Problem booking at HOME?

[Mary Ellen]

we own at BWV and if they did this to us I sure hope some of you will visit us in the lobby by the rollercoaster. We'll be the ones laid out on our sofas with our PJ's on. Stop by and say HI!

That is what I'd pictured us doing. Maybe with a sign "Ask us about our DVC vacation!"

 

[DanenRox]

If you look at their other posts, there is nothing that looks at all like a troll or pot-stirrer.

OK, how do I look at previous posts? The function I used to use no longer works. I'd love to know how to do this.

 

[DVC Mike]

OK, how do I look at previous posts? The function I used to use no longer works. I'd love to know how to do this.

Just click on their username in their post and choose "Find all posts by..."

 

[DanenRox]

Oh I do, then it launches into a search with the little dog figure and always ends in a vbulletin message that says "sorry, no matches found. Please try some different terms." This function used to show me previous posts, but for about 3 mos now, the "sorry" message is all I get. I thought the boards changed the search options for privacy....HIPPA y'know. (DIPPA?)

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

We Own At Boardwalk And Would Be Furious If They Moved Me To Saratoga

 

[JimMIA]

OK, how do I look at previous posts? The function I used to use no longer works. I'd love to know how to do this.

You have to go into your user CP and change your default to California Gold. You'll still see the DVC boards in this blue, but other forums will be in gold.

That works intermittently for me, BTW. I think the search feature has been MIA most of the time for several months, regardless of what you do. I think I really just got lucky searching for OP's posts, because it hasn't worked consistently for a while.

Other members use Google instead, but there IS a limit, you know...

 

[DanenRox]

WOW, it works! Thanks.

 

[crisi]

The dont have to make a room appear out of nowhere

theres tons of ways to fairly comp someone for a situation like this

I for one would want my points given back--thats not the vacation I booked so why should my points be used for it

or free park passes and dinners

or a serious upgrade of a room

it may sound like a lot to some to demand, but its the only way to keep them from continuing to do those types of things

moving someone from BWV to SSR is a joke, the 2 are not even comparable(not saying good or bad, just completley different). They will do that every day of the week if members let them

and because it is happening and they are getting away with it, now they are more apt to continue to do it, until they get complaints

There are lots of ways they can compensate - I'm not saying they couldn't, but someone is going to have to settle for the compensation if the room is uninhabitable or simply overbooked through some strange event. They may offer to put points back in your account, comp you dinner, give you passes. They may offer none of these things - if they offer none of these things - if you demand these things and get no satisfaction - what do you do then? I'm not sure you have a legal right to any of these things - you may have a reasonable expectation for them.

 

[hematite153]

(off topic - ever read the DCL cruiseline contract? - they can put you on someone elses ship and park six feet off Cape Canaveral, feed you nothing but chicken fingers for four days, then sink the ship with you on it through their own negligence and you don't have recourse. If you do take it to court, its arbitration, in Florida. Its really a scary contract.)

Well, smoking request are only request. Or I guess they used to be only request.

Actually, medical-NS was supposed to be a guarantee. But, I found that most of the people I spoke with at MS didn't know that and had to go ask someone in order to figure out how to enter "medical-NS" instead of "NS requested". So, as a person with a health issue, you had to know about this difference yourself in order to get it guaranteed.


We got a call about two weeks ago asking us if we'd like to move our AKV stay (coming up in two weeks) to SSR. My first response was, "well, we booked SSR at 11-months and then booked AKV day-by-day at 7 months, so not really." But, after some discussion with the other people coming on this trip (4 families) and reading a bunch of the threads regarding AKV construction, we decided that it would be better to move in advance, with compensation offers, than to arrive and find that the room we were supposed to stay in was still being constructed.

We started with an AKV GV and an AKV studio and we're moving to a SSR GV and a SSR 1BDR (free upgrade), plus, we all get the DDP included at no cost.

 

[disneybride96]

Wow...no wonder that MS manager was so happy when I talked to her today.
She called to ask about our one night at AKV in January. We were booked for a 1 BR standard view which she admitted they were having inventory problems with. She asked if we wanted to move to BCV with the rest of or stay or would consider a Concierge Studio? She offered up a dinner, tickets or returning our points! Heck...Concierge Studio was what I wanted in the first place, but could not get! I told her the points would be fine, and she seemed relieved that I was flexible...I guess now I know why! I know we are an entitlement society, but sometimes it is not always necessary for people to go for all they can get. I'm sure I could have gotten more. (I work in retail...trust me, a lot of people do that and it really gets under my skin.)

Anyway...I just wanted to say that sometimes, MS does things right!

 

[sjdisneywedding]

There are lots of ways they can compensate - I'm not saying they couldn't, but someone is going to have to settle for the compensation if the room is uninhabitable or simply overbooked through some strange event. They may offer to put points back in your account, comp you dinner, give you passes. They may offer none of these things - if they offer none of these things - if you demand these things and get no satisfaction - what do you do then? I'm not sure you have a legal right to any of these things - you may have a reasonable expectation for them.

I know what you mean, I dont think there is anything legal, I guess it just comes down to good business. I just cant imagine WDW doing that without offering some pretty good compensation

this is really mind boggling to me, that they would just move someone to SSR and not go way beyond the expected to make it up

 

[sjdisneywedding]

Wow...no wonder that MS manager was so happy when I talked to her today.
She called to ask about our one night at AKV in January. We were booked for a 1 BR standard view which she admitted they were having inventory problems with. She asked if we wanted to move to BCV with the rest of or stay or would consider a Concierge Studio? She offered up a dinner, tickets or returning our points! Heck...Concierge Studio was what I wanted in the first place, but could not get! I told her the points would be fine, and she seemed relieved that I was flexible...I guess now I know why! I know we are an entitlement society, but sometimes it is not always necessary for people to go for all they can get. I'm sure I could have gotten more. (I work in retail...trust me, a lot of people do that and it really gets under my skin.)

Anyway...I just wanted to say that sometimes, MS does things right!

I dont know how much more anyone would ever expect to get back besides the points

that to me is about the best one could hope to get back, pus the fact they called ahead of time

that right there is the way its supposed to be done

BUT, with that said I wonder how many of these point return situations are occuring and if that itself is contributing to this overbooking

now you have people booking with points that technically dont actually exist

 

[LSchrow]

about the only thing i would consider trading my BW view for is the second best thing: a room in cindy's castle!
what the heck, throw in some AP's & free deluxe DDP, give back the points, & that be an offer worth some serious consideration!

sadly, i still would prefer my BW view.....

 

[hematite153]

BUT, with that said I wonder how many of these point return situations are occuring and if that itself is contributing to this overbooking

now you have people booking with points that technically dont actually exist

No. DVD retains ownership of 3% of each DVC resort. These are the rooms that (usually) become available through CRO (along with those traded out), but, they are also used by DVD to deal with maintenance issues, construction delays, etc.

I didn't really expect anything other than the rooms that I'd reserved. But, if those rooms weren't available and they were offering compensation for a move, we decided that it was worth it. We wouldn't want to end up at the front desk faced with the OP's situation.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

No. DVD retains ownership of 3% of each DVC resort. These are the rooms that (usually) become available through CRO (along with those traded out), but, they are also used by DVD to deal with maintenance issues, construction delays, etc.

I didn't really expect anything other than the rooms that I'd reserved. But, if those rooms weren't available and they were offering compensation for a move, we decided that it was worth it. We wouldn't want to end up at the front desk faced with the OP's situation.

thats not exactly what I am talking about, I am well aware of the % of rooms DVC keeps for various reasons

problem is they are a small amount kept for other reasons(not for overbooking), so if those reasons make the use of those rooms necessary and then they give back points consistantly there aint enough rooms to go around

sure its ok to do once in awhile, but I would think if DVC started doing this with any type of regularity, then there would be problems

fact is they are giving you points that basicaly do not exist

you probably could get away with some not so strict policies in the begining years of DVC, today with the buildings getting a bit older you may need to pull a room more frequently for maintenance, with more people in the know about DVC you may have more actually booking those cash rooms, you have over 100,000 contracts out there, more variety between the types of resorts, and more booking categories.

so theres nowhere near enough rooms left over from that 2-3% dvc retains to make up for all the needs if you strat to include things such as overbooking

now I have no idea if they are overbooking, but if they are I am just saying I could see big problems

 

[Chester's Mum]

Still waiting for the OP to jump in with details, comments etc.

I have my first stay booked at BWV (my new home) this March. It would ruin my vacation if they did this to me. The reason I bought Boardwalk is because I didn't want to stay far away from the parks.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Still waiting for the OP to jump in with details, comments etc.

I have my first stay booked at BWV (my new home) this March. It would ruin my vacation if they did this to me. The reason I bought Boardwalk is because I didn't want to stay far away from the parks.

Yes, I have family flying in from various parts of the country, everyone is excited about this view. I bought BWV specifically for this location. Other than Beach Club, (which does not have the same views), no other substitution will be acceptable. I am praying all goes well for my April trip!

 

[lulu71]

Wow...no wonder that MS manager was so happy when I talked to her today.
She called to ask about our one night at AKV in January. We were booked for a 1 BR standard view which she admitted they were having inventory problems with. She asked if we wanted to move to BCV with the rest of or stay or would consider a Concierge Studio? She offered up a dinner, tickets or returning our points! Heck...Concierge Studio was what I wanted in the first place, but could not get! I told her the points would be fine, and she seemed relieved that I was flexible...I guess now I know why! I know we are an entitlement society, but sometimes it is not always necessary for people to go for all they can get. I'm sure I could have gotten more. (I work in retail...trust me, a lot of people do that and it really gets under my skin.)

Anyway...I just wanted to say that sometimes, MS does things right!

Or not, I think it depends who you speak to. I was the one back in October that had guests moved from a 1BR at VWL to regular lodge rooms and got a few points back and the silly offer of pixie dust for my next trip.

 

[SleepyatDVC]

I believe the last situation like this I heard about (fairly recently) occurred at VWL and they were walked to a regular room at GC with compensation. I don't remember the details.

I suspect it's a question of who's running the show. At the resorts with hotels (BWV, BCV, VWL, AKV), I assume the front desk is a hotel function, for which they receive compensation from DVC.

If that's the case, it has to be tempting for the hotel to "walk" a points stay in order to accommodate a cash guest paying big bucks (to the hotel, hello...) for a deluxe DVC suite. I have no evidence to support my theory, but I've had enough dealings with hotels to be suspicious along those lines.

I wouldn't be surprised about this especially for those that don't find out about the resort switcheroo until check-in.

It has also been a holiday, let's not forget. Also, since the new server migration, I no longer get e-mails telling me which threads have new posts, etc. If this is an infrequent poster who is used to relying on e-mails to come back in and post again, that might be part of the reason as well.


I mean, let's look at this from a planning perspective. The way things currently are, you basically HAVE to make all of your ADRs well in advance. If I had a BWV trip planned, many of my TS meals would be planned around that fact. To then be all the way across property....YIKES!

No wonder I haven't gotten any e-mail updates lately!!!

And I agree about the ADR's and trip planning based on resort location!

We got a call about two weeks ago asking us if we'd like to move our AKV stay (coming up in two weeks) to SSR. My first response was, "well, we booked SSR at 11-months and then booked AKV day-by-day at 7 months, so not really." But, after some discussion with the other people coming on this trip (4 families) and reading a bunch of the threads regarding AKV construction, we decided that it would be better to move in advance, with compensation offers, than to arrive and find that the room we were supposed to stay in was still being constructed.

We started with an AKV GV and an AKV studio and we're moving to a SSR GV and a SSR 1BDR (free upgrade), plus, we all get the DDP included at no cost.

A DVCer relative who was reserved in an AKV GV and studio in the middle of January had the same phone call. She also moved over to a SSR GV and 1 bedroom. But instead of DDP, they got comp tix for everyone for their length of stay.

 

[KelNottAt]

This is awful news. I couldn't bear to have this happen to either one of my upcoming trips...

Marathon Weekend - 1 night cash, 2 nights points (I'm running 39.3 miles and couldn't handle reservation stress on top of race anxiety.)

Thanksgiving 2008 - 5 villas for 5 nights, family reunion, all BWV SV. They move one of us, they'll have to move all of us.