Shortening a reservation

[emacek]

Looking ahead to fall 2011, I'll need to make reservations before my husband is able to secure his vacation days. We intend to stay 5 nights but we're not sure exactly which 5. My thought was to book for 10 nights at the 11 month window. Then, once my husband's schedule is finalized drop 5 nights at the beginning and/or end of the reservation (I'll still be in my banking period).

The question is whether I can do that or will I have to cancel the 10 day booking and make a new booking.

emacek

 

[spiceycat]

how about 2 different reservations - each for 5 days?

 

[dzorn]

Just remember banking and borrowing are final transactions if you need to do either to book the 10 days.

Denise in MI

 

[disneynutz]

Yes you can remove reserved dates later. We just dropped 2 days from our December reservation to add the Deluxe DDP for 2 days.

Bill

 

[JimMIA]

Looking ahead to fall 2011, I'll need to make reservations before my husband is able to secure his vacation days. We intend to stay 5 nights but we're not sure exactly which 5. My thought was to book for 10 nights at the 11 month window. Then, once my husband's schedule is finalized drop 5 nights at the beginning and/or end of the reservation (I'll still be in my banking period).

The question is whether I can do that or will I have to cancel the 10 day booking and make a new booking.

emacek

You may be able to shorten your vacation by dropping the last five days, but it may not work the other way around because you would have a different checkin day. I think that's especially true if you are trying to book one of the Epcot resorts during F&W.

If the two 5-day ressies works for you, that would be the easiest, safest way to manage it.

 

[disneynutz]

You may be able to shorten your vacation by dropping the last five days, but it may not work the other way around because you would have a different checkin day. I think that's especially true if you are trying to book one of the Epcot resorts during F&W.

If the two 5-day ressies works for you, that would be the easiest, safest way to manage it.

We dropped the first 2 days at BWV and used the points to book at SSR without a problem.

Bill

 

[adminjedi]

You can move the reservation around, forward or backward as long as there is availability. You can cancel days no problem if not borrowed or banked points. If borrowed or banked, will have to use by end of that use year.

 

[ToddyLu]

Looking ahead to fall 2011, I'll need to make reservations before my husband is able to secure his vacation days.

This is exactly my problem, too. DH is a fireman and I only know what his exact vacation days are at the end of Dec...which is our UY. So I will book ASAP after the first of the year for our fall trip, to use our 11 month booking. I want to book something for Spring 2011. But I will need to see what we can get and just take that once we have the dates.

 

[JimMIA]

You can move the reservation around, forward or backward as long as there is availability.

OP...this is the key. If there is availability, it's easy. In times of difficult availability, it may be tricky to impossible.

One tip -- if you have enough points without borrowing to make a new reservation prior to canceling the original, do that. We've had numerous angst threads where someone checked availability, canceled their original ressie, and then found the availability had vanished before they could rebook.

 

[Pakey]

We have done this a few times. Two months ago I dropped the first day and last day off of my BCV reservation for this October without any problem.

 

[Sandisw]

I didn't have any problem doing this for our summer trip this year. I originally booked 7 nights but knew we would only be doing 6, with the plan of dropping either the first night or the last night due to airfare.

When the rates came out and we knew which days would give us the lowest airfare cost, I called and canceled out the one night I no longer needed.

If you book 10 nights from the beginning and decide to shorten it to five later on, it will be no problem, as long as you take them from either ends. You won't have to worry about availability since you will already have all the dates you need.

So, say you book Sept 1st through 11th and realize you can go Sept 4th through the 9th. CAll and drop the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and then drop the 10th and 11th.

As others have said, the only problem is whether or not you have to borrow points to do this. If so, be sure that the number of borrowed points and banked points (if any) you have would not be more than the 5 nights you eventually need.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, you may drop days either off the front or off the back without rebooking a reservation.

 

[Dean]

Technically DVC does not currently treat a change to a given reservation as a cancelation and rebooking such as dropping days. IMO they should be they currently don't. However, each day will have specifics points associated with it so that if those points are banked or borrowed, they will be the ones freed up. DVC MIGHT sub for regular points in the reservation but they don't have to and there is a risk of losing the days you want if they do try to do it for you.

 

[jekjones1558]

Technically DVC does not currently treat a change to a given reservation as a cancelation and rebooking such as dropping days. IMO they should be they currently don't. However, each day will have specifics points associated with it so that if those points are banked or borrowed, they will be the ones freed up. DVC MIGHT sub for regular points in the reservation but they don't have to and there is a risk of losing the days you want if they do try to do it for you.

I guess I have been pixie dusted because I have never had a problem rearranging points within a reservation so that the days I cancelled would be bankable points. Last week I dropped a day from my upcoming Oct. reservation and that day happened to be the one that MS had used banked points. The CM then just swapped the points from another day within that reservation that had bankable points. BWV is sold out for our dates so I know it was not a case of rebooking. Unfortunately, that is not to say that CMs are uniform in their understanding and application of reallocating points.

 

[emacek]

Thanks all.

I don't think I can do the 2 5-days since it's possible the 5 days I need will be in the middle. As far as waiting until I know for sure...I'm looking at 2 busy DVC weeks and I have a small home resort--I'll need every minute of my 11 month advantage--I will be able to do the cancellation before the 7 month window.

I'll remember to be careful that the portion I drop is with current year points in order to bank them later--If the initial reservation is made with a combo of current year and borrowed points, it looks like I may have to pray for a little pixie dust to make sure that the points returned to my account are the current year points. The good news is that I have another trip planned before the expiration of my use year so I am hopeful that I'll can do that one on borrowed points.

emacek

 

[disneynutz]

Thanks all.

I don't think I can do the 2 5-days since it's possible the 5 days I need will be in the middle. As far as waiting until I know for sure...I'm looking at 2 busy DVC weeks and I have a small home resort--I'll need every minute of my 11 month advantage--I will be able to do the cancellation before the 7 month window.

I'll remember to be careful that the portion I drop is with current year points in order to bank them later--If the initial reservation is made with a combo of current year and borrowed points, it looks like I may have to pray for a little pixie dust to make sure that the points returned to my account are the current year points. The good news is that I have another trip planned before the expiration of my use year so I am hopeful that I'll can do that one on borrowed points.

emacek

Just remind the MS Adviser that any borrowed points should be used for the existing reservation.

Bill

 

[bigAWL]

OP...this is the key. If there is availability, it's easy. In times of difficult availability, it may be tricky to impossible.

One tip -- if you have enough points without borrowing to make a new reservation prior to canceling the original, do that. We've had numerous angst threads where someone checked availability, canceled their original ressie, and then found the availability had vanished before they could rebook.

I'm still new to DVC, and confused about this thread. Is this poster NOT correct, then? I think he's claiming that people have reported losing their entire reservation when they tried to drop just a few days. Did they (or the MS CM) just do it wrong - requesting to cancel rather than simply changing dates?

But many subsequent posters report that it's simple to drop dates at the beginning or end of your reservation, and there is no risk of losing the reservation due to lack of availability. This is what makes sense to me: of course the days are available, I already have them - I'm just making unneeded days available to others.

Technically DVC does not currently treat a change to a given reservation as a cancelation and rebooking such as dropping days. IMO they should be they currently don't. However, each day will have specifics points associated with it so that if those points are banked or borrowed, they will be the ones freed up. DVC MIGHT sub for regular points in the reservation but they don't have to and there is a risk of losing the days you want if they do try to do it for you.

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.

The way I see it, someone who reserved a number of days should have the first right to use them, or any of them, or none of them. Why, if a sudden change of plans caused them to leave a day later for vacation, should they lose their whole vacation?

If you want to add on days, would you also want to consider it a complete re-booking that can only be done if all days are available after waitlist have been checked?

 

[bigAWL]

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?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Thanks all.

I don't think I can do the 2 5-days since it's possible the 5 days I need will be in the middle. As far as waiting until I know for sure...I'm looking at 2 busy DVC weeks and I have a small home resort--I'll need every minute of my 11 month advantage--I will be able to do the cancellation before the 7 month window.

I'll remember to be careful that the portion I drop is with current year points in order to bank them later--If the initial reservation is made with a combo of current year and borrowed points, it looks like I may have to pray for a little pixie dust to make sure that the points returned to my account are the current year points. The good news is that I have another trip planned before the expiration of my use year so I am hopeful that I'll can do that one on borrowed points.

emacek

I've never had a problem with MS reallocating points to use borrowed and return current so it really shouldn't be a problem Some MS CM's can do it with their hands tied behind their backs. Other's - not so much. If you are having trouble with one CM just call back and speak to someone else or ask for a supervisor.

I'm still new to DVC, and confused about this thread. Is this poster NOT correct, then? I think he's claiming that people have reported losing their entire reservation when they tried to drop just a few days. Did they (or the MS CM) just do it wrong - requesting to cancel rather than simply changing dates?

But many subsequent posters report that it's simple to drop dates at the beginning or end of your reservation, and there is no risk of losing the reservation due to lack of availability. This is what makes sense to me: of course the days are available, I already have them - I'm just making unneeded days available to others.

I'm not aware of this being a problem with a scenario like the OP is talking about. When this can happen is if a member wants to swap points from a different resort to a reservation that was made during an 11 month home resort priority period. In that case MS should only allow it to happen if there is current availability otherwise it's circumventing the home priority. Then, techncially it should be a cancellation and rebooking. During the time it takes some people have lost reservations.

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?

I don't think there's anyway to designate when you do the booking unless you made reservations for individual days. Personally I've not had a problem with having MS use banked or borrowed points and return current. As I said above some CM's do this easily so if you're feeling uncomfortable with one you are talking to then call back.

 

[Pakey]

When I dropped dates for my upcoming October reservation (very busy time, BCV during Food & Wine), I had a mix of points that I could not bank (they were carryovers from last year) and current year points. I made sure MS knew to keep the banked points on the existing reservation. In the same phone call, after dropping days off this reservation, I banked the current year points I ended up not using.

It was very easy. The CM told me that it's never a problem to drop the days. That's been my experience also, never a problem.