The Boat may have sailed, but I continue to let Member Services know....

[SL6827]

I hate talking on the phone. Literally hate it. And that's not good. It's a sign if the times. So I would never do this. I can't imagine having to talk to a customer service rep every morning.

But for those who like doing it, to each their own. Have at it. I wonder if this will help Disney sell more fixed weeks in the future.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The fact that DVC tolerates it is one thing, but what I REALLY get upset at is that some CMs actually encourage it, explain to callers how it can be done.

Agree, I remember posts mentioning this.

 

[Dean]

Just how much I hate this “walking” going on especially holiday times.

Yes, there were folks who did not like “day by day” booking, but it does seem fairer to me. Yes, there are folks who say the “fix” will not be palatable, but we have had this current reality for awhile now, let someone come up with a new idea we can try.

Usually there is a time to meet MS folks at the December meeting, usually I seek out Joy, she knows what I am going to say, but I still say it. We bought DVC resorts to be able to have an 11 month booking advantage, and some members prevent us from having that because they are walking.

Sincerely,
Bobbi

Agreed but if they try to stop it at 11 months but allow it at other times, it'll just be worst. IMO they should make all changes a cancel and rebook or as a minimum, not allow one to add to a current reservation and force separate reservations that can't be combined into one later.

 

[disneynutz]

I can't wait for the Mega Magic VIP program to start. 1000 point owners can book at 12 months, others at 11 and 7.



Bill

 

[Cyberc1978]

I can't wait for the Mega Magic VIP program to start. 1000 point owners can book at 12 months, others at 11 and 7.



Bill

Ive heard about this "new" club before.

Dont know how they could do that without creating some sort of new club and having the current resorts as members and giving the new owners that sort benefit. Question is can they just add the resorts and disregards the current owners or would if only be for new resorts going forward?

IMHO I dont see any 1000 points owners having that sort of benefit.

 

[zavandor]

Whatever system they'll choose, people will still try to game it or take advantage of any loophole. In my opinion anything they could do to limit or eliminate walking is going to hurt the members with little to no gain. It's not that people walk reservation just for the fun of it: they want those rooms. So people having problems finding availability now will probably still have problems without walking, competition would just be moved to a different time. But having to pay a fee to change a reservation or being unable to modify one will create problems to the wast majority of DVC members.

 

[Ben E N]

I can't wait for the Mega Magic VIP program to start. 1000 point owners can book at 12 months, others at 11 and 7.



Bill

I cannot think of how this would help DVC. They make money off of new sales, not MFs. It does not help them sell new points if they have to tell prospective buyers that they would have to drop over 150k just to get the maximum benefits. If they were to start a program like that, it would be for something like people who have 250+ direct purchase points.

 

[Dean]

Ive heard about this "new" club before.

Dont know how they could do that without creating some sort of new club and having the current resorts as members and giving the new owners that sort benefit. Question is can they just add the resorts and disregards the current owners or would if only be for new resorts going forward?

IMHO I dont see any 1000 points owners having that sort of benefit.

I doubt we'll see a VIP program at this stage in the game but I think it is legally possible. Just the total stated autonomy of the reservation system is enough to cover much of these options. In addition they can EASILY change the POS. Also at least 2 (if not 3) other companies with similar documents and location in FL have added such changes in the middle of the game. So to say it's impossible is unrealistic and likely untrue, IMO. BTW, the "members will be upset and file legal action" is not a valid deterrent.

I cannot think of how this would help DVC. They make money off of new sales, not MFs. It does not help them sell new points if they have to tell prospective buyers that they would have to drop over 150k just to get the maximum benefits. If they were to start a program like that, it would be for something like people who have 250+ direct purchase points.

IF they created a VIP program it would not start at 1000 but would be multiple levels. Something like 250, 500, 750 & 1000 points for example. There would be increasing benefits. They'd use it to sell more retail points. A new buyer might buy 250 instead of 200 to get to that level. An owner with 400 might buy 100 to get to the next level. Other companies use the system VERY effectively to sell more and more points over and over again. It definitely can be effective to sell more retail points.

 

[ziravan]

I cannot think of how this would help DVC. They make money off of new sales, not MFs. It does not help them sell new points if they have to tell prospective buyers that they would have to drop over 150k just to get the maximum benefits. If they were to start a program like that, it would be for something like people who have 250+ direct purchase points.

I agree. DVC used to have a minimum purchase of 160 points. I would think that the most likely target point for a rewards/VIP program start at anything more than twice that. 320 points or higher. That seems to me to be the perfect inflection point to encourage the purchase of more points from more members without being too far out of reach.

I doubt they extend the booking window for that, though.

Most likely we're talking about perks like extra fast passes for members and guest when a member is booked into the room. Small gift baskets on arrival. Some small concierge-like extras. Maybe a special viewing area for MK fireworks. Things that could be set up and run cheaply but provide a real incentive to buy more points. And those are things that can be tiered. 2 extra FPs for more than 640 points; 3 for more than 1000, etc, more concierge-like benefits for higher points.

Shoot, if you get to 640, throw in a portable beer fridge and food warmer that can be rolled into the room and plugged in, providing free beer/soda and finger food snacks, right in your room. Thank you for being a superuser; enjoy the beer and hot pretzels!

I've said this before, if you could get an extra FP per night for you and all your guests if you owned 320 qualifying points or more, and you already owned 160, then that's something worth running the numbers on. Mix in a little addonitis, and voila, you just bought another 160 points.

Same situation, but this time, you need to only buy 840 more points to get that extra FP? No amount of addonitis is going to bridge that gap.

 

[granmanh603]

Just how much I hate this “walking” going on especially holiday times.

Yes, there were folks who did not like “day by day” booking, but it does seem fairer to me. Yes, there are folks who say the “fix” will not be palatable, but we have had this current reality for awhile now, let someone come up with a new idea we can try.

Usually there is a time to meet MS folks at the December meeting, usually I seek out Joy, she knows what I am going to say, but I still say it. We bought DVC resorts to be able to have an 11 month booking advantage, and some members prevent us from having that because they are walking.

Sincerely,
Bobbi

Just dealt with that very issue again today....trying to book 11month Day 1 at BWV but of course I can't because of selfish people. There is no fix, they will always find a way to have things their way.

 

[granmanh603]

IMO Disney/DVC is no longer a relaxing vacation. Too much planning and work to vacation, 180 days do this, 30 days do that, book at 11 months, switch at 7 months, dual browsers, walk reservations, web sites down, book dvc event web site crashes spend 40 minutes booking, try to modify event, check several times per day no luck, call MS on hold told system down try later.

Bill

Not to mention having to book FP 60 days out too for me.

 

[SL6827]

So when exactly are these people getting to "jump in" the line to do this? I would be mad as well I suppose if I paid for a home resort with intent to stay there specifically during the holidays and weren't able to do so. I looked really hard at the small contracts that are up for sale at the Beach Club because that hotel complex is my favorite in all the world, but then I knew I would be wanting to play the field in regards of DVC stays so I went with OKW contract. But if I had went for the Beach Club and couldn't get in a studio there when I wanted, boy I would be mad!

 

[Dean]

So when exactly are these people getting to "jump in" the line to do this? I would be mad as well I suppose if I paid for a home resort with intent to stay there specifically during the holidays and weren't able to do so. I looked really hard at the small contracts that are up for sale at the Beach Club because that hotel complex is my favorite in all the world, but then I knew I would be wanting to play the field in regards of DVC stays so I went with OKW contract. But if I had went for the Beach Club and couldn't get in a studio there when I wanted, boy I would be mad!

There is no guarantee of availability even at 11 months out day one but the options that will be elusive day one are very limited and appropriate due diligence should bring those to light. IMO walking is inappropriate for DVC to allow but as long as they do, some will use it. It's actually easy to fix but it's not possible to fix it by nibbling around the edges. You have to stop it completely in ALL circumstances. True there will always be ways to give oneself some type of advantage if they are well informed and on the ball but walking is different. It's at least in violation of the spirit of the rules unless the POS is changed. I think it's difficult to say how early most people are starting that are using walking but I'd guess a couple of weeks.

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

Buying into DVC doesn't guarantee a certain room. I have no problems with walkers, the system is fair because everyone has a chance to walk.

 

[SL6827]

There is no guarantee of availability even at 11 months out day one but the options that will be elusive day one are very limited and appropriate due diligence should bring those to light. IMO walking is inappropriate for DVC to allow but as long as they do, some will use it. It's actually easy to fix but it's not possible to fix it by nibbling around the edges. You have to stop it completely in ALL circumstances. True there will always be ways to give oneself some type of advantage if they are well informed and on the ball but walking is different. It's at least in violation of the spirit of the rules unless the POS is changed. I think it's difficult to say how early most people are starting that are using walking but I'd guess a couple of weeks.

Sounds like a lot of trouble, but I guess it works for some to get what they need. Kinda makes me think of pool hopping, I think that too would be time consuming and annoying, but some people like to do it. So I guess to each their own.

 

[Dean]

Buying into DVC doesn't guarantee a certain room. I have no problems with walkers, the system is fair because everyone has a chance to walk.

The difference is that you're tying up rooms you never intended to use and locking out some others that couldn't get their reservation at 11 months out, which is what the POS says. While most could do it if they wanted, not everyone could esp if they have a smaller amount of points and/or need to borrow to complete reservations. It favors larger points owners.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So when exactly are these people getting to "jump in" the line to do this? I would be mad as well I suppose if I paid for a home resort with intent to stay there specifically during the holidays and weren't able to do so. I looked really hard at the small contracts that are up for sale at the Beach Club because that hotel complex is my favorite in all the world, but then I knew I would be wanting to play the field in regards of DVC stays so I went with OKW contract. But if I had went for the Beach Club and couldn't get in a studio there when I wanted, boy I would be mad!

One thing to keep in mind is that no room is guaranteed (except the fixed weeks). It is all first come first served and that is outlined in the paperwork. In fact, DVC also has an process for a lottery for times that rooms are extremely popular. I believe they may have used it at OKW for the Christmas holidays at one point during the first year or two but then decided it was not necessary. But it still could be brought in to play at anytime they deemed it necessary.

And the other thing is that people are not getting shut out of their resort - it's just certain room categories that book quickly with VGF studios being an exception at times though. BWV is the main focus here and it has had availability in the pool/garden view category to be booked easily right at 11 months. In fact right now there is only 1 night in October that is not available but all other nights in the fall could still be booked in studios or 2BR lockoffs. At OKW the most difficult category is the HH GV as I believe only 2 of the 27 are in that category. But HH studios also can go pretty quickly however non-HH studios would be available. So maybe shut out of certain views but not out of the resort. Back at BWV out of the 246 possible studios there only 21% are standard view, approx 12% are boardwalk view and the remaining 67% are pool/garden view. Thing is that most want either standard view or boardwalk view but those categories are not the majority of the rooms.

 

[DisneyQueen1320]

The difference is that you're tying up rooms you never intended to use and locking out some others that couldn't get their reservation at 11 months out, which is what the POS says. While most could do it if they wanted, not everyone could esp if they have a smaller amount of points and/or need to borrow to complete reservations. It favors larger points owners.

I get it, however if someone buying a small contract that's the risk they take. If the inventory low there will always be someone disappointed, it doesn't matter if the rules change for booking.

 

[condorthb]

Late to the party, so my bad.

What is walking?

 

[n2mm]

I’ve only been a Bwv owner for 12 years and have always found getting a standard studio at Bwv extremely hard to get from oct to dec. I’ve always had one minute to get that first day.....by 8:01am the first night is gone, but it’s been like this for years. It’s getting harder each year....this is the same for BW view studios too. But what makes it even harder is their system crashing during the process or when you log in which makes the whole process stressful. I booked for September next year and giving up October trips. I do need to book a room prior to my November cruise, and dread the whole process. Same for the after cruise stay too.