What does this mean when booking??

[Queen Nonnie]

I am in the process of buying points and looking at the boards and probably have a very stupid question. I keep seeing this line "We always book our home resort at 11 months at least once a year and adjust at 7 months if we can." when people are discussing making reservations. Clue me in please and any other tips people use to get their favorite spots.

 

[Chuck S]

It means that they book their home resort at 11 months, but try tochange the reservationn to a different resort at 7 months. The reasoning behind this is by booking at 11 months at their home resort, they have a place reserved. They will then try to change at 7 months, but their isn't always availability...so then they stay at their home resort.

Basically, they guarantee that they have a place to stay, even if it isn't their first choice.

 

[Lynne M]

When you buy a DVC membership, you're actually purchasing a real estate interest in a particular resort. This is called your 'home resort'. You may make reservations at your home resort starting at 11 months out from the start date of your stay.

You can make reservations at all other DVC resorts beginning 7 months out from the start date of your stay.

Since at 7 months, you're competing with the rest of the membership for the remaining resort rooms, there can be some risk in getting a reservation, especially at certain times of year and certain resorts.

So, let's say you really want to stay at BCV during Food and Wine festival, but you own at AKV. You know that it can be really tough to get BCV reservations for October at 7 months, so to be sure that you have something reserved on property for your October stay, you make your reservation at your home resort, AKV, at 11 months out. When the 7 month window opens, you then attempt to switch your reservations to BCV.

 

[Marionnette]

I am in the process of buying points and looking at the boards and probably have a very stupid question. I keep seeing this line "We always book our home resort at 11 months at least once a year and adjust at 7 months if we can." when people are discussing making reservations. Clue me in please and any other tips people use to get their favorite spots.

I am far from being an expert, but this is how I understand it.

You want to be able to assure yourself that you have a place to stay for each night of your vacation. You can make a reservation at your home resort beginning 11 months before the first day of your vacation. You have to wait until you are 7 months or less from that first day if you want to make a reservation at another resort.

A lot of members will make a reservation at their home resort to guarantee themselves that they have something. Then they will change that reservation to the resort that they really wanted when they are 7 months away from arriving.

Of course, this is dependent on DVC rooms still being available at your resort of choice when you reach the 7-month mark. This is why most people will advise you to buy where you want to stay. You always have an advantage over other DVC members who do not own at your resort when you can book before their 7-month window opens.

ETA: When I was considering resales, I found this post helpful. It shows how many DVC units are available at each resort. It helped me decide which resort I ended up purchasing.
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=43070015&postcount=3

 

[Sammie]

Not everyone does that, of course. Just those that want to make sure they have somewhere to stay, so they book their Home Resort at 11 months to guarantee that, then at 7 months they try for something different.

Many people book their home resort between 11-8 months and do not change it.

Many book at 7 months.