Should DVC eliminate walking?

[TexasChick123]

The one impact that MS gets is combining a reservation after you piece 10 days together one by one each day after it’s dropped. Btw, this morning feb 13th I went online to book standard studio Bwv for January 13. Got it no problem. Hmmm. I’m not that fast either.

I have been keeping an eye on a standard BLT studio because I need one for next February. In December and through early January, the first day was constantly gone with the previous day opening up because of walking. Now that we are into mid-January, there is pretty much availability all around the month for a standard studio at BLT. Even marathon weekend has availability on Saturday and Sunday in all studios at BLT. It looks like walking isn’t as prevalent as it seems sometimes.

Personally, I don’t care if people walk reservations. If they want to put in the time every day, then so be it. I walked a VGF reservation for spring break in March 2019 because the boards made it seem like I needed to walk a standard studio at VGF, and it was completely unnecessary. Lesson learned for me.

 

[Sandisw]

Going back to the original booking method would eliminate walking, and is the most fair way to book.
Some don’t like day by day booking, but like walking, there is no requirement to do it. The option is there if you want a hard reservation bad enough, and iis 100% fair for everyone.

Do you think they changed that though to cut down on calls to MS? With online booking, would it then require calls to MS to combine?

Or did you just call every day and they combined? I wasn’t around for that.

 

[Bearval]

So anyone wanting more than 7 nights is going to be screwed. As soon as you drop the reservation to add an 8th night you'll lose the first night(s) and have lost the reservation entirely.

Adding an extra day is not walking. Adding a day then dropping the 1st one is walking.

 

[jarestel]

People can snag a room any time and move it forward. It works during the entire home resort time. It can even sometimes work at other times too

But why bother? At 10 months if the room you want is available, just book it.

 

[jerseyduke]

Adding an extra day is not walking. Adding a day then dropping the 1st one is walking.

And If I book Saturday to Saturday, then realize that Sunday to Sunday works better for me? Thats adding a day and dropping one, and yes, it is the same as walking, but could also be a very legit change.

@TexasChick123 pointed out BLT standard views do get walked some - particularly in the Decmeber time frame. VGF also - particularly standard view. BW standard view, outside of that, its not really an issue. and in most cases another view is available.

I'd rather Disney stop people from saving pool chairs for 5 hours.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Do you think they changed that though to cut down on calls to MS? With online booking, would it then require calls to MS to combine?

Or did you just call every day and they combined? I wasn’t around for that.

There was no on line booking at the time, so yes, it was a phone call. I don’t see why this could not be done on line with the new system if they really wanted to.

 

[jarestel]

As a large point owner I could book a room for 3 to 4 weeks during home resort time and drop it off and modify at whatever window allowed to what I really want

Plenty of other points to book other stays. This would give me an advantage over smaller point owners.

Most people hold a room at most 6 days through walking now. A restriction would hold it much longer.

True, mega point owners could theoretically do that, but since they have so many other options it's hard to envision them scheming to snag all of the value rooms. I think it's far more likely that lower point owners would be much more likely to invest the time and effort to get the desired reservation.

 

[DVC_HK]

There was no on line booking at the time, so yes, it was a phone call. I don’t see why this could not be done on line with the new system if they really wanted to.

They changed it because people were calling in everyday to move their reservations. Disney fully knows about this so they made the online mods so they don't have to deal with it anymore

 

[JETSDAD]

Adding an extra day is not walking. Adding a day then dropping the 1st one is walking.

But then you get back to someone being able to simply keep adding on for a lengthy period and making one drop later on. And there are a lot of people who book a bit of a buffer to be able to change things around once they book their flights. So then they would book their flight, go to drop a day at the beginning and lose their entire reservation?

 

[JETSDAD]

True, mega point owners could theoretically do that, but since they have so many other options it's hard to envision them scheming to snag all of the value rooms. I think it's far more likely that lower point owners would be much more likely to invest the time and effort to get the desired reservation.

I don't own a lot of points but could still walk a value studio a few weeks without borrowing. You'd end up with those who book a lot of spec reservations getting even more of the hard to get ones and reselling them.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

They changed it because people were calling in everyday to move their reservations. Disney fully knows about this so they made the online mods so they don't have to deal with it anymore

Not sure, but I think we may be talking about two different things.

 

[DVC_HK]

I don't own a lot of points but could still walk a value studio a few weeks without borrowing. You'd end up with those who book a lot of spec reservations getting even more of the hard to get ones and reselling them.

I think there should be a way for Disney to shut that down. Like for certain times of the year you have to have the owner on the reservation and they need to be there at check in or a fine is sent out

 

[JETSDAD]

Right now, as long as a person can book 2 nights, anyone can walk. The system allows everyone the same opportunity to book rooms, whether or not people choose to do so is up to the individual. Any of the 'solutions' put forward either give an advantage to some owners over others (he with the most points wins) or takes away flexibility from legitimate modifications. All this over a few booking categories which, even if some perfect system was created where walking could not occur, would still be cried about on a daily basis because there is simply far more demand than there is supply. I keep seeing people post that a reservation was available at 8AM and they still weren't able to get it....then blaming walkers even though that has nothing to do with walking. If it's not walking it will be something else that gets complained about because there will be more people who don't get what they want than there are people who do get it.

 

[CarolMN]

Do you think they changed that though to cut down on calls to MS? With online booking, would it then require calls to MS to combine?

Or did you just call every day and they combined? I wasn’t around for that.

There was no on line booking at the time, so yes, it was a phone call. I don’t see why this could not be done on line with the new system if they really wanted to.

Day by day also created havoc within the system. Many ended up with holes in their reservations. It was especially difficult for those who wanted longer stays.

I originally absolutely hated the change and thought it "unfair", but soon saw that the change to " +7 " booking was much better for the system and better for most members.

We should also note that today there are many more small contracts / "studio-only" bookers than there were before the change was made.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Day by day also created havoc within the system. Many ended up with holes in their reservations. It was especially difficult for those who wanted longer stays.

I originally absolutely hated the change and thought it "unfair", but soon saw that the change to " +7 " booking was much better for the system and better for most members.

We should also note that today there are many more small contracts / "studio-only" bookers than there were before the change was made.

But... love or hate the old system, it eliminates walking and is 100% fair.
Again, there was no need to book day by day if you didn’t think it necessary, just as there is no need to walk with today’s system.
Not sure what havoc it raised, but with on line booking I don’t see that as a show stopper.

 

[Sandisw]

But why bother? At 10 months if the room you want is available, just book it.

I meant if a room is booked at 10 months and I want to change it after I book it, for whatever reason...to adjust dates, etc.

I book 10 days and then decide a few days later to drop the first nights and add a few more. It’s still walking even though my purpose may not be to walk,

When would I be able to change? Some ideas are that nothing can be changed for x day, etc. So, it’s just an example that any resection on changing reservations would have consequences on people adjusting for other reasons.

 

[Philsfan77]

I think there should be a way for Disney to shut that down. Like for certain times of the year you have to have the owner on the reservation and they need to be there at check in or a fine is sent out

This is probably my least favorite suggestion on this whole thread. I booked my parents a studio at CCV for their 40th wedding anniversary in December...this would easily fall in the "certain time of year category." I should be fined for doing something nice for my parents? Or have to fly down from the northeast to be there at check-in?

 

[Sandisw]

But... love or hate the old system, it eliminates walking and is 100% fair.
Again, there was no need to book day by day if you didn’t think it necessary, just as there is no need to walk with today’s system.
Not sure what havoc it raised, but with on line booking I don’t see that as a show stopper.

Im a little confused so bear with me!,,

With day by day booking, you book each night as it’s own? So getting your reservation dependent what is available daily?

 

[DVC_HK]

This is probably my least favorite suggestion on this whole thread. I booked my parents a studio at CCV for their 40th wedding anniversary in December...this would easily fall in the "certain time of year category." I should be fined for doing something nice for my parents? Or have to fly down from the northeast to be there at check-in?

Is it over a marathon weekend or a major holiday? that's the times I meant

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Im a little confused so bear with me!,,

With day by day booking, you book each night as it’s own? So getting your reservation dependent what is available daily?

You can book as many days at a time as you want, but you book 11 months from check-OUT date.
Hard to get reservations you call day by day to extend the room by one night at a time if you thought that was necessary.