Standard vs Pref at Boardwalk question

[AndyFL]

I was looking at the points calculator and noticed that for a studio room at Boardwalk it is 10 pts for a standard but 15 for a pref. That's quite a jump. Is there anything actually different about the room itself or is it strictly location. IF it IS location.....are the standard rooms really that far out in the boondocks?

 

[NJ Goofy]

I believe the rooms are pretty much the same. The difference is the view. Standard rooms overlook the parking lot, etc. Preferred rooms overlook the pools, garden areas, lake, canal, etc.

In my experience, it is very difficult to get a standard room because of the big point difference and the low number of those type rooms.

 

[DougEMG]

Standard rooms at BWV are some of the best deals around, low point cost like OKW and great location. It's my favorite, but the can be hard to get. For a two week trip in March, I couldn't get one of my nights even at the 11 month mark.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The only difference is the view from the room. Standard view for a points stay is along the front drive of the resort and about 20% of the total villas. Preferred/Garden/Pool is about 60% of the villas and not the BW view. The BW view is a separate booking category and also about 20% of the total villas.

 

[lsenquiz]

We have stayed in a BWV standard view room for the past 2 years. Before that we always stayed in a pool view. The difference in the view does not justify the big price different to get a pool view room for us. PPs are correct you must book way in advance to get a standard view room. We always book right at 11 months.

 

[spiceycat]

they are an especially good value for the food/wine festavial at Epcot.

if you want that for next year - you need to make the reservation in Nov - so would get a member now!

 

[AndyFL]

I got curious and decided to check and sure enough, when I checked for a room at BWV for Sept 2-7 (checking under my AP offers) there is a studio with standard view available.....same thing for BCV. Forgive me for being critical but I'd be more than ticked if I paid out the dough for becoming a DVC member only to see rooms taken out of inventory for ME to use so Disney could sell them on the side.

 

[AndyFL]

BTW, just to clarify my above rant. I checked with someone who had points to sell and the BWV studio rooms with standard view which are 10 pts per night wasn't available but the rooms with a view which are 15 pts per night were. Now correct me if I'm wrong but it sounds to me like Disney is pushing you DVC members into rooms which eat up more of your points. Am I wrong?

 

[Deb & Bill]

I got curious and decided to check and sure enough, when I checked for a room at BWV for Sept 2-7 (checking under my AP offers) there is a studio with standard view available.....same thing for BCV. Forgive me for being critical but I'd be more than ticked if I paid out the dough for becoming a DVC member only to see rooms taken out of inventory for ME to use so Disney could sell them on the side.

Are these on the DVC member site or on the Disney Reservation Center site? You can't get BWV standard view for cash. It's not available. When they (not DVC member site) refer to a standard villa, they mean the preferred/pool/garden studio, not the standard (DVC) villa.

And BCV doesn't have any views or bookable categories except for the dedicated two bedroom villa with two queen beds in the second bedroom (only 25 of them) and they are not available for cash.

 

[AndyFL]

Are these on the DVC member site or on the Disney Reservation Center site? You can't get BWV standard view for cash. It's not available. When they (not DVC member site) refer to a standard villa, they mean the preferred/pool/garden studio, not the standard (DVC) villa.

And BCV doesn't have any views or bookable categories except for the dedicated two bedroom villa with two queen beds in the second bedroom (only 25 of them) and they are not available for cash.

I'm sorry but you are wrong. Now do NOT feel too bad, a lady I bought points from last year was surprised to learn this as well. When I go to the Passholder's reservation site (I'm not a DVC member but do have an annual pass) I can click on BWV, put in my requested dates, it comes back with "Deluxe Studio - Standard View" for $327.75 per night and there are two upgrade boxes for 1BR villa and 2BR villa. Now if I click on Boardwalk Inn I am offered the reg rooms with 2 queens, water view is extra and I am also offered 3 tiers of Club levels.

I can also click on BCV (something which DVC members have told me is sold out) and I'm offered Deluxe Studio rooms as well, with similar pricing.

 

[spiceycat]

I'm sorry but you are wrong. Now do NOT feel too bad, a lady I bought points from last year was surprised to learn this as well. When I go to the Passholder's reservation site (I'm not a DVC member but do have an annual pass) I can click on BWV, put in my requested dates, it comes back with "Deluxe Studio - Standard View" for $327.75 per night and there are two upgrade boxes for 1BR villa and 2BR villa. Now if I click on Boardwalk Inn I am offered the reg rooms with 2 queens, water view is extra and I am also offered 3 tiers of Club levels.

I can also click on BCV (something which DVC members have told me is sold out) and I'm offered Deluxe Studio rooms as well, with similar pricing.

the passholder site is the Disney site not member services.

they get the points when a member trades out to conceirge collection, disney cruises, wdw resorts, etc (everything except RCI - which kepts the points).

so Disney is not stealing from members. when a member trades his points for these other things. Disney has to sell the points to get the money to make his reservation.

now there are timeshares that do steal - by selling to someone a week that you can rent for less than their maintence fees. Disney does not do this. Some others (even in Orlando) do.

the reason that BCV and BWV are the same price - is because BWV is the preferred view. If it was the standard (in points) then the price for BWV would be less than BCV.

all the studios are called deluxe studio - standard view.

bcv and vwl do not have separate views (like BWV, BLT, AKV) - but there studio will say the same thing. It is just the way that Disney does it.

anything else?

 

[AndyFL]

Now you've got to remember I'm NOT a DVC member but what you said simply does NOT make sense. You say that Disney "gets the points" when a member trades for something. Okay, fine, but how does that justify taking a room or room types out of inventory? You said "Disney has to sell the points to get the money to make his reservation" NOW REMEMBER, I'm not a DVC member so give me some slack on understanding this, but WHO is Disney selling the points to? They aren't selling points, they are selling rooms. Why not let other DVC members use their points to get these rooms when the become available?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Now you've got to remember I'm NOT a DVC member but what you said simply does NOT make sense. You say that Disney "gets the points" when a member trades for something. Okay, fine, but how does that justify taking a room or room types out of inventory? You said "Disney has to sell the points to get the money to make his reservation" NOW REMEMBER, I'm not a DVC member so give me some slack on understanding this, but WHO is Disney selling the points to? They aren't selling points, they are selling rooms. Why not let other DVC members use their points to get these rooms when the become available?

When a member who owns at BCV or BWV wants to use their points for a non-DVC Disney stay (like DCL or one of the other WDW or DL resorts), they give over the number of points DVC charges for these non-DVC stays. The DCL or WDW or DL resorts (non-DVC) need to be paid for the reservation, so DVC turns over the lodging these points represent to be sold to make the money to pay for these stays. Points have no value, so DCL doesn't really want 500 DVC points. That doesn't buy fuel for their ships or pay their staff. They want cash. And they aren't so magnanimous that they want the member to stay for free.

So the inventory that the member used for their non-DVC stay has already been "booked" on points. It cannot be booked again because DVC won't get the cash they need to pay the other Disney operations for the member's stay.

The inventory you see on Disney Reservation Center on line is traded out inventory (except for any builder inventory - unsold points - or inventory owned by DVC - bought back or kept for maintenance - usually about 2-3% of the total inventory). At 60 days out, any inventory left that hasn't been booked is also turned over to DRC to sell, but it may be brought back if a member wants to book it on points. But that is the only inventory that can be brought back on points.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I'm sorry but you are wrong. Now do NOT feel too bad, a lady I bought points from last year was surprised to learn this as well. When I go to the Passholder's reservation site (I'm not a DVC member but do have an annual pass) I can click on BWV, put in my requested dates, it comes back with "Deluxe Studio - Standard View" for $327.75 per night and there are two upgrade boxes for 1BR villa and 2BR villa. Now if I click on Boardwalk Inn I am offered the reg rooms with 2 queens, water view is extra and I am also offered 3 tiers of Club levels.

I can also click on BCV (something which DVC members have told me is sold out) and I'm offered Deluxe Studio rooms as well, with similar pricing.

No, sorry, but I am not wrong. Like I said before, the BWV standard view (DVC designation) is not available for cash reservations, only points. The BWV Preferred (non-BW View) is available to cash paying guests through DRC but they designate it BWV Standard view. Like Spicycat said, that is why there is no difference in price between BCV and BWV.

What you find on the DRC website is the inventory turned over to DRC to sell for DVC to pay for those non-DVC trips that members use their points for. There is only one category for BCV except for the one I already mentioned and that is not available for cash stays.

 

[LSchrow]

No, sorry, but I am not wrong. Like I said before, the BWV standard view (DVC designation) is not available for cash reservations, only points.

exactly as deb and spicey said.
on the DVC website, there are the options of standard, preferred pool/garden, or preferred BW view "deluxe studio".
on DRC site, you will only see "deluxe studio - standard view", the "standard" view actually being what is considered preferred P/G view by DVC standards.

btw, in addition to DVC standard view, BWV BW view is ONLY available with points (not even with DVC member discounted cash price).

 

[AndyFL]

There is only one category for BCV except for the one I already mentioned and that is not available for cash stays.

Okay, I'm starting to understand. Thanks for being patient enough to explain it. This last sentence still has me scratching my head however. You say there is onlty one catagory for BCV....I guess I'm not fully comprehending what you mean by catagory. When I hear the term I'm thinking of Studio, 1 BR Villa, and 2 BR Villa which would be 3 catagories....all of which are available to me when I check for room availability on Disney's AP reservation site. You don't have to respond, you have already been helpful enough but if you COULD explain this I would certainly appreciate it.

 

[spiceycat]

but WHO is Disney selling the points to? They aren't selling points, they are selling rooms. Why not let other DVC members use their points to get these rooms when the become available?

as Deb says - the points are used to get the villa at DVC resorts. These are what DRC is renting to non-DVC memberrs.

they can't give them to DVC members because they need the money from these rooms to pay for the reservations that was made by DVC members who traded outside of the DVC system.

example
say tom (dvc member) wants a cruise - so DVC takes his points 440 and then take a 2-bedroom at BLT at 384 points for summer lake view - with the left over points they can put with others points and make another reservation. They then give the BLT reservation to DRC to rent out.

mary (a non-dvc member) rents this reservation thru DRC (not DVC) and gets the BLT 2-bedroom lake view for summer.

 

[spiceycat]

Okay, I'm starting to understand. Thanks for being patient enough to explain it. This last sentence still has me scratching my head however. You say there is onlty one catagory for BCV....I guess I'm not fully comprehending what you mean by catagory. When I hear the term I'm thinking of Studio, 1 BR Villa, and 2 BR Villa which would be 3 catagories....all of which are available to me when I check for room availability on Disney's AP reservation site. You don't have to respond, you have already been helpful enough but if you COULD explain this I would certainly appreciate it.

think she was refering to the views - at BWV - DVC member have 3 - at DRC - there is only one.

pool/garden view, standard view and BW view

DRC just has pool/garden

 

[Deb & Bill]

When I talk about categories, I mean booking categories. Some require the same number of points like BWV Preferred/Garden/Pool and BWV Preferred/BW View. Points-wise they are both just preferred view. Same number of points, but different booking categories. Standard and BW view are not available for cash reservation.

At BCV, there is really only one booking category other than the dedicated two bedroom villa with two queen beds in the second bedroom. That one is also not available for cash reservations.

OKW has two booking categories - near Hospitality House and Not Near Hospitality. Same number of points

SSR has one booking category. So does VWL.

Size of villa is just size of villa. There may be more booking categories than views.