Why is "stalking" a thing if there's a waitlist?

[toesmom]

Does stalking give you a chance to grab an available reservation before it goes to the waitlist? Is there a benefit to stalking? Does the waitlist mechanism have like a delay built into it to allow stalking to work?

I feel like if the waitlist is instant, then stalking would not be a thing. So there must be some delay or other nerf to waitlists. Appreciate any insights anyone has.

Sadly waitlist does not really work as it should. If I have a waitlist set up and that room becomes available I should waitlist filled, it should not go back into regular room availability until waitlist tries to match. But that seems to be what happens regularly.

 

[Willow Ufgood]

I just picked up a night by stalking. The wait list didn't fill first. That's why I stalk in addition to putting in a wait list.

 

[drusba]

As one can see, the reason many stalk, besides having a waitlist, is because there have been many reports in the past of members having waitlists but then getting what they want via stalking while their waitlists are open. Why that occurs remains an unknown.

 

[luckyman_apd]

It's almost impossible to have an automated system in place unless EXACTLY what you have on waitlist is canceled and then it could match to your waitlist. But then prioritizing someone who has 2 days waitlisted vs your 3 or 4........so many variables to program in and every scenario....always gonna be a weird exception.......

Stalking has worked for me for a single night here and there.....was able to patchwork a trip and then slowly work it to what I wanted by stalking but that was A LOT of time and A LOT of effort and stress. The ideal scenario would be a system in place that autoslotted waitlists but in reality it's pretty impossible to have a program run like that with 100% success.

 

[Potigant]

So I have experienced the same as people have mentioned here, securing a night I had waitlisted through stalking. Perhaps stating the obvious, but does this also mean someone else can secure my waitlist by stalking, and mine never gets filled? I'm talking about just a single night waitlist, not multi-night that partially fills.

 

[Sandisw]

So I have experienced the same as people have mentioned here, securing a night I had waitlisted through stalking. Perhaps stating the obvious, but does this also mean someone else can secure my waitlist by stalking, and mine never gets filled? I'm talking about just a single night waitlist, not multi-night that partially fills.

There are a lot of times that you can get your room when your waitlist has actually filled but not processed.

I have grabbed a night and after I did, it showed no availability. Then I canceled my waitlist and checked again, and a room was there.

It means I did have that match but a CM hadn’t yet processed with is the second step.

But, the unknown is how often the system runs the waitlist match so it’s why things can slip through and why people still stalk.

I do a lot of waitlists and many are single nights and I have only not gotten it filled or gotten via stalking, once…it was a RIV GV for January night!

 

[Brian Noble]

I've found the waitlist to be productive. I may not be asking for difficult things? Who knows. Either way, I don't get too worked up over hypothetical things I was supposed to get but didn't.

 

[Potigant]

I've found the waitlist to be productive. I may not be asking for difficult things? Who knows. Either way, I don't get too worked up over hypothetical things I was supposed to get but didn't.

Not really a matter of getting worked up. It's trying to sort through what it's going to take to secure a high demand night that overlaps with another family member and if waitlist alone is sufficient or "beating someone at stalking" is going to increase the chances.

 

[Brian Noble]

Stalking is not going to decrease them.

 

[Potigant]

Stalking is not going to decrease them.

No, but it comes at a cost.

 

[Brian Noble]

No one* here can tell you (a) whether stalking can pre-empt the waitlist, or (b) if so, how often it happens. So no one can tell you the benefit of stalking, other than anecdotally saying "It worked for me."

There are plenty of people for whom it has worked. Likewise, there are plenty of people who have found the waitlist to be satisfactory.

Only you know how important getting this room is to you vs. what your time is worth. If it is that important, and it is worth it to spend the time, spend the time. It might pay off! If not, don't.

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*: At least, that assumes no one here has intimate knowledge of how the DVC inventory control system actually works and is either not bound by an NDA or willing to violate it.

 

[Potigant]

No one* here can tell you (a) whether stalking can pre-empt the waitlist, or (b) if so, how often it happens. So no one can tell you the benefit of stalking, other than anecdotally saying "It worked for me."

There are plenty of people for whom it has worked. Likewise, there are plenty of people who have found the waitlist to be satisfactory.

Only you know how important getting this room is to you vs. what your time is worth. If it is that important, and it is worth it to spend the time, spend the time. It might pay off! If not, don't.

---
*: At least, that assumes know one here has intimate knowledge of how the DVC inventory control system actually works and is either not bound by an NDA or willing to violate it.

Theoretically if what I asked was possible, someone could secure a night by stalking that someone they knew personally had waitlisted, and be able to answer the question a little more definitively. For example, I have a close family member with a different waitlist at Aulani that is similar to my dates, so I've often searched availability on his behalf if I am stalking already. If it were to pop up, I'd grab it for him. I'm not looking for intimate knowledge, surveying for anecdotal evidence. I appreciate you stopping by to share that you don't have any.

 

[Sandisw]

Theoretically if what I asked was possible, someone could secure a night by stalking that someone they knew personally had waitlisted, and be able to answer the question a little more definitively. For example, I have a close family member with a different waitlist at Aulani that is similar to my dates, so I've often searched availability on his behalf if I am stalking already. If it were to pop up, I'd grab it for him. I'm not looking for intimate knowledge, surveying for anecdotal evidence. I appreciate you stopping by to share that you don't have any.

What I can tell you is that I have had a lot more success with my waitlists than stalking, when I didn’t already have a match that just hadn’t been filled vs getting my waitlisted night and not having a behind the scenes match.

So, I think waitlists, especially for one night, have a higher probability of the system snagging it for a waitlist than when you have a few nights.

 

[Cfabar1]

I have been stalking one night for the better part of a week, and using the waitlist... is not a "difficult to get" room/category but it is in late May, so it might be too far away for people to be cancelling, but also too close to have wide availability... Hoping it works out...

So far neither have shown availability.