Why can't they change the way we book?

[DisneyBB]

We all seem to suffer the same problem when booking. I find it very stressful if I want to change from one resort to another and there is low availability. When you cancel what you have you could lose it and before booking the next one it could be snatched away from you. Wouldn't it be better if MS could hold a room for a couple of mins while they sort out your booking. Surley a couple of mins would give them time to cancel one and book another. A bit like the theatre ticket sites allow you time to pay for the tickets.

Who would I contact to ask why they don't do this?

 

[disneynutz]

We all seem to suffer the same problem when booking. I find it very stressful if I want to change from one resort to another and there is low availability. When you cancel what you have you could lose it and before booking the next one it could be snatched away from you. Wouldn't it be better if MS could hold a room for a couple of mins while they sort out your booking. Surley a couple of mins would give them time to cancel one and book another. A bit like the theatre ticket sites allow you time to pay for the tickets.

Who would I contact to ask why they don't do this?

Jim Lewis, the President of the Disney Vacation Club. Please post what you find out.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I had been assured that the day was coming that the "holding while a reservation was modified" would be in effect, but apparently that day isn't here yet. Yes, I agree that something should be done!

I will send another letter to MS...the one I had sent to Jim Lewis in April had been ignored, it took a second letter a month later to get a reply and some action on a lost reservation.

Bobbi

 

[disneynutz]

I had been assured that the day was coming that the "holding while a reservation was modified" would be in effect, but apparently that day isn't here yet. Yes, I agree that something should be done!

I will send another letter to MS...the one I had sent to Jim Lewis in April had been ignored, it took a second letter a month later to get a reply and some action on a lost reservation.

Bobbi

Jay Rasulo, Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

 

[rellabee]

Ok, I don't know if this is the same as the OP was talking about, but here is what I just did a couple of minutes ago.

I had to call MS to put my waitlists back in place for a trip that starts 8/26. I am currently doing a split stay because while I could have stayed at SSR the entire time, I really wanted to try BCV. So, I have had BCV waitlisted for 8/26-8/30 (and have had a SSR reservation for those dates), and then have a ressie for BCV for 8/30-9/2. The CSM checked and said that BCV was available on 8/29. She added the BCV 8/29 to my existing BCV ressie, and when that was complete, she dropped 8/29 from my SSR ressie. I was watching the changes on the DVC website the whole time, so could see that for a couple minutes I had ressies at two places for 8/29.

I just bought into DVC and this if my first reservation, so maybe I just don't understand the issue. Isn't what happened to me exactly what the OP was questioning? Or is there some tricky part that I'm not understanding but need to watch out for in the future.

 

[Chuck S]

Rellabee, what you describe is similar to what the OP is talking about. However, if the existing reservation uses all the members points, there are no "points available" to book the desired room AND hold the existing reservation. If the member has enough points, yes, the "new reservation" could be booked prior to canceling the "old reservation", and it would be safe.

But, if the member doesn't have enough points to do that, the old reservation has to be canceled first, and without having a way to "hold" a room while the cancellation is processing, the member could lose both reservations.

Actually, on our last trip, I called to add a day to our stay so, rather than move to a value for one night. When I called, the CM said it was available, but before she booked it, it disappeared...and I wasn't waiting on a cancellation transaction. Availability literally changes second by second.

 

[rellabee]

Sorry if I'm highjacking the thread, but I have a followup question on how this affects the waitlist process.

If you do not have enough current use year points, but are on the automatic waitlist, are you similarly "out of luck" because you don't have enough current use year points to "hold" the waitlisted ressie while the autoconfirm process happens? Or will the waitlist still autoconfirm without risking the loss of your existing reservation? Does this make it difficult for waitlists to come through even though in reality you have enough points to cover it since you are cancelling the existing ressie?

 

[Chuck S]

Sorry if I'm highjacking the thread, but I have a followup question on how this affects the waitlist process.

If you do not have enough current use year points, but are on the automatic waitlist, are you similarly "out of luck" because you don't have enough current use year points to "hold" the waitlisted ressie while the autoconfirm process happens? Or will the waitlist still autoconfirm without risking the loss of your existing reservation? Does this make it difficult for waitlists to come through even though in reality you have enough points to cover it since you are cancelling the existing ressie?

I haven't seen any reports on the boards of this problem occuring since they switched to the auto-waitlist, only with manual reservations.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Sorry if I'm highjacking the thread, but I have a followup question on how this affects the waitlist process.

If you do not have enough current use year points, but are on the automatic waitlist, are you similarly "out of luck" because you don't have enough current use year points to "hold" the waitlisted ressie while the autoconfirm process happens? Or will the waitlist still autoconfirm without risking the loss of your existing reservation? Does this make it difficult for waitlists to come through even though in reality you have enough points to cover it since you are cancelling the existing ressie?

Rellabee

You described perfectly why I will no longer use the waitlist unless I have points available to autoconfirm that are not tied to an existing reservation.

I totally disagree with the new waitlist policy and feel that the waitlist is no longer a viable option for switching units or resorts using the same set of points. Maybe if you have nothing and some days become available via waitlist, that is good, but not for switching.

This will only cause me to book times I might want to go on spec instead of relying on the waitlist like we used to.

MS does have its issues, the major one being many new CM's that are not as versed in the nuances of DVC. Many are not as patient or helpful. I am to a point that I now write down the names of the good ones and if I need a more complicated transaction I ask for them or ask for a supervisor. Hanging up and calling back works too. It's called Member Services for a reason and many of them are very magical, but Ive had some not so magical ones also.

No way would I leave my confirmed Christmas ressie to chance by having MS auto-waitlist, cancel confirmed ressie and rebook a successful waitlist. 1 slip and it's a not-so-Merry Christmas.

I understand clamping down on commercial renters, but these changes have real impacts on member usage. We have enough points to put chips all over the table and cover different reservation scenarios. Those that dont will suffer most.

So trying to stop commercial renting, only causes more of us to mimic the booking patterns of commercial renters. We are booking earlier, speculatively (albeit for our own use), and often. So the few have now turned into many, 1 way or the other, the availbility is gone and if returned, will be pieced out in so many ways it has very little value to 1 person.

Love my DVC, but it's definitely not perfect, and I agree with the OP that the booking system should be changed.

 

[DisneyBB]

Well I got a reply, but very dissappointed in it!

Thank you for taking the time to contact Disney Vacation Club.

I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns
with
us. The feedback we receive from our Members is very important to us as
it lets us know what we are doing right and what we can do better. As
we strive to improve the benefits and services we provide to our
Members, we are constantly evaluating our operation. You may be assured
your input will be taken seriously.

Thank you again for writing. We are glad you are a part of our Disney
Vacation Club family.

I have replyed asking them to answer my question and will post if I get a better reply than this standard one!

 

[bobbiwoz]

It may have been noted in the past, but I wrote to MS regrding the areas of SSR and booking reservations. This is most of the reply:

Thank you for taking the time to contact Disney Vacation Club.

I appreciate your taking the time to share your thoughts and ideas with
us. The feedback we receive from our Members is very important to us as
it lets us know what we are doing right and what we can do better. As
we strive to improve the benefits and services we provide to our
Members, we are constantly evaluating our operation. You may be assured
your input will be taken seriously.

Well, they save money by not having to take the time to respond with a thoughtful answer to each question. I will be writing another letter, not about SSR, but about the booking procedure.

Bobbi