Jambo House unavailable for booking through the rest of 2020?

[Pangyal]

Does anyone have any inklings regarding why the entire inventory appears to have been pulled as of this morning? Regardless of unit size or view, not a single villa at Jambo is available for booking until January 1st, 2020.

I remember the Value “debacle” a while back, but this is an entire resort that is now unavailable to owners. It seems very odd and I am not sure of the legalities of this. Is there anyone with a better understanding who can share their thoughts?

 

[nickys]

There are two schools of thought here, both based on AKL not having been available for regular Disney bookings either before they suspended resort booking.

1. NBA going to AKL and therefore DVC rooms blocked out. If NBA were to start their next season at WDW that would explain the rest of the year.

Personally I don’t think that’s the case.

2. AKL is going to be used as the “upgrade” resort for Coronado (to be used for NBA) and possibly also another resort (to be used for for Soccer).

Regardless of which (or neither) my view is that Jambo won’t open with the DVC resorts (too few rooms to be viable) and for those few weeks there will be room at Kidani. And then they’ve stopped DVC booking at Jambo for now until they know when the resort will actually open. Once they have an opening date then the DVC rooms will open up again.

I do not believe they would block Jambo out for DVC for more than a few weeks until the resort opens.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

There are two schools of thought here, both based on AKL not having been available for regular Disney bookings either before they suspended resort booking.

1. NBA going to AKL and therefore DVC rooms blocked out. If NBA were to start their next season at WDW that would explain the rest of the year.

Personally I don’t think that’s the case.

2. AKL is going to be used as the “upgrade” resort for Coronado (to be used for NBA) and possibly also another resort (to be used for for Soccer).

Regardless of which (or neither) my view is that Jambo won’t open with the DVC resorts (too few rooms to be viable) and for those few weeks there will be room at Kidani. And then they’ve stopped DVC booking at Jambo for now until they know when the resort will actually open. Once they have an opening date then the DVC rooms will open up again.

I do not believe they would block Jambo out for DVC for more than a few weeks until the resort opens.

I think Jambo is a good candidate for the NBA, as every single other DVC resort, including Kidani has tons of availability for the last 2 weeks of July.

 

[nickys]

I think Jambo is a good candidate for the NBA, as every single other DVC resort, including Kidani has tons of availability for the last 2 weeks of July.

But NBA is going to need it until September I believe. And are talking about starting the next season also at WDW.

Although AKL is treated as one DVC resort, deeds do state where you own. I think those who own at Jambo House are going to be furious if they close it for the best part of 9 months. There would almost certainly be legal challenges over it.

Annual dues contribute towards the running of JH. That should mean the annual dues should fall to zero. I don’t know if AKL is treated as one entity for dues or two, but it would certainly see a massive decrease even if it’s one entity. And it would leave those at Kidani with only one restaurant which means either no QS or no TS, depending what they do with Sana’a.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

But NBA is going to need it until September I believe. And are talking about starting the next season also at WDW.

Although AKL is treated as one DVC resort, deeds do state where you own. I think those who own at Jambo House are going to be furious if they close it for the best part of 9 months. There would almost certainly be legal challenges over it.

Annual dues contribute towards the running of JH. That should mean the annual dues should fall to zero. I don’t know if AKL is treated as one entity for dues or two, but it would certainly see a massive decrease even if it’s one entity. And it would leave those at Kidani with only one restaurant which means either no QS or no TS, depending what they do with Sana’a.

AKL is treated as one entity to owners, just like the SSR Treehouses are treated as one with SSR (we own at both). So as long as Kidani is available to owners, there could be no lawsuit for availability. In addition, owners would have no basis for lawsuits for dues, as the same thing happens when DVC takes a block of rooms out of inventory for upgrades and remodels. My dues haven’t changed one cent even though there has been a large number of rooms not available to book as they are being refurbished at SSR. The number of DVC rooms at Jambo simply isn’t enough to make a big enough blip for AKL as a whole.

They will pretty much have to have Sana’a open for all dining, and may even set up some other sort of QS for Kidani. If the NBA wants Jambo totally, I can see Disney restricting access to it.

 

[nickys]

AKL is treated as one entity to owners, just like the SSR Treehouses are treated as one with SSR (we own at both). So as long as Kidani is available to owners, there could be no lawsuit for availability. In addition, owners would have no basis for lawsuits for dues, as the same thing happens when DVC takes a block of rooms out of inventory for upgrades and remodels. My dues haven’t changed one cent even though there has been a large number of rooms not available to book as they are being refurbished at SSR. The number of DVC rooms at Jambo simply isn’t enough to make a big enough blip for AKL as a whole.

When they do upgrades etc, Disney isn’t profiting from it.

In this case Disney will be benefitting hugely. Surely the NBA would be covering full running costs of the resort? Wouldn’t charging annual dues when there was zero actual costs being incurred be against timeshare laws? Plus it must impact availability if it was to last until the end of the year.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

When they do upgrades etc, Disney isn’t profiting from it.

In this case Disney will be benefitting hugely. Surely the NBA would be covering full running costs of the resort? Wouldn’t charging annual dues when there was zero actual costs being incurred be against timeshare laws? Plus it must impact availability if it was to last until the end of the year.

Yes, the NBA would have to cover the full cost of running the resort. I think that according to how Disney handles the mixed resorts, they would simply recalculate the percentages, and calculate the dues that way. Yes, it might mean that Kidani owners get a break on their dues, but they are already paying for part of Jambo anyway.

 

[RememberWhen]

We have a stay at Kidani at the end of December That we booked right at 7 months. Switching now would be difficult. I have no idea what the NBA schedule usually is. Would they still be there? I do not follow sports, so this is beyond my usual Disney planning.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

We have a stay at Kidani at the end of December That we booked right at 7 months. Switching now would be difficult. I have no idea what the NBA schedule usually is. Would they still be there? I do not follow sports, so this is beyond my usual Disney planning.

I don’t think you have any problem staying at Kidani. It looks like only Jambo is affected, though that will probably include no access to the restaurants either.

 

[RememberWhen]

I don’t think you have any problem staying at Kidani. It looks like only Jambo is affected, though that will probably include no access to the restaurants either.

That’s sort of my worry. Jambo has that great lobby and Boma and other stuff to do and see. We were kind of counting on being able to explore the resorts, especially with potentially limited park access.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

That’s sort of my worry. Jambo has that great lobby and Boma and other stuff to do and see. We were kind of counting on being able to explore the resorts, especially with potentially limited park access.

Understood. We’ve stayed at both. I think people will have to accept that for the short term, experiences are going to be different.

 

[Pangyal]

Overflow from closed cash reservation resorts does seem like a legitimate reason to block off some of the resort for the next few months. However, and please forgive me as I am fuzzy on this, does Disney not get only two percent or so of DVC units to sell to cash guests? How can they block off more than two percent of the combined Jambo-Kidani complex? I’m trying to follow the legalities of this and having some trouble doing so.

 

[nickys]

Overflow from closed cash reservation resorts does seem like a legitimate reason to block off some of the resort for the next few months. However, and please forgive me as I am fuzzy on this, does Disney not get only two percent or so of DVC units to sell to cash guests? How can they block off more than two percent of the combined Jambo-Kidani complex? I’m trying to follow the legalities of this and having some trouble doing so.

There are very few DVC rooms at Jambo anyway.

And any rooms not booked at 60 days out can be used by Disney.

However I think the important things is actually just to be patient and wait to see what the actual story is. It could be as simple as Jambo House is not opening with the rest of the DVC resorts and they haven’t set a date for it to open

 

[DisneyJeff]

When they do upgrades etc, Disney isn’t profiting from it.

In this case Disney will be benefitting hugely. Surely the NBA would be covering full running costs of the resort? Wouldn’t charging annual dues when there was zero actual costs being incurred be against timeshare laws? Plus it must impact availability if it was to last until the end of the year.

Annual dues is a budgeted item. They expect to have a certain amount of expenses and set the dues to be able to meet those expenses. In this case, if the expenses go down for the year (which I expect will happen in all the DVC resorts because they are not cleaning each unit regularly), then they would have a surplus for 2020 which would be applied to 2021. In that case, you would expect the dues to be reduced for 2021.

If the NBA is paying for some of the maintenance at a DVC resort, that amount would be added to the 2020 income which would create a greater surplus going into 2021.

I guess they could adjust the 2020 dues for the remainder of the year, but I don't expect that to happen.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the 2021 dues.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Annual dues is a budgeted item. They expect to have a certain amount of expenses and set the dues to be able to meet those expenses. In this case, if the expenses go down for the year (which I expect will happen in all the DVC resorts because they are not cleaning each unit regularly), then they would have a surplus for 2020 which would be applied to 2021. In that case, you would expect the dues to be reduced for 2021.

If the NBA is paying for some of the maintenance at a DVC resort, that amount would be added to the 2020 income which would create a greater surplus going into 2021.

I guess they could adjust the 2020 dues for the remainder of the year, but I don't expect that to happen.

It will be interesting to see what happens to the 2021 dues.

Since lots of people pay their entire yearly dues in January, Disney won't change anything during the year. They have already stated that they would be recalculating the dues for next year because of the closure.

I have to agree with @nickys that it is entirely possible that Jambo shows no availability because they don't know when they are going to open the resort to cash guests. It's different than the other DVC resorts that are part of a regular resort, as those either have their own building(s), or completely separate wings.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

There are very few DVC rooms at Jambo anyway.

And any rooms not booked at 60 days out can be used by Disney.

However I think the important things is actually just to be patient and wait to see what the actual story is. It could be as simple as Jambo House is not opening with the rest of the DVC resorts and they haven’t set a date for it to open

Curiosity got to me so I just took a random few weeks in Oct/Nov to see about availability. And yes while Jambo doesn't show any for any days, there is no availability at Beach Club or Riviera either, and very few days available at most of the other resorts either(OKW was showing 1 day availability in nearly all their categories). What you have is people who had trips canceled just trying to book anything. My guess is people plan to rent points and are probably willing to book 2 or 3 nights here, and another few there just so they can use expiring points. Anyway I don't think this is a Jambo house thing.

 

[floydbeatle]

I'm staying at Kidani from 8/15-8/22. If you looked at availability across the DVC resorts over the past few days it seems members are canceling and availability is opening. The fact that Jambo house has no availability is worrisome since there have been reports, as others have noted, regarding the possibility of the NBA using Jambo House. Of course there are also reports that they will stay at CSR. Regardless, I do have a problem with Disney not having a plan in place and potentially shutting down a significant portion of the resort. I get it, this is unprecedented times, but then they should have NOT announced a reopening until they could finalize at least some of the more basic details.

 

[Wngo905]

Well... I guess there goes my chance on the waitlist for a 1BR Value the week of Christmas........
Guess we will be sticking to the ressie at Kadani (plus I am still a little bitter about loosing our 1BR Value from June 6-13, it would have been our first time in a value.... now our second chance is also gone.... THANKS COVID-19!!!! Sure hope I get a massive reduction on 2021 Dues)

 

[correcaminos]

I think Jambo is a good candidate for the NBA, as every single other DVC resort, including Kidani has tons of availability for the last 2 weeks of July.

NBA has only stated Coronado so far as the option. I don't think NBA would be at Jambo with Kidani being right there. Not closed off enough, but what do I know LOL Upgrading guests is a more likely option to me, but still I am not sure if legally they can do that or not with Jambo.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

NBA has only stated Coronado so far as the option. I don't think NBA would be at Jambo with Kidani being right there. Not closed off enough, but what do I know LOL Upgrading guests is a more likely option to me, but still I am not sure if legally they can do that or not with Jambo.

Well, they can certainly move the cash guests to the Jambo cash rooms. Not sure of the DVC legal side, but Disney can rent rooms for cash that aren't reserved within 60 days of the arrival date. But in this case, they aren't even letting people try to reserve them, and that might be a problem for them if they move cash guests there without giving DVC people at least a chance to reserve them. Jambo has 972 rooms, with only 134 being DVC. Guess we'll see what happens going forward.

I agree that Coronado is a much better option for all the NBA teams, with the conference facilities and all.