Number of People Walking

[twinklebug]

Does anyone really think that DVC takes rooms out of inventory for regular maintenance - and does it more than 11 months in advance? I know I don't and dismiss that as a reason for a room going unavailable out of sequence prior to 11 months. A lot of the maintenance can be done even with guests there - I've had VWL maintenance come thru during a stay and chatted a bit with them about it and they just do regular maintenance on set schedules even while rooms are occupied. I think anything major only occurs when there are issues discovered with the rooms otherwise it's business as usual.

August of 2019 had 2 weeks worth of value studios blocked out as we approached them. I called Member services when I first noted the issue and was incorrectly told that others had simply reserved the rooms before I could get to them (of course, we know that's not possible if one is holding a room as far out as one can book.) When I explained this to her she put me on hold for about 10 minutes and eventually came back saying they made some calls and indeed the rooms were removed from inventory for maintenance. NOW... the kicker to that: as we rolled into September reservations, not only was inventory available for September, but those two weeks came back online and sat there open for many days.

 

[TexasChick123]

August of 2019 had 2 weeks worth of value studios blocked out as we approached them. I called Member services when I first noted the issue and was incorrectly told that others had simply reserved the rooms before I could get to them (of course, we know that's not possible if one is holding a room as far out as one can book.) When I explained this to her she put me on hold for about 10 minutes and eventually came back saying they made some calls and indeed the rooms were removed from inventory for maintenance. NOW... the kicker to that: as we rolled into September reservations, not only was inventory available for September, but those two weeks came back online and sat there open for many days.

What is the purpose of this holding back rooms only to release them later? I just don’t see the endgame in it for them. Can anyone shed some light on why they would do this?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

August of 2019 had 2 weeks worth of value studios blocked out as we approached them. I called Member services when I first noted the issue and was incorrectly told that others had simply reserved the rooms before I could get to them (of course, we know that's not possible if one is holding a room as far out as one can book.) When I explained this to her she put me on hold for about 10 minutes and eventually came back saying they made some calls and indeed the rooms were removed from inventory for maintenance. NOW... the kicker to that: as we rolled into September reservations, not only was inventory available for September, but those two weeks came back online and sat there open for many days.

So, at 11.5 months they thought they'd do maintenance on those all the value rooms rooms almost a year from that time. Then at 10.9 months they supposedly changed their minds? Suspiciously unlikely IMO. And wouldn't have been for a refurb either since that was just completed last year or was it two years ago?

 

[twinklebug]

So, at 11.5 months they thought they'd do maintenance on those all the value rooms rooms almost a year from that time. Then at 10.9 months they supposedly changed their minds? Suspiciously unlikely IMO. And wouldn't have been for a refurb either since that was just completed last year or was it two years ago?

Yeah... I am very skeptical of that too. My initial call to Member services was to have them make a report to IT to check how those rooms on those dates were coded as I suspected an error there. Now, could it have been possible that they decided to take them out of inventory that far in advance? Yes, but that would have been really advance planning considering our budgets hadn't even been set for the next year.

 

[Marionnette]

Are you finding that at 11 months, the walkers are modifying daily? Were you able to reliably stalk an 11-month minus 7 at 8am? Or is the wake a little more random?

It seems like a lot of work to have to walk daily.

It's difficult to tell whether people are walking daily or if multiple walkers have overlapping dates so that at least one villa was being given up every day but not necessarily by the same person each day.

As far as the reservations being walked right at 8 AM, I'm not seeing it. If you're walking, you can do it at any time during the day. It's not necessary to do it right at 8 AM. So, availability can open up at any hour.

 

[10CJ]

Nice catch.

DVC broke my walk Nov 18th for booking starting on October 20th.

The 20th and 21st weren’t avail to book starting on the 18th even though I held the 18th and 19th at the time.

Somebody else on another forum made the same complaint.

I held the room but was blocked from continuing.

It wasn’t the room being planned out of service either. I watched and the 20th and 21st both opened up briefly in the wake of the 22nd and 23rd.

I was blocked. I wasn’t alone.

It’s ok. It was really more of an experiment. My goal is to have 3 nights around the opening of Star Wars. I’ll pick up somebody’s Dec wake, or ride it out to January.

I was planning on posting about this after I secure something.

Sorry they blocked your walk. That seems really weird.

I was wondering if anyone has had success coordinating with a walker to pick up the days behind them as they move their reservation. If you both plan to be online at the same time, would it be possible to pick it up before the waitlist software?

 

[ziravan]

Sorry they blocked your walk. That seems really weird.

I was wondering if anyone has had success coordinating with a walker to pick up the days behind them as they move their reservation. If you both plan to be online at the same time, would it be possible to pick it up before the waitlist software?

The bad thing now is that I picked up a few days in a value for Oct (didn’t walk those, picked them up in the wake of the walkers) when it happened with a plan to re-engage the 3 concierge nights I want in Dec or Jan but the new 2020 point chart means that to push off into January, I’ll have to drop one of the value nights I booked for F&W.

 

[10CJ]

The bad thing now is that I picked up a few days in a value for Oct (didn’t walk those, picked them up in the wake of the walkers) when it happened with a plan to re-engage the 3 concierge nights I want in Dec or Jan but the new 2020 point chart means that to push off into January, I’ll have to drop one of the value nights I booked for F&W.

Sorry, that is frustrating

 

[twinklebug]

So, at 11.5 months they thought they'd do maintenance on those all the value rooms rooms almost a year from that time. Then at 10.9 months they supposedly changed their minds? Suspiciously unlikely IMO. And wouldn't have been for a refurb either since that was just completed last year or was it two years ago?

So here we go again... (Watching the walkers is an addiction of mine... Yes, I need a new hobby, but today it happens to play into some software I'm coding for myself. )

Today, 12/27/18 means 11/27/18 is our 11 month window. Since it is still before booking opens we can see what is potentially available and this is what I see. (Note the 2nd of December is blocked out while Dec 1 and 3rd are not.) That's just not possible.

In my opinion, It does indeed look as though Member services is tossing monkey wrenches out there to stop walkers. I personally don't have an issue with it right now, but if I were one walking who had up to 12/1 booked and trying for beyond that, I'd be very upset with them.



Edited to point out that the day unavailable is sandwiched between the 2 dates.

 

[ziravan]

So here we go again... (Watching the walkers is an addiction of mine... Yes, I need a new hobby, but today it happens to play into some software I'm coding for myself. )

Today, 12/27/18 means 11/27/18 is our 11 month window. Since it is still before booking opens we can see what is potentially available and this is what I see. (Note the 2nd of December is blocked out while Dec 1 is not.) That's just not possible.

In my opinion, It does indeed look as though Member services is tossing monkey wrenches out there to stop walkers. I personally don't have an issue with it right now, but if I were one walking who had up to 12/1 booked and trying for beyond that, I'd be very upset with them.

View attachment 371754

Saw it. Watching it.

If I were one of the walkers, I’d be worried. Happened to me, the day never did show up.

Thing is, when it happened to me, the next day/days didn’t open up to try to jump back in. That at least looks like the 3rd is avail, that only the 2nd was taken “out of commission”. There wasn’t a date back open to try to book at 8 am for a month afterwards when it happened for Oct bookings.

 

[Cyberc1978]

So here we go again... (Watching the walkers is an addiction of mine... Yes, I need a new hobby, but today it happens to play into some software I'm coding for myself. )

Today, 12/27/18 means 11/27/18 is our 11 month window. Since it is still before booking opens we can see what is potentially available and this is what I see. (Note the 2nd of December is blocked out while Dec 1 and 3rd are not.) That's just not possible.

In my opinion, It does indeed look as though Member services is tossing monkey wrenches out there to stop walkers. I personally don't have an issue with it right now, but if I were one walking who had up to 12/1 booked and trying for beyond that, I'd be very upset with them.

View attachment 371754

Edited to point out that the day unavailable is sandwiched between the 2 dates.

Sort of same thing is happening with studio value rooms. All days available except for the 7th day which should be open too.

 

[Madame]

This is also new as of new management, correct? And not allowed as walking is not prohibited?

ETA. I don’t walk nor do I own at a resort where I need to, but if the walkers aren’t breaking any rules, then MS is, no?

 

[JETSDAD]

Watching the same things. Something weird is going on.

 

[ziravan]

If I were looking to book over Thanksgiving in one of those two categories (I’m not), I’d put a waitlist request in right now.

If this does indeed break up walking in the week before Dec 2/3 in these two categories, then the people walking are going to start doing unpredictable things the closer we get to those dates that might open up nights ahead of the “walking fence” apparently being put up.

 

[JETSDAD]

If I were looking to book over Thanksgiving in one of those two categories (I’m not), I’d put a waitlist request in right now.

If this does indeed break up walking in the week before Dec 2/3 in these two categories, then the people walking are going to start doing unpredictable things the closer we get to those dates that might open up nights ahead of the “walking fence” apparently being put up.

I would just like to hear some sort of explanation as to how it is even possible. Personally, this isn't affecting me (yet) because I'm just looking to get in to walk another reservation myself but I have a bit of time.

 

[ziravan]

No matter what you think about walking, putting up a fence (purposefully taking a day along the path out of circulation) makes it impossible for anybody who actually wants to stay over the period that includes that dropped day. And since early in the week (the cheaper days) of the first two weeks of Dec are THE prime booking days of the calendar year for DVC, I’m guessing that’s not a small group of people.

The current rules say we are allowed to book up to a week at the 11 month window. Blocking that capability to some (those who actually want to stay across that timeframe) isn’t cool. If this is going to be a frequently employed tool, it’s not just going to stop walkers; it’s also going to stop those looking for these popular dates to actually stay.

If DVC wants to curtail walking, then the rule change should be that any reservation change of dates where any of the dates are still outside the 11 month window must be a cancel/rebook. If all your dates are within the window, the system works as now. If you want to change days ahead of the window opening for all your dates, you must first cancel your current reservation.

 

[CarolMN]

I would just like to hear some sort of explanation as to how it is even possible. Personally, this isn't affecting me (yet) because I'm just looking to get in to walk another reservation myself but I have a bit of time.

I wonder if it's really available and just not displayed properly due to programming anomalies. No way to know unless someone actually tries to modify a reservation that should allow the modification.

 

[JETSDAD]

No matter what you think about walking, putting up a fence (purposefully taking a day along the path out of circulation) makes it impossible for anybody who actually wants to stay over the period that includes that dropped day. And since early in the week (the cheaper days) of the first two weeks of Dec are THE prime booking days of the calendar year for DVC, I’m guessing that’s not a small group of people.

The current rules say we are allowed to book up to a week at the 11 month window. Blocking that capability to some (those who actually want to stay across that timeframe) isn’t cool. If this is going to be a frequently employed tool, it’s not just going to stop walkers; it’s also going to stop those looking for these popular dates to actually stay.

If DVC wants to curtail walking, then the rule change should be that any reservation change of dates where any of the dates are still outside the 11 month window must be a cancel/rebook. If all your dates are within the window, the system works as now. If you want to change days ahead of the window opening for all your dates, you must first cancel your current reservation.

I think the problem with your solution is that it also blocks people who simply want more than 7 nights for their reservation. However, if you do allow people to add on without dropping but don't allow people to drop the beginning to add on, he with the most points wins. It could still be walked in essence by booking a long reservation and then dropping the earlier days later on.

 

[ziravan]

I wonder if it's really available and just not displayed properly due to programming anomalies. No way to know unless someone actually tries to modify a reservation that should allow the modification.

In Nov, when the 20th and 21st of Oct weren’t avail, it wasn’t a glitch; I couldn’t modify past it when I tried on the 18th, even though I held the 16-20 at the time.

If this really is a fence to block off walkers, for October dates it only showed up two days ahead of availability; it didn’t walk it’s way through all seven visible days of advanced availability like it seems to be doing now.

 

[10CJ]

If I were looking to book over Thanksgiving in one of those two categories (I’m not), I’d put a waitlist request in right now.

If this does indeed break up walking in the week before Dec 2/3 in these two categories, then the people walking are going to start doing unpredictable things the closer we get to those dates that might open up nights ahead of the “walking fence” apparently being put up.

I know you have no way of knowing, but how many days do you think could open up at once? Would it be better to waitlist in smaller chunks?