I finally get why people walk reservations. Disappointed.

[tx911]

Just booked my first big DVC trip. Not my first trip overall, but the first big one.

I was trying to get a deluxe studio, standard view, at VGF.

11 months out, check
Home resort, check
Click "check availability at 8am EST on the nose, check
No deluxe studios available!!

Granted, I was going for the most popular room type at a busy time of year, but was still shocked at the lack of availability.

I had always assumed that this was more of an issue at 7 months than at 11.

I have definitely been educated today on the DVC product!

Knowing this before buying probably wouldn't have made me not do it, but I would have perhaps purchased fewer points and tested the waters a bit before buying more. Caveat emptor, as they say!

 

[tx911]

Same with BWV 11 months in Sept when they are 9pts/night. Gone at 8am! Then you see DVC Shop renting hundreds of reservations.... They must script it to grab the rooms...

Unfortunate.

I was fortunate to have enough points that I could borrow and book a (resort) studio with an "improved" view for a larger number of points.

For someone with fewer total points to work with, this could have meant the difference between getting a room and not.

 

[CarolynFH]

Keep checking each day, after 8 AM Eastern. It’s possible that some of those rooms are booked by owners who will walk past your dates to Thanksgiving, or to the first two weeks of December, or to Christmas-NYE, or even to 2025 Marathon weekend. IOW, tomorrow morning you might find November 23 available, and you can book it. The next day, November 24 might be available, and you can book that too (or modify the reservation you have to add that night). You can book one day at a time until you get what you want, then if you have a string of separate reservations, chat/email/call MS to link them into one. I’ve been watching BWV availability for almost a month, and a lot that was booked up at first is now open.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Agree with continuing to check and really agree with grabbing what you can, even a day at a time (and then have MS merge the reservations into a single reservation). Sometimes the 'walkers' walk right on past your dates.

There are only a handful of room types that are a struggle to get at 11 months, and that can be magnified, of course, during busier more popular times. I know the challenge of getting certain AKV rooms at 11 months, even during less busy times! Hope you can get what you want....

 

[Jlo85]

I would also recommend monitoring and waitlisting. Both of my waitlists came through for BWV @ 11 Months and VB @ 7 months. I think walking is actually what causes these issues… walkers (probably LLCs doing this professionally) walking it over to Thanksgiving to rent out, making the rooms seem booked when they really aren’t.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Keep checking each day, after 8 AM Eastern. It’s possible that some of those rooms are booked by owners who will walk past your dates to Thanksgiving, or to the first two weeks of December, or to Christmas-NYE, or even to 2025 Marathon weekend. IOW, tomorrow morning you might find November 23 available, and you can book it. The next day, November 24 might be available, and you can book that too (or modify the reservation you have to add that night). You can book one day at a time until you get what you want, then if you have a string of separate reservations, chat/email/call MS to link them into one. I’ve been watching BWV availability for almost a month, and a lot that was booked up at first is now open.

Definitely do this!

 

[tx911]

Keep checking each day, after 8 AM Eastern. It’s possible that some of those rooms are booked by owners who will walk past your dates to Thanksgiving, or to the first two weeks of December, or to Christmas-NYE, or even to 2025 Marathon weekend. IOW, tomorrow morning you might find November 23 available, and you can book it. The next day, November 24 might be available, and you can book that too (or modify the reservation you have to add that night). You can book one day at a time until you get what you want, then if you have a string of separate reservations, chat/email/call MS to link them into one. I’ve been watching BWV availability for almost a month, and a lot that was booked up at first is now open.

The problem is, I already booked a more point-intensive studio so that I would have something over the dates I want.

If I continue to book nights in another room each day as you suggest, I would have to keep borrowing points to do so. Even if I am successful and eventually cancel my current booking, won't the points be stuck in the 2024 UY at that point?

 

[MICKIMINI]

AKV Value Studios too! I knew they were nearly impossible to get and found out for myself. As a 1996 OKW owner, we have bought a wide variety of resorts for advantage and at this point have sold some because we were never able to make use of the 11 month window. Most of the time I make an 11 month at OKW (our first love) and then wing it at 7 months. Thankfully I consolidated and got rid of our September points and only have October to deal with.

Sorry for your disappointment. Spending $$$$ just to find you don't have but a small chance of getting what you want is frustrating.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I would also recommend monitoring and waitlisting. Both of my waitlists came through for BWV @ 11 Months and VB @ 7 months. I think walking is actually what causes these issues… walkers (probably LLCs doing this professionally) walking it over to Thanksgiving to rent out, making the rooms seem booked when they really aren’t.

You are probably right about LLC's. I did get two waitlists in the past two weeks so it does happen. The less days you waitlist the better and these were both one night waitlists. I was able to get two other nights by stalking. It is a lot of work but worth it to try to get what you want.

 

[tx911]

This really affects the value of the product for folks with lower point totals.

I have enough points that I can grab a lake-view or theme-park-view room, or even a 1-BR. For someone with fewer points that really needs a standard-view, this really can negatively impact the ability to use their home resort.

I think the guides need to be more forthright about these limitations. It should weigh into the decision-making process of where to buy as a home resort, as there are some resorts that do not have this 11-month problem.

 

[Jlo85]

This really affects the value of the product for folks with lower point totals.

I have enough points that I can grab a lake-view or theme-park-view room, or even a 1-BR. For someone with fewer points that really needs a standard-view, this really can negatively impact the ability to use their home resort.

I think the guides need to be more forthright about these limitations. It should weigh into the decision-making process of where to buy as a home resort, as there are some resorts that do not have this 11-month problem.

I think this is especially a problem for VGF. A bunch of folks bought the minimum 150 points, and that just doesn’t go far at VGF. Can’t really afford the other views with only that many points…

 

[Disney Spaz]

I was shocked when I saw VGF std studios gone this morning too. We bought CCR this past summer for our Thanksgiving trip in a studio with a walk in shower. We bought a small contract with the knowledge if we wanted a studio I was going to have to walk it.

We have owned at VGF since 2013 when sales started and used to spend the first week of Dec there and NEVER had to walk it. I figured with the additional studios being added at BPK it would be less of an issue. Boy was I wrong. Just for the fun of it after I secured my CCR ressie this morning I checked on VGF and was shocked to see them all gone. I guess moving forward no matter which resort I pick for our Thanksgiving trip walking is going to be my only hope.

I would be disappointed if we lost out to another faster member who was using the points for themselves and their family as we have limited flexibility since DD is starting college next year and I work in a high school but I would be happy for them. I would be livid if I saw the ressie I was working to get for rent on any other site by some LLC group. I know there is no foreseeable way to stop this and I know they own their points just like the rest of us but it is still frustrating.

 

[Sandisw]

When they added all those resort studios it is putting more pressure on the deluxe studios and many of us prefer those and the larger units on the original building

There just will never be enough of these very popular rooms for the number of people who want them, especially during the busy holiday time.

Keep trying and you may be able to get what you want. But, I would not borrow to pick up rooms that might show back up as they will then be stuck.

 

[robinb]

I would also recommend monitoring and waitlisting. Both of my waitlists came through for BWV @ 11 Months and VB @ 7 months. I think walking is actually what causes these issues… walkers (probably LLCs doing this professionally) walking it over to Thanksgiving to rent out, making the rooms seem booked when they really aren’t.

Nah. Reservation walkers have been around for way longer than the current rental businesses and "LLCs" making spec reservations.

@tx911, did the system show availability for all your dates, including check-in date before 8:00 am? If so, then at least some non-walkers got a studio this morning.

FWIW, I got one of the AKV holy grails in the last couple of weeks by picking up AKV Value studio crumbs left behind by walkers.

 

[CarolynFH]

The problem is, I already booked a more point-intensive studio so that I would have something over the dates I want.

If I continue to book nights in another room each day as you suggest, I would have to keep borrowing points to do so. Even if I am successful and eventually cancel my current booking, won't the points be stuck in the 2024 UY at that point?

Yes, you’re right, the borrowed points would be stuck in the UY of the trip, 2024 in this case, and isn’t practical to do for many owners. Following behind the walkers can work if the owner doesn’t book anything else or if they have a lot of points.

 

[walt34]

When they added all those resort studios it is putting more pressure on the deluxe studios and many of us prefer those and the larger units on the original building

We seem to be talking about November 23. The resort studios are fully booked for this one day as well so I'm not sure that the addition of BPK made much of a difference.

 

[davidhr]

I understand that it’s disappointing but I don’t know if the guides need to be more straightforward about this.

What can they say? “Hey, we have 50 studios. Keep in mind that if every owner wants to book them for the same week, most will not get a room”.

That’s how timeshare works. Not being pedantic about it. Even all the walkers won’t get rooms in high demand like AKL Value.

What I think they might do is informing buyers about the guaranteed weeks. I’ve never had a guide tell me about them.

 

[Sandisw]

We seem to be talking about November 23. The resort studios are fully booked for this one day as well so I'm not sure that the addition of BPK made much of a difference.

It is popular and maybe all the studios are being booked too..but those have definitely played a role in those who want a deluxe studio being locked out of them

There are plenty of times when the deluxe ones are gone and resort studios remain.

 

[walt34]

It is popular and maybe all the studios are being booked too..but those have definitely played a role in those who want a deluxe studio being locked out of them

There are plenty of times when the deluxe ones are gone and resort studios remain.

Maybe. There are 30 Std Deluxe Studios and 84 Std Resort Studios. Even if resort studios were equally or even more appealing you'd see more availability with resort studios. At least this instance, with the resort studios also being fully booked, does not serve as evidence for this theory.

 

[tx911]

@tx911, did the system show availability for all your dates, including check-in date before 8:00 am? If so, then at least some non-walkers got a studio this morning.

I understand that it’s disappointing but I don’t know if the guides need to be more straightforward about this.

What can they say? “Hey, we have 50 studios. Keep in mind that if every owner wants to book them for the same week, most will not get a room”.

That’s how timeshare works. Not being pedantic about it. Even all the walkers won’t get rooms in high demand like AKL Value.

What I think they might do is informing buyers about the guaranteed weeks. I’ve never had a guide tell me about them.

I checked availability before the 8am booking time. For a deluxe studio, the Friday before my desired dates was unavailable, but the rest were open. This was when I first became worried that someone was walking, which I guess turned out to be the case.

I understand the "this is how a timeshare works" sentiment. But I would wager that many or most of the people buying DVC are under the impression that they are going to be able to book the rooms they want at 11 months at their home resort.

I think that instead of vague statements like "it depends on where you are booking and what time of year it is", the guides should be explicitly saying that certain room types, often the lower point-value rooms, are in high demand and may not be available even at your home resort. I don't think it is unreasonable for buyers of the DVC product to be fairly informed about what they are buying.