Not enough room :(

[lranen]

I'm having a BIG birthday next year and planned a little celebration with me, my sister and her family. I got a DVC Membership and rented a 2 BDR in AKV for the occassion. I was SO HAPPY to get my room and have everything nailed down!

One small problem ... now my other sister and brother want to come too. So, I don't know what to do. I blew all my points already, and as a single person I don't really want to own a lot of points. (meaning - I don't want to buy another 100 pts just to get them rooms)

Has anyone else dealt with this kind of situation?
TIA

 

[browniemtb]

Things like that happen....hopefully once you get them all set they don't back out. For them, look into a studio unit and have that amount of points transferred into your account from another member. That way you have complete control over the reservation....or you could borrow if you haven't already.

 

[gracelrm]

You do know that you can "borrow" points from your next use year? If you haven't already used all of those for the next year - you can borrow them. Also, sometimes you can get a member cash discount of about 25% off the regular price of the room. Maybe all of you can put some money together and get a room on cash with possibly the member discount. Maybe if you have some nights for the weekend already reserved, you can pay cash for the weekend nights and have more points for the other nights. And last, but not unlikely...... maybe, like most people, your family will cancel out and you won't have this problem in the end.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Ooops... maybe a can of worms has been opened. Tell them... "no problem, you can call the resort book a room yourself".

 

[MikeyNS]

I'd just tell them the truth. You would love to have them come, but you don't have enough points to get another room. Let them know you can try to get a cash discount on a room, but not to hold their breath..

 

[janni518]

I think I'm missing the part where you are expected to pay.

 

[Anal Annie]

First, did you invite this other sister & brother from the beginning and they orig. declined or did you not extend the invitation to them? Just wondering how your situation got to this point. If it was me, that would affect what I am willing to do to include them now, after the fact.

Options - perhaps you could play with your points & length of stay a little bit and edit your current reservation. You might be able to get 3 studios for about what you're using for the 2 bedroom...or maybe you could drop 1 night off of the trip in order to add a studio if you haven't booked airfare or anything yet. You didn't say if you rented a "value" or a "standard" or a "savanna" view - you might be able to switch the type of unit to save some points. (EXAMPLE - you could do 6 n in 3 separate Standard view studios for less points than it would take for 7 n in a 2 bedroom Std. unit.) Another option is to see if you might be able to get one night with the DVC cash discount - esp. if you're using points for a weekend night?!

Without knowing more details about your trip it's hard to offer more options other than borrowing ahead or starting over with a new plan, switching to different units or going for less days...

 

[bwvBound]

Tell them... "no problem, you can call the resort book a room yourself".

Ditto!

 

[snowbunny]

I'd just tell them the truth. You would love to have them come, but you don't have enough points to get another room.

Agree 100%. Welcome to the Dis -- these boards are full of cautionary tales in which well-meaning DVC members ran around in circles trying to please their family members and were badly burned in the process.

 

[lranen]

I only invited my sister from Tallahassee. My bday is Sunday and hers is Friday (7th, 12th)
I blew away all my points for 2 years. (1rst year of Contract + borrowed year) Now, my other sister wants to take her kids to Disney.

Truly, I didn't mean to exclude anyone, but as I said, I'm single, so I only bought a 100-pt Contract. I think that's enough Disney for a single person and I could take 1 sibling + family every other year or so. I thought that was a reasonable expectation. Total family reunions would be nice, but I didn't want to make that committment with a 49-year contract.

I guess ideally, I could just "buy" some points. Less ideally, they could book rooms at other resorts on-property (AKV is just too expensive) Not sure how the multiple-resort thing would work out.

 

[MikeyNS]

If you're staying a Fri and Sat you could try to get those on cash, and the point savings you would have would probably pay for another room for the cheaper days.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I only invited my sister from Tallahassee. My bday is Sunday and hers is Friday (7th, 12th)
I blew away all my points for 2 years. (1rst year of Contract + borrowed year) Now, my other sister wants to take her kids to Disney.

Truly, I didn't mean to exclude anyone, but as I said, I'm single, so I only bought a 100-pt Contract. I think that's enough Disney for a single person and I could take 1 sibling + family every other year or so. I thought that was a reasonable expectation. Total family reunions would be nice, but I didn't want to make that committment with a 49-year contract.

I guess ideally, I could just "buy" some points. Less ideally, they could book rooms at other resorts on-property (AKV is just too expensive) Not sure how the multiple-resort thing would work out.

You have absolutely no obligation to pay for anyone's room and you are free to invite whomever you choose to share your villa with you. YOu chose to invite your sister and that's fine. If your other sister wants to come she can rent her own room or wait until you invite her when you have points available.

There is absolutely no way I would be buying more points or renting them from another member for someone who invited herself along on vacation. I would definitely have a conversation with her, letting her know that she wasn't being excluded. Let her know that she has the option to join you and pay for her own room if she wants to go since you don't have the points to pay for her accommodations.

 

[Anal Annie]

I only invited my sister from Tallahassee. My bday is Sunday and hers is Friday (7th, 12th)
I blew away all my points for 2 years. (1rst year of Contract + borrowed year) Now, my other sister wants to take her kids to Disney.

Truly, I didn't mean to exclude anyone, but as I said, I'm single, so I only bought a 100-pt Contract. I think that's enough Disney for a single person and I could take 1 sibling + family every other year or so. I thought that was a reasonable expectation. Total family reunions would be nice, but I didn't want to make that committment with a 49-year contract.

I guess ideally, I could just "buy" some points. Less ideally, they could book rooms at other resorts on-property (AKV is just too expensive) Not sure how the multiple-resort thing would work out.

OK, so they have invited themselves. IMO you should NOT buy more points just for this. You can let them know that you will be happy to give them their turns another year and tell them if they want to join you on this trip, they can book their own trips independent of yours. (Disney is offering that buy 4 get 3 deal for a lot of 2009....) OR, if you really want to keep peace amongst your siblings, as I mentioned in my previous post, you can reconsider your accomodations (either switch to a less expensive room category or book 3 studios vs 1 larger unit), shave a day or two off the trip to conserve points or pay for a couple of cash DVC discount nights and let them reimburse you.

 

[snowbunny]

I blew away all my points for 2 years. (1rst year of Contract + borrowed year) Now, my other sister wants to take her kids to Disney.

What happens if you rent or buy additional points, go into debt and change all your plans to include your other sister, then she drops out in a few months? Oh yes it happens.

How many ways can I say this....don't do it. Just say, "sorry, not this year, I used up all my points."

 

[castleri]

You could point your sister in the direction of the rent/trade board and she should be able to get accomodations at AKV for about the same as she would pay for one of the other resorts if she really wants to go. Looking into the 4/3 promotion is also a good suggestion. That would also include their park tickets so may be a better deal in the long run.

 

[Mtnman44]

It's your business of course, but since you are looking for outside input.....my comment would be: Why exactly is it your responsibility to secure and pay for their lodging? Tell them the dates and location and give them Disney's reservation number and tell them "hope to see ya there, don't wait to long to book"

 

[CarolAnnC]

They need to make their own reservations. Have them call CRO to obtain reservations at the resort of their choice. To expect one person with 100 points to reserve for all those people is ridiculous. Good luck!

 

[photobob]

I think a simple explanation of the situation would be the route to go. They probably don't know what they are asking for, explain that you don't have any other points available and maybe help them check into renting enough points for them to go as well. I'm sure your worried about hurt feelings but like another poster said tell them honestly that you'd love for them to come but you don't have enough points to get another room.

 

[dcfromva]

Has anyone else dealt with this kind of situation?
TIA

Nope. It is nice they want to participate in the fun. If I had family that was interested in joining me at WDW, I would extend an invite on my terms. That is, I would invite everyone in turn when I had the points to do so.
Sister A this year, sister B 2 years later, and sister C 2 years after that...

Or, be non-comittal and wait until you go with sister A--maybe the family invites might be better spaced 5 years apart (or 10 )

 

[cigarboo]

If your sister can't afford to pay for a room at AKL, then they should either not go or be willing to stay at a different resort. Just because you own some points doesn't mean you're treating them to Disney. Some people really don't understand how DVC works. Maybe they think you have unlimited points and somehow being a member means you can just "get" rooms. I think if you just explain you don't have anymore points and give them the number to CRO, they will think more seriously how much they want to go and what they're willing to pay. It's not a free trip. Good luck. Stay strong. I would hate for you to bend over backwards or get into debt only to get burned.