Riv, booking at 11 months

[voxparse]

How hard is it booking standard deluxe studios at 11 months? We really like the resort and are considering a direct purchase but looking at the availability charts makes me wonder how hard it is to get the standard studios. Please note I’m not willing to put in the effort to walk reservations.

 

[intamin]

How hard is it booking standard deluxe studios at 11 months? We really like the resort and are considering a direct purchase but looking at the availability charts makes me wonder how hard it is to get the standard studios. Please note I’m not willing to put in the effort to walk reservations.

It's typically available at 11 months aside from maybe early December. The rest of the time you shouldn't have issues until you get closer to the 7 month mark.

 

[drusba]

Riviera is still not a sold out resort and what I mention here could get worse as sell-out is achieved.

Owners of a DVC Resort can book up to 7-nights starting at 8 a.m. eastern 11-months out from date of arrival. Riviera standard view studios (and also tower studios) have developed somewhat of an 11-month issue, where they can book full within moments after 8 a.m. at 11-months out, with the result that some owners can fail to get a standard studio even if trying right at 8 a.m. at 11-months out.

Thus far, that 11-month issue has been mostly limited to the extremely high demand times of the year during the high demand "fall" season, which runs from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan. The extremely high demand times, which have shown a risk for Riviera tower and standard studios booking full right at 8 a.m. at 11-months out, are times during first two weeks of Dec, Christmas week, the Nov and Jan race weekends, and time around Thanksgiving. However, it has also happened, rarely, at other random times of the year.

 

[supercarrie]

I would consider a favorite week contract if standard view studios are what you are after. Even if you travel at different times, at least you would have it locked in for a week a year to use if needed.

Some of the favorite weeks no longer even have point premiums associated with them. For instance, I just bought a week 7 FW at Riviera for 153 points. Booking that week using the actual point chart would currently take 155 points.

The fixed week thread on here is a great resource.

 

[ShaneDJ]

I would consider a favorite week contract if standard view studios are what you are after.

This is wise advice, and is what we did for our RIV contract.

We think that the RIV will get harder to book over the years as more resale RIV contracts are purchased.

RIV resale buyers can only book at the RIV, which will make it harder to book studio rooms (especially during popular times). And this means that RIV owners would likely have to walk their reservations.

Walking reservations stinks, and the FW (fixed week) solves that.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

Another vote for FW at Riv. In addition to FW 7, there’s a bunch of us who recently purchased FW 39 - both FWs benefited from the most recent point rebalancing.

 

[DVCsloth]

I already noticed that Standard view studio was not available for the week we travel next year right at 11 months. It's not even a super popular time, but SV studios seem to go extra fast at Riviera.

 

[RuntheMouse]

I haven’t had any problems booking standard or tower studios yet but I am on right at 8am at 11 months. This is a resort you have to plan ahead with.

Love the idea of a FW like others have suggested.

 

[DVCsloth]

Riviera is still not a sold out resort and what I mention here could get worse as sell-out is achieved.

Owners of a DVC Resort can book up to 7-nights starting at 8 a.m. eastern 11-months out from date of arrival. Riviera standard view studios (and also tower studios) have developed somewhat of an 11-month issue, where they can book full within moments after 8 a.m. at 11-months out, with the result that some owners can fail to get a standard studio even if trying right at 8 a.m. at 11-months out.

Thus far, that 11-month issue has been mostly limited to the extremely high demand times of the year during the high demand "fall" season, which runs from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan. The extremely high demand times, which have shown a risk for Riviera tower and standard studios booking full right at 8 a.m. at 11-months out, are times during first two weeks of Dec, Christmas week, the Nov and Jan race weekends, and time around Thanksgiving. However, it has also happened, rarely, at other random times of the year.

Starting to notice 11 months out for next summer when we usually travel not available. Could be that the point chart goes up soon after.

 

[Sandisw]

If you want SV, then it is important to own there.

Other than early December, where I needed to shift dates a bit…didn’t want to walk…I have been successful booking right at 11 months.

I have also been successful with waitlists to coming though when I booked later in the window and had to settle for PV.

 

[Patsaizan]

We own at RR and I have had some issues getting a standard studio at 11 months at 8am sharp. Example - May 1-4, 2025. I had my reservation ready to hit “book” for May 1-4 on June 1 at 8am sharp. I could not get it. Totally booked out. I booked the preferred and put the standard on waitlist. Every day I went in to see the availability. On June 6, mid afternoon, the days suddenly became available and modified my reservation and got it. Waitlist was useless for this. One room was available and it didn’t grab it. I did it manually. Since then (I’ve been looking daily out of curiosity) the first 14 days of May (less points during that timeframe) have been booked out, not available. Bottom line, is yes you can get your standard studio at 11 months, but it may take a bit more effort during lesser point timeframes.

 

[DVCsloth]

The way that we avoid the issue is we alternate our resorts and just grab an SV 1 BR every other year. I figured that the SV studios would start to become more and more difficult to book because of how nice they are and also because of the resale restrictions. Our week still has availability for Tower Studios but only a few nights for SV Studio.

 

[CarolMN]

The way that we avoid the issue is we alternate our resorts and just grab an SV 1 BR every other year. I figured that the SV studios would start to become more and more difficult to book because of how nice they are and also because of the resale restrictions. Our week still has availability for Tower Studios but only a few nights for SV Studio.

This has been a successful strategy for us at the BWV. Standard view studios there are very tough to get there at 11 months year round and virtually impossible for Fall through Marathon weekend. However, the standard view 1 bedrooms do not have that issue. Sounds like booking patterns for Riviera are going to be the same.

@voxparse , if you can swing a 1 bedroom, this is the way to go! (Might also work for Preferred view studios, especially if you can book when the 11 month window opens. I am also one who hates to stress over booking).

 

[Patsaizan]

The way that we avoid the issue is we alternate our resorts and just grab an SV 1 BR every other year. I figured that the SV studios would start to become more and more difficult to book because of how nice they are and also because of the resale restrictions. Our week still has availability for Tower Studios but only a few nights for SV Studio.

Our strategy moving forward is to just book the SV 1 Bedroom. We have the points and I squeeze them way too much. Every year I have 150-170 points to bank (700 total per year). I am now just realizing this is not a savings account (lol) and I need to use them and enjoy them.

 

[voxparse]

This has been a successful strategy for us at the BWV. Standard view studios there are very tough to get there at 11 months year round and virtually impossible for Fall through Marathon weekend. However, the standard view 1 bedrooms do not have that issue. Sounds like booking patterns for Riviera are going to be the same.

@voxparse , if you can swing a 1 bedroom, this is the way to go! (Might also work for Preferred view studios, especially if you can book when the 11 month window opens. I am also one who hates to stress over booking).

Yeah I’m starting to think splurging for the 1br is the way to go. We recently stayed in a 1br for the first time at SSR and man it was great. I mean it’s just money right? lol

 

[intamin]

Yeah I’m starting to think splurging for the 1br is the way to go. We recently stayed in a 1br for the first time at SSR and man it was great. I mean it’s just money right? lol

The 1BRs at RIV are fantastic and if you really want to never have to worry about availability at 11 months, 1BR is the way to go. The king bed and tub are . The only downside IMO is you lose the second shower when you go from a studio to a 1BR.

 

[BekCG45]

I have not yet had an issue booking a standard view studio at 11 months. We are going the first week of December this year and I booked with no problem at 8 a.m., 11 months out. I didn’t crazy rush like when booking lightning lanes/VQs. This is our 4th time booking a standard view studio and we have also booked the tower studios.

I realize everyone has had different experiences and this could change as the resort sells out. However, it is possible to get what you are looking for at 11 months.

 

[Tatebeck]

I was also worried about availability in the future with standard studios and all the restricted points, so I did a couple fixed weeks with my direct. purchase just in case, as others had mentioned earlier.

And now after thinking about it even more, I believe it's an even better idea now. If my thinking is correct, popular fixed weeks could even interrupt walking in the future. If a crazy popular time is being walked towards, and say a crazy amount like 90% of the reservations are being walked approaching that week, if that next week has an abnormally high amount of fixed/favorite weeks that are already taken out of inventory, it could limit the amount of total walkers to just 65% of the total reservations for those rooms (if the 35% max fixed week is met for a certain week). So in the crazy example around the first 2/3 would be able to walk but when the last 1/3 tried to walk the reservation they would show as already booked up.

At least I think that's how it would work, though it may never actually happen. It would have to be a perfect storm of a very popular week, with a high amount of fixed/favorite weeks, and an absurd percentage of walkers

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

The 1BRs at RIV are fantastic and if you really want to never have to worry about availability at 11 months, 1BR is the way to go. The king bed and tub are . The only downside IMO is you lose the second shower when you go from a studio to a 1BR.

I’m actually afraid to stay in a RIV 1-bedroom - I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to a studio afterwards

 

[voxparse]

I’m actually afraid to stay in a RIV 1-bedroom - I don’t think I’ll be able to go back to a studio afterwards

We 100% knew staying in that 1br at SSR was a mistake. My finances will never recover with all the points we need now lol