DVC called one week before my trip & said no availability

[FFMickey]

Glad they made things right. I don't know what I would do.

 

[ziravan]

If DVC calls me to say they overbooked and have to move me, they better have a Bungalow or Cabin as their backup plan.

 

[sndral]

A couple of years ago they removed a lot of then WLV from inventory to build CCV and we saw threads from people being moved - DVC offered whatever other DVC resorts they had openings in.
This is the first overbooked AKV thread I’ve seen and I’m wondering if it’s the first of many given that sudden miraculous appearance of availability in all categories of villas we saw a month or two ago.
Since I hadn’t seen any reports of overbooking at AKV I’d decided maybe they’d just held inventory back from the RAT - mmm... I booked my early Dec. AKV trip at 11 months and am now 61 days out...hoping this is a one off and I’m happy OP was offered a more palatable alternative.
To me a villa out of inventory due to an unforeseen physical issue with the room is more acceptable than the oops our computers got it wrong issue this was.

 

[IsThatYouTigger]

If DVC calls me to say they overbooked and have to move me, they better have a Bungalow or Cabin as their backup plan.

I completely agree! A couple years ago we went to check in to our VGF studio and they told us it wasn't available. They moved us to a 1 bedroom MK view suite in Sago Cay with access to both club levels. Since we've had that experience we will have high expectations should it happen to us at any DVC resort again. It was our first time staying at VGF so we were disappointed, but after realizing we were moved to the equivalent of an $1,800 a night room we quickly got over that!

 

[ScubaCat]

To me a villa out of inventory due to an unforeseen physical issue with the room is more acceptable than the oops our computers got it wrong issue this was.

It's unlikely they'd ever tell you what the issue was. In fact, the person who made the decision or initially reassigned the room is probably in another building, town, state, etc. from the person who contacts you, so there is plausible deniability that way, too. It could be any number of reasons, really, but most likely it's maintenance-related. Perhaps a bunch of units got flooded, or they have to exterminate some nasty critters.

Nevertheless, this seems to be exceptionally rare, which is good. They do have the right to provide suitable alternate accommodations, though, so escalating the issue to someone with a little more authority is the way to go. It looks like it worked out as well as could be expected in this case. BWV is a pretty good substitute, IMHO.

 

[Lakegirl]

So glad it worked out.

 

[Dean]

Surprise surprise surprise !!!after calling DVC This morning I was put in touch with another supervisor Stacy who was more than kind and more helpful! She asked a lot of questions about my trip, my wheelchair,my plans for the vacation... she was able to get me a one bedroom in boardwalk (my next choice). And the extra points were gratis... so it always helps to call back to get real superstar !

I'm glad it worked out, did they give you more information about what happened?

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

OMG, what a nightmare... glad they took care of you!

Oddly enough, just as I was reading this thread yesterday, I get a call from a 407# (disney). I am leaving in like an hour to head to airport for food and wine trip this week. Instant Panic when they said they needed to speak with me about my upcoming reservations...

However, they only wanted to see if I would like to add a VIP tour for my January Cabin trip. Whew! Haha

FYI its $4375 for a 7 hour 10 person VIP tour... I wanted to tell them that most of my cabin nights were booked with my SSR points so they are barking up the wrong tree

Lord, that is funny. Who are they kidding with a 4k tour.

 

[southerngirl528]

I can see how frustrating/disappointing this is. The sad truth is that if they had reached out 4 weeks ago, there probably wouldn’t be many more options then either. Fall Frenzy is a horrible time of year to get your reservation taken away.

If this was indeed booked during the glitch when all AKV categories suddenly became available, I would imagine that they did their best to accommodate as many, and disappoint as few people as possible given they tried to honor the new bookings. With the specific needs of an accessibility room, they can’t really fudge that (e.g. “Sorry we couldn’t get your value studio, but we can put you in a savannah instead.”).

In no way is this to excise the SNAFU, or how it was subsequently handled, of course. But it may be they were trying to see what the can work out before throwing in the towel and dropping the bad news on you.

I’d express to someone higher up your disappointment (not to be confused with anger - which you would be in your absolute right to feel), and see if you can get more than just Fast-Passes. Don’t expect anything, of course. It just wouldn’t hurt to ask for some consideration given the downgrade.

Excellent and accurate post! I have a LOT Of friends that work for DVC, including MS. With extremely rare exception, I can tell you they DO care and they DO try to do the right thing. Happy the OP called back since the solution offered for the conundrum was not satisfactory. That was the right thing to do. Happy to hear they made it all right!

 

[BEASLYBOO]

I've owned for 19 years and thankfully have never received such a call nor been booted from my reserved villa/resort. I'm not a complainer but I would have done the same, called to see if they would make it right. Glad to hear all is well! Have a great time!