Room Upgrades

[maraki527]

Do the DVC resorts ever upgrade if there is availability at the resort?

 

[tjkraz]

You will never get a room class upgrade simply becuase there are unbooked rooms. That would defeat the purpose of a timeshare system in which all members' points carry equal value. They will let a room sit vacant rather than upgrading a member.

If you ask about an upgrade at check-in, they will gladly tell you the number of additional points required to get a larger room.

The only time you will ever hear of upgrades is when they are forced by maintenance needs. If a resort has to take a room out of service unexpectedly they will upgrade a guest to compensate. These occurrences are few and far between.

 

[maraki527]

Thank You! I was just a little curious.

 

[Miz Diz]

If you are paying cash, they will upgrade you.

 

[CarolMN]

If you are paying cash, they will upgrade you.

Yes, it is possible that guests booking for cash via CRO/WDWTC will get an upgrade. However, it is much less likely than getting an upgrade at one of the non-DVC WDW resorts.

The DVC resorts usually run at or near capacity - there just aren't a lot of empty rooms stitting around for the CMs to use for upgrades.

 

[Family5LovesDisney]

How about an upgrade on a view but not a room size?

 

[Deb & Bill]

How about an upgrade on a view but not a room size?

If you are staying on points and the other room requires more points, no, except in extreme circumstances. If you are paying cash, it does happen.

 

[Family5LovesDisney]

If you are staying on points and the other room requires more points, no, except in extreme circumstances. If you are paying cash, it does happen.

DRAT! Guess I got use to the free upgrades I always seemed to get when staying at Disney hotels on my own dollar! I have had some good ones over the years!

 

[Dean]

Timeshares in general purposefully try not to upgrade members. It will happen occasionally based on rooms out of service or as compensation for problems. No way I know of to increase your chances though and I'd think it impolite and unreasonable to ask for one.

 

[DeeCee735]

Once, and only once, I was upgraded to a BW view from a standard. Don't know why, didn't ask, I was too busy doing the happy dance

 

[Slakk]

Do the DVC resorts ever upgrade if there is availability at the resort?

We were upgraded at HHI from a studio to a 2 BR in March...

 

[mjy]

I have to disagree with those who said that Disney never upgrades because it happened to me this previous January.

I had two one bedroom units reserved and asked for them to be linked and as close to each other as possible.

When we checked in, one was on the 2nd floor (standard view) and one was upgraded to the 5th floor (preferred view). The person at the desk was excited for me because one of them was a complimentary upgrade and my response was, "But we asked to be as close to each other as possible."

Well, my guests got over it and enjoyed their complimentary upgrade. Me? I was stuck in the standard view!

But that's okay . . . because it gave my guest the itch to buy into DVC. And they did it resale specifically for BWV!

 

[Family5LovesDisney]

Timeshares in general purposefully try not to upgrade members. It will happen occasionally based on rooms out of service or as compensation for problems. No way I know of to increase your chances though and I'd think it impolite and unreasonable to ask for one.

I never asked for an upgrade when I was staying on my own dollar. In fact, every single one of them was a total surprise! When we stayed at the AKL back in January we paid for a standard/parking lot view. We got in very late on a Friday night and we just crashed after we were done unpacking. When I opened my curtain the next morning, I screamed because there was a giraffe right outside looking back at me. DH Said "Funny that someone would park their giraffe in the lot!" The only request I ever make when I book a room is for non-smoking because DS9 has asthma.

 

[Dean]

I never asked for an upgrade when I was staying on my own dollar. In fact, every single one of them was a total surprise! When we stayed at the AKL back in January we paid for a standard/parking lot view. We got in very late on a Friday night and we just crashed after we were done unpacking. When I opened my curtain the next morning, I screamed because there was a giraffe right outside looking back at me. DH Said "Funny that someone would park their giraffe in the lot!" The only request I ever make when I book a room is for non-smoking because DS9 has asthma.

That's good for you. Some people seem to push at every turn for upgrades. Some of the tour books even suggest ways to do so and unit types that are more likely to be upgraded.

 

[Family5LovesDisney]

That's good for you. Some people seem to push at every turn for upgrades. Some of the tour books even suggest ways to do so and unit types that are more likely to be upgraded.

Really? Wow. I am always happy just to be at Disney. That is an upgrade all by itself!

 

[carolina_yankee]

Timeshares in general purposefully try not to upgrade members. It will happen occasionally based on rooms out of service or as compensation for problems. No way I know of to increase your chances though and I'd think it impolite and unreasonable to ask for one.

I don't understand why it would be impolite and unreasonable to ask for an upgrade? Expecting one is a different matter - but the travel industry provides upgrades all the time, and often when asked. I've been upgraded at Disney by surprise and by asking politely. In both cases, I had every expectation of staying in the accommodations I booked, but it was still a nice plus.

Point taken that DVC upgrades would be very rare - but if they do happen (and apparently they do given the other posts to this thread), why not ask? As someone else posted, the worst that can happen is that they can say, "Sure, do you have 20 more points?"

Dirk

 

[jarestel]

I seem to recall a post on the resorts board a while back from someone who requested, and was cheerfully given, a room upgrade at a WDW hotel. Of course, unbeknownst to the "lucky" guest, they were also given the commensurate upgrade in billing. Hijinks and hilarity ensued at checkout time when the "lucky" guest tried to convince the hotel manager that a room upgrade had been requested but payment had never been part of the deal.

I would agree that DVC upgrades would be very rare since at any given time there just aren't a lot of rooms sitting vacant. The general rule at DVC is "you get what you pay for" and this is a good thing, IMO.

 

[Family5LovesDisney]

I seem to recall a post on the resorts board a while back from someone who requested, and was cheerfully given, a room upgrade at a WDW hotel. Of course, unbeknownst to the "lucky" guest, they were also given the commensurate upgrade in billing. Hijinks and hilarity ensued at checkout time when the "lucky" guest tried to convince the hotel manager that a room upgrade had been requested but payment had never been part of the deal.
.

That is too funny!

 

[dianeschlicht]

If upgrades are asked for and given freely by the front desk without the requirement of contacting MS and without charging extra points, it wouldn't be fair the rest of the membership. It's one thing if you are given an upgrade because your unit had to be taken out of service for some reason, but that also works the other way too. We did have a report once on this board of someone who had reserved a GV, and when they arrived, were given 2-2 bedroom units instead because the GV was not available.

 

[carolina_yankee]

I seem to recall a post on the resorts board a while back from someone who requested, and was cheerfully given, a room upgrade at a WDW hotel. Of course, unbeknownst to the "lucky" guest, they were also given the commensurate upgrade in billing. Hijinks and hilarity ensued at checkout time when the "lucky" guest tried to convince the hotel manager that a room upgrade had been requested but payment had never been part of the deal.

That's funny! I guess he doesn't read what he signs very carefully . . .

Dirk