points, but the general public has access to DVC rooms. You feel betrayed by Disney and you may feel like you were taken advantage of by the Mouse.

Bill

I was laughing as I read this...It is SO TRUE!

 

[Greysword]

Although member trades may be having an effect, I think the 60 day reclamation is in play, instead:

During the 60 day period prior to any check in date at a DVC Resort, Vacation Homes associated with Member Inventory may be set aside for maintenance, used to confirm Member Wait List requests, and/or made available for cash rental reservations, if it is anticipated that the Vacation Homes will not be utilized by Members.

Ref: http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/member/memberFAQ?id=MemberFAQPage#2q5

If the DRC needs the SSR rooms, they will claim them and use them for cash guests (direct reservations or upgrades from other WDW resorts).

BTW, the whole FAQ is:

How is room availability determined at Disney Vacation Club Resorts?

Room inventory at Disney Vacation Club Resorts is separated into two categories: "Member Inventory" and "Developer Inventory".

Member Inventory is made up of Vacation Homes associated with ownership interests purchased by Members and declared into a resort's condominium association. These are the Vacation Homes that Members can reserve using Vacation Points. Once all Member Inventory at a resort is reserved, availability closes to Vacation Points reservations.

During the 60 day period prior to any check in date at a DVC Resort, Vacation Homes associated with Member Inventory may be set aside for maintenance, used to confirm Member Wait List requests, and/or made available for cash rental reservations, if it is anticipated that the Vacation Homes will not be utilized by Members.

Developer Inventory may be reserved by Members and non-Members on a cash-only basis. These are Vacation Homes owned by Disney Vacation Development, Inc. that have not been sold. In addition, as required by timeshare regulations, 2% of all inventory declared to a resort's condominium association is Developer Inventory. Developer Inventory also includes reserved accommodations that are exchanged by Members through the Member Getaways program (except for night-for-night exchanges) and are made available for rental through a Disney central reservation system.

I don't see any cause for concern, as this was a part of the agreement we made with DVD.

 

[Sammie]

Its not about worth, it is about understanding how DVC works and sadly many including the OP do not realize this before they buy. I know the experts, Dean others that have timeshare experience will say buyer beware, educate yourself but it's very easy to think that Disney would not have sales people leading you astray.

So basically OP, you have bought something that is not easy to book at short notice. At peak times of DVC use which October is, you need 11 months for some locations and most others 7 months to be sure you get what you want.

I don't consider the cash rooms as a reflection on DVC's worth, or my worth to them, it is simply what it is, another inventory. Rooms on points and rooms on cash to me are as different as booking two entirely different resorts.

DVC does not work for everyone, and most everyone here that has had DVC for any length of time try very hard to get that point across.

I am sorry you are disappointed.

 

[DisneyDame27]

Hi all;

As I was posting & reading I was also on the phone with member services for most of the day today. The drama deepened. After an exhausting conversation with member services, an intense search for any room any where and just as I was ready to pay for my "cash" available room............suddenly there were none! OMG!

Expecting nothing and get nothing. We've been put on a wait list & I booked the Sheraton Vistana & got a great deal for 2 nights!

Again, thanks for the feedback. I get everything everyone says. Crowds are going to be phenomenal! There isn't a room to be found!

 

[DisneyDame27]

I also agree with Disneynutz. He/She summed up the point I was trying to make. We truely are nothing special in Disney's eyes. The general public would probably have better luck than I would booking that one night.

 

[crisi]

Say you buy a beach condo.
Back in Summer, you decided you will not visit the beach in October.
You find out Bob's Condo rentals will pay you in advance for the rights to rent out your condo, whether or not they find a renter. Its a sweet deal so you sign the contract and use the cash to book a winter cruise.
Fast forward to this week. Your friend Kim comes up to you and says she is going to the beach next week and wonders if your condo is available. You say, sorry I rented it to Bob's.
Kim calls Bob's and find out your condo is available for a cash rental. Kim storms back to you, and yells she is no longer your friend because your condo is not booked, why did you not let Kim use your condo for free?

Is Kim's reaction rational?

This.

DVC no longer owns that room. I usually use a poorer analogy. If I sell my car to my neighbor to buy a boat, and its sitting in his driveway unused, I don't get to go over and use my spare key to drive it to the store.

A DVC member has sold those points to CRO, "we" (the club) no longer own them or have a right to them.

 

[Chuck S]

I also agree with Disneynutz. He/She summed up the point I was trying to make. We truely are nothing special in Disney's eyes. The general public would probably have better luck than I would booking that one night.

It really has nothing to do with "being special" or not. It is simply the way the system HAS to work to be able to have cash equivalent trade options.

DVC can not create inventory where none exists, without dipping into their own cash inventory. That inventory not owned by DVC members. It is like expecting Holiday Inn to give you a room at a substantial discount because the Hampton Inn next door is fully booked.

 

[Dean]

Thanks for the feed back guys. I guess I'm just so disappointed with this entire organization.

I understand members exchanging for other reasons cruises etc. I guess I just don't understand why you would want to have empty rooms at any resort. If a DVC member wants to book the additional day to the end of an already existing reservation wouldn't that be better than no booking at all?

I appreciate being able to vent...............

You assume there's a loss to the system with rooms being empty and a benefit if they are used and this is not really the case from either side. The ONLY way it could be a win-win is if CRO had an agreement to rent cash inventory (of any type) back to DVC members last minute at a much reduced rate but still high enough to move CRO's money needle.

Its not about worth, it is about understanding how DVC works and sadly many including the OP do not realize this before they buy. I know the experts, Dean others that have timeshare experience will say buyer beware, educate yourself but it's very easy to think that Disney would not have sales people leading you astray.

Absolutely, the bottom line is you can never protect people from themselves and you can never deal with their assumptions in the process if they are not specifically put on the table. There is no legal or ethical requirement or expectation to dispel a buyers belief's. The words "Subject to Availability" goes a LONG way.

 

[Sammie]

Hi all;

As I was posting & reading I was also on the phone with member services for most of the day today. The drama deepened. After an exhausting conversation with member services, an intense search for any room any where and just as I was ready to pay for my "cash" available room............suddenly there were none! OMG!

Expecting nothing and get nothing. We've been put on a wait list & I booked the Sheraton Vistana & got a great deal for 2 nights!

Again, thanks for the feedback. I get everything everyone says. Crowds are going to be phenomenal! There isn't a room to be found!

That will be Member Service DVC discounted for cash rooms. Do you have an annual pass if so check for AP discounted rooms.

Also check Expedia.

 

[DisDad07]

Sorry to hear you could not get your last day. I made our reservations 7 months out and had a hard time getting the last to days. We were on the wait list and finnally got our last 2 days locked in just 2 weeks ago. This is a very busy time of year.

 

[anniet]

Wondering if there is some kind of statement that can be made to the owners regarding this kind of information - in an understandable format that indicates the trades and what Disney can actually put up for cash. It's not very transparent (at least not to me) and several months back I had heard that under Lewis' reign there was more inventory being held back for cash than was appropriate.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Wondering if there is some kind of statement that can be made to the owners regarding this kind of information - in an understandable format that indicates the trades and what Disney can actually put up for cash. It's not very transparent (at least not to me) and several months back I had heard that under Lewis' reign there was more inventory being held back for cash than was appropriate.

That would be illegal.

 

[quirty30]

IMO part of the OP's feelings may be coming from the realization that DVC Members are not special in the eyes of Disney, contrary to what that may want you to believe.

Disney does such a great job of marketing that you really feel that you are special as you go through the sales process. They give you juice and cookies, ice cream, they play with your kids, maybe take your family picture. They tell and show you what a wonderful time that you and your family will have as a Disney family. You are now a member of the Disney Vacation Club and you get to enjoy all of the perks and privileges of membership.

After the purchase, bit by bit the real world starts setting in, and you find out that maybe you aren't as special as you thought. There is more to the process of using your membership than you were told and sometimes it can get frustrating especially when you find out that you can't get a room on points, but the general public has access to DVC rooms. You feel betrayed by Disney and you may feel like you were taken advantage of by the Mouse.

Bill

It's up to each of us to read all the documents that DVC sends us before the sale is final, and if we agree to the terms and all the fine print, then we can go through with the purchase and sign the closing paperwork. No where in those docs do they promise to make us feel special. And no one should enter into their membership thinking it will happen. If you're going to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on anything, it's up to you to know exactly what you're getting for that money. DVC works best when you plan in advance. Sometimes we get lucky at the last minute, and sometimes we don't. Caveat emptor.

P.S. Usually when I'm at WDW using my points, I do feel special. I consider it a bonus : )

 

[anniet]

Never....mind.....

 

[GEB@okw]

Seems like this problem keeps popping up at least once a week. Don't people read the POS docs sent out? It's all spelled out in easy to read English. Why not read before you buy? I have owned DVC since 1994 and it is special!!

 

[Garthilk]

I'm still confused by this situation myself.

If the room is unoccupied, why not let people use their points?

 

[rlovew]

I'm still confused by this situation myself.

If the room is unoccupied, why not let people use their points?

Because the room is already being used by points (someone traded there points that would have been in that room for another stay- it is not legal or ethical to book 2 parties into the same room. Once the points for that room have been used they can't be booked a second time. If that was allowed than Disney could sell more points than are actually available at a resort.

 

[sweetdana]

Actually if there were rooms 23 days out often, we would be paying significantly more for our MF. As we would be paying for Mousekeeping, Front desk, ect split between less members. Ideally every room would be full every night. (Minus maintence.)

I am so sorry you are upset. You can waitlist, and at check in maybe add it, when you get there with points.