New policy for reservations based on check IN date

[jdg345]

You wouldn't lose the flexibility pre se though you might have a lower chance of success for other options. You could still do DBD bookings as it's currently set up. Interesting many are looking at adding related to this issue and I'm reducing the # of points I own though not in response to this issue.

I think many are looking at cancelling small add-ons due to this 'enhancement'; thought some have suggested DVC's "hidden intent" might have been to get people to buy more points to grab the weekends to give themselves a better shot at the week. Sure, you would ultimately cancel those days, but then you have still got to use those points somewhere. So not only did you help capitalize the project, but now you should also be onsite more often and spending money.

That said, may I ask what issue you see/saw that has you reducing your holdings?

 

[Robo-Daddy 3000]

Actually, a bigger reason for East Coasters not to buy in at the Villas at the Grand Californian at DLR is the what it looks like it will end up costing to fly your family to California. Ouch!

The increased airfare is a smaller part of the equation to me but it is a factor everyone has to take into consideration. If you are going to fly to Orlando for a trip to WDW from NY, it is expensive. But by substitituting a trip to DLR (every 3 years) instead of a trip to Florida, you are only going to pay a few hundred extra dollars in airfare. $1200 airfare to Orlando for 4 versus $1700 to Anaheim wouldn't to stop me from making that trip every 3 years. The factor that would stop me is the necessity to book 7 days at GCV when I would really only want to stay for 4 or 5 days.

 

[Laurabearz]

Advantage, larger point banks.

As someone with 1000 I can't even choke up spending 99 points for a saturday night at HHI, exp when I know the next night would be 33 points. And I wont book that 99 point saturday night to get the Sunday-Friday I want, because I feel most people wont start doing that, and they will all start their reservations on Sunday like me, where I WILL be the first on the phone at the 7 month plus 7 day window


There is NO WAY dvc would switch to full 7 Day reservations NO WAY. NONE ZERO ZIP NO WAY NO HOW WONT HAPPEN. And I am willing to put ten bucks on it...

 

[Dean]

No you would most definitely lose the flexibility that you had before. If you could only make 7 day reservations and any changes result in a cancellation fo the whole reservation, then that is a loss of flexiblity. At least to me it is. Dean, if you think differently on the subject then that is your right.

Let me be clear. What I'm discussing is one approach where DVC would allow DBD bookings at 11 months out OR a full 7 day rental at ll months out. Any changes to that 7 day rental would be a cancellation and rebooking, everything else would be as it has been. Thus you might have less availability at 11 months out DBD but still have the option. The same flexibility but less availability.

As far as the number of points are concerned, you've obviously got more than enough to book a full week. For those of us who were counting on being able to book Sun-Thu only and stay somewhere else on the weekend, then this system means you may need to add on some more points in order to stay at your home resort at your 11 month book window.

I have had as many as 885 points, currently 433 on the way to 100. All of our points stays over the years save 2 have been for S-F. Those two were one weekend night each tacked on to a S-F reservaiton.

 

[DVC92]

There is NO WAY dvc would switch to full 7 Day reservations NO WAY. NONE ZERO ZIP NO WAY NO HOW WONT HAPPEN. And I am willing to put ten bucks on it...

No minimum stay will be required. Although DVC has the right to require a LOS, it will not happen. Back when OKW was the only resort, and the minimum purchase was 230 points, a LOS stay requirement was a possibility since everyone had sufficient points to obtain at least a week in a 1 bedroom through Magic season. However, with DVC now selling as few as a hundred points, and with the increased point structure at most of the newer resorts, there isn't any way that they could get away with a week LOS requirement.

P.S. However, one can never say never with DVC.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...There is NO WAY dvc would switch to full 7 Day reservations NO WAY. NONE ZERO ZIP NO WAY NO HOW WONT HAPPEN. And I am willing to put ten bucks on it...

And there is no way that DVC would allow you to book your nights before 11 months out.

 

[LisaS]

OK, according to Joy, the problem is that "rooms" are not assigned at the time of booking; the computers are only working with inventory. And what happens if the cancellation was only for the first half of the stay? Then the cancelled person is still in their room for the end days--perhaps they've walked their reservation forward, so the first 3 days are freed up, but now they've extended out to another full 7 days--which might be where your room is taken to fulfill the end of the waitlist.

Think of Room 1 and Room 2 in my example as rooms in inventory, not specific rooms. I would imagine that the booking software would not accept a reservation unless it could fit it into an open slot of contiguous nights within one "room" in its inventory. Otherwise they risk not being able to keep you in one room for your entire stay once they do the actual room assignments. But I have no experience with room reservation systems and I imagine they are somewhat complex. Even though it appears to be safe to wait up to 6 days to book the last 3 nights of a 10-night stay, I wouldn't want to be the guinea pig to test the system. I would probably book those last nights DBD since DVC allows that. Peace of mind rules when it comes to booking my vacation.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I spoke with DVC this morning on the phone. I told her that now I would be booking DBD for the last nights of my vacation since we normally stay longer than 7 nights. In the past, I would have just called 11 months from checkout. Now, to make sure something is available, I'll have to call 11 months from check in for the first seven nights, then every night thereafter to get all my nights.

I also told her that there would be lots of upset members who couldn't get NYE or that GV because it was booked up six days earlier.

When I asked about the reason for the change, I got the "overwhelming member request" response. I also asked why it wasn't communicated to members first, she just noted my question. I told her that it should have come out in the Disney Files first (and I also expressed how much I disliked that over Vacation Magic) and she said something was coming in the next issue.

 

[robinb]

I don't know if this has been mentioned here or not. I seemed to have missed a couple of pages and then my eyes started to glaze over .

I talk to Melony (I think) from DVC this morning pre-coffee . She listened to my concerns about the change and took notes. I really did make me feel better that they responded to my email from last week and that they listened to me.

Anyway ... I asked her about waitlisting. I use my own example of my next reservation 12/27/09 - 1/3/10 and here is what she said:

* If your Day 1 is fully booked when you call at your 11+7 window, then you can waitlist for your entire time (up to 7 days).

Example: Call on 1/27 and 12/27 is booked, I need to waitlist for 12/27/09 - 1/3/10.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
WL WL WL WL WL WL WL

* You may call back another day and if the current booking start day is now available you may book it, any single days before it and any other contiguous available days after it (keeping in mind the 11+7 restriction on the date of your call). Your waitlist will be modified to start on the first non-available day.

Example: Call on 1/28 and 12/27 is now available as is 12/28 & 12/29, but 12/30 is not. Book 12/27-12/29 and modify waitlist for 12/30-1/3.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
BK BK BK WL WL WL WL

* You may call back another day and book any available single days inside your 11-month window and your waitlist will be modified. I don't know if you retain your WL priority if you have to split up your existing WL into two WLs with a day or more booked between them.

Example: Call on 2/3 and 1/1 is now available but 12/30, 12/31, and 1/2 are still booked. Modify waitlist for 12/30-1/1 and 1/2-1/3.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
BK BK BK WL WL BK WL

I'm sorry if I made someone else's eyes glaze over .

 

[Dean]

I think many are looking at cancelling small add-ons due to this 'enhancement'; thought some have suggested DVC's "hidden intent" might have been to get people to buy more points to grab the weekends to give themselves a better shot at the week. Sure, you would ultimately cancel those days, but then you have still got to use those points somewhere. So not only did you help capitalize the project, but now you should also be onsite more often and spending money.

That said, may I ask what issue you see/saw that has you reducing your holdings?

Personally I think it would be a mistake to let this change alter the way one looks at DVC. Certainly I can see putting any purchase, or sale, on hold until you see where it shakes out but that's about it. It has been amusing seeing everyone panic, and scary thinking what we're see posted if there were real changes. I promise you that in a year there will be very few, if any, that think this is a big deal. OTOH, it's interesting being in the defending DVC camp as the rolls are usually reversed.

As for my divesting myself of DVC points, it really has nothing to do with this or any unhappiness with DVC. It's simply that I have more points than I currently need and have a number of other timeshare options. I have also been able to consistently exchange in to DVC when I did wanted to go. We're now empty nesters, our Kids are grown, though my daughter is 30 weeks pregnant (working & married thank goodness), and to a degree we're disney'd out. We'll be down in Oct staying at the Hilton by the outlets and again in Dec (hopefully if I can work out time off at work) where I have a 2 day AKV concierge reservation. Neither will likely involve park days unless we do the Sunrise Safari. It is also my opinion that the 2042 resorts are essentially at or near their peak value. I actually bought the 100 AKV points specifically to stay in the system after I sold the others and to have the member perks even when no staying on points. I did toy with the idea of only keeping 25 points though and selling everyone else though I could do that in the future if I chose since my 100 points is actually 4*25 point contracts.

 

[Dean]

I spoke with DVC this morning on the phone. I told her that now I would be booking DBD for the last nights of my vacation since we normally stay longer than 7 nights. In the past, I would have just called 11 months from checkout. Now, to make sure something is available, I'll have to call 11 months from check in for the first seven nights, then every night thereafter to get all my nights.

I also told her that there would be lots of upset members who couldn't get NYE or that GV because it was booked up six days earlier.

When I asked about the reason for the change, I got the "overwhelming member request" response. I also asked why it wasn't communicated to members first, she just noted my question. I told her that it should have come out in the Disney Files first (and I also expressed how much I disliked that over Vacation Magic) and she said something was coming in the next issue.

MS doesn't make policy and while I'm sure the supervisors have some input, I doubt the CM really know why things are done. They make assumptions and discuss rumors just like we do. I don't think an upset member over a reasonable policy (as I see this is) should determine their course.

 

[Deb & Bill]

MS doesn't make policy and while I'm sure the supervisors have some input, I doubt the CM really know why things are done. They make assumptions and discuss rumors just like we do. I don't think an upset member over a reasonable policy (as I see this is) should determine their course.

It wasn't MS that I talked with, but maybe Melony like Robin. It wasn't Joy (but she did call yesterday while we were at church).

 

[Laurabearz]

And there is no way that DVC would allow you to book your nights before 11 months out.

Maybe you thought so, but I was always aware that booking windows could change.

 

[jdg345]

As someone with 1000 I can't even choke up spending 99 points for a saturday night at HHI, exp when I know the next night would be 33 points. And I wont book that 99 point saturday night to get the Sunday-Friday I want, because I feel most people wont start doing that, and they will all start their reservations on Sunday like me, where I WILL be the first on the phone at the 7 month plus 7 day window


There is NO WAY dvc would switch to full 7 Day reservations NO WAY. NONE ZERO ZIP NO WAY NO HOW WONT HAPPEN. And I am willing to put ten bucks on it...

Yes, but what do you think about DVC switching to full 7 Day reservations? Do you think they'll do it?

 

[mrdiscranky]

I got the "overwhelming member request" response.

If we assume that the DIS can serve as a crude proxy for the DVC membership, can one of you old timers help me out with a couple numbers:

Number of requests you've seen on the DIS for separate booking categories at SSR? ____

Number of requests you've seen on the DIS to switch from check-out day to check-in day? _______

 

[LisaS]

I don't know if this has been mentioned here or not. I seemed to have missed a couple of pages and then my eyes started to glaze over .

I talk to Melony (I think) from DVC this morning pre-coffee . She listened to my concerns about the change and took notes. I really did make me feel better that they responded to my email from last week and that they listened to me.

Anyway ... I asked her about waitlisting. I use my own example of my next reservation 12/27/09 - 1/3/10 and here is what she said:

* If your Day 1 is fully booked when you call at your 11+7 window, then you can waitlist for your entire time (up to 7 days).

Example: Call on 2/27 and 12/27 is booked, I need to waitlist for 12/27/09 - 1/3/10.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
WL WL WL WL WL WL WL

* You may call back another day and if the current booking start day is now available you may book it, any single days before it and any other contiguous available days after it (keeping in mind the 11+7 restriction on the date of your call). Your waitlist will be modified to start on the first non-available day.

Example: Call on 2/28 and 12/27 is now available as is 12/28 & 12/29, but 12/30 is not. Book 12/27-12/29 and modify waitlist for 12/30-1/3.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
BK BK BK WL WL WL WL

* You may call back another day and book any available single days inside your 11-month window and your waitlist will be modified. I don't know if you retain your WL priority if you have to split up your existing WL into two WLs with a day or more booked between them.

Example: Call on 3/3 and 1/1 is now available but 12/30, 12/31, and 1/2 are still booked. Modify waitlist for 12/30-1/1 and 1/2-1/3.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
BK BK BK WL WL BK WL

I'm sorry if I made someone else's eyes glaze over .

Thanks for providing such detailed information! So this confirms squirrlygirl's report that if your first night is not available, you can waitlist the first 7 nights of your stay. Interesting info about calling back and filling in parts of your own waitlist. So if you can't get your first night, set up a waitlist and call back the next day. If you get days 2-7 (or 2-8 if you are staying longer) then you can fill in the last part of your waitlist reducing it to just the first night.

 

[Starr W.]

Thanks for providing such detailed information! So this confirms squirrlygirl's report that if your first night is not available, you can waitlist the first 7 nights of your stay. Interesting info about calling back and filling in parts of your own waitlist. So if you can't get your first night, set up a waitlist and call back the next day. If you get days 2-7 (or 2-8 if you are staying longer) then you can fill in the last part of your waitlist reducing it to just the first night.

I'll echo LisaS, thanks for the info.

 

[Luigi's Girl]

I don't know if this has been mentioned here or not. I seemed to have missed a couple of pages and then my eyes started to glaze over .

I talk to Melony (I think) from DVC this morning pre-coffee . She listened to my concerns about the change and took notes. I really did make me feel better that they responded to my email from last week and that they listened to me.

Anyway ... I asked her about waitlisting. I use my own example of my next reservation 12/27/09 - 1/3/10 and here is what she said:

* If your Day 1 is fully booked when you call at your 11+7 window, then you can waitlist for your entire time (up to 7 days).

Example: Call on 2/27 and 12/27 is booked, I need to waitlist for 12/27/09 - 1/3/10.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
WL WL WL WL WL WL WL

* You may call back another day and if the current booking start day is now available you may book it, any single days before it and any other contiguous available days after it (keeping in mind the 11+7 restriction on the date of your call). Your waitlist will be modified to start on the first non-available day.

Example: Call on 2/28 and 12/27 is now available as is 12/28 & 12/29, but 12/30 is not. Book 12/27-12/29 and modify waitlist for 12/30-1/3.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
BK BK BK WL WL WL WL

* You may call back another day and book any available single days inside your 11-month window and your waitlist will be modified. I don't know if you retain your WL priority if you have to split up your existing WL into two WLs with a day or more booked between them.

Example: Call on 3/3 and 1/1 is now available but 12/30, 12/31, and 1/2 are still booked. Modify waitlist for 12/30-1/1 and 1/2-1/3.

27 28 29 30 31 01 02
BK BK BK WL WL BK WL

I'm sorry if I made someone else's eyes glaze over .

Well, I feel a little bit better now. Thanks for that information!

 

[robinb]

So if you can't get your first night, set up a waitlist and call back the next day. If you get days 2-7 (or 2-8 if you are staying longer) then you can fill in the last part of your waitlist reducing it to just the first night.

Yes, that's how it was explained to me. My only question is if they have to split your WL due to a day becoming available in the middle do both WLs have the same priority. My guess would be "no".

 

[LisaS]

Yes, that's how it was explained to me. My only question is if they have to split your WL due to a day becoming available in the middle do both WLs have the same priority. My guess would be "no".

I think you are probably right about that. The original, modified WL could keep its place in line but unless they can insert the new one right behind it, it probably gets added to the end of the list. I wonder if you can try to optimize things by specifying which nights to leave on your original WL and which nights to move to the new one?