December 2013, everything is booked???

[xdan0920]

Is there some kind of special event happening the first couple weeks of Dec this year? I am trying to book a room for my folks for sometime between Dec 1st and the 20th, and I can't even come close to stringing together enough nights in a row. Old Key West, booked. Saratoga, booked. Everything, booked.

 

[Master Yoda]

DVC tends to book up rather solid for all of December thease days.

 

[Tigger 68]

I tried booking for December 3rd-8th at the 7 month window and couldn't get all 5 nights in a row at the same resort. I had to originally settle for two nights at BC, one night at WL, and two nights at AK. After a couple months of checking multiple times daily and switching things around I got it settled now for two nights at GF and three nights at BLT MK view.

 

[lostpro9het]

I felt kinda crazy booking at the 9-month window for Christmas week at the time but unfortunately that's the nature of the beast now.

 

[awilliams4]

I would expect little to no availability in December at 90 days out every year. Sorry it didn't work out.

 

[ctosh]

I was lucky and got 4 night 19-23 back in July

 

[ExtinctJenn]

We are going to be on property 12/2-12/7. We're not DVC but I can tell you that the lack of availability is not limited to it. We booked at the beginning of August (just under 4 months out). Finding a room at anything but Deluxe was tough (but that was mostly because we were using a Free Dining PIN) but once we booked and I went out to do ADRs I had a heck of a time. Though it's still a relatively "slow" time of year, it's the busiest of the slow time if that makes any sense. LOL

 

[LuvtheGoof]

We have always booked at 11 months out for the first 2 weeks of December. Some of the lowest points per night, Christmas decorations are out in full, and lower crowds, since kids are still in school. Makes a perfect storm for being very solidly booked. You could try a waitlist, but I doubt it would come through this late, and there are probably already quite a few on a waitlist for those dates. Good luck!

 

[Ralphlaw]

Always do the waiting list when this happens. You might even try booking a normal hotel room as a back up. Low points per day = popularity. Good luck.

 

[WWWD]

Always do the waiting list when this happens. You might even try booking a normal hotel room as a back up. Low points per day = popularity. Good luck.

You could also rent your points and use the money to pay for a non-DVC hotel room. Or, if renting your points isn't something you are interested in, you can use your points to book a non-DVC room. However, remember this isn't the most cost effective way to use your points.

 

[BCVTalsJam]

As a DVC memebers I book at my resort at the 11 month window to make sure I get the time I want for my trip...December goes quick due to the holidays so to get it you need to get it at the 11 month window.

 

[GoofGoof]

The first 2 weeks of December are the lowest point period for DVC (value season). The last 2 are Christmas and New Years.

 

[tjkraz]

You have to understand the nature of any timeshare ownership. The developer (in this case, Disney) can sell enough points for EVERY room to be filled EVERY night of the year, less some accommodation for maintenance. In Disney's case, they sell 98% of all availability leaving that 2% (one week / year) for each room to be removed from service for upkeep.

What this means is that if EVERY owner is using the points they have purchased, EVERY room will be filled EVERY night of the year. (In reality that doesn't always happen because--believe it or not--some owners allow their points to go unused. Banking and borrowing also allows for some year-to-year variances.)

During the popular periods, rooms will fill up faster. When overall demand exceeds availability, rooms will fill up faster. And once all of the rooms are gone...they're gone.

During slower periods, some last-minute availability may remain.

In recent years, you can put the entire timeframe of late-September (when Food & Wine begins) through mid-January in high demand. Not the least bit surprising that you would find very little availability for early December on 2.5 months notice. Sorry.

 

[GoofGoof]

You have to understand the nature of any timeshare ownership. The developer (in this case, Disney) can sell enough points for EVERY room to be filled EVERY night of the year, less some accommodation for maintenance. In Disney's case, they sell 98% of all availability leaving that 2% (one week / year) for each room to be removed from service for upkeep.

What this means is that if EVERY owner is using the points they have purchased, EVERY room will be filled EVERY night of the year. (In reality that doesn't always happen because--believe it or not--some owners allow their points to go unused. Banking and borrowing also allows for some year-to-year variances.)

During the popular periods, rooms will fill up faster. When overall demand exceeds availability, rooms will fill up faster. And once all of the rooms are gone...they're gone.

During slower periods, some last-minute availability may remain.

In recent years, you can put the entire timeframe of late-September (when Food & Wine begins) through mid-January in high demand. Not the least bit surprising that you would find very little availability for early December on 2.5 months notice. Sorry.

Nice summary. To add to that the Disney Cruise Line has become a popular trade in option. If you trade your points in for a cruise Disney will transfer the equivalent number of room nights from the DVC inventory to their cash inventory that can be rented to the general public. There is no mechanism to move those rooms back to DVC inventory. A month or two back someone posted that they could not get a room for SSR for September using points, but Disney was offering cash rooms at the same time at a 40% discount. This was probably the result of trade-ins. A good rule of thumb is to book at least 7 months out.

I think at some point Disney will start actively marketing extra rooms as cash rooms if they are not booked by DVC members even if they are not the result of trade-ins. I want to say at either 30 days or 60 days out. If rented the extra money generated goes back to the DVC resort as part of their annual revenue and expense.

 

[jim1051]

Pop warner week in early Dec. too

 

[toolsnspools]

I also book at 11 months whenever possible. We then change the reservation at 7 months if we don't want to stay at our home resort. I'm out looking for airfare deals as soon as possible, so I need to lock in the dates early.

 

[Mammymouse]

You have to understand the nature of any timeshare ownership. The developer (in this case, Disney) can sell enough points for EVERY room to be filled EVERY night of the year, less some accommodation for maintenance. In Disney's case, they sell 98% of all availability leaving that 2% (one week / year) for each room to be removed from service for upkeep.

What this means is that if EVERY owner is using the points they have purchased, EVERY room will be filled EVERY night of the year. (In reality that doesn't always happen because--believe it or not--some owners allow their points to go unused. Banking and borrowing also allows for some year-to-year variances.)

During the popular periods, rooms will fill up faster. When overall demand exceeds availability, rooms will fill up faster. And once all of the rooms are gone...they're gone.

During slower periods, some last-minute availability may remain.

In recent years, you can put the entire timeframe of late-September (when Food & Wine begins) through mid-January in high demand. Not the least bit surprising that you would find very little availability for early December on 2.5 months notice. Sorry.

How does that "sell enough points for EVERY room to be filled EVERY night of the year" correlate to the recent partnership Disney has with RCI? As a DVCer I am finding it harder to get a booking in the last year or so than I ever have since 1997. Granted many times it is somewhat last minute but I have always been able to get Old Key West or Saratoga. Even those aren't always available.

 

[tjkraz]

How does that "sell enough points for EVERY room to be filled EVERY night of the year" correlate to the recent partnership Disney has with RCI? As a DVCer I am finding it harder to get a booking in the last year or so than I ever have since 1997. Granted many times it is somewhat last minute but I have always been able to get Old Key West or Saratoga. Even those aren't always available.

Has nothing to do with RCI.
RCI is a trade facilitator. DVC rooms are only given to RCI when a DVC owner first trades OUT. It's a 1-to-1 relationship. DVC owner books a week in Cancun through RCI...DVC sends a week at one of its resorts to RCI.

If your concern is limited to the past year, I think it has a lot to do with the $399 Premium Annual Passes Disney offered last fall. A lot of members reported they took advantage of that offer. We're talking about owners who are accustomed to one or two trips per year who may have borrowed points to cram in 3-4 visits before their PAPs expire. IMO, that created higher-than-usual demand for WDW accommodations throughout 2013.

Beyond that, member booking trends have certainly changed over the last 15 years. I'm sure people are booking much more aggressively than they have in the past. The relatively new online reservation system helps by granting nearly 24/7 access to book.

 

[Mammymouse]

Has nothing to do with RCI.
RCI is a trade facilitator. DVC rooms are only given to RCI when a DVC owner first trades OUT. It's a 1-to-1 relationship. DVC owner books a week in Cancun through RCI...DVC sends a week at one of its resorts to RCI.

If your concern is limited to the past year, I think it has a lot to do with the $399 Premium Annual Passes Disney offered last fall. A lot of members reported they took advantage of that offer. We're talking about owners who are accustomed to one or two trips per year who may have borrowed points to cram in 3-4 visits before their PAPs expire. IMO, that created higher-than-usual demand for WDW accommodations throughout 2013.

Beyond that, member booking trends have certainly changed over the last 15 years. I'm sure people are booking much more aggressively than they have in the past. The relatively new online reservation system helps by granting nearly 24/7 access to book.

Thanks for clarifying the RCI relationship, I have never been a timeshare owner other than DVC so I am not familiar with how other systems work.

I've sort of felt something is different now and I'm just trying to figure it out so I can adjust my bookings accordingly. There was a time that the Fall was the best time to book and crowds were more manageable than summer, so it was great. I could just call or go online and get something as soon as 3 days or whatever. Now I have to go on waitlists, check online and call no matter how far out I want to book. Sometimes I get a couple of days and sometimes I don't.

I am an APer also but I wasn't aware of that Premium Pass offer as our Passes renew end of December, so I must have missed that last fall. I've read a lot now on this forum about the point rental business, too. Perhaps many DVCers are renting their points now instead of letting them go unused as in the past.

All in all we've been happy with DVC since we joined in 1997. I guess I just have to get more into the "book ahead" generation of Disney Future.

Thanks.

 

[doctornick]

How does that "sell enough points for EVERY room to be filled EVERY night of the year" correlate to the recent partnership Disney has with RCI? As a DVCer I am finding it harder to get a booking in the last year or so than I ever have since 1997. Granted many times it is somewhat last minute but I have always been able to get Old Key West or Saratoga. Even those aren't always available.

Anecdotally, I think a lot of DVCers bought the specially priced PAP which has lead to more trips in the past years (including multiple trips) for many folks. This may include people borrowing more points that typical, which would result in rooms being more likely to be filled than usual. Also, the PAP discount might have caused owners who have points outside of WDW (Grand Cali, Hilton Head, Aulani) to use them at WDW instead.