The art of walking a reservation...?

[skier_pete]

I haves used the strategy sparingly. Recently I was trying to book a grand villa at HHI in June. We want to arrive Saturday but the unit had availability Friday. I booked it at 7 months for the Friday. Called next day and dropped the Friday. It really helped me in this situation. Certain rooms later in the week were unavailable after I booked.

This is not something members want to wish away but merely a fact of ownership. To remove this would be we would be limited to cancellations or fees for phone reservations. The flexibility (aside from the fact that it is disney) of DVC is what makes it the best timeshare program out there!

This I think is the one case where I would consider "walking". Booking maybe a day or two early to get the dates I wanted for a 7-month reservation. It seems very unusual that you would need to walk at 11-months.

The other odd thing about walking is you will never know if you needed to do it. It's kind of like taking airbourne to prevent a cold. You'll never know if it worked.

No one can steal the room from under you. If someone calls and extends on 13th they will keep the same room Disney reserved for them. The 20th can NOT go away because no one can reach it except people with reservations. So if everyone with reservations extend 1 day they will all get 1 more night in the room Disney reserved for them. Your room is free for 6 more days unless you call.

When walking at 11 months you do "not" have to call every day to extend or change. 5-6 days is a good number.

I hope this made sense for you.

I deleted most of this quote because no need to repeat it. The poster is 100% correct in his assessment, in the case of walking an 11-month reservation.

However, the same argument can't be used on the 7-month reservation. While "walking" may block fellow 7-monthers, folks with an 11-month window could come in a "scoop" your room out from under you. Meaning that to walk a 7-month reservation you WOULD need to change it every-day. And yet that still wouldn't completely stop it from getting scooped.

Example: I could book that very last room for January 12th - 19th when I actually want Jan 19th - 26th. That afternoon, someone with home resort preference calls and books my room for the 20th to 26th. So even though I call on the 13th to move the reservation to the 13th-20th, I still lose out on my room.

So, it seems to me at 11-months it's rarely necessary, and at 7-months it might be more needed, but won't work 100% of the time.

Let's hope that "walking" remains something members do ONLY when absolutely necessary - and that is virtually never at 7 months. It is seldom necessary at 11 months.

If walking becomes an issue with MS, you can be sure DVC will "fix" their problem with something that most of us will not like. My guess is that we will see a fee initiated for reservation changes.

SO PLEASE USE THE RESORT RESERVATION TOOL and the expertise of the community to limit the practice as much as possible. It's in our best interests!

This is the biggest reason it should be avoided. Not because it is "immoral" or anything, but because if more and more people start to do it, then MS will find a way to stop it. Whether it's charging a fee every time you make a change to a reservation, or limiting the # of changes allowed before canceling a reservation, the "punishment" will end up hurting all of us.

 

[Anne745]

With regards to when you should 'walk a reservation' I tried to book a 2 bedroom standard view room at BWV for 7 nights with a check in date of 11/07/2015 at exactly 8:00 AM this morning and there was no availability for Sat 11/07. The rest of the days were available. I am on a wait list and hopefully will get "lucky".

 

[robinb]

You have to walk every day, because your real second day could be booked out from under you by someone walking that reservation. If I call to book the 12 - 19 on the 12th of January, then don't call the next day to drop the 12th and pick up the 20th, someone else can call on the 13th to book the 13-20 - if that's the last room, the 20th is gone.

If its working for you by only calling twice, its because the reservation didn't need to be walked in the first place.

You certainly DO NOT have to walk every day.

In the example above you hold the room captive for check-ins through 12/18. The person who books 12/13-12/20 is booking a different room. You do not have to call until the day for 12/18 check-ins and then you can extend the room you have held for up to another week.

 

[crisi]

You certainly DO NOT have to walk every day.

In the example above you hold the room captive for check-ins through 12/18. The person who books 12/13-12/20 is booking a different room. You do not have to call until the day for 12/18 check-ins and then you can extend the room you have held for up to another week.

I still think to be sure you have to call every day. If there are very few rooms, people checking in and out, people changing their mind and cancelling reservations, someone can sneak in for those days were you don't call. If you think of it as one room, one person, one time period - you don't need to call every day. When you think of it as multiple rooms, with people's reservations ending in the middle of yours, other people calling to walk, to be sure you'd have to call every day.

(Try modeling it with post it notes and pebbles and you'll see what I mean).

 

[Msmithmd]

I still think to be sure you have to call every day. If there are very few rooms, people checking in and out, people changing their mind and cancelling reservations, someone can sneak in for those days were you don't call. If you think of it as one room, one person, one time period - you don't need to call every day. When you think of it as multiple rooms, with people's reservations ending in the middle of yours, other people calling to walk, to be sure you'd have to call every day. (Try modeling it with post it notes and pebbles and you'll see what I mean).

Respectfully disagree. Example:

Let's say you have a seven day reservation that you're going to walk, where your "real" reservation only begins on the fourth day of what you originally book.

Sure, you could call tomorrow and move it a day. But tomorrow, the first day that someone could begin a new eleven month reservation, the room your current reservation covers is already allocated to you-thus they can't book at their eleven month window and take that specific room from availability. Same thing is true the next day, and the day after that. So you certainly can wait until the fourth day to call and drop the front end/extend the back end.

As long as you call in to move it before your reservation theoretically finishes, you are blocking that rolling first day for that room from being open for anyone else to begin their own trip. It doesn't matter how many other folks will be checking in or out, for on any day of your future trip that all the rooms are booked, no member can begin a new reservation. If this weren't true, there would truly be no rationale to walk a reservation at all. In other words, whether one other room or fifty will be checking out on a given day makes no difference. If a room for any night is in your account at eleven months out, nobody else can book that room or the days beyond it at their eleven month window, until your reservation ends or is canceled.

When your current reservation extends past the eleven month window, there is only one circumstance in which you could be blocked out from extending it further. That would be if DVC removes a room from inventory outside of the regular eleven month booking system, either for a big planned maintenance (such as when they closed VWL one floor at a time last spring for remodel) or for their own other purposes (Drusba has reported rarely seeing evidence of this happening.)

Incidentally, hopefully the above also shows why walking reservations at seven months doesn't really work. In that instance, any home resort owner can indeed step in front of you at any time, simply by booking the future dates they desire, since they have been able to choose any of those start dates for months, and can proceed at their leisure. So, pseudo-walking a trip at seven months would give you the edge over the other non-home prospective bookers, but anyone who owns the property you are trying to get can step in front of you whenever they wish.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I still think to be sure you have to call every day. If there are very few rooms, people checking in and out, people changing their mind and cancelling reservations, someone can sneak in for those days were you don't call. If you think of it as one room, one person, one time period - you don't need to call every day. When you think of it as multiple rooms, with people's reservations ending in the middle of yours, other people calling to walk, to be sure you'd have to call every day. (Try modeling it with post it notes and pebbles and you'll see what I mean).

It was just that type of modeling with x's on a sheet of paper that convinced me that you don't have to call every day. Because it's booking check in day plus then a room has to be available to be booked before someone can start a reservation and no one can jump ahead because they can only start a reservation at 11 months out or less. The only one who could jump ahead would be DVC having pulled something out of inventory.

In the old days of booking from checkout day the day by day booking worked (although I always questioned its actual necessity and I think there were lots of problems caused by it) but with booking from check in day there is no need to call day by day.

 

[Breyean]

I still think to be sure you have to call every day. If there are very few rooms, people checking in and out, people changing their mind and cancelling reservations, someone can sneak in for those days were you don't call. If you think of it as one room, one person, one time period - you don't need to call every day. When you think of it as multiple rooms, with people's reservations ending in the middle of yours, other people calling to walk, to be sure you'd have to call every day.

(Try modeling it with post it notes and pebbles and you'll see what I mean).

Let's try this example. What works for one room DOES work with many available rooms, because all you are concerned with for your reservation is your one room.

Let's take the GV situation at VGC. There are only two - one HA and one non-HA. HA is a separate request. You can search for the HA GV and then book that specific room.

So you want to start your trip on 2/1. You want the HA GF because that one is the one with the view of the CA park, or because you need the amenities of the HA GV. You also know there is only one such room, so you decide to walk the reservation because you have this grand gathering coming up with people flying in from all over the country. You NEED that room.

So you call the week before your 11 months would actually open for the 2/1 arrival date. You book the GV for 7 nights at that time, the most you can do right at the 11 month mark. The last night of this reservation is 2/1, which is the first night of the reservation you really want.

Now you look at the online booking screen for the HA GF at VGC. You see it's greyed out as unavailable for all those nights including 2/1. As the days roll by, you see starting 2/2 that room is open. But guess what? No one can book it. Not until the 11 month window reaches a day that is not greyed out.

So 1/29, 1/30, 1/31 come and go, and STILL no one can book that GV for 2/3, 2/4, 2/5 etc, even they show as white and being available. This is because you have locked out anyone from booking those dates after 2/1 until the 11 month window catches up to the first open date, in this case, 2/2.

Before that happens, on 2/1, you call and drop all the early days from the walked week, and since you are still holding 2/1 as captive, you can book the 2/2, 2/3, 2/4 etc dates you really wanted.

This example with this particular room is applicable to any other walked reservation since any reservation deals with one particular room no matter how many are available in any resort.

Plus, you know what? I've actually done this. With this room. Just this year.

 

[crisi]

It was just that type of modeling with x's on a sheet of paper that convinced me that you don't have to call every day. Because it's booking check in day plus then a room has to be available to be booked before someone can start a reservation and no one can jump ahead because they can only start a reservation at 11 months out or less. The only one who could jump ahead would be DVC having pulled something out of inventory.

In the old days of booking from checkout day the day by day booking worked (although I always questioned its actual necessity and I think there were lots of problems caused by it) but with booking from check in day there is no need to call day by day.

And when I did it, I managed to create a scenario where a room got swiped out from under you. Because with room types changing (I'm a BWV owner booking two bedrooms, my available inventory does change all the time), that is exactly what happens.

 

[mort1331]

This is more like a bad cold then Art. And with a bad cold people need to cover their mouths and wash their hands. As more people do this it spreads and only gets worse. This has even crossed "species" bad reference, but people are booking throw away rooms so they can get an advantage on FP+.
There will be a cure found at some point, but the way the medicine is doled out might not be the happiest injection site.
The Happiest Place on Earth is always Utopia.

 

[jerseyduke]

And when I did it, I managed to create a scenario where a room got swiped out from under you. Because with room types changing (I'm a BWV owner booking two bedrooms, my available inventory does change all the time), that is exactly what happens.

Would you share your example? I can not see it. For a studio to switch back to a 2BR lock off or vice versa, it can not occur until the day after a ressie ends...which means it is blocked.

I do not see why you would have to call every day.

 

[Sur]

The first day needs to be open and anyone can block future days if someone who booked is not booked their full 7. Someone books 7, this was not the last available room. Next day, someone else books 7 and person 1 doesn't call and extend their stay by one day, person 2 got the last available room that person 1 had intended to "walk". Person 1 can no longer walk because person 2 took the last available room for that day-after-last-day of person 1's trip.

 

[jerseyduke]

Let us say that I have booked room 1 for 12/1 thru 12/7.
The next day my room can be booked is 12/7 onward. In order to book Room 1 from 12/7 onward, one must do so at 1/7.
It can not be booked on 1/6 for it is not available on 12/6.

So as long as by 12/6, I "walk" my reservation, how can it be swept out form under me?

Furthermore, even with changing room types (studios to 2 bedroom lock offs, etc)

The first day room 1 can be combined back from a studio to a 2 BR is 12/7, and because it is blocked, not before (hey, I already have the room!)

Now, that 2 bed room to be, can not be booked again, until 1/7, meaning it can be walked.

Is that logic wrong?

 

[skier_pete]

Let us say that I have booked room 1 for 12/1 thru 12/7.
The next day my room can be booked is 12/7 onward. In order to book Room 1 from 12/7 onward, one must do so at 1/7.
It can not be booked on 1/6 for it is not available on 12/6.

So as long as by 12/6, I "walk" my reservation, how can it be swept out form under me?

Furthermore, even with changing room types (studios to 2 bedroom lock offs, etc)

The first day room 1 can be combined back from a studio to a 2 BR is 12/7, and because it is blocked, not before (hey, I already have the room!)

Now, that 2 bed room to be, can not be booked again, until 1/7, meaning it can be walked.

Is that logic wrong?

I've never done a walk - but this logic makes sense. If you have a room booked from 12/1 - 12/7, then that room can't be booked by anyone until 1/7. So as long as you walk the stay by 1/6, you should be fine. I also agree doesn't matter if it's part of a lock-off, you can't book out the lockoff until 1/7 either, because part of it isn't available.

It should even be the same thing for a shorter stay. If you book a three night stay on 12/1 - 12/4, that room is not available to be booked by someone else until 1/4. So, again you could walk it on 12/3 to 12/3 - 12/6, and again on 12/5 to 12/5-12/8.

Still seems a little bit "dirty pool" though.

 

[Sur]

Unless it's a 7 month walk attempt, I suppose. If someone with 11 month advantage wants a room hat can't be booked by those without home resort advantage, they can get it.
It's the 7 month booking, I think, that needs daily updating.I'm still unclear on it all.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

And when I did it, I managed to create a scenario where a room got swiped out from under you. Because with room types changing (I'm a BWV owner booking two bedrooms, my available inventory does change all the time), that is exactly what happens.

What was that scenario? The room being blocked and walking working would apply at all resorts - even BWV with the lockoffs. I'm afraid I'm not understanding what you mean by the room types changing? As a lock-off you will have a hold on a studio/1BR that connect to each other which I would designate as being a single type.

 

[skier_pete]

Unless it's a 7 month walk attempt, I suppose. If someone with 11 month advantage wants a room hat can't be booked by those without home resort advantage, they can get it.
It's the 7 month booking, I think, that needs daily updating.I'm still unclear on it all.

Well, a 7-month it would be wise to walk every day, but that's more to try to ensure that someone with the home resort can't sneak in, but as others have stated, this wouldn't 100% stop someone with a home resort advantage from booking the room out from under you.

Example: I book On 12/1 a week at BLT from 7/1 to 7/7. When I book those dates I actually want 7/4 - 7/10 are all available. So, even an owner at that resort now couldn't get the room from 7/4 to 7/7. The next day (12/2) I "walk" it to 7/2 - 7/8, now ensuring 7/8.

However, later that same day, a BLT owner decides to book 7/9 - 7/15, snatching the last room. ON 12/3 when I try to walk again, 7/9 is gone, even though I held the room for 7/4 - 7/8. In this example, it in theory "worked" to walk the reservation, but it didn't completely work.

 

[Plutofan]

Be careful walking a reservation at the 11 month mark. I was told by a DVC manager that walking will not work at the 11 month window since they cancel the original reservation and rebook it with the current system. He told me when that happens you run the risk of a waitlist using some of your days when it is canceled. Not sure if this is true but I was told it when I had a complicated reservation that a manager was assisting me on booking.

 

[chalee94]

Be careful walking a reservation at the 11 month mark. I was told by a DVC manager that walking will not work at the 11 month window since they cancel the original reservation and rebook it with the current system. He told me when that happens you run the risk of a waitlist using some of your days when it is canceled. Not sure if this is true but I was told it when I had a complicated reservation that a manager was assisting me on booking.

if they really used one of the recent updates to automate the waitlist, that would solve a lot of problems (no more walking a reservation/ no more logging in several times a day to hunt a cancellation that the waitlist hasn't picked up yet.) hope it's true but we'll see...

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Be careful walking a reservation at the 11 month mark. I was told by a DVC manager that walking will not work at the 11 month window since they cancel the original reservation and rebook it with the current system. He told me when that happens you run the risk of a waitlist using some of your days when it is canceled. Not sure if this is true but I was told it when I had a complicated reservation that a manager was assisting me on booking.

I hope that doesn't apply to 7+ night reservations as well. We always book the first 7 nights then call back and add the rest a few days later. If they now cancel the first reservation, that will make longer reservations more difficult. -- Suzanne

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Be careful walking a reservation at the 11 month mark. I was told by a DVC manager that walking will not work at the 11 month window since they cancel the original reservation and rebook it with the current system. He told me when that happens you run the risk of a waitlist using some of your days when it is canceled. Not sure if this is true but I was told it when I had a complicated reservation that a manager was assisting me on booking.

I have to say I find that doubtful and unlikely to be correct. If so it would be generating a new reservation number whenever you dropped or added days and it doesn't. Recent situations have had me doing a bit of modifying and never a change to the reservation number nor a caution from a CM which they usually will do if its a chance the reservation might be lost and they might have to deal with some unhappiness.