Shortening a reservation

[bigAWL]

Ok, so here's my situation. I want to make two reservations at my home resort at the 11-month mark. 4 days before a cruise and 4 days after the cruise. One reservation will be mixed points (banked and current year). The other will be completely current year points.

Four months later, if I need to cancel one whole reservation because leave plans at work changed, do you think I will be able to ask them to keep the banked points on the reservation I'm keeping? Or will it be a 50-50 chance that the one I'm cancelling is the one with the banked points? And then if I really want assign banked points to the kept reservation, I might have to cancel them both and hope I can re-book using banked points.

 

[spiceycat]

was wrong! yea!

 

[Pakey]

alot of the problems are wth MS.

if the vacation you are trying to change is completely booked - no rooms available, - then when the MS tries to change your reservation the system can and does drop the entire reservation and basically cancels you - because of other guests on the wait list.

that is why you need a MS who knows what they are doing. they will look first - before any changes are done and tell you if this is possible.

if the entire week you are trying to change is booked - they can't or if they do there is a chance you will lost your entire reservation.

might be making 3 reservations for your dates - especially if you really think you will be cancelling 2 of them.

at high demand times - the computer does not understand you are only canceling part of your reservation. It decides you cancelled the whole thing and takes the rest of the reservation for others.

now if anyone ever cancelled part of their reservation when the resort was sold out for their dates and villa - want to know how.

since you said you are going at a high demand time - then would either wait and take what MS has at the time - or go make it - but you seem to know when you can - so would definitey make different reservations for those time when you are not sure.

my understand is if the resort is sold out - they can't cancel any of your reservation because the computer will take the entire reservation for the wait list.

BCV was fully sold out when I dropped two days from mine last month. I kept the same reservation number. The person at MS told me it was no problem to drop the days--if I wanted to change dates or add days it would put my reservation back into inventory but dropping days is not a problem. It is not the first time I've done it; I do this almost every time I book because I don't know what I'm going to find for airfare.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

my understand is if the resort is sold out - they can't cancel any of your reservation because the computer will take the entire reservation for the wait list.

Where is this info coming from spiceycat? It has not been my personal experience. Cancelling and rebooking would generate a new reservation number and that has not been the case when I've dropped a day or two. And I have done it at busy times when rooms were completely booked.

 

[spiceycat]

Where is this info coming from spiceycat? It has not been my personal experience. Cancelling and rebooking would generate a new reservation number and that has not been the case when I've dropped a day or two. And I have done it at busy times when rooms were completely booked.

when it happened to me - make a reservation for a week's stay and being cheap decided to change it for 4 days - it was during spring break several years ago.

it was not a real problem for me - because she found me something in March.

but that week was sold out.

so either you were luckier than me - or DVC changed the system - it definitely needed to be changed.

thanks that makes future planning easier.

 

[Dean]

I'm curious why you think it should be considered a re-booking. I think what you're saying is that if someone wants to reduce the number of days in a reservation, then all the days should go to waitlist people first before being offered again to the original reservation holder.

That's exactly what I'm saying. That the person should have to cancel and go to the bottom of the list or decide not to cancel. Cuts down on a lot of changes and keeps people from tying up time they have an idea they won't need anyway. That's my opinion, you're entitled to yours.

Oh, I forgot the other confusion I have, because I think I'm reading conflicting reports on this thread... If using mixed points (some banked from previous year, and some current year) on a reservation, does it matter which are applied to which days? If I have to cancel the first day and the last day, keeping 5 days in between, will I be able to get back my current year points, applying all previously banked points to the remaining reservation? Or did I have to plan out that possibility from the begining, specifying at the time of original reservation that I wanted days 3-5 to be made with banked points?

It does matter, points are actually tied to a day rather than the reservation overall. DVC has always been hot and cold about reallocating the points within a reservation and there is some risk you'll lose your time if this is done but I'd done it successfully myself. I've even split a reservation so I could use part and rent part out and it worked OK.

Ok, so here's my situation. I want to make two reservations at my home resort at the 11-month mark. 4 days before a cruise and 4 days after the cruise. One reservation will be mixed points (banked and current year). The other will be completely current year points.

Four months later, if I need to cancel one whole reservation because leave plans at work changed, do you think I will be able to ask them to keep the banked points on the reservation I'm keeping? Or will it be a 50-50 chance that the one I'm cancelling is the one with the banked points? And then if I really want assign banked points to the kept reservation, I might have to cancel them both and hope I can re-book using banked points.

Those will be 2 separate reservations. You can only designate which points to use based on which one you make first in all likelihood.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

when it happened to me - make a reservation for a week's stay and being cheap decided to change it for 4 days - it was during spring break several years ago.

it was not a real problem for me - because she found me something in March.

but that week was sold out.

so either you were luckier than me - or DVC changed the system - it definitely needed to be changed.

thanks that makes future planning easier.

I hope that it has been a change and not just luck.

 

[Sandisw]

I hope that it has been a change and not just luck.

I would think that it has to be a change. If not, walking a reservation at 11 months would not work as that is the whole purpose, add to the end and drop the beginning without losing your reservation.

 

[bigAWL]

That's exactly what I'm saying. That the person should have to cancel and go to the bottom of the list or decide not to cancel. Cuts down on a lot of changes and keeps people from tying up time they have an idea they won't need anyway. That's my opinion, you're entitled to yours.

I respect your position, and understand the frustration with people tying up days. But I look at it this way. If someone owns enough points to reserve a whole week, and they want to tie up all those points for something they think they might not use, then it is their right. They bought that right. Everyone with points like theirs had the same right to do so at the same time. It's the point system that keeps people from tying up more days then they have a right to.

I liken it to waiting on Main Street for the parade to start. If I have a family of 5 (or 500 points) we have the right to spend the time to hold 5 places on Main Street (book 500 points worth of days). We should only be allowed to save them if we are all present (all 500 ponts are tied up in the booking and can't be used elsewhere). If part of my family decides to ride PoTC instead then they can leave and free up spaces, but the whole family doesn't have to leave and then try to find another spot. Adding two spaces for Grandma and Grandpa is subject to availability of space right next to us. If there are two spots, they can join us. We shouldn't have to all move and then see if there is still a spot for the seven of us after others have moved in.

 

[Sandisw]

That's exactly what I'm saying. That the person should have to cancel and go to the bottom of the list or decide not to cancel. Cuts down on a lot of changes and keeps people from tying up time they have an idea they won't need anyway. That's my opinion, you're entitled to yours.

I understand where you are coming from, but many of us that fly do not have airfare rates 11 months in advance. From Syracuse, moving our trip to start a day or two earlier can save use a few hundred of dollars.

One of the big selling points of DVC as points based vs. a typical week based timeshare was that it allowed you to make reservations to go whenever you want with the flexibility of booking just 1 day up to as many days as you want with the points that you own, subject to availability.

While I can and do plan my trips 11 months out, we have the flexibility to vary the start and end dates so that we can get the best deals on flights as possible. Booking a few extra nights allows me to take advantage of adjusting things once the fares are announced.

Yes, I could be tying up a few nights for a few months that eventually I won't need. But once I cancel them, they should go to a person on a wait list.

 

[Dean]

I respect your position, and understand the frustration with people tying up days. But I look at it this way. If someone owns enough points to reserve a whole week, and they want to tie up all those points for something they think they might not use, then it is their right. They bought that right. Everyone with points like theirs had the same right to do so at the same time. It's the point system that keeps people from tying up more days then they have a right to.

I liken it to waiting on Main Street for the parade to start. If I have a family of 5 (or 500 points) we have the right to spend the time to hold 5 places on Main Street (book 500 points worth of days). We should only be allowed to save them if we are all present (all 500 ponts are tied up in the booking and can't be used elsewhere). If part of my family decides to ride PoTC instead then they can leave and free up spaces, but the whole family doesn't have to leave and then try to find another spot. Adding two spaces for Grandma and Grandpa is subject to availability of space right next to us. If there are two spots, they can join us. We shouldn't have to all move and then see if there is still a spot for the seven of us after others have moved in.

I understand where you are coming from, but many of us that fly do not have airfare rates 11 months in advance. From Syracuse, moving our trip to start a day or two earlier can save use a few hundred of dollars.

One of the big selling points of DVC as points based vs. a typical week based timeshare was that it allowed you to make reservations to go whenever you want with the flexibility of booking just 1 day up to as many days as you want with the points that you own, subject to availability.

While I can and do plan my trips 11 months out, we have the flexibility to vary the start and end dates so that we can get the best deals on flights as possible. Booking a few extra nights allows me to take advantage of adjusting things once the fares are announced.

Yes, I could be tying up a few nights for a few months that eventually I won't need. But once I cancel them, they should go to a person on a wait list.

I understand both sides but my position is unchanged. It is currently the way you prefer and I feel it should be the reverse. IMO, personal situations should not enter into the system decision making but that's just me.