Waitlist question

[Marc A.]

Debating a spring break trip (3/22-3/29/14) to DL. Priced it out on costco travel and it seems pretty reasonable. We have never been and although we know it will be crowded we are willing to deal with that.
Checked availability on the DVC site for the Grand Californian and only some dates are available. We have enough points in 2014 to cover the trip and know we will not be going to either parks in 2014 at all....
Do I book through Costco at a Good Neighbor hotel and waitlist the DVC trip????

Never waitlisted before so I am kind of scared of the whole thing.....
Plus and minuses please.....

thanks so much

 

[disneynutz]

DVC at DL can be a challenge unless you own there and book early. There are only 48 or less studios, one-bedrooms or two-bedrooms depending on what's booked.

I would book outside of DVC and hope that your waitlist comes through.

Bill

 

[bwvBound]

Do I book through Costco at a Good Neighbor hotel and waitlist the DVC trip????

Never waitlisted before so I am kind of scared of the whole thing.....
Plus and minuses please.....

Absolutely!

As for the waitlist strategy, you have choices:

1. Use your first waitlist to request the full date range in the desired unit type. Use the second waitlist for the same dates but a different size unit.
2. Book the available dates in your desired unit size and then use the waitlists to pick up the missing pieces.

Personally, I like booking the nights that are available and using the waitlist to pick up the missing pieces. I don't care if I have multiple reservations floating out there while I'm still building the needed dates. After I have all the dates I've found that Member Services can put them "all together" provided they are the same unit type.

 

[Marc A.]

Absolutely!

As for the waitlist strategy, you have choices:

1. Use your first waitlist to request the full date range in the desired unit type. Use the second waitlist for the same dates but a different size unit.
2. Book the available dates in your desired unit size and then use the waitlists to pick up the missing pieces.

Personally, I like booking the nights that are available and using the waitlist to pick up the missing pieces. I don't care if I have multiple reservations floating out there while I'm still building the needed dates. After I have all the dates I've found that Member Services can put them "all together" provided they are the same unit type.

and if the wailist doesnt come through what happens with my points again??

 

[bwvBound]

and if the wailist doesnt come through what happens with my points again??

Depends ...

If you waitlisted the entire reservation and it never filled -- your points were never involved. They remain in your account and should be used, banked or transferred following normal practice.

If you booked some of your dates and remaining waitlist(s) never filled then you might want to cancel the reservation before "last day to cancel without penalty" (31-days before travel?) so that you can use the points elsewhere, bank them, or otherwise consume them following normal practice.

 

[bwvBound]

When you create a waitlist you'll have the choice of letting the waitlist expire at 30-days from travel or at 7-days from travel. If you are worried about crossing the "last day to cancel before penalty" threshold -- allow the waitlist to expire at its earliest setting or cancel it manually even earlier (at 35-days, perhaps). As always, watch your other time-drivers such as banking windows!

 

[Marc A.]

When you create a waitlist you'll have the choice of letting the waitlist expire at 30-days from travel or at 7-days from travel. If you are worried about crossing the "last day to cancel before penalty" threshold -- allow the waitlist to expire at its earliest setting or cancel it manually even earlier (at 35-days, perhaps). As always, watch your other time-drivers such as banking windows!

just read the cancellation policy for costco travel, seems like you lose your deposit if you cancel ($200). thats not nice

 

[bwvBound]

just read the cancellation policy for costco travel, seems like you lose your deposit if you cancel ($200). thats not nice

Ah, I was answering only to the DVC-part of the question not those introduced by Costco Travel. Glad you read their policy! What about other booking methods at the good-neighbor hotels? Or booking directly -- would these provide a full refund with a reasonable window of time?

 

[Marc A.]

Ah, I was answering only to the DVC-part of the question not those introduced by Costco Travel. Glad you read their policy! What about other booking methods at the good-neighbor hotels? Or booking directly -- would these provide a full refund with a reasonable window of time?

yep, was just putting the info out there on costco, they give a gift card and one character meal if you book through them...also the 4th or 5th night is free that way

I will look into the hotel directly. This is getting hairy

 

[bwvBound]

How "patchy" is the intended reservation at the Grand Cal? Do you have a chunk of nights in the middle as "bookable" with missing pieces on either end ... or is it an "every other night good/bad" situation?

FWIW, we've booked 10 nights at the Grand Cal this calendar year using the waitlist each time. I have two more nights on WL right now for mid-week in mid-Dec. So far, the Grand Cal WL is working great for me ... hope the same for you!

2013 Grand Cal Villas history:
* 4 nights over long weekend starting late Feb in a studio (booked at 30 days from travel)
* 3 nights over Memorial Day holiday weekend in a studio
* 3 nights over weekend in mid Dec in a 1BR
* now waitlisted for two addition nights in mid-Dec for either 1BR or studio unit

 

[Marc A.]

How "patchy" is the intended reservation at the Grand Cal? Do you have a chunk of nights in the middle as "bookable" with missing pieces on either end ... or is it an "every other night good/bad" situation?

FWIW, we've booked 10 nights at the Grand Cal this calendar year using the waitlist each time. I have two more nights on WL right now for mid-week in mid-Dec. So far, the Grand Cal WL is working great for me ... hope the same for you!

2013 Grand Cal Villas history:
* 4 nights over long weekend starting late Feb in a studio (booked at 30 days from travel)
* 3 nights over Memorial Day holiday weekend in a studio
* 3 nights over weekend in mid Dec in a 1BR
* now waitlisted for two addition nights in mid-Dec for either 1BR or studio unit

looking for 6 or 7 nights, saturday open, 4 days booked in between then two nights open

 

[bwvBound]

looking for 6 or 7 nights, saturday open, 4 days booked in between then two nights open

So current situation looks like a bowling split? Not pretty -- but better than "every other night."

If the reservation doesn't require borrowing credits from a future UY and doesn't run into conflict with your banking window ... I'd book the arrival Saturday night as well as the last two and create a WL for the 4 nights in the middle.

You still have a 2nd waitlist available ... and might consider using that WL for "all nights" together as a single reservation in a different size unit?

Again, verify that the WL won't trigger borrowing credits and won't cause conflict with your banking window.

 

[Marc A.]

So current situation looks like a bowling split? Not pretty -- but better than "every other night."

If the reservation doesn't require borrowing credits from a future UY and doesn't run into conflict with your banking window ... I'd book the arrival Saturday night as well as the last two and create a WL for the 4 nights in the middle.

You still have a 2nd waitlist available ... and might consider using that WL for "all nights" together as a single reservation in a different size unit?

Again, verify that the WL won't trigger borrowing credits and won't cause conflict with your banking window.

I would be borrowing from 2014 points, what wrinkle does that throw in?

 

[bwvBound]

I would be borrowing from 2014 points, what wrinkle does that throw in?

Once borrowed, points cannot be returned back to their original UY should you later cancel the reservation. (There is a 'Risk' to add to the minuses column in your Plusses/Minuses evaluation.)

 

[Marc A.]

Once borrowed, points cannot be returned back to their original UY should you later cancel the reservation. (There is a 'Risk' to add to the minuses column in your Plusses/Minuses evaluation.)

So if I "borrow" the 2014 points for this trip and no rooms open up I have to use the points by when??
I thought if no room opens up they go back?

 

[disneynutz]

So if I "borrow" the 2014 points for this trip and no rooms open up I have to use the points by when??
I thought if no room opens up they go back?

You can only borrow points when making the reservation. Banked and borrowed points never go back.

Bill

 

[bwvBound]

So if I "borrow" the 2014 points for this trip and no rooms open up I have to use the points by when??
I thought if no room opens up they go back?

Agreeing with what Bill supplied just above and adding a bit more specific to your reservation details.

* No points are used/moved/committed when you open a WL -- only when the WL is actually confirmed.
* Things could get messy if you borrow points to book the arrival Saturday night and last two nights but WL the middle 4. If the middle 4 never satisfy -- what will you do with the two partial reservations? If you cancel those reservations the borrowed points are stuck in the UY needed for the Spring 2014 reservation.
* If you create a single WL for the entire reservation (ignoring the few nights that are available for booking today) and indicate permission to Borrow points to confirm the WL should it be matched -- then:
-- your points are safe against the possibility that the WL is unsuccessful.
-- you would borrow points only if the WL finds a match

(Are you sure you need to borrow? The points aren't in the UY that covers Spring 2014?)

 

[Marc A.]

Agreeing with what Bill supplied just above and adding a bit more specific to your reservation details.

* No points are used/moved/committed when you open a WL -- only when the WL is actually confirmed.
* Things could get messy if you borrow points to book the arrival Saturday night and last two nights but WL the middle 4. If the middle 4 never satisfy -- what will you do with the two partial reservations? If you cancel those reservations the borrowed points are stuck in the UY needed for the Spring 2014 reservation.
* If you create a single WL for the entire reservation (ignoring the few nights that are available for booking today) and indicate permission to Borrow points to confirm the WL should it be matched -- then:
-- your points are safe against the possibility that the WL is unsuccessful.
-- you would borrow points only if the WL finds a match

(Are you sure you need to borrow? The points aren't in the UY that covers Spring 2014?)

thanks for the explanation, you all have been very informative....
yes I am an Aug UY so 2013 just started for us with little 2013 points
so I am thinking of WL the whole trip and booking with DL directly so I can cancel w/o penalty
sound reasonable??

 

[bwvBound]

so I am thinking of WL the whole trip and booking with DL directly so I can cancel w/o penalty
sound reasonable??

Good plan! Best wishes for a successful waitlist at the Grand Cal!

(I'm kicking myself now for bringing this up ... but you *might* also want to see if using your DVC points at the DLR hotels in an option for you? There are more rules and restrictions to weigh into the evaluation ... but one should at least be aware of the options.)

 

[Marc A.]

Good plan! Best wishes for a successful waitlist at the Grand Cal!

(I'm kicking myself now for bringing this up ... but you *might* also want to see if using your DVC points at the DLR hotels in an option for you? There are more rules and restrictions to weigh into the evaluation ... but one should at least be aware of the options.)

looking in to this option as well, thanks