More waitlist advice, please!

[snyderla]

Oct 26 to Nov1 we have 2 studios & 1 2BR booked at OKW, but still need 1 more studio for my sister & her family. We are waitlisted for it and I called member services this morning to see how the waitlist is coming. The first night and the last night are now available. Should I book those and stay waitlisted for the others? Or just wait for all nights? She has purchased her tickets.
The CM said a couple of things that concerned me. The first was "you already have rooms"-the second was when I asked if I should book the nights that ARE available, or if they is a way to earmark them for use. She said the way waitlist works is when nights become available the system searches for an exact waitlist match and those people get the rooms first. So in theory that means since I need 6 nights, I have less chance of getting any of my nights than someone who only needs 3 or 4 of those nights. (Do you follow what I mean?)
So, do I book Sunday (10/26) night and Friday night (11/01) and just call to book the others day by day as they come up to help my chances of getting all of my nights? Or just wait until they all become available and book at once? thank you so much...

Lori

 

[Lew]

I'd go for it. If what you say is true, it would increase your chances of getting all the nights you need.

Good luck!

 

[CarolMN]

Make sure they don't tie your waitlist to the other reservations.

Generally, when you already have a reservation for the same dates and a waitlist comes through, they cancel the other reservation.

So make sure that MS absolutely understands that you need an additional room.

Good luck!

 

[bookwormde]

I think I would take the chance and book the 2 nights that are available. The only down side is that you will be starting a waitlist which will you be at the bottom of the list for the new days, but with OKW hopefully the wait list is not long and there is a lot of “trading out” from OKW as waitlists at other resorts are filled.

There are no reports of unavailable days for your missing days at any resort so hopefully none of the waitlists are long.

If you get a chance, report the “sold out” information on the new thread.

bookwormde

 

[snyderla]

Thank you. Yes, that made me nervous when she said "you already have rooms". I told her we are having a grand gathering and need 1 more room, so I think she understood.
However, I didn't think about the fact that they may put me at the bottom of the waitlist for the other nights!

 

[Blahnde]

Since August 8th (the 7 month mark) I have been trying to make a reservation for a Standard View studio at BWV. First of all, I did not "walk" this reservation; I could have and after what I went through I just may next time, but I was trying to "play by the rules." When I called at 9:00 a.m. EST on 8/8 for 3/8 - 3/13/2009 at BWV only 3/8 & 3/12 were available, but by the time the DVC MS person put in my info they were gone! So I waitlisted the 5 nights. I called 8/9 and the 3/8 & 3/12 nights were back, but I could only get 3/8 because 3/12 was more than 7 months out. I grabbed it and then waitlisted the 4 missing nights. I then called twice every day until the 12th with no luck for the 9th, 10th, or 11th, but I did finally get the 12th. So at this point I had the 8th and the 12th and was waitlisted for the 9th - 11th. I called almost every day until 8/20 with no luck. When I called that morning the 9th, 10th, and 11th were miraculously available so I grabbed them and had them linked to the 8th and 12th. So after 13 phone calls I got what I wanted; so much for reduced work for DVC Member Services ... and me!

But here is the crazy part: my waitlist for the 3 nights was NOT matched/filled, but I got the nights when I called! After making sure I had all 5 nights and that the 3 reservations were linked, I asked about my waitlist. Yes, it was in place; yes, it was for 3 nights (3/9 - 3/12/2009); yes, it was for BWV-Standard Studio; AND no, it was not matched! I asked because I wanted to make sure that I was clear about this, and because I wanted to make sure it was cancelled since I had already gotten the reservation I needed. But I was and am extremely upset that someone other than me could have called that morning and reserved the 3 nights for which I had been waitlisted for over a week! Even if I had only been waitlisted for 1 day, my waitlist should have been matched/filled before some random person could reserve it out of the blue. Just because that random person happened to be me does not make this problem any better.

Up to this point I have refrained from complaining about the new booking and waitlisting "upgrades," but since I'm here I will say that I think they are truly awful! However, more importantly, I want others to know that the waitlist system is clearly broken. In retrospect I know I should have asked to speak to a manager to let them "see" the problem, but at this point all I can do is make other board members aware of this potential problem as a public service. It seems clear to me that if I had not babysat my waitlist, it would not have simply matched like DVC Member Services says it will. And, yes, I have since sent an e-mail message to DVC Member Satisfaction, but I have written several times before and have never received a response; therefore, I do not expect anything new this time. I think all members should be treated well, but as a 1,000+ point member you would think I would at least get a response.

In the past I have had great success with the old waitlisting policy, but I have absolutely no trust in the waitlist system anymore!

Blahnde

 

[Lexxiefern]

Blahnde, that is absolutely horrible!! As someone on a WL right now, I am very disturbed by this. I think you should send an email to member satisfaction about it. Obviously the waitlist does not work like it should. I wish they would go back to the day by day waitlisting. Now I feel like I should call every day about my waitlist. What a pain!

 

[snyderla]

Oh my gosh...I have been convinced. I'm calling Monday and booking the 26th & 31st, and will call everyday until the other 4 days come available.

 

[snyderla]

Here's an update. When I called back, the 26th was no longer available. OKW only has 31st and cash for the rest of the nights available. The CM checked for discounts with cash, none for my dates. So she looked at SSR, 3 of the nights are available there, but that changes my waitlist and puts me at the bottom again. I decided to keep the waitlist the same, because I can do points at POR if I have to. I have enough available for that, and she said there is availability. I don't think that will change because I don't imagine anyone but me is crazy enough to use points for a nonDVC moderate resort!