Need info on "walking" a reservation

[herrmannpt]

I'm hoping to be able to score a club level AKV for my parents and 17 year old younger sister over her spring break next year. My mom has been battling breast cancer and just got the great news that she's in remission!!! I really want them to have this celebration trip. Specific dates I'm wanting are March 23-27 (5 nights). I've read there are only 5 DVC studios available and that people "walk" a reservation but don't understand how it works. I know I'm getting close to the 11 month window. Help!!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm hoping to be able to score a club level AKV for my parents and 17 year old younger sister over her spring break next year. My mom has been battling breast cancer and just got the great news that she's in remission!!! I really want them to have this celebration trip. Specific dates I'm wanting are March 23-27 (5 nights). I've read there are only 5 DVC studios available and that people "walk" a reservation but don't understand how it works. I know I'm getting close to the 11 month window. Help!!!

Do you have enough points to book a week out as soon as one becomes available. Then each day, take off the first day and add a day on until you get the days you want.

Best wishes to your mom and your whole family.

 

[herrmannpt]

We have a trip booked for ourselves in October, so we only have 36 points left for 2013. We have a June use year. We will have to borrow some points from 2014 to make the reservation. If I borrow points and book for 7 days but then later take it down to 5, what happens to the remaining points? Do they stay in the 2013 use year?

 

[chalee94]

If I borrow points and book for 7 days but then later take it down to 5, what happens to the remaining points? Do they stay in the 2013 use year?

any borrowed pts stay in the 2013 UY. they are stuck and will expire if not used by May 31, 2014. (any current 2013 UY pts that are freed up in a cancellation may be banked forward to the 2014 UY so long as you do so by the end of jan 2014.)

you'd also not need to change dates every single day. i'd just call back after 5 days and cancel all but the last day and then add 4 more nights.

but if you don't want that many pts stuck in the 2013 UY, maybe just try walking it forward from 5 nights out...it's hard to say what is needed due to limited club level options...

 

[BrerNashville]

There's no need to book 7 days to walk if you only need 5 for your vacation. You could actually walk a 3 day reservation and turn it into five once you got to your desired date. But that is generally pointless, unless the first few days of your trip are the end of December, and the next few days are the first week of January and you were otherwise limited on points (the points cost of walking the stay before your arrival would be so much more than the actual desired trip). The fewer days you make your original reservation for, the more often you'll have to call back to change the reservation.

 

[Sandisw]

As others have said, I would be cautious in borrowing more points than you will need to complete the reservation. Since you do have 36 2013 UY points to use for the trip, you probably have an extra night to play with.

The goal of walking is to secure that first night as many nights as you can prior to the 23rd so that you have locked in your room. Then, the morning before the real 11 month window for your check in date, you call MS and ask them to drop those first days and rebook you for the remaining nights you need.

Because of those extra 36 points, you could probably start walking 6 days out and drop to five because you'd have those points to bank. You would just want to be sure when you modified the reservation that they free up your current UY points so you can bank them back.

Good luck!

 

[chalee94]

There's no need to book 7 days to walk...

in an ideal world, actually you do.

the ideal goal of walking is to book march 23rd as soon as possible. the first day anyone can book the 23rd is by calling on april 17th to book the nights of march 17-23.

now once you've done that, if someone called in and tried to book your villa (studio #1-club level) on april 23, they are blocked and can't get it (and also notice that since they cannot get that 1st night, they also cannot get any nights after that - so there is no need to call back before april 22 or 23 to drop and add nights - definitely no need to call back daily - it's ok to wait.)

if you call only 5 nights early, you'll beat out anyone calling on april 23 to book march 23...but if a handful of people call on march 17 or 18 to book 7 nights in a club level studio, then the inventory will have run out.

as the OP notes, there are *AT MOST* 5 club level studios...if someone calls and books 2 club level 2BRs at AKV, then that would leave only 3 club level studios. so that's definitely a tough villa-type to book...a little strategy is probably a good idea...

 

[mopee3]

so that's definitely a tough villa-type to book...a little strategy is probably a good idea...

We are one of the people that walk and have stayed in these rooms a couple of years running and it can be really tough.

But can anyone here imagine if DVC builds Bora Boro type bungalows on the 7 Seas Lagoon at the Poly? I think it would be impossible get those rooms/bungalows.

M

 

[herrmannpt]

I was able to secure a reservation today for the studio club level for 6 nights from 3-18 to 3-24-14!!! The dates I really want are 5 nights 3-23 to 3-28. Have I got this right that I can just call Member Services on 4-22 and change my reservation to those nights and ask that the extra points be returned from my original 2013 use year points ( so they can be banked later if needed)? Still kind of confused on all of this! Thanks for your help!!!

 

[BrerNashville]

in an ideal world, actually you do.



if you call only 5 nights early, you'll beat out anyone calling on april 23 to book march 23...but if a handful of people call on march 17 or 18 to book 7 nights in a club level studio, then the inventory will have run out.

I think you are confusing the length of the reservation with the number of days early you should call. I agree that the earlier you call, the better chance you have of getting your desired stay. But you *could* call 7 days early and book a five night stay if you only have that number of points, then call back three days later to drop the first couple of days and add some on the back end, and then call again to get the actual days you want. Once you have your five night reservation, nobody can book that room until the end of your current reservation -- which if you keep moving until the desired dates, will get you the room.

 

[BrerNashville]

I was able to secure a reservation today for the studio club level for 6 nights from 3-18 to 3-24-14!!! The dates I really want are 5 nights 3-23 to 3-28. Have I got this right that I can just call Member Services on 4-22 and change my reservation to those nights and ask that the extra points be returned from my original 2013 use year points ( so they can be banked later if needed)? Still kind of confused on all of this! Thanks for your help!!!

You can't call on 4/22 without keeping the 3/22 night booked. I think it will work if you call on 4/23 to drop 3/18,19,20,21 and 22, then add the days you want, because you will still have the night of the 24th booked, which means that no one can book that room for the 25th until 4/25.

Congrats! I know I was excited when I got my foot in the door for a NYE reservation that I had to walk!