New policy for reservations based on check IN date

[LisaS]

I totally agree! I have never done day-by-day booking as I wouldn't want to waste my own time or MS.

Someone who claimed to be an MS CM posted about this some time ago. She said that MS CM's like day by day bookings because the calls are over quickly, improving their call handling stats.

 

[alldiz]

In a way, we could argue that wise members have been abusing the old system for years.

I don't believe that DVC has ever condoned the so-called "day by day" bookings. Everything that I've read simply says "11 months from the checkout day", or something to that effect. I'm sure there are thousands of members who have never done a day-by-day booking, and would claim that we have all been abusing the rules by doing so.

DVC could certainly allege that the day-by-day bookings are an abuse that has been occurring for years now. Members doing that clearly aren't departing the resort following each individual day booked, so DVC would be within its rights to point out that we've been violating both the spirit and the letter of the law.

The new system isn't foolproof, but it's going to reduce calls dramatically. That will not only save money but cut down on these excessive wait times for MS. And the member's convenience is important, too. Now, in one phone call we can complete a reservation that would have previously taken as many as 7--often with wait times of 15-20 minutes during every call.

Good point.
I haven't done day by day yet...but I am so happy I don't have to now I think this is great news.

This is for the average DVC'er.....who call and book their vacation that they want. It is more convenient....and will reduce call volume. Win-Win....any system will have abusers....I think this will help the majority of us.
Kerri

 

[Inkmahm]

I'm glad I got my concierge stay booked. I have a feeling this is going to be my last one. It's going to be impossible to try to get a stay with the new booking rules. When somone tries to call, part or all of their stay is probably going to be already taken by someone who checked in a day or two earlier.

That is exactly my fear. I have concierge booked for March 2009 and I fear I'll never be able to get it again with these new rules.

 

[momof3poohlovers]

I'll be honest, I am not happy about this change. We like to stay concierge level at AKV(a 2br) and I realize that so far I have been pretty lucky in that I have managed to reserve 2 stays with no problems(I did call day by day right at 9AM). However, one of the weeks we like to go is the week of Thanksgiving. We usually arrive on a Tuesday and stay until the Monday afterward. I realize that as more and more points are sold at AKV's my odds of getting this ressie would have become much more difficult but now we will practically have no chance if we arrive on a Tues. as opposed to the weekend before. At least before I had the same odds as everyone else trying for those nights, now those who check in earlier for that week will obviously get those rooms and anyone wanting to stay those nights who are checking in a little later in the week can forget about it. I still love AKV's though and will be ok with a SV.

 

[RobDoc]

In a way, we could argue that wise members have been abusing the old system for years.

I don't believe that DVC has ever condoned the so-called "day by day" bookings. Everything that I've read simply says "11 months from the checkout day", or something to that effect. I'm sure there are thousands of members who have never done a day-by-day booking, and would claim that we have all been abusing the rules by doing so.

DVC could certainly allege that the day-by-day bookings are an abuse that has been occurring for years now. Members doing that clearly aren't departing the resort following each individual day booked, so DVC would be within its rights to point out that we've been violating both the spirit and the letter of the law.

The new system isn't foolproof, but it's going to reduce calls dramatically. That will not only save money but cut down on these excessive wait times for MS. And the member's convenience is important, too. Now, in one phone call we can complete a reservation that would have previously taken as many as 7--often with wait times of 15-20 minutes during every call.

Actually, "wise members" have been instructed by MS to call day-by-day for years now. It has certainly increased the number of phone calls but was also well within both the "spirit and the letter of the law" and worked since MS also suggested simply linking individual days together. By letting MS know with the first call the intent, it cut down on the multiple confirmation letters (less cost for ALL members) and kept everything under one confirmation letter.

The biggest change I see with the new system is that we no longer have a level playing field where all members have the same opportunity to reserve a specific date. Even with day-by-day reservations, everyone had the same opportunity to reserve each date. Under the new policy it is entirely possible that some reservations will not be available to members calling exactly at 11 months from their check-in date.

This will be especially true for GVs and Beach Houses at HH, VB and BWV as well as Standard View and BW View villas for some of the more highly demanded dates (like early December).

It will certainly be interesting to see how this change plays out once the membership is truly aware of the change. As others have noted, some will like the change and others will not - but even those who like the change initially may find frustration with it at some time in the future. At least with the prior system everyine had the same opportunity by calling right at 9:00am 11 months ahead.

As with all of the changes made by DVC over the years, members just need to use the allowed systems to their best advantage and let MS know when something is a source of frustration. Over the years we've seen changes in banking rules, borrowing rules, transfer rules, reservation requests and many other aspects of DVC. Some of these rules have been changed multiple times without ever asking for direct input from the membership. Some changes have possibly been made due to member complaints and on occasion those changes have generated more complaints, forcing a change back to the original policy.

Stay Tuned!

 

[pyrxtc]

I thinkn this is great and will keep people from having to change rooms a bunch of times and will really get their waitlists down. It also amkes ressies for AKV Concierge that much harder to book. I wonder if all 7 nights have to be at the same resort, same category or if they will let you switch to a different category for some nights or that will require a new phone call on the day you want to change.

 

[magicmommy]

That is exactly my fear. I have concierge booked for March 2009 and I fear I'll never be able to get it again with these new rules.

Ditto.. The only time I book day by day is for my CL room at AKV. I have been lucky for each of my 2 CL ressies at 859am exactly at the 11 month window. I added points at AKV primarily to start a vacation with 3-5 days at AKV then moving. This change probably means we won't be as lucky going forward.

 

[wildernessDad]

Personally, I do not like the change. I agree that it will be much better for MS and a lot easier for us all in that we do not have to call day by day.

But I like the idea that everything is fair at 9 am so that we all have a fair shot at a reservation.

What if a person number 1 cannot go to VWL in early December, but must wait a few days in order for things like school to clear up. Person number 2, who can arrive earlier in the month, could conceivably get those days and part of the days when person number 1 could go. It's going to put the squeeze on person number 1.

Also, if I really want a critical vacation reservation, I could call exactly at 9 am and more than likely get it. Now I am at the mercy of fate, hoping that a room is still available.

 

[BeccaG]

The biggest change I see with the new system is that we no longer have a level playing field where all members have the same opportunity to reserve a specific date. Even with day-by-day reservations, everyone had the same opportunity to reserve each date. Under the new policy it is entirely possible that some reservations will not be available to members calling exactly at 11 months from their check-in date.

Just wanted to say ditto!!

 

[n2mm]

Just wanted to say ditto!!

I agree.

I went to the DVC website and the only thing I found was now in the your points section with the red print, it says your can book a trip with your CHECK OUT date May 20 or before, so if someone is staying for 7 days and you for 5 days, that means they called 2 days before you and therefore probably got the unit you wanted because they are staying longer. hmmmm. Not sure about this system. Plus if you book a 7 night stay (and it does not mention 7 nights on the system), does that mean you can call the next day to add an additional night if you want 8 nights. I would like to see this clarification in writing if anyone know where to find it because we often stay for 10 or 12 nights, so am wondering how to handle this.

 

[doconeill]

Just to chime in - I've always understood the need to book based on last-day as a necessary evil so that everyone had as equal a chance as possible to book their rooms regardless of the length of stay - someone needing a room for 3 days ending on the 20th has the same chance as someone needed it for 7 days ending on the 20th.

Now, I believe that people booking longer stays will have an advantage, especially those that might book a "typical" vacation of Sunday-Saturday (or whatever the typical is for DVC) vs. someone looking for a partial week.

Someone who claimed to be an MS CM posted about this some time ago. She said that MS CM's like day by day bookings because the calls are over quickly, improving their call handling stats.

I believe this would most likely be a cost-saving measure, reducing the number of MS operators by reducing the call volume - since those quick stats won't be there any more.

 

[tjkraz]

Actually, "wise members" have been instructed by MS to call day-by-day for years now. It has certainly increased the number of phone calls but was also well within both the "spirit and the letter of the law" and worked since MS also suggested simply linking individual days together. By letting MS know with the first call the intent, it cut down on the multiple confirmation letters (less cost for ALL members) and kept everything under one confirmation letter.

I agree that MS has been telling people about day-by-day bookings for years now, but it's not in writing anywhere. People who have historically followed the written guidelines and booked 11/7 months from check-out are none the wiser.

 

[Inkmahm]

I also just read that you can no longer waitlist for only one day. Has to be the whole vacation. Now if you have multi contracts I suppose you can get around that also.

??? I don't understand the "you can't waitlist for only one day" comment.
For example, I have a 1 bedroom at AKV for Dec 2 and I am waitlisted for a 2 bedroom for just that one night. Then we move to VWL for 5 nights in a 2 bedroom. Are you saying I'm not allowed to have a waitlist for one night at AKV?

 

[kmc33]

Kim, thanks so much for posting this! I just booked our May 2009 BWV trip already instead of having to wait until next week.

I am glad that it helped you and hopefully others too. I got lucky since I happened to be calling today. But I figured if it wasn't posted somewhere, it could hurt someone who waited for their check-out date to call, not realizing that the policy changed.

 

[kmc33]

I guess my mind isn't devious enough, 'cause I hadn't even thought about ways to turn the new system to my advantage! Scary, what folks come up with.

Neith is mine! I didn't think about these ways of working it to get your call in sooner than someone else. Now I am seeing the other side of it. The previous method could be to your disadvantage if you were booking a longer stay and had to wait until your check-out day to call. But if you were concerned, you could call day be day. But now, you could get the short end of the stick during a popular time if the system is abused as Doc suggested.

 

[tjkraz]

??? I don't understand the "you can't waitlist for only one day" comment.
For example, I have a 1 bedroom at AKV for Dec 2 and I am waitlisted for a 2 bedroom for just that one night. Then we move to VWL for 5 nights in a 2 bedroom. Are you saying I'm not allowed to have a waitlist for one night at AKV?

You can do a one night waitlist if that's the only night you are seeking.

What they have eliminated is the day-by-day waitlist. If you wanted Dec 2-6, in the past you could create 5 separate waitlist requests for each individual night. It's much easier to get one night off of the waitlist than 5 consecutive, so the odds of success are probably much higher this way.

Now if you wanted Dec 2-6, you need to waitlist for the entire period. It's all or nothing.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I think a side benefit for DISNEY may be that some small owners go ahead and purchase more points.

Dh and I have been thinking about adding on at BLT so that we could stay every 2 to 3 years. Of course, this will help us be able to stay on weekend nights too.

We are BWV 100 point owners.

BTW, I think adding this new policy in the same month as allowing *New* 100 point buy ins at AKV stinks.

I knew that I was going through a Disney loophole with my 100 point resale. These new people at AKV are going through the front door, and may be hurt because of it.

Will the DVC sales people tell the 100 pt. buyers that they will not only have trouble if they decide to UN-bank or UN-Borrow, or want to make a just in case ressie because of extended family, but will also have trouble booking because they would NEVER consider staying on both a Friday or Saturday night.

I also know that others have problems with these scenarios, but for the 100 point owners, these problems can wreak havoc on your whole account.

 

[Cricket2]

I thinkn this is great and will keep people from having to change rooms a bunch of times and will really get their waitlists down.

I don't see how either one of those things will happen. If anything they will both go up or stay about the same. Theoreticaly, you could have to make 20+ calls to get the first week at VWL guaranteed at some point because of advance reservations.

Now that I think about it, calls could actualy INCREASE!

If I want Dec 6-11 (2010) I could start calling weeks in advance of the actual 11 month window for say Nov 22-27 and rotate out my arrival date in favor of a new departure date 14 times and come out with the week I want. No way this can happen without some sort of stop-gap measure in place and that will most likely be any change requires a complete cancelation and rebook.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

??? I don't understand the "you can't waitlist for only one day" comment.
For example, I have a 1 bedroom at AKV for Dec 2 and I am waitlisted for a 2 bedroom for just that one night. Then we move to VWL for 5 nights in a 2 bedroom. Are you saying I'm not allowed to have a waitlist for one night at AKV?

I think she means you can no longer do day-by-day waitlisting- waitlisting for a single night is still ok.

 

[tjkraz]

Side comment:


Preview of Caskbill's weekend.......