Reservation Policies-Changing vs. Cancelling

[CGregoryJr]

Regarding the policies governing confirmed reservations, what is the distinction between "cancelling" and "changing" a reservation? As you know, when you get inside the 30 day window, the impact on point utilization is quite different under these two scenarios. The impact of a cancelled reservation is significantly more adverse than that of a changed reservation. If a reservation is considered "changed" when you rebook a different time slot, resort location or room configuration, why would anyone bear the harsher consequences of cancelling a reservation? At the time you realize that your travel plans require modification, wouldn't you simply rebook a different trip?

I am certain that this must have come up before, however, I have not been able to locate any pertinent threads on the specific subject. Please advise. Thank you.

 

[CarolAnnC]

If you desire to change to another DVC Resort, to change the type of room you wish to stay in, or to change your dates, you would need to cancel your currently held reservation and book a new one. Obviously, the points required may vary for changing any of the above criteria. I think "changing" a ressie may include only such things as non-smoking vs smoking, floor request, and those are simply requests which will not be guaranteed, but honored it possible. Hope this answers your question.

 

[CGregoryJr]

CarolAnnK, thanks for your reply. However, it is clear that in Disney parlance "changing" must include modifications other than simply "special requests" such as floor, smoking/non-smoking, etc. If such were not the case, there would be no provision in the guidebook for using fewer or greater points than the original reservation. Accordingly, the Guidebook and related policies must contemplate "changes" which impact points utilized in the subsequent reservation. Anyone else want to take a crack at this one?

 

[PamOKW]

If the "change" entails a difference in points and/or resort, then it is in effect a "cancellation" and subject to the same rules.

Here's an example from the Guidebook:

Q: Is there a penalty for changing a confirmed reservation?

A: There may be some restrictions. For example, if you change or cancel a confirmed reservation at a DVC resort 1-30 days before your arrival date, your Vacation Points will be put into a Holding Account, which may limit future flexibility. See Page 36 for more details....

On Page 36 you will find this under Changing 1-30 Days Prior to Arrival: If the new reservation uses fewer Vacatrion Points than the original reservation, the remaining Vacation Points will be placed in your Holding Account in the appropriate Use Year.

So, as CarolAnn suggested.....Changes are superficial things like smoking, non-smoking. Substantive changes are really cancellations and rebookings and are treated as such.

 

[RobDoc]

"Change" such as you are askig about, would involve changing dates, resort or room type. If the change involves the exact same number of points, there would be no penalty- since, even though the "change" takes places within 30 days, the new reservation also easily takes place within the prescribed 60 day period. If the "changed" reservation uses fewer points than the original, then any extra points will be placed in the "holding account". If the new reservation uses more points than the original, again- no penalty.

This would be evident if you needed to drop a day from an existing reservation within 30 days or modify the dates (original ressie is March 1-8- new ressie is March 3-8) in any other fashion. In the March 1-8 to March 3-8 example, the points used for Mar 1,2 would go into the holding account. If you cancelled the entire reservation, but rescheduled for April 1-8, there would be no effect as long as the new ressie used the same or more points- since the new ressie is still within 60 days. If you changed the dates from Mar 1-8 to June 1-8, you could not use those points for the change, simply because June is outside of 60 days.

The "change" referred to is likely most commonly encountered when someone has a reservation in a "Preferred" Studio but has waitlisted for a "Standard" Studio which comes thru inside of 30 days. The extra points used for the Preferred reservation will now go into the holding account.

I think the reason this wording was even included is due to the last example where someone "downgrades" from using more points to fewer without changing dates. (Same would be true for changing from a 1BR to a Studio or from a 2BR to a 1BR.)

I hope this helps!