Hurricanes and points

[ILoveMyDVC]

I should know - isn't it amazing what we don't pay attention to until we do
If we have to leave, do we lose the points? We are scheduled to fly out on Saturday and hope to stay as long as SW and MCO remain operational.

 

[DVC Doctor]

I recall from 2017 hurricane that they allowed cancellations as I was there during the storm. Unfortunately, lots of services are shut down so it is a bit of a ghost town during a storm.

 

[Sandisw]

I had to cancel for a hurricane a few years back and MS was able to take care of it. We not only didn’t lose points, they put back borrowed points for us..which we didn’t expect.. We were just hoping for the holding restriction to be lifted.

So, if you have to adjust, especially if there is an official hurricane watch.warning, they are pretty good!

 

[Stinkomann20x6]

I had to cancel for a hurricane a few years back and MS was able to take care of it. We not only didn’t lose points, they put back borrowed points for us..which we didn’t expect.. We were just hoping for the holding restriction to be lifted.

So, if you have to adjust, especially if there is an official hurricane watch.warning, they are pretty good!

thank you for this follow up part. We are scheduled to fly in Monday, and had to borrow some points for a 2nd room, and when I did the chat through DVC, the lady only linked me to their hurricane policy. But it didn't really address borrowed points.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The bad thing is that you probably won't be able to rebook until after mid-Jan.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

The bad thing is that you probably won't be able to rebook until after mid-Jan.

We would be fine with that - still hoping to stay until our scheduled departure. The latest models would allow for it but preparing just in case.

 

[PolyRob]

I saw this shared in another group on Facebook

"From June 1 to November 30, in the event a hurricane warning is issued by the National Hurricane Center for the Orlando area, Vero Beach area, Hilton Head Island, Oʻahu or for the Member's place of residence within 7 days before the scheduled arrival date, the Member may call Member Services at (800) 800-9800† or (407) 566-3800† prior to Check-In to cancel or reschedule, based upon availability, their Disney Vacation Club Resort reservation without any cancellation or modification penalty."

https://disneyvacationclub.disney.g...ZAkPBfJNO5mmpdqLHskFaUnCY4OuQ09-ctkDJh2Svs300

 

[MickeyWaffles]

We cut our Sept. 2017 visit short due to hurricane Irma. We were staying on points at VGF and left with 4 nights left to go on our reservation.

We were able to cancel the remaining 4 nights and points were returned to us, no problem. We later rebooked for May and “finished” the trip.

 

[Disneykate605]

When we were there 3 years ago during I believe hurricane Matthew they wouldn't let us cancel without penalty. I spoke with them on a Monday and was told that I needed to cancel and have my points go into holding) before the end of that day or lose my points. I was not happy because it was still a little unclear what the storm was going to do. We ended up driving down the next day like planned and the storm hit on Thursday night and they closed Thur at 5pm and reopened Disney springs on Friday at 5pm and everything was back to normal on Saturday. We never lost power (was staying at SSR). On Wednesday they started to offer members the option of cancelling without penalty...which was super annoying because we had already driven the 9.5 hours to Orlando on Tuesday so we stayed. We ended up having beautiful weather the rest of the trip and had a great time. We had to add on a day at the end of our trip because they had closed I95 and we were unable to drive home right away. Unfortunately, the purpose of the trip was to celebrate one of our sons birthday's at MNSSHP...which we couldn't do because the only parties scheduled during our trip were Thur and Fri evenings and that's when they were closed. We are attempting to do the same thing this year in October...I hope it goes better this time!
Good luck to everyone who's trip is in jeopardy because of the storm...I know it's a hard position to be in!

 

[Beckles]

We have a reservation rented for this Monday night and are supposed to fly down Saturday morning, staying elsewhere the first two nights, are they really requiring a Hurricane Warning (not just a Hurricane Watch) to be in effect to cancel/change without penalty, that won't occur until Sunday probably … that seems awfully strict ...

 

[Sandisw]

We have a reservation rented for this Monday night and are supposed to fly down Saturday morning, staying elsewhere the first two nights, are they really requiring a Hurricane Warning (not just a Hurricane Watch) to be in effect to cancel/change without penalty, that won't occur until Sunday probably … that seems awfully strict ...

Yes. Remember, DVC is a timeshare vs. just a regular resort reservation so to keep things in balance, there are pretty strict rules regarding cancellation, etc. As a renter, unfortunately, your situation is going to be even more tricky because the owner of the reservation is most likely under no obligation (depending on your contract) to help out. Having said that, I would certainly consider getting in touch with them to see what your options would be if you did need to cancel the trip.

 

[Beckles]

Remember, DVC is a timeshare vs. just a regular resort reservation

Their written policy is the same for DVC and as the hotels, specific mention of a hurricane warning.

 

[Sandisw]

Their written policy is the same for DVC and as the hotels, specific mention of a hurricane warning.

Good to know. But with hotel reservations, the loss would be limited in a way DVC reservations would not. Room only scan be canceled 6 days out for no penalty and less than that only loss is one night stay. Packages may have a different set of rules but IIRCits loss of deposit

I think that was more of the point I was trying to say. My experience with DVC a few years back when a hurricane happened was very positive and they did accommodate many members, so I think they do the best they can even possibly modifying their own policy in each case.

 

[Beckles]

Thanks, the challenge is that the official policy is, honestly, ridiculous, because a hurricane warning will only be issued 36 hours before they expect tropical storm winds to hit … that is a pretty unreasonable official policy considering the travel involved for many people to get there. As you mention, the unwritten policy appears to be much more lenient (with reports on other threads of others already getting full refunds, despite the lack of a hurricane warning), but it makes it hard to decide/plan. I can change my return airline ticket for Tuesday with no penalty, but Disney's official policy is that I can't change a reservation for Monday night until 36 hours before the tropical storm is supposed to get there. It's a poor look on Disney (and I love Disney!).

 

[Sandisw]

Just saw on another site. DVC will be waiving penalty for all cancellations. So they must feel this situation warrants an adjustment to the official policy.

Probably why the policy is the way it is as these things can change and each storm is different. This way, if they need, they can always revise to be less restrictive. Personally, I am okay with the Policy as is.

 

[Marionnette]

Just saw on another site. DVC will be waiving penalty for all cancellations. So they must feel this situation warrants an adjustment to the official policy.

Probably why the policy is the way it is as these things can change and each storm is different. This way, if they need, they can always revise to be less restrictive. Personally, I am okay with the Policy as is.

Very understanding of DVC to do this for their members. But the PP rented a DVC reservation and that’s a whole ‘nuther ball ‘o wax.

@Beckles if you rented directly thru an owner, contact them to see if they will make any changes for you. Just because they CAN get their points back with no penalty, that doesn’t mean that they want them back or that they can secure you another reservation with those points before they expire. DVC owners have expiration dates for their points and banking deadlines that may have passed.

If you went thru an agency, you may be outta luck. They have strict no changes/no cancellation policies and they were pretty unyielding when Irma hit Orlando.

Wishing you luck. But even more, hoping you stay safe.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I have "renters" through a third party scheduled for Wednesday check in. I hope they bought travelers insurance, though I have no way to know that since we can not communicate directly. Of course, I feel really badly about their potential to loose a vacation as I would be scrambling around trying to figure out the logistics if it was me, but they did choose to rent through a third party rather than directly through Disney or ownership of DVC. The transaction was done at their request and in good faith with cancellation rules clearly written on the contract. As unfortunate as the situation is, my UY is October and these points are set to expire September 30, so it is unlikely that I would be able to help them even if we were in direct contact. It's a total bummer.

I hope it all works out for you...safe travels.

 

[Sandisw]

I have "renters" through a third party scheduled for Wednesday check in. I hope they bought travelers insurance, though I have no way to know that since we can not communicate directly. Of course, I feel really badly about their potential to loose a vacation as I would be scrambling around trying to figure out the logistics if it was me, but they did choose to rent through a third party rather than directly through Disney or ownership of DVC. The transaction was done at their request and in good faith with cancellation rules clearly written on the contract. As unfortunate as the situation is, my UY is October and these points are set to expire September 30, so it is unlikely that I would be able to help them even if we were in direct contact. It's a total bummer.

I hope it all works out for you...safe travels.

I think your sharing from an owners perspective is a good one so others realize that when booking DVC, where’re it is a rental or not, there are aspects to it that are not the same as with a typical resort reservation. As you u said it is unfortunate but really out of your control at this point
Hopefully, they have insurance.

 

[Tarheel girl 1975]

We cancelled our Poly stay and had our points returned without restriction. I'm sad, but relieved. We have other trips planned this year and we'll try to re-book for May.

 

[Pluto777]

I have no idea, but it appears each case is different and theres no real official policy... question is - what if you are using banked points and they are about to expire (i/e 2018 points, October UY banked into 2019)? Will they allow a member to somehow bank them a SECOND time into the next year?