Reservation Questions

[Kid_@_50]

I am a bit confused on acronyms associated with reservations.
Anyone can call WDW and speak to <insert acronym "A" here> to secure a reservation for a deluxe villa paying cash.

A DVC owner can call WDW and speak to <insert acronym "B" here> to secure a reservation for a deluxe villa "paying/using" their points.

A DVC owner can call WDW and speak to <insert acronym "C" here> to secure a reservation for a deluxe villa paying cash and linking it their existing "points" reservation.

It appears to me there are at least two reservation blocks, a block for cash reservations and a block for point reservations. On one level it appears that the cash block is competing with the point block. (The cash block represents profit/credit while the point block represents expense/debit.)

My reservation questions are:

What are the common acronyms that appear in posts associated with reservations? What to the acronyms mean?

Since the total availability of rooms during a given period is fixed, what determines the allocation split between the point reservation block and the cash reservation block?

How does a DVC owner know that cash reservations are not given priority over point reservations?

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Only DVC members can book through DVC's Member Services (MS). We can book points or cash.

The public can only book via the CRO (cash reservation only?) system and can book any resort room or villa in their system (regular Disney hotels) or rooms released to them by DVC which once released, cannot be booked by our MS unlessed booked as CRO just like you would (assuming you're not a member of DVC).

 

[Buckeye Fan]

There are 3 different kinds of reservations that we can make through Member Services (MS):
1) Points reservation - You can only use your points by calling MS.
2) Discounted Cash Reservation - If available, DVC members can book rooms at DVC resorts through MS for 25% off.
3) Cash reservations - DVC members can call MS or the Central Reservations Office (CRO) to book a room for cash. So, for example, if you didn't want to use your DVC points, but wanted to take advantage of the 4 for 3 deal Disney is offering right now, you could call CRO and book any resort from value to deluxe just like any other patron.

Generally, I book everything through MS, but on occasion, I have been transferred. It seems like there are a group of cast members (CMs) who work between the two (MS and CRO).

Hope this helps! Hang out here for a while, and you'll be a pro at all of the acronyms! There are quite a few!!! I've been on here long enough now that I've seen a few added.

 

[Caskbill]

.....Since the total availability of rooms during a given period is fixed, what determines the allocation split between the point reservation block and the cash reservation block?

DVC retains ownership of a small portion of the resort, around 2%. These rooms are used to offset other rooms that are being refurbished or are out of service for some reason.

When these rooms are not required they are released to CRO for cash reservations.

Also, DVC members may use their points for other things outside of the DVC resorts. For example, a member may use their points for the Disney Cruise Line. If they do, then DVC actually pays DCL the cash for that member's cruise. DVC then uses the points the member gives up for the cruise, and uses those points and makes DVC room reservations. These reservations are then given to CRO for cash reservations. Bottom line, the cash received for those rooms then goes to pay for the member's cruise.

So even though it goes as a cash reservation, think of it as a room that actually was used by a member's points.

 

[Tinkerbelljean]

Just something I wanted to bring up. Once while trying to book a villa with points, I was told there was nothing available at the resort that I wanted to stay at, yet I could go to Expedia and book the villa for cash. I was really frustrated by this, until it was explained that once rooms were released for cash, they could not be booked with points. I thought if the room could be booked for cash, it certainly could be booked for points. Not so. Lesson learned.

 

[Kid_@_50]

Thanks for the replies. The magical phrase that everyone seems to perhaps blindly accept is "released". I apologize in advance if my tone seems negative, but I just don't understand what benefits DVC owners receive when someone pays cash for a deluxe villa.

The big picture corporate goal is to make money for its shareholders. DVC Owners are not shareholders. They do not share in the profits of the corporation.

A DVC owner prepays his vacation, then in order to maximize their corporate profits, MS releases rooms to CRO.

What I was hoping someone was going to tell me was that the rooms that MS releases to CRO "only" occurs after a DVC owner banks their points.
Someone with an April UY banks their points in November, then CRO releases (at that time, in November) to CRO.

However, since I am a corporation who wants to maximize my profits,
I look at the last 5 years of data and I observe that for all April UY contracts that 10% to 25% of their points get banked every year. Why should I wait until a specific DVC owner banks their points, if historically I know that in total at least 15% of the points are going to be banked.

If I am a DVC owner and I have paid my maintenance fees, why should I care if a room sits empty? I know the corporation wants to sell this room, but what benefit do I get when the sell it for cash.

I can think of several more ways that historical data might be used to justify releasing rooms by season; general vacancy rates, general dvc point reservations, reservations for non-owners (ie when DVC owners rent their points).

At the very least, it would be nice to know that rooms are not released less than 7 months in advance. Home resort 11 month priority, a dvc 7 month priority and at less than 7 months, MS releases some rooms to CRO. I doubt this is the case.

 

[crisi]

Thanks for the replies. The magical phrase that everyone seems to perhaps blindly accept is "released". I apologize in advance if my tone seems negative, but I just don't understand what benefits DVC owners receive when someone pays cash for a deluxe villa.

The big picture corporate goal is to make money for its shareholders. DVC Owners are not shareholders. They do not share in the profits of the corporation.

A DVC owner prepays his vacation, then in order to maximize their corporate profits, MS releases rooms to CRO.

What I was hoping someone was going to tell me was that the rooms that MS releases to CRO "only" occurs after a DVC owner banks their points.
Someone with an April UY banks their points in November, then CRO releases (at that time, in November) to CRO.

However, since I am a corporation who wants to maximize my profits,
I look at the last 5 years of data and I observe that for all April UY contracts that 10% to 25% of their points get banked every year. Why should I wait until a specific DVC owner banks their points, if historically I know that in total at least 15% of the points are going to be banked.

If I am a DVC owner and I have paid my maintenance fees, why should I care if a room sits empty? I know the corporation wants to sell this room, but what benefit do I get when the sell it for cash.

I can think of several more ways that historical data might be used to justify releasing rooms by season; general vacancy rates, general dvc point reservations, reservations for non-owners (ie when DVC owners rent their points).

At the very least, it would be nice to know that rooms are not released less than 7 months in advance. Home resort 11 month priority, a dvc 7 month priority and at less than 7 months, MS releases some rooms to CRO. I doubt this is the case.

You get two benefits -

Breakage income (when a room that isn't booked sells for cash) offsets your dues. Breakage income isn't profit to the Disney corporation, its profit to the DVC division of the Disney corporation - and since they can't make more than a "management fee" as profit, it goes towards paying their expenses and lowers dues overall.

You get the ability to book outside of DVC. We don't use it, but the program is sold with the ability to book a cruise or stay at Disneyland Paris or even a ski resort in Colorado.

No one knows how Disney releases the rooms, but its a little, I suspect, like horse trading. If Disney only releases the rooms no one wants, CRO can't sell them, Disney doesn't get money for them, and can't pay for trade outs. Then the points required to trade goes way up because CRO ends up with too much excess DVC inventory they don't get paid for. So they need to make sure that they send over rooms that will likely get booked. If they only send over the rooms no one wants, then they might as well drop the trading options all together.

 

[crisi]

Oh, Disney is apparently working on some way to "reclaim" unused rooms that have been turned over to CRO - its sort of an accounting nightmare though since DVC and CRO are two different divisions with seperate P&L and DVC has 'sold' those rooms to CRO to pay for someone's cruise and because DVC inventory is tied to use year. You can't move too many empty rooms into next use year because someone wants them this year - or at the end of the program you'll be out of rooms. Eventually, DVC needs to pay the piper for those trades by not having members in those rooms.

 

[Kid_@_50]

crisi your replies provides some insight into the mystery known as release.