There are different inventories at all DVC resorts. DVC members can book accommodations using points at DVC resorts as long as that inventory has been declared for the DVC membership. At older resorts, such as OKW, HHI, VB, BWV, BCV, VWL, SSR, BLT, and VGC, 100% of the resort as been declared. At AKV, only 82.45% has been declared as of today.
Although, 100% of a resort may have been declared for the Members' inventory, Disney owns a percentage of each resort which it makes available to the general public for cash reservations. Disney's percentage of ownership comes from different sources. By regulation, Disney Vacation Development must retain at least 2% of the total points at each resort. For a resort like BWV, that accounts for over 97,000 points. DVD also reacquires points through foreclosure proceedings, exercising its right of first refusal on resale transactions, and other buyback reasons. In addition, at the newer resorts, such as BLT, AKV, SSR, and Aulani, there are points that have been declared for the DVC inventory but have not yet been sold to the public. Those points can also be used to support cash reservations.
In addition, when DVC members choose to exchange their points for access to the
Disney Cruise Line, the Disney Collection, the Concierge Collection, or Adventures by Disney, those points are then rented out to the general public as cash reservation so that DVC can pay for the exchanges.
There is another source of DVC points that can be used to fund cash reservations: THe Breakage Inventory. In the DVC, the term "Breakage" has a specific meaning. All DVC accommodations that are not booked by the Membership within 60 days of the check-in date are made available to the general public to book using cash. DVC members can still book those accommodations using points, but they are now competing with non-DVC guests who are willing to pay cash for the villa. The logic behind this rule is simple: DVC Members have had since the 11-month mark to book a villa. If its still vacant at the 60-day mark, then DVC makes it available to the general public rather than letting it go empty.
If a breakage inventory villa is booked for cash by a non-member, the DVC membership at that resort gets a small percentage of the income from the cash reservation. At the end of the year, this accumulated income appears on each DVC resort's annual budget as Breakage Income. In 2012, BLT's annual maintenance fees were reduced by $0.0831 per point because of income derived from the Breakage Inventory.
Let me stress something that people tend to forget about the Breakage Inventory. DVC Members can still book a villa using points within 60 days of check-in. The ONLY difference with these villas is that the Membership is now competing with the general public who can book the room through Disney Central Reservation Operation. At 60 days and under, its first come-first served.