Room Requests

[bookbabe626]

I thought I had heard Touring Plans fax submittal cant be used for DVC rooms not booked on cash?

I have read that asking for a specific room number is not good because if you cant get that room they have nothing else to go on. So you need to specify what your goal is and also give room number examples. Also, checking in at desk if you aren't in need of the room asap you can always talk to the check in desk.

I use it for DVC points-booked rooms all the time. Got my request last month at BWV. Now, I do request both with MS (usually via chat) and also with TP, so no idea which one was the winner, but I’ve never been told by touring plans that the stays needed to be cash rooms.

 

[CarolynFH]

I was chatting with them today to put in my request for PIT and the guy was literally arguing with me that there are no lake views if im staying in standard.

There is some lake views on the 2nd floor categorized as standard. I told him yes there is and its classified as a standard view can you please put 2nd floor lake view. He says, " Done. Is there anything else I can assist with?'

I had a feeling he didn't do sh*t so i called MS to verify later and sure enough he put 2nd floor but left out lake view. I really am not liking talking to MS either, some of them are straight condescending when we're paying so much for this like just write the request who cares even if I dont get it

I like to submit my requests via the email link on the member website. This is one reason for that.

 

[Sandisw]

I was chatting with them today to put in my request for PIT and the guy was literally arguing with me that there are no lake views if im staying in standard.

There is some lake views on the 2nd floor categorized as standard. I told him yes there is and its classified as a standard view can you please put 2nd floor lake view. He says, " Done. Is there anything else I can assist with?'

I had a feeling he didn't do sh*t so i called MS to verify later and sure enough he put 2nd floor but left out lake view. I really am not liking talking to MS either, some of them are straight condescending when we're paying so much for this like just write the request who cares even if I dont get it

The problem, though, is you were wusing terms that make an actual view and that can cause confusion for the CM, who is technically correct.

Lake view and SV are different and if a CM even implies it’s possible, you are going to have an upset owner who says they were told they could get it.

It is much better to give general guidelines than using terms that match something else.

There are PV rooms at BLT that can see the theme park…but if you called and said I want a theme park view room, they are going to tell you they don’t exist within the PV category.

Instead, it’s better to say, even side, north end. Those are the PV rooms that have a chance of seeing the theme park.

Once we get more info on rooms, it will make it easier.

So, if what you want is a SV room that faces the lake, you are better off finding out what room numbers might work for that.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

I use the chat option on the member site for room requests. I type in the request and ask the CM if he/she would copy & paste my request into the reservation notes so it hopefully all gets in there.

 

[sndral]

I was chatting with them today to put in my request for PIT and the guy was literally arguing with me that there are no lake views if im staying in standard.

There is some lake views on the 2nd floor categorized as standard. I told him yes there is and its classified as a standard view can you please put 2nd floor lake view. He says, " Done. Is there anything else I can assist with?'

I had a feeling he didn't do sh*t so i called MS to verify later and sure enough he put 2nd floor but left out lake view. I really am not liking talking to MS either, some of them are straight condescending when we're paying so much for this like just write the request who cares even if I dont get it

The CM you speak w/ may have never been to the resort, they certainly don’t have the in depth knowledge that those of us who research & study maps & watch YouTube videos, etc.. have. The CM probably didn’t even have a map of PIT in front of them, so they wouldn’t know which 2nd floor PIT villas look at what. They likely just have a generic written description of the booking categories - if that. You’ll run into the same thing w/ Jambo requests, if you ask for savanna view or partial savanna view they’ll often tell you for that you need to book savanna view or there’s no such view in the resort view category. So you ask for Kudu trail - since all of those villas in fact overlook Sunset savanna .

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I use Touring Plans for our points booked trips also and I’ve almost always gotten pretty close to what I asked for. You have to pay the fee I think to use this service but it’s not too much and I like the rest of what the site offers so I pay for it yearly anyway. I’ll sometimes call to verify they received my requests shortly before arrival and they always have it in their system already. And if you’re not happy with your room location when you arrive they’ll usually try to accommodate you if they can.

 

[Girlstar30]

The problem, though, is you were wusing terms that make an actual view and that can cause confusion for the CM, who is technically correct.

Lake view and SV are different and if a CM even implies it’s possible, you are going to have an upset owner who says they were told they could get it.

It is much better to give general guidelines than using terms that match something else.

There are PV rooms at BLT that can see the theme park…but if you called and said I want a theme park view room, they are going to tell you they don’t exist within the PV category.

Instead, it’s better to say, even side, north end. Those are the PV rooms that have a chance of seeing the theme park.

Once we get more info on rooms, it will make it easier.

So, if what you want is a SV room that faces the lake, you are better off finding out what room numbers might work for that.

Thank you this is helpful! I guess it was the attitude that upset me too, totally unnecessary

 

[Girlstar30]

I use the chat option on the member site for room requests. I type in the request and ask the CM if he/she would copy & paste my request into the reservation notes so it hopefully all gets in there.

That's a great idea, make it easy!

 

[Girlstar30]

The CM you speak w/ may have never been to the resort, they certainly don’t have the in depth knowledge that those of us who research & study maps & watch YouTube videos, etc.. have. The CM probably didn’t even have a map of PIT in front of them, so they wouldn’t know which 2nd floor PIT villas look at what. They likely just have a generic written description of the booking categories - if that. You’ll run into the same thing w/ Jambo requests, if you ask for savanna view or partial savanna view they’ll often tell you for that you need to book savanna view or there’s no such view in the resort view category. So you ask for Kudu trail - since all of those villas in fact overlook Sunset savanna .

Thank you, I was doing it wrong I can see now how they thought I was trying to get a view i didn't pay for

 

[Girlstar30]

I use Touring Plans for our points booked trips also and I’ve almost always gotten pretty close to what I asked for. You have to pay the fee I think to use this service but it’s not too much and I like the rest of what the site offers so I pay for it yearly anyway. I’ll sometimes call to verify they received my requests shortly before arrival and they always have it in their system already. And if you’re not happy with your room location when you arrive they’ll usually try to accommodate you if they can.

They were great with the accommodations at disney world, jambo was off and they gave us a different view with no issue, vgc they were not helpful but thats understandable given the small amount of rooms of course. Im going to check out touring plans it seems like people are having good luck with that!

 

[lentesta]

I thought I had heard Touring Plans fax submittal cant be used for DVC rooms not booked on cash?

I'm reasonably sure it works for cash and DVC rooms.

 

[Mle8308]

These insights are precious! Thank you for sharing!!

Not to cause a "hole" is a great point. For example, if someone already had room 1234 from May 24 to May 26, and you want that room from May 28 to May 30, then yours will be less likely to be honored compare who wants that room from May 26 to May 29. Some luck might be needed.

Exactly! You would have to find a 2 night reservation for that exact room type to fill it. And the smaller the resort, the fewer the reservations, so it may not be doable. If it is a regular room (not booked by points), you can upgrade a cash guest to fill the hole/lockout but it's more difficult to upgrade a member who is staying using points. So it can depend on the resort. Easier to do if all cash guests because no points are involved.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I'm reasonably sure it works for cash and DVC rooms.

It works for me and I always book DVC

 

[Girlstar30]

Alright so something i learned from you all and putting in all my requests the past few days.

Obviously, Disney has a lot of inconsistencies with CM's as we all know. When I asked for the PIT lake view, the CM did not explain why he couldnt do it which prompted me to think he was just being difficult. @Sandisw clarified that for me, but I made the same mistake again when requesting a view from my club level akv villa.

I asked for SV and the cast member I spoke to granted it and wrote SV in the notes. I always call back a few days later and make sure that the CM actually did what was asked due to past experiences of them not doing it.

This new cm told me they were not allowed to put SV because it is CL and if I wanted SV I need to book SV. She took that request off my reservation that the other cm put which irritated me and I told her there are 3 SV and I am trying to specify why im requesting these particular room numbers.

What I appreciated about her, although the whole thing is silly to me it is what it is, she reiterated what you guys said that if I wanted them to take my request seriously and not dismiss it as requesting something im not eligible for, I should indicate which way the building is facing and give room numbers and put "or similar" after so they know what im talking about.

This is where touring plans comes in because I would not know then to tell her OK then I would like the rooms that are facing northeast without looking it up there. This was to her satisfaction and I appreciated it because I dont want rooms control to dismiss it if it can be accommodated. So now I really see the whole picture of what im supposed to do here lol

 

[Mle8308]

Alright so something i learned from you all and putting in all my requests the past few days.

Obviously, Disney has a lot of inconsistencies with CM's as we all know. When I asked for the PIT lake view, the CM did not explain why he couldnt do it which prompted me to think he was just being difficult. @Sandisw clarified that for me, but I made the same mistake again when requesting a view from my club level akv villa.

I asked for SV and the cast member I spoke to granted it and wrote SV in the notes. I always call back a few days later and make sure that the CM actually did what was asked due to past experiences of them not doing it.

This new cm told me they were not allowed to put SV because it is CL and if I wanted SV I need to book SV. She took that request off my reservation that the other cm put which irritated me and I told her there are 3 SV and I am trying to specify why im requesting these particular room numbers.

What I appreciated about her, although the whole thing is silly to me it is what it is, she reiterated what you guys said that if I wanted them to take my request seriously and not dismiss it as requesting something im not eligible for, I should indicate which way the building is facing and give room numbers and put "or similar" after so they know what im talking about.

This is where touring plans comes in because I would not know then to tell her OK then I would like the rooms that are facing northeast without looking it up there. This was to her satisfaction and I appreciated it because I dont want rooms control to dismiss it if it can be accommodated. So now I really see the whole picture of what im supposed to do here lol

I am glad you have a better understanding of the process. There are some room classifications that may have a partial view of something that you want, but the booking code the room assigner sees when looking at arriving reservations does not reflect that. Sort of like the partial savannah rooms that are classified as a standard room. There is not a separate code for that type of room, it is just a standard. An offsite CM without a lot of actual resort knowledge would not know that. A savannah room has a different booking code, so the room assigner knows what to block. And a CM ahead of time can't "grant" you your request, because it is just that, a request. If you are booking a cash room, you can sometimes be "pixie dusted" with an upgrade depending on what you ask for and how the hotel is booked. Hotels often oversell lower rated (cost) rooms to fill and then upgrade shorter stays to the better categories that may not have sold - in order to balance the house. It's yield/revenue management. DVC is an exception to that because DVC rooms are point based and they only "sell" the exact inventory they have due to the point system, and DVC is consistently at least 98% booked, so not a lot of wiggle room. A CM can't just randomly decide to upgrade a DVC room because it could accidentally involve more of your points being used for the stay (if the CM doesn't know what they are doing). And it could potentially mess up the rest of the arriving DVC reservations. My advice is to book the room type you want, and be flexible as well as realistic, don't expect that unicorn room. Don't book a standard room at a MK resort and then put in a request for a theme park view and be upset at the CM when it isn't granted. Apologies for some of the run on sentences!

 

[Girlstar30]

I am glad you have a better understanding of the process. There are some room classifications that may have a partial view of something that you want, but the booking code the room assigner sees when looking at arriving reservations does not reflect that. Sort of like the partial savannah rooms that are classified as a standard room. There is not a separate code for that type of room, it is just a standard. An offsite CM without a lot of actual resort knowledge would not know that. A savannah room has a different booking code, so the room assigner knows what to block. And a CM ahead of time can't "grant" you your request, because it is just that, a request. If you are booking a cash room, you can sometimes be "pixie dusted" with an upgrade depending on what you ask for and how the hotel is booked. Hotels often oversell lower rated (cost) rooms to fill and then upgrade shorter stays to the better categories that may not have sold - in order to balance the house. It's yield/revenue management. DVC is an exception to that because DVC rooms are point based and they only "sell" the exact inventory they have due to the point system, and DVC is consistently at least 98% booked, so not a lot of wiggle room. A CM can't just randomly decide to upgrade a DVC room because it could accidentally involve more of your points being used for the stay (if the CM doesn't know what they are doing). And it could potentially mess up the rest of the arriving DVC reservations. My advice is to book the room type you want, and be flexible as well as realistic, don't expect that unicorn room. Don't book a standard room at a MK resort and then put in a request for a theme park view and be upset at the CM when it isn't granted. Apologies for some of the run on sentences!

Oh yeah I would never do that and be upset, I was frustrated because I was seeing these views on touring plans and they were telling me they didnt exist for that category when I was seeing them lol. But now I see how it goes that they're not supposed to put that and im better off putting the way its facing and not expecting anything lol

 

[Sandisw]

Alright so something i learned from you all and putting in all my requests the past few days.

Obviously, Disney has a lot of inconsistencies with CM's as we all know. When I asked for the PIT lake view, the CM did not explain why he couldnt do it which prompted me to think he was just being difficult. @Sandisw clarified that for me, but I made the same mistake again when requesting a view from my club level akv villa.

I asked for SV and the cast member I spoke to granted it and wrote SV in the notes. I always call back a few days later and make sure that the CM actually did what was asked due to past experiences of them not doing it.

This new cm told me they were not allowed to put SV because it is CL and if I wanted SV I need to book SV. She took that request off my reservation that the other cm put which irritated me and I told her there are 3 SV and I am trying to specify why im requesting these particular room numbers.

What I appreciated about her, although the whole thing is silly to me it is what it is, she reiterated what you guys said that if I wanted them to take my request seriously and not dismiss it as requesting something im not eligible for, I should indicate which way the building is facing and give room numbers and put "or similar" after so they know what im talking about.

This is where touring plans comes in because I would not know then to tell her OK then I would like the rooms that are facing northeast without looking it up there. This was to her satisfaction and I appreciated it because I dont want rooms control to dismiss it if it can be accommodated. So now I really see the whole picture of what im supposed to do here lol

Be aware too that both AKV Value and CL are rooms that have said they don’t take requests for due to the nature of those rooms.

Which, you found out with now related to CL. I think because there are just so few that it’s too hard and leads to too much disappointment.

So, go in with that expectation that for the CL room, seeing their are only a total of 5 2 bedroom lock offs.

 

[Girlstar30]

Be aware too that both AKV Value and CL are rooms that have said they don’t take requests for due to the nature of those rooms.

Which, you found out with now related to CL. I think because there are just so few that it’s too hard and leads to too much disappointment.

So, go in with that expectation that for the CL room, seeing their are only a total of 5 2 bedroom lock offs.

Makes total sense!