New booking policy- cancelling the 1st day

[TenThousandVolts]

Has anyone asked MS if they are going to allow people to cancel the beginning of their reservation with cancelling and rebooking? They need to close that loophole- people are already laying out their strategy to do this on other boards.

 

[Laxmom]

Not sure what boards you saw but the ones I viewed weren't planning on doing this just expressing dismay that this was a possibility with the new policy. The opinion on this change has been negative everywhere I have read about it because of the possibility that people will use exactly what you describe to get around the system. Some have even gone as far as to encourage members to complain loud and often as they did with the disposable cups and such.

 

[dudleydog]

What is the problem with this change? I see it is as only a time saver for us and MS.

 

[Disney_Villain]

Has anyone asked MS if they are going to allow people to cancel the beginning of their reservation with cancelling and rebooking? They need to close that loophole- people are already laying out their strategy to do this on other boards.

I contacted the DVC Member Satisfaction Team via e-mail - drafting an explanation of the "loophole" issue, asking them to consider a solution for it. If you wish, you may contact the DVC Member Satisfaction Team at dvcmembersatisfactionteam@disneyvacationclub.com. The more comments they get about it, the more likely they'll do something.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

Thanks DisneyVillian- I will be sure to send an email today.

 

[Laxmom]

What is the problem with this change? I see it is as only a time saver for us and MS.

Check out this thread. Webmaster Doc explains the down side.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1861954

 

[DebbieB]

What is the problem with this change? I see it is as only a time saver for us and MS.

The problem is if you call at 9:00am on the 11 month from check-in day and the rooms are already taken by those who arrived on an earlier date (either real reservations or fake). You never had a chance.

 

[castleri]

I sent my comments off last night. This is the first time I have done this but really feel this issue needs to be addressed immediately before it can't be modified or rescinded.

 

[dudleydog]

The problem is if you call at 9:00am on the 11 month from check-in day and the rooms are already taken by those who arrived on an earlier date (either real reservations or fake). You never had a chance.

SAme thing can happen making any reservation. If I call a hotel and make a ressie, but they are booked up from people making ressies a few days earler for multi nights, I am out of luck. This process seems better than calling daily, imo.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

SAme thing can happen making any reservation. If I call a hotel and make a ressie, but they are booked up from people making ressies a few days earler for multi nights, I am out of luck. This process seems better than calling daily, imo.

I pretty much agree- and if you like the policy you should let dvc know because they are getting a lot of member feedback to the contrary.

the old system did open the rooms up for booking to all members at exactly the same time- i think that was Debbieb's point. It doesn't bother me though.

 

[Inkmahm]

I sent my comments off last night. This is the first time I have done this but really feel this issue needs to be addressed immediately before it can't be modified or rescinded.

I sent my comments, too. It DOES bother me that all members no longer have an equal chance at renting each room. Why take a system that WAS fair and make it not so?

 

[snackyx]

Agree with TenThousandVolts: any reservation where the first day (or more) is cancelled should have the entire reservation cancelled and that person should then have to book with whatever inventory is then available. Numerous examples of "gaming the system" have been detailed in this and other threads and this would make the booking process far worse that what they were before!

 

[mark&sue]

We are DVC members from the UK and we always have vacations for two weeks so we still have to phone up twice as apparently the new system is only seven days at a time.

I think it is great as I had to phone up 14 times previously every day. MS pays for these calls from all over the world so surely this will save on annual dues!

I think it is a great idea.


Susan

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

Keep in mind that no matter what system exists there will be loopholes. Too much energy closing loopholes, opens others, disadvantages some and helps others.

Remember the days when multiple reservations and waitlists were possible? If you wanted BCV or BWV during Food and Wine, and you had enough points you tried to accumulate enough multiple reservations until one came through with all your days. I admit, I did it. How was that fair to everyone? I was holding rooms I know I wouldn't use...They closed that possibility. I survived and even still have success in getting what the reservation I want. So clearly, I was clogging the system unnecessarily...

Due to work commitments I will often have to adjust my vacation by a day or two. At 11 months for this fall I reserved for a vacation starting on a Tuesday for a week. Work commitments changed and I had to cancel the Tuesday and Wednesday...perfectly legitimate but this suggested loophole would have me suspected of abusing the system. And yes, it is the busy first week of November, which I managed to switch to BWV using waitlists...

Saying that, I really appreciate these boards because every change is analysed to the minutist detail and you get to hear everyone's viewpoint.

Keep the discussions going !

 

[DebbieB]

SAme thing can happen making any reservation. If I call a hotel and make a ressie, but they are booked up from people making ressies a few days earler for multi nights, I am out of luck. This process seems better than calling daily, imo.

Under the old system, I called at 9:00am on the 11 month mark using day by day and always got my reservation. Some people could have been calling simulataneously but no one could have called a day earlier.

I can live with this new system, but not with the provision that you can scam it by making a reservation and then cancelling the first nights.

 

[BeccaG]

Agree with TenThousandVolts: any reservation where the first day (or more) is cancelled should have the entire reservation cancelled and that person should then have to book with whatever inventory is then available. Numerous examples of "gaming the system" have been detailed in this and other threads and this would make the booking process far worse that what they were before!

I see what you are saying but how can you prove folks were gaming the system and not just changed their vacation start date due to cheaper airfare? (Or even worse, they had a funeral to go to or something else comes up.) I don't want folks gaming the system but the flexibility of DVC was one of the selling points for me, and I am sure many others, and this additional "new rule" to prevent abuse would limit the flexibility.

 

[snackyx]

BeccaG: You cannot really tell exactly who is working the system and who is making a necessary change to a reservation. I think a "rolling reservation"--one where you book a seven day reservation because the hard-to-get days are at the tail end, then cancel the front and keep the back side of the reservation--is the primary weakness of this new system where abuse could become a real problem. MS phones would be ringing off the hook with people cancelling and rebooking days--it would be a mess! There is no doubt--a legitimate change in a reservation (that is changing the first day or days) would result in a suspicion that someone was "playing" the system. If you leave it up to MS to determain if the circumstances warrant a full cancel you are opening up an entirely new can or worms. Does MS become judge, jury and executioneer to determain who has violated the rules to "work" the system or a real need to change a date? The new system is not perfect, and you have to deceide what hassles are going to be worth it. I believe if "rolling reservations" are allowed it will be a far bigger problem than the occasional person who has to change THE FRONT END of their reservation. Honestly, I can easily live with the old system or the new one if the holes are plugged.

 

[figment795]

I see what you are saying but how can you prove folks were gaming the system and not just changed their vacation start date due to cheaper airfare? (Or even worse, they had a funeral to go to or something else comes up.) I don't want folks gaming the system but the flexibility of DVC was one of the selling points for me, and I am sure many others, and this additional "new rule" to prevent abuse would limit the flexibility.

I agree with you. We have a trip planned for December. My husband works Wed-Saturday. Our goal fly a red eye on Saturday Nov 29 arrive on Nov 30th and fly home Dec 8th. OK one problem I did not account for while booking 11 months out for our one bedroom at SSR. Nov 29th is a holiday weekend Airline prices are though the roof now. I called MS and was relived to know I could cancel my 1st day if I had to now I can plan around cheaper airfare from Oregon to Orlando. If this changes that we are locked into the 1st night if it is 31 days or greater just because someone decides to cheat this system. We might have to reevaluate keeping DVC because of rising gas prices.

 

[BeccaG]

Honestly, I can easily live with the old system or the new one if the holes are plugged.

My contention however is there is no fair way to plug the holes in the new system without punishing those who are legitimately canceling days. Canceling a few days just because I changed my mind is also a legitimate use of my points and I should not have to risk loosing my entire vacation if I do so. That would never happen at a regular hotel and should not happen at a place we call "home."

 

[snackyx]

My contention however is there is no fair way to plug the holes in the new system without punishing those who are legitimately canceling days. Canceling a few days just because I changed my mind is also a legitimate use of my points and I should not have to risk loosing my entire vacation if I do so. That would never happen at a regular hotel and should not happen at a place we call "home."

Make no mistake, we as DVC members do not operate under the same rules as a "regular hotel". With points banked, borrowed, transfered, minced, diced and sauteed there are DVC rules for everything, and this is just part of the program. The question now is DVC is changing the booking policies, and we as members are chewing over the ramifications of it. If MS will allow a person to book a reservation for seven nights (and only want, say, the last two nights--New Years, Thanksgiving, etc.) and then allow that person to call and cancel the first five nights and keep the last two nights to artifically extend their booking window, then I can live with it. I, too, will book this way if that's the rules we are all going to play by. But if, as some have suggested, this was designed to reduce calls to MS with day-by-day bookings, it will not have that effect. We will still have to call every day to cancel the first day and add the last day (I usually book for a week) then we will--same goofy number of calls to MS. If MS intent is to truly reduce these day-to-day calls, they will have to deal with the "rolling reservation" issue one way or another.