Possible MS changes to changing names on reservations

[Plutofan]

There have been several comments from MS reported on other boards that once the new software is loaded you will no longer be able to change names on existing reservations. The change is to prevent selling of existing reservations. If true this would give people a better chance on the wait list and open up the harder to get dates. This will be interesting if it is true. Only time will tell....

 

[jekjones1558]

It would also be a problem for those of us who often don't know until the last minute exactly which family members will be able to travel on a given date. We often book at 11 months but rarely know precisely who will be going until closer to check-in.

 

[DebbieB]

Do you mean the primary name on the reservation or the guest names? It would be ridiculous if they mean guest names.

 

[JimMIA]

You see so many rumors...I guess only time will tell.

I don't understand how DVC could tell me I can't change a name on a ressie. I'd be pretty ticked if I wanted to change a ressie from my name to one of my cousins and they said no. And what about if I book 5-6 people in a two bedroom and one relative is going to replace another who can't go? They're not going to allow that???

I don't like the practice of speculative booking/renting, but the POS says renting is allowed. I don't think they can legally prohibit it. If they can't forbid it legally, I don't see how they can go through the back door and accomplish something they can't otherwise do legally.

Besides, if they want to crack down on speculative rentals, or commercial rentals, there are many easier, cheaper, and clearly-permissible ways to do that. All they have to do is take a look at the account history.

 

[Merilyn]

This certainly won't work for most of us. They want to know at 11 months, who is coming. WHO KNOWS! I just give them all the names of who I think might come and go from there. When you stay in a GV you always have extras. Surely, this isn't correct!

 

[luvindisneyworld]

Well I cannot see that happening they cannot tell me that I cannot change a name on my reservation that I made.I have had to change names more than once on ones that I have made as some family was not able to go and we invited friends instead. There will be alot of mad DVC members and I will be one of them.
I just cannot see anything like that happening and actually being a good thing.

 

[VLee]

The history would not always reflect the real situation. I often book reservations in my daughter's name or mother's name, more or less giving them points if I have extra.

Also, I have reserved in another DVCer's name under my membership in exchange for the transfer of her points into my account. (even swap, but since only one of now and transfer, we couldn't both transfer in and out) MS would not probably pick that up on the history always.

 

[Plutofan]

This is just what several MS people have been told is coming down the road with the software upgrades. Who know if it will happen. I would think that there would be some leyway. If they can find a way to stop bookings to be rented out later with out disrupting members who book for themselves it would be a benefit to all DVC members and help with the booking problems.

 

[kimberh]

I think if MS does this they are stirring up a Hornets' nest. Just last month, my SIL's mother died the week we were going. I called MS to see what my options where. I had booked the room at the 11 month window. How can someone see something like this happening? I was changing names up to the last two days, which was the deadline that MS gave me.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Boy, now THERE is something that isn't addressed in the POS!

 

[DVC Mike]

If they can find a way to stop bookings to be rented out later with out disrupting members who book for themselves it would be a benefit to all DVC members and help with the booking problems.

I agree. I am thankful that DVC may be taking some action to help reduce some DVC owners from speculatively booking prime vacation times and renting them for profit (i.e., commercial renters).

The practice of some members booking "choice/prime" reservations, not with the intent of actually using them for themselves, their family, or their friends, but with the sole intent of selling them to a non-DVC member for profit, is unfair to other DVC members.

It’s undeniable that if people stop pre-booking reservations for the sole purpose of renting months down the road, more people will be successful at booking their preferred accommodation at 11 or 7 months.


On the other hand, I'm not so sure the rumored change we are discussing in this thread is the right approach.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

not good if its true, we just changed guest names recently

this renting is really starting to put a kink in some of the ole DVC flexibilty

first the transfer limits and now this(im sure others)

the problem is neither stops commercial renting, but what it does do is hurt the normal everyday member

 

[sjdisneywedding]

If they can find a way to stop bookings to be rented out later with out disrupting members who book for themselves it would be a benefit to all DVC members and help with the booking problems.

right, but how does MS distinguish between someone who might be renting and someone who is legitamately making changes

IMO, they cant

 

[JimMIA]

The history would not always reflect the real situation. I often book reservations in my daughter's name or mother's name, more or less giving them points if I have extra.

Also, I have reserved in another DVCer's name under my membership in exchange for the transfer of her points into my account. (even swap, but since only one of now and transfer, we couldn't both transfer in and out) MS would not probably pick that up on the history always.

Actually, the account history would clearly tell what anyone is doing with their account.

You don't do anything unusual. But if you did that 20-30 times a year and never stayed at WDW yourself, that's a very different picture.

DVC could analyze every one of the DVC contracts overnight, and the Disney auditors already have the software to do that on their laptops. They've already done that type of analysis on raw numbers of ressies -- we saw the complaints about receiving letters from DVC legal last year for having more than 20 ressie in one year.

All they'd have to do to address this problem is change the parameters of the query from a number of ressies to ressies with changed names during specific periods. Very simple inquiry with the software they use.

I'd love to see DVC take effective action against speculative renters, but preventing name changes is one of the least effective ways to address this problem. I think this rumor is just that.

 

[DVC Mike]

I think the best solution would be for DVC to require a change in just the primary person be considered a cancellation and rebooking, and that the primary person must appear in order to check-in. That would put a halt to the practice of pre-booking choice reservations for the sole purpose of renting months down the road.


It's unreasonable to think that a change in any name, or an addition or subtraction, would cause a cancellation and rebooking. Such a change will harm more DVC members than hurt those who do speculative booking.

 

[dianeschlicht]

not good if its true, we just changed guest names recently

this renting is really starting to put a kink in some of the ole DVC flexibilty

first the transfer limits and now this(im sure others)

the problem is neither stops commercial renting, but what it does do is hurt the normal everyday member

Right on!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think the best solution would be for DVC to require a change in just the primary person be considered a cancellation and rebooking, and that the primary person must appear in order to check-in. That would put a halt to the practice of pre-booking choice reservations for the sole purpose of renting months down the road.


It's unreasonable to think that a change in any name, or an addition or subtraction, would cause a cancellation and rebooking. Such a change will harm more DVC members than hurt those who do speculative booking.

But what if the "primary person" is the one who is sick or dies?

 

[Off-The-Deep-End]

But what if the "primary person" is the one who is sick or dies?

Just bring a certified, notorized Doctor's Note or Death Certificate respectively. Perhaps you'll get a $30.00 credit for the time and expense of notorizing....... just like the OKW extention

How's that for the Magic?????

 

[Brian Noble]

Other systems address this by instituting a "guest fee"---charging some nominal amount for reserving a unit in someone else's name as the primary check-in guest. That fee must also be paid each time the primary check-in name changes. Each owner gets some number of these "guest certificates" free per year, often proportional to ownership stake.

In such a system, renters tend to pay more of those fees, and so this increases pressure on rental prices, and reduces MFs for members overall. "Normal" users rarely pay the fee, because they have a number of "free" transactions to use for friends and family.

My experience is that the fees are generally too small to be a real deterrent in renting, relative to the value of the underlying week.

 

[wildernessDad]

DVC could pretty easily tell who are the professional renters out there.

How many legit owners and users change the primary name on a reservation 10 times per year, for example? It would be easy to set a threshold to detect professional renters. Of course, there would be some false alarms. The threshold could be set using the Neyman-Pearson criteria. Maximize the probability of detection while minimizing the probability of a false alarm.