New policy for reservations based on check IN date

[tjkraz]

Chloe:

Your quote "is it a bad thing to favor those that can arrive before others?"

You have got to be kidding me!!!!

maminnie

I completely agree with Chloe.

As Dean restated a couple pages ago, the alternative is a system which is also imperfect...a system where multiple members will have their desires go unfulfilled.

If day-by-day bookings are used and demand exceeds capacity, this is exactly what could happen:

Three members call day-by-day to book Sun to Thurs in BWV Standard View.

Member "A" gets Sunday and Wednesday. All other days full by the time he gets thru.

Member "B" gets Monday and Thursday.

Member "C" gets Tuesday.

None of the members come away satisfied with what they were able to obtain. All have incomplete vacations and have to decide when/where/how they will deal with the situation.

Under the new policy, one member will have his entire vacation while the others are left to make alternative arrangements. Perhaps they will decide to book Preferred View or change their dates slightly. However you slice it, overall satisfaction can only go up.

And despite what has been implied, "the system" didn't decide who would get a room...it was still left to the member that called first.

A few posts ago you said this: "if I did DBD I would likely be able to get a reservation for a busy travel period. If I didn't there would be a chance that I would not." As your quote illustrates, neither system is going to guarantee success. Both systems leave open the possibility for members to not get what they want.

One of the problems I see with this discussion is that most portray themselves as being victimized by the new system while upholding day-by-day as a flawless approach. We can't have it both ways. If demand were as high as some suggest, even those who book day-by-day would find themselves unsuccessful at times.

 

[waltfan1957]

There is no way to "guarantee" a reservation under either system.



No, as we are all aware, the folks who are upset with the new policy are going to write DVC. But it is less likely that the folks who are pleased with the new policy are going to write DVC and congratulate them. Thus, the number of complaints versus the number of thank yous is not an accurate data point concerning overall member satisfaction with the new policy.

still not telling me how you would book the vacation dates i gave you?

 

[Inkmahm]

Everyone has equal opportunity to pick that phone up at 9 am on a Friday, Sat, or Sunday and make that reservation. Whether you CHOOSE to, has no bearing on opportunity. You also have the same opportunity to purchase more points if your pool is too low to accomodate your booking style.

Are you referring to walking reservations? Under the new system, no matter WHICH day you pick up the phone at 9 am, there is a chance the rooms have been booked before you had the opportunity at all to book.

 

[DVC Mike]

Not "special" treatment, just EQUAL treatment. Everyone having equal chance at all rooms at 9 am on a given day. Period.

I think, for 99% of the cases, that all members will have an equal chance to book. The issue is the other 1% (the few, very high demand periods like Christmas and NYE). Some are suggesting that members will be unable to get what they want simply because a few have earlier booking access to overlapping dates. As of now, that is merely a hypothesis since there is no hard eveidence to support that. I guess we'll all find out together.

 

[tjkraz]

FWIW, I have not had the same experience as you had with DBD booking. On two different occasions booking SV for early December dates, I forgot to call until after lunch (about 1 PM Eastern) for one of the weekdays in the middle of my 6 night reservation. On both occasions, the CM told me I got the last SV unit. (I didn't ask, the info was volunteered).

If the new system works as designed, you will already have your entire trip guaranteed 11 months out from your arrival date. Of course, calling as early as possible on that first day will be of paramount importance. There will be fewer rooms available at 9am on the day you call. But the way I see it, you're still "competing" with the same group of members. If you arrive on a Sunday and others arrive on Saturday, aren't the Saturday arrivals the same people calling DBD at 9am on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc?

Ultimately, it will save a half-dozen additional calls later in the week, and eliminate the risk of not getting a room for all of the trip when trying to book from such a small category.

 

[waltfan1957]

I think, for 99% of the cases, that all members will have an equal chance to book. The issue is the other 1% (the few, very high demand periods like Christmas and NYE). Some are suggesting that members will be unable to get what they want simply because a few have earlier booking access to overlapping dates. As of now, that is merely a hypothesis since there is no hard eveidence to support that. I guess we'll all find out together.

yes but not you as you dont go at these times

 

[DVC Mike]

still not telling me how you would book the vacation dates i gave you?

I'd just call DVC MS like everyone else.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Are you referring to walking reservations? Under the new system, no matter WHICH day you pick up the phone at 9 am, there is a chance the rooms have been booked before you had the opportunity at all to book.

The same opportunities are there....when you choose to book your reservations have nothing to do with the opportunities to do so.

 

[Inkmahm]

One of the problems I see with this discussion is that most portray themselves as being victimized by the new system while upholding day-by-day as a flawless approach. We can't have it both ways. If demand were as high as some suggest, even those who book day-by-day would find themselves unsuccessful at times.

True. And if I don't get what I want calling DBD under the old system, I can live with that. The system was fair, I just didn't get through quick enough to get what I wanted. But at least I had the CHANCE that was the same as everyone else.

 

[waltfan1957]

I'd just call DVC MS like everyone else.

brilliant answer just what I expected
commit to nothing

 

[Inkmahm]

The same opportunities are there....when you choose to book your reservations have nothing to do with the opportunities to do so.

Wrong. Have you read the thread at all?

 

[Brian Noble]

Fear, undertainty and doubt.

As near as I can tell, every policy change Disney ever comes up with generates huge FUD.

For example, a few years ago, Disney elminated the one hour changeover period between day guests and party guests at hard-ticket events. "Everyone will just stay! It will ruin the Party!" Didn't happen.

Then, there was the 180+10 policy for making ADRs. "When I call for CRT, other people will have had more than a week to book it! It will be full, and I'll get shut out!" Didn't happen.

I think "wait and see" is reasonable here. Given Disney's penchant for avoiding disappointed guests, I'm guessing that they believe this is going to work, and if it does substantively decrease members' ability to get what they want, they'll probably change it again.

For an example of the latter, consider the brief change when AP resort rates could not be booked except through the passholder site. That was a disaster, and it didn't last the year.

 

[jdg345]

I recall that being discussed in the abstract, as one of the potential benefits of the new system. In all likelihood it would only apply in isolated situations.

A prime example would be AVK concierge. Getting 7 nights in that room class would be a near impossibility booking day-by-day. Under the new system, it's quite feasible.

But this is based on an assumption there will be availability Day-1. Put another way, your chances of getting 7 days straight instead of a few days here and there are higher. However, your chances of getting nothing at all are higher now as well. Many of those that booked Concierge did so as a pre/post stay for the purposes of accessing one of the Safaris and were likely staying elsewhere for the rest of their trip. Regardless, AKV Concierge is going to be very difficult to get for any length of time regardless of the system in place. I feel DBD gave you a better shot to get one or two days here and there, but that's just me.

 

[jdg345]

I think DVC members are generally pleased with the new policy. Whether the emails the DVC Member Satisfaction Team is getting are generally more for or against the new policy is fairly irrelevant, as we all know that folks are generally more willing to email in negative comments than positive ones.

This same logic could hold that those complaining about DBD issues were likely in the minority as well.

 

[DVC Mike]

P.S. I would prefer a SSPL (Special Seasons Priority List) (at one's home resort only) for the high demand specialty units over the current method. That would eliminate all DBD calling and probably also be acceptable to those who say the old system wasn't fair to those who couldn't call DBD.

I agree that a lottery is probably the most fair way to handle the high-demand reservations such as Christmas/NYE. It gives every DVC member an EQUAL opportunity and is more fair than DBD calling. DBD calling is not available to everyone depending upon their job, their work hours, and where they live. A lottery would treat each and every DVC member exactly the same.

 

[Inkmahm]

]
Then, there was the 180+10 policy for making ADRs. "When I call for CRT, other people will have had more than a week to book it! It will be full, and I'll get shut out!" Didn't happen.

Didn't happen because all tables were never released at 180+10 days. Some were (and still are) held back for the 180 mark. If you call anytime in that 10 day period of 180+10 and you can't get your reservation, the CM will tell you to call back exactly at 180 when the rest of the tables are released for ADRs.

As far as I know, there is no such system in place for the new reservations for DVC. ALL rooms of a certain type can be booked before you even have a chance to call to start your reservation.

 

[Inkmahm]

This same logic could hold that those complaining about DBD issues were likely in the minority as well.

Not "overwhelming" requests from DVC members to change the system? What?

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Wrong. Have you read the thread at all?

Yes, I have. You have the choice not to reserve for Christmas, and NYE. You have the choice to reserve 1 day, 2 days, 14 days, etc. When you choose to do so or not has no bearing on your opportunity to do so. Everyone has equal opportunity, everyone does not have the same amount of points, the same daytime employment hours, the same time off. So all you are guaranteed to have is the opportunity, and whether your lifestyle or personal financial situation allows you to take advantage of the opportunity has no bearing. You are the one that has to adjust if it doesn't meet your needs.

 

[jdg345]

I doubt most members (meaning more than half) are even aware of DBD bookings and even those that are, I doubt it's been recommended to many of them by MS or a guide. But I understand MS has gotten a lot of complaints in two areas. One from those that knew about it and did it but would rather not and two from those that didn't (?couldn't) do it, many of which likely didn't even know the option existed. While it likely wasn't DVC's best kept secret, it wasn't something a lot of people were aware of and thus when they called to reserve their time exactly 11 months out, nothing was available for many times. And that's how many actually found out about DBD bookings, after getting such a surprise.

But this is exactly what tjkraz and I were going on and on about a few posts above. Are there 'many times' where you can't get what you want at 11 months from departure? Or aren't there? If there are, it shows that DBD was needed in those cases.

I still think it was a much fairer scenario. There are different types of members, and location is not important to all of them. IMO, those that booked DBD made the location and category a priority for them for that reservation (it doesn't even mean they did it for every ressie). If they wanted to go through the extra effort and I did not, then good for them. They tried harder and therefore were rewarded with what they wanted. If they ended up with a hole or a split stay, they had the option to chose if the inconvenience of a move was a higher or lower priority than the resort/category that they wanted. If they *really* wanted it, they could chose to move worst case. If they didn't, they'd release the whole thing and just stay somewhere else filling in any missing days you might have. If both parties (you and I, for example), decided that these views were more important to us than a move, then that's what we chose, and so we keep what we have and that's that.

There is a lot less flexibility and choice now. Sure, you might not have to move, but you might not get what you want at all. This takes away the CHOICE of those that might be willing to move around to get their specific resort/room/category for a particular vacation.

 

[tjkraz]

True. And if I don't get what I want calling DBD under the old system, I can live with that. The system was fair, I just didn't get through quick enough to get what I wanted. But at least I had the CHANCE that was the same as everyone else.

I'd be shocked if many members agreed with that. Let's take AKV Concierge, for example. Booking DBD there is a high likelihood that a member would be completely unable to string together 7-night trip. With the new system, the member will not be successful every time out, but when he is successful the entire trip is set in one phone call.

I don't see how anyone could argue that the DBD system is a benefit here.