Starting to have second thoughts-Reservations

[WilsonFlyer]

One of the reasons I finally bought into DVC and the whole DVC concept was my on-going frustrations every year with trying to find a suitable hotel on-site during my vacation. I usually book 3-4 months out and we almost always opt for Disney's "moderate" Accomodations. 3-4 months out is usually about the best I can do due to my work schedule running my own company.

Maybe it's my own fault for not having completed my due diligence before purchasing but from my reading here, I'm starting to really second-guess my decision; not because I don't like the program, but because of what I'm reading between the lines with regards to getting reservations at DVC accomodations.

It seems ludicrous to me that, as a DVC member, I wouldn't be able to get a room because of a cash customer reservation yet I keep reading about rooms reserved for rack selling. These resorts are owned by DVC members. That's what a timeshare is. I don't get it. What am I missing here.

I'm equally, if not more, frustrated to be hearing that I may not be able to get the accomodations I want; if ANY, as much as 7-11 months out. Booking that far out, I should be able to stay anywhere I want in any DVC resort. Again, I really guess I didn't do enough research.

This is all getting to be very disturbing to me. Please tell me I haven't made a mistake. What are your experiences? Are we that much oversold that we can't get a room at the DVC resort of our choosing 7 months out? 3-4 months out? Give a guy some hope... PLEASE.

Worried in NC,
bob

 

[disneyeveryyear]

I honestly think you are over-reacting to a few posts.

You absolutely will be able to get a reservation at 11 months out. You more than likely will get a reservation at 7 months out, maybe not at your first choice if you are looking for a specific room. BWV with standard views, AKV concierge, etc., may be difficult.

Depending on when you travel, I don't see a problem booking 3-4 months out if you are willing to stay at OKW or SSR, and even AKV (when Kidani is completed).

I just called Sunday to get a room in mid-July for 8 consecutive days. We had our choice of OKW - HH area, or SSR. While we do love OKW (and I LOVE the low points), the set-up of the studio at SSR worked better for us this time.

Before you decide this isn't for you, see if it works for you, don't depend on others' experiences.

 

[wdwnut]

I think it depends on what time of year you plan to vacation, what size villa you'll need, and how picky you are about where you stay. The dvc resorts with the most rooms are okw and ssr; the smallest are vwl and bcv. The first 2 weeks of December and the week between Christmas and New Years are very popular with dvc members and therefore harder to book on short notice. BCV and BWV are very hard to get during the Food and Wine Festival. I've had very good luck over the years with getting a villa if we weren't overly concerned which resort we were at. Hope this helped.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

It seems ludicrous to me that, as a DVC member, I wouldn't be able to get a room because of a cash customer reservation yet I keep reading about rooms reserved for rack selling. These resorts are owned by DVC members.

This is not the case. A cash guest does not affect availabilty for a DVC guest reserving on points. The developer owns unsold inventory at all of the resorts, some more than others. The developer pays the maintenace fees on these points and can rent out the rooms to cash guests. I haven't had any trouble reserving my vacations- but the longer you wait, the less availabilty there is. I have reserved as little as 6 weeks out. I even was able to stay at OKW- not my home resort- over New Years- by reserving my home (SSR) at 10 months- and then getting on the waitlist at 7 months for OKW. My waitlist for 6 nights came through about 30 days before my trip.

 

[CarolA]

I book my "must haves" somewhere between 11-7 months (I have only done day by day ONCE LOL!) For example, I have BCV points for Food & Wine festival. I generally book that stay around 9 months in advance.

Generally I can get SSR and OKW three to four months in advance


However, remember all those "exchanges" that DVC showed you. Those are why you see all those "cash rooms" that have you so upset. The Cruise lines, disney resorts, other hotels etc don't want "points" they want cash. THe way to get the cash is to rent the villas from the "points" you traded.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We have never been left out of getting a reservation we wanted, and we have sometimes done a last minute adding of a night or changing close to the travel time.

Of course, all of that depends on what you will accept. If you are always going to travel during holiday times or during high DVC times like the first two weeks of December or October, then you might have a problem, but if you are flexible and can waitlist, you will usually be able to get something. It might not be your preferred site, but that is the price you pay for late bookings.

Don't worry about the rooms available direct from Disney when DVC has nothing available. Those points have already been used by another member for some sort of exchange. It is probably someone who used points to book a cruise or maybe a stay at the GF. Since they used their points to do that, then CRO must recoup the cost of those accommodations, so they have been given DVC rooms "in payment" for the accommodations they released to the DVC member. That is just how the timeshare system works. If you want the flexibility of exchanges, then you have to accept that when people make those exchanged it will mean reduced inventory.

 

[crisi]

If you want the flexibility of exchanges, then you have to accept that when people make those exchanged it will mean reduced inventory.

Even if you don't want the flexibility of exchanges (I don't - never say never, but I'll be shocked if we ever use our points anywhere other than a DVC resort), this is what we all signed up for.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm equally, if not more, frustrated to be hearing that I may not be able to get the accomodations I want; if ANY, as much as 7-11 months out. Booking that far out, I should be able to stay anywhere I want in any DVC resort.

Two comments:

1. Every week there are upward of 3000 families enjoying their DVC accommodations. Whatever handful of posts you have read on the Internet don't come close to representing the shared experiences of members.

People post when they are ticked-off. Sure you'll see complaints. What you won't see are hundreds of posts from people who got exactly what they wanted.

2. You're waaaaay off-base thinking you should be able to stay "anywhere [you] want" if you book far enough out. There are always limits.

The idea behind a timeshare is that the resort is designed to be fully booked year-round. However, certain periods have much higher demand than others. The period between Christmas and New Year's is ONE WEEK--1/52nd of the available resort inventory. If 10% of all owners want to visit during that period, some are going to be denied. The same holds true for Spring Break weeks and other high-demand periods unique to Disney.

It's a simple first-come, first-served system. Those who call the earliest will get what they want. When inventory runs out, it's gone. And the inventory can be depleted either via members booking rooms at the resorts or Disney pulling them out of inventory because members have booked trips on DCL, Adventures by Disney or any number of other non-DVC destinations.

If owners at the BoardWalk or Beach Club or any other resort wish to fully book their "Home" within their contractual 11-month booking window, that is well within their rights. If you can't get anything at your Home resort 10 months out because your fellow owners spent the last 4 weeks taking all of the rooms, that is their right.

 

[mopee3]

I just returned from a 5 or was it 6 night stay at OKW and Beach Club that was booked in mid February for April 23-27. I originally was going down to see the NASA shuttle lift off and the day after we booked the flights NASA had the temerity to change the dates to May 25 or something. Well we chose to go ahead and try and get ressies anyway. I was using developer points so couldn't use a wait list but by calling day by day we ended up staying at OKW Wednesday and Thursday and then moving, because we wanted to see and spend time at SAB , to Beach Club Friday - Sunday leaving on Monday. We wanted and got a one bedroom in each case and the only thing we were sorry about was we left tooooo soon!

Monty

 

[disneykidatheart]

DVC also retains ownership of a small percentage of villas in each resort in case a unit is taken out of service for a maintenance or other issue. If they have an excess of those villas they have the right to rent them as well.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Thank you, folks.

I feel a lot better now and feel like I have a better understanding of what the deal is. I'm afraid I might have taken a few posts as a generalization and I, of all people (having run a HUGE internet forum), should know better.

Thanks for the advice and guidance. I think I'll try to book a couple of times first and then worry if there's a need to after that.

-bob

 

[FLYNZ4]

Are we that much oversold that we can't get a room at the DVC resort of our choosing 7 months out? 3-4 months out?

Bob,

DVC is NOT oversold at all. The developer can only sell points for completed units... and no more.

The issue of course is some periods are higher in demand than others. The 5 different "seasons" help smooth that out by creating demand during otherwise low seasons. Likewise... the high point values of holidays help reduce demand for those periods.

The longer you wait, the fewer choices you have... but nobody has oversold the resort.

/Jim

 

[PamOKW]

I agree with all the good folks here who seem to have calmed the panic generated by some posts you read. While you don't know when you can vacation, you probably will see a pattern of when you go. I find it helps to go ahead and make a reservation at a time you think has a good chance of happening. At least you have something (and here's another beauty of DVC) thought about when might be a good time to take vacation and made a plan. If you absolutely find you can't make that time, you cancel (paying attention to the deadlines we have) and book the next time that seems like it may work. If you can't get everything you want on the first call, take something and get on the wait list. Very often this comes through for you and usually fairly soon.

You've gone this far in purchasing, relax and give the system a chance to win you over!