7 month booking process

[LawrenceFamily]

Hi all

We have recently completed a resale purchase at AKL & wanted some advice on the best way to do things.

We are looking to book 11 months out to go at the end of August, but the "dream" holiday would be 13 nights at the Poly, which we know we could only book at 7 months out. Second to the Poly would be Copper Creek. We do absolutely love AKL though so it's not that we don't want to stay there if these options don't materialise!

How likely is it there will be studio availability for 13 nights at the end of August at 7 months and could someone explain the best way to change from one booking (the 11 month AKL home resort one) to another. Do you have to book days individually at the 7 month mark or can you book in blocks as in the full 13 days?

Thanks so much

 

[Ben E N]

I can't speak specifically to your likelihood of availability. Check out skierpete's thread on studio and 1br availability in the past to get an idea.
Switching your reservation should be pretty simple to do with the updates to the DVC website.
You can only book a week ahead of 7 months on the website, but can call to add the other days if they are available.

 

[zavandor]

I think end of August is one of the slowest times for DVC: high points per night and many districts back to school. You shouldn't have any problem to book a Poly studio.

 

[Ben E N]

Here's the thread I was referencing:
https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-studios-1-bedrooms-june-2018-update.3689931/
It shows mid-late August as "mostly" available.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Copper Creek, though, is likely to be rough. The studios there are pretty limited in number compared to the number of people buying points and/or wanting to try to book at 7 months.

 

[drusba]

Poly has thus far been open at 7 months out for all of August. Copper Creek, however, if seeking a studio, has had issues but its real pattern will not be known until it gets closer to selling out. You can now modify reservations online, and you can do a switch 7 months out by doing a new reservation and then appying the points from the first one, and have no issue of losing both reservations.

Your possible issue though is the desire for 13 nights. At 7 months out, you will only be able to book 7 nights at Poly and then would need to add nights thereafter; your departure date being reserved can never be more than 7 months plus 7 days from the date you are trying to make any reservation so with 13 nights you would need to either: (a) wait to make your new reservation until you can get all 13 nights at once but doing so would lose the 7 month window for the first six nights and those could fill at Poly before you reserve; (b) cancel your first reservation online and then reserve 7 nights and then modify the reservaiton daily to add a night to minimize the risk of some Poly owner filling the nights you still need before you get to reserve them, but you lose your last 6 nights at AKV and if Poly does not stay open for the nights you want you are left with no reservation for the all or part of the last 6 nights, or (c) make two separate AKV reservations at 11 months out, one for seven nights and then another for the last six nights and do not attrempt to merge those until after 7 months out; then you can change the first one at 7 months out, wait until 7 months out from the second one to add it to the new Poly reservation so that you are at least assured of having AKV for the last six nights if you switch to Poly for the first 7 nights.

 

[LawrenceFamily]

Poly has thus far been open at 7 months out for all of August. Copper Creek, however, if seeking a studio, has had issues but its real pattern will not be known until it gets closer to selling out. You can now modify reservations online, and you can do a switch 7 months out by doing a new reservation and then appying the points from the first one, and have no issue of losing both reservations.

Your possible issue though is the desire for 13 nights. At 7 months out, you will only be able to book 7 nights at Poly and then would need to add nights thereafter; your departure date being reserved can never be more than 7 months plus 7 days from the date you are trying to make any reservation so with 13 nights you would need to either: (a) wait to make your new reservation until you can get all 13 nights at once but doing so would lose the 7 month window for the first six nights and those could fill at Poly before you reserve; (b) cancel your first reservation online and then reserve 7 nights and then modify the reservaiton daily to add a night to minimize the risk of some Poly owner filling the nights you still need before you get to reserve them, but you lose your last 6 nights at AKV and if Poly does not stay open for the nights you want you are left with no reservation for the all or part of the last 6 nights, or (c) make two separate AKV reservations at 11 months out, one for seven nights and then another for the last six nights and do not attrempt to merge those until after 7 months out; then you can change the first one at 7 months out, wait until 7 months out from the second one to add it to the new Poly reservation so that you are at least assured of having AKV for the last six nights if you switch to Poly for the first 7 nights.

Thank you for this - that makes a lot of sense. I think looking at that, option c would be the best option. Once you've booked the 2nd reservation, how easy is it to just join them up into one?

 

[drusba]

^After you have both reservations for the same category of room and resort at 7 months out, you can just call or email MS and it will merge the reservations into one.