DVC plans to target commercial renters

[Nabas]

I’m glad you were able to make it work. I still haven’t gotten mine, piecing it together. I never had a chance. Hopefully you can shore it up tomorrow, it shouldn’t be this hard but that’s the DVC product as it stands.

I booked my December AKV Standard Studio exactly at 8 AM on January 1. Within an hour, most Studios at Jambo House and Kidani Village were gone.

December has morphed into a different beast than just walking or commercial renting. Demand for early December is huge among DVC members. In addition to changes for commercial renting and walking, Disney needs to address December demand with changes to the Point Charts.

 

[Judique]

Any modification of your reservation that involves changing the day of check-in is a cancel and re-book. That would end walking tomorrow and would probably end a lot of spec renting as well. There would be some collateral damage but the question is, would it be an acceptable amount of collateral damage?

I intend to change my check-in day tomorrow. I've gone through DVC hel* to use my points to get a reservation that I am going to personally use and you want me to go through more? I really don't appreciate that after owning and using my own points for personal stays for the last 24 years. Why should 'I' be punished?

This post is just to give you an example of what I think are unintended consequences.

 

[muppets3d]

If Disney does nothing to address both commercial renters and walking, then both will only get worse.

Even if all commercial renters were eliminated, I suspect we eventually will reach a point in 5-10 years that most rooms are walked year-round.

Disney has already said they will address both - I'm sure they will.

I intend to change my check-in day tomorrow. I've gone through DVC hel* to use my points to get a reservation that I am going to personally use and you want me to go through more? I really don't appreciate that after owning and using my own points for personal stays for the last 24 years. Why should 'I' be punished?

This post is just to give you an example of what I think are unintended consequences.

There is no need to take it so personally.

 

[Judique]

I’m glad you were able to make it work. I still haven’t gotten mine, piecing it together. I never had a chance. Hopefully you can shore it up tomorrow, it shouldn’t be this hard but that’s the DVC product as it stands.

I basically gave up looking for standard in my head and opened up to taking whatever became available. Still, I was lucky and I am in December's 2nd week, not the first which would have suited me better.

Last year, I got 3 standard view nights and that was it. In fact, I actually got night 1 and night 3 standard view, waitlisted the 2nd night and then moved to the new cabins and on to an offsite hotel. I got the waitlist the same afternoon I called to chat with MS about a different reservation. Pixie dust?

 

[Judique]

I booked my December AKV Standard Studio exactly at 8 AM on January 1. Within an hour, most Studios at Jambo House and Kidani Village were gone.

December has morphed into a different beast than just walking or commercial renting. Demand for early December is huge among DVC members. In addition to changes for commercial renting and walking, Disney needs to address December demand with changes to the Point Charts.

I'm sort of leaning to a complete overhaul - make every room worth the same and just rearrange view categories. in other words year by year eliminate the standard view price difference until it's all the same. Not looking at point charts right now but there's definitely some movement in the 2026 BW standard view prices.

edit: just suggesting for BWV as other than view the rooms are pretty much the same as opposed to smaller value rooms at AKV.

 

[Nabas]

I'm sort of leaning to a complete overhaul - make every room worth the same and just rearrange view categories. in other words year by year eliminate the standard view price difference until it's all the same. Not looking at point charts right now but there's definitely some movement in the 2026 BW standard view prices.

edit: just suggesting for BWV as other than view the rooms are pretty much the same as opposed to smaller value rooms at AKV.

The more points a Studio requires per night to boon (except AKV Club) the easier it is to book. Those relatively few VGF Theme Park View Studios remained available well after all other categories were booked.

I wouldn’t make all room categories the same number of points but I would greatly decrease the difference. For example, make a Standard room only 1 or 2 points per night less than a Preferred room.

The bigger the gap, the less the demand for the more expensive room.

Again though, ever since Disney modified the Point Charts to make October and November more expensive, demand for the first 3 weeks of December has exploded.

 

[Judique]

There is no need to take it so personally.

Haha ...I didn't take it personally. I just gave you a taste of what reaction might be if some &%^$ like that was actually put into practice.

I did sort of bristle a bit inside at possibly being referred to as 'collateral damage'.

Again, keep on thinking and posting - you may eventually come up with a workable solution. Disney is very busy reading these boards culling out any possible solutions that might be acceptable.

 

[GoingSince1990]

After 70 pages, I still have not seen any suggestions that seem more feasible and effective than Disney focusing on the websites that have pages and pages of highly desirable spec reservations to rent, identifying the point owners by cross-referencing the dates and resorts with the reservations system, issuing warnings to these renters who are indisputably engaged in a pattern of commercial activity, and as a last resort canceling reservations if those warnings are not heeded.

 

[Judique]

The more points a Studio requires per night to boon (except AKV Club) the easier it is to book. Those relatively few VGF Theme Park View Studios remained available well after all other categories were booked.

I wouldn’t make all room categories the same number of points but I would greatly decrease the difference. For example, make a Standard room only 1 or 2 points per night less than a Preferred room.

The bigger the gap, the less the demand for the more expensive room.

Again though, ever since Disney modified the Point Charts to make October and November more expensive, demand for the first 3 weeks of December has exploded.

I'd say it's really become more difficult to book last 5 years. I started moving toward December when I started finding it too hot in October and too close to Thanksgiving in November. Age has a bit to do with that.

 

[Nabas]

I'd say it's really become more difficult to book last 5 years. I started moving toward December when I started finding it too hot in October and too close to Thanksgiving in November. Age has a bit to do with that.

We are fans of the Christmas decorations so also used to sometimes go the week before Thanksgiving, or even the early part of Thanksgiving week. Temperature-wise, November can be the sweet spot.

But since the recent point chart changes, early December has become our go-to.

Of course, as I write this, I realize that I have Halloween and the first week of December booked, so maybe the real answer to when to go to Disney is “both”!

 

[Sandisw]

Any modification of your reservation that involves changing the day of check-in is a cancel and re-book. That would end walking tomorrow and would probably end a lot of spec renting as well. There would be some collateral damage but the question is, would it be an acceptable amount of collateral damage?

There are so many people who have to adjust dates later on that this would be terrible. There are plenty of owners who book a trip and then later decide to adjust it by a day because the airfare is better, or they book a few extra days because at 11 months, they are not exactly sure which days they can do....sometimes it is waiting for approval for vacation time...

I can go on and on with all different situations. The good news is that I do not see DVC ever doing this because they know that being flexible is a huge benefit to DVC.

 

[Judique]

This is what happens at Fort Wilderness during busy times specifically Halloween. You cannot modify your reservation at all, can't even add people to the reservation. They also banned third parties from bringing campers in except for the four that are Disney approved. It was rough for a few renters but in the end it made Fort wilderness less commercial, although at least one lawsuit is still ongoing.

I remember that and was part of trying to just get that reservation at times. Also have booked it with DVC points back in the day. Have also booked cash up to 450 days out! And stalked for AAA discounts and Magic Kingdom Club discounts. I've loved camping there in the past and just stayed in the new cabins as part of my December visit. Loved them but won't be buying and will try to stay again.

There is a difference between DVC and the regular campground reservations as Disney holds all the cards for the latter. DVC has the 'ownership' thing which offers some obstacles that Disney can't easily manipulate such as adding people to your room after booking. I always book one first time around and can add up to the full room occupancy anytime up to checkout. DVD is supposed to act in our best interests. If you read Sandi's posts she spells this stuff out repeatedly.

 

[Judique]

We are fans of the Christmas decorations so also used to sometimes go the week before Thanksgiving, or even the early part of Thanksgiving week. Temperature-wise, November can be the sweet spot.

But since the recent point chart changes, early December has become our go-to.

Of course, as I write this, I realize that I have Halloween and the first week of December booked, so maybe the real answer to when to go to Disney is “both”!

I used to go at Xmas and Easter (or Spring Break) every year when I first bought in. School schedules!! Before that it was cash and the Polynesian for the same time frames, plus a few campground trips. I also did a few summer trips on cash even after buying DVC.

 

[lowlight]

I basically gave up looking for standard in my head and opened up to taking whatever became available. Still, I was lucky and I am in December's 2nd week, not the first which would have suited me better.

Last year, I got 3 standard view nights and that was it. In fact, I actually got night 1 and night 3 standard view, waitlisted the 2nd night and then moved to the new cabins and on to an offsite hotel. I got the waitlist the same afternoon I called to chat with MS about a different reservation. Pixie dust?

Oh I didn’t realize you had to settle on week 2, sorry. That happened to me last year, which is what really set me off investigating what was up. It’s been happening at VGF and to a lesser extent RR for 3. I’ve got 5 of 9 days of my trip booked and wait listed the rest. I just didn’t work hard enough to book the rest I guess.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Curious what people think regarding the prohibition against advertising rentals and the use of third party websites to list them. On their face, third party rental sites, while swearing they are merely facilitators, are almost a textbook definition of “advertising” which LexisNexis defines as “any form of representation that is made in connection with business in order to promote the supply or transfer of a product.”

Now, the third party websites may themselves not be in violation of any DVC rules and not subject to any legal action by Disney, but it seems like anyone listing their confirmed reservation on a third party site might just be in violation of the advertising prohibition.

 

[Sandisw]

If Disney does nothing to address both commercial renters and walking, then both will only get worse.

Even if all commercial renters were eliminated, I suspect we eventually will reach a point in 5-10 years that most rooms are walked year-round.

Disney has already said they will address both - I'm sure they will.

I have said this before but they did not say at the VGF or SSR meetings they will be addressing walking....they said they would be open to considering rule changes aournd the concept of walking if there is a way to do it without unintended consequences....I know some think it is sementics and I am not saying that they won't make updates, but they definitely did not say that they plan to address the practice....just that they will review the current rules.

For renting with the commerical purpsoe, they stated something different. They are actively working on that and why they have added members to Yvonne's team for that purpose.

I do think that if DVC identifies and stops those who are renting outside the rules, that there will be a decrease in walking, and if I had to guess, that is what they will focus on and what they will do.

As they stated, they don't see walking as a common practice so if they are assuming that walking is prevelant to the owners renting for commercial reasons (which many here also believe), that may be enough to bring walking down to an acceptable threshold.

 

[Sandisw]

I’m glad you were able to make it work. I still haven’t gotten mine, piecing it together. I never had a chance. Hopefully you can shore it up tomorrow, it shouldn’t be this hard but that’s the DVC product as it stands.

The room I got the other day was for Dec 2nd to 5th, so it got released this morning for a new person! Any chance you were lucky to get it?

 

[DVCSunDevil]

If commercial renting went away, members would still walk - I would.

So renting won’t solve walking. If ie commercial renters was stopped, you honestly think that other members wouldn’t take their place?

Also there are few value rooms they will ALWAYS be difficult to get - walking or not. Same with standard view at BWV.

You are generally correct. Eliminating commercial renting wouldn't eliminate ALL walkers, just the walkers who were commercially renting. There are still people walking reservations who aren't commercial renters.

 

[Judique]

Oh I didn’t realize you had to settle on week 2, sorry. That happened to me last year, which is what really set me off investigating what was up. It’s been happening at VGF and to a lesser extent RR for 3. I’ve got 5 of 9 days of my trip booked and wait listed the rest. I just didn’t work hard enough to book the rest I guess.

Oh I'm not particularly distressed about 2nd week. Since it's my solo trip I'm very flexible between both weeks. I always start looking with the first week to give a better shot at getting something. Solo is also just last year and possibly this year. Someone could come along and make it not solo.

Also, I was fortunate this year to actually meet a Dis boarder at Hilton Head (I was there for the holiday with family) which made both our trips a little less 'solo'. I've met quite a few Disney people over the years.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Curious what people think regarding the prohibition against advertising rentals and the use of third party websites to list them. On their face, third party rental sites, while swearing they are merely facilitators, are almost a textbook definition of “advertising” which LexisNexis defines as “any form of representation that is made in connection with business in order to promote the supply or transfer of a product.”

Now, the third party websites may themselves not be in violation of any DVC rules and not subject to any legal action by Disney, but it seems like anyone listing their confirmed reservation on a third party site might just be in violation of the advertising prohibition.

In general I would be OK with it, I just worry what happens if a medical issue comes up, a child has an event at school or a major sports tournament, or some unmovable thing at work past the banking window.

Get rid of the 4m banking window and then it’s workable.