"Buy where you want to stay"

[Dennyha]

At least that's the message I hear all of the time. The problem with that advice is that I want to stay at different resorts at different times of the year, or for different events.
Our home resort is at SSR, and while I know that there are no guarantees, we have been quite successful at getting reservations at the resort of first choice. For example, we're going in Mid October for MNSSHP and Food & Wine. I made reservations at SSR 11 mos. out to be safe. Then, about 6.5-7 mos. out, I waitlisted for BCV or BWV studio. Well, we learned we're staying at BCV studio for Food & Wine. Then, we decided to sign up for the ToT 13K run at MGM at the end of October. Again, I called to wait list for BWV studio, and it came through. . We're going in mid-December again for MVMCP and see all of the Christmas decorations across the property. I reserved SSR 11 mos out. Then, 7 mos. out, I waitlisted VWL studio, and within a week, it cleared. Lastly, for the WDW Marathon in January, our first choice was to stay at SSR, so that we can walk home after the PI festivities on Sunday night. I reserved this 11 mos. out.

In summary, we were able to reserve our first choice resorts for each of our trips. I know there are no guarantees, but some people make it sound like the only place you can get reservations is at your home resort. Or they may say that BCV or BWV is impossible to get for F&W, or VWL is impossible to get for Christmas. My experience is that just isn't the case. Sure, they may not be available on short notice, but with some reasonable planning, they can be had.

 

[Pennyguy23]

I always love to here this

 

[JimMIA]

For someone with your flexibility, I think "Buy where you want to stay" means a lot less than it does to some -- and we're in the same boat.

To me, "Buy where you want to stay" is the right strategy for people who:

1. Can book more than seven months in advance. (If you can't, home resort advantage means nothing.)
2. Will be disappointed if they don't get a certain resort or a certain hard-to-get accommodation like a Grand Villa, BWV standard view, or some of the options at AKV.
3. Plan on traveling during peak times and will be disappointed if they don't get what they want.

The only cavaet I would offer is that, as DVC gains more and more members, the smaller resorts like BCV and VWL will become more and more difficult to book in the seven-month window.

Also, I think anyone who plans on booking in the seven month window should realize that DVC can change the ranges of the windows. The only thing we're guaranteed is a one-month home resort advantage. DVC currently offers a 4-month advantage, but they could decide at some point to make that more or less.

 

[starbox]

At least that's the message I hear all of the time. The problem with that advice is that I want to stay at different resorts at different times of the year, or for different events.
Our home resort is at SSR, and while I know that there are no guarantees, we have been quite successful at getting reservations at the resort of first choice.

We've only had good experiences getting the reservations we want as well, although I have used the waitlist. However, the more large resorts that get built, the harder the small results will likely be to book.

I think that better guidelines than just a straight BWYWTS mantra are:
1. Don't ever buy a home resort you dislike and never/rarely want to use.
2. BWYWTS if you have a very strong preference for a specific resort and/or are going to regularly travel during holidays or peak DVC times.

If like all the resorts but want to sleep around - and you don't mind planning ahead, using the waitlist, and being flexible with your travel - I think it really does not matter much where you own.

 

[tink_about_it]

I'm glad I went resale for that OKW contract then...that is where we want to stay!

 

[Merylj]

We couldn`t decide where we wanted to stay and bought SSR. So this Nov/dec we are going to try and stay in all the WDW DVC resorts, we`ve got 19 days planned and so far have SSR, VWL and BWV and waitlisted for others. If there`s one of those that is more "home" than others we will add on at that resort, we won`t want to risk the 7 month window.
I was surprised we couldn`t OKW though, I just thought bigger and more availability

 

[MiaSRN62]

The only cavaet I would offer is that, as DVC gains more and more members, the smaller resorts like BCV and VWL will become more and more difficult to book in the seven-month window.

I agree Jim---though I was really lucky and got VWL in early Oct for Food and Wine at 45 days out.
I am hoping also, that the large (proposed) VAK, will take some of the heat off of the smaller resorts and make them a little easier to get. Time will tell. So far, I've had little or no trouble getting all but the BCV. It was not available in August or Oct when we planned to be in wdw. But, I did call at only a couple months out. I had choices of everywhere else, so I am a happy camper.

 

[Sammie]

Personally I go by the mantra, buy where you would be satisfied staying most of time and if nothing else is available. We have been able to stay at all the DVC resorts that are not our home resort at 7 months or less, even at the peak times by wait listing.

I have always felt the difficulty in booking out of your home resort is over exaggerated by those that wish to book their home resort at 6 months or less and wish to discourage anyone else from booking at 7 months out.

I know at times at 7 months you might not get exactly what you want in size and location but if you are somewhat flexible with dates and size of unit and you wait list, you are going to get what you want more often than not.

 

[LIFERBABE]

Personally I go by the mantra, buy where you would be satisfied staying most of time and if nothing else is available. We have been able to stay at all the DVC resorts that are not our home resort at 7 months or less, even at the peak times by wait listing.

I have always felt the difficulty in booking out of your home resort is over exaggerated by those that wish to book their home resort at 6 months or less and wish to discourage anyone else from booking at 7 months out.

I know at times at 7 months you might not get exactly what you want in size and location but if you are somewhat flexible with dates and size of unit and you wait list, you are going to get what you want more often than not.

I agree with Sammie. I remember when that advice started, and it was started by those that really believed they should be able to pick up the phone at less than 6 months and book their home. I personally believe that many were misled by this advice and in most situations, BWYWTS wont help you unless you book your reservations at 11 months and dont change anything ie,add on days, unit size up or down etc. Any changes to the reservation can put you back at the bottom of the barrel.

Although we have 5 of the 6 onsite DVC's, the waitlist has helped me get exactly what I wanted moreso than BWYWTS. I say dont believe the hype and plan and use the waitlist. And if you dont plan, just be happy you found a room and have a great trip!

 

[JimMIA]

I am hoping also, that the large (proposed) VAK, will take some of the heat off of the smaller resorts and make them a little easier to get.

I don't think that will be the effect. In fact, I think the effect will be just the opposite. You will have a larger pool of owners competing for the small resorts -- especially BCV during F&W and VWL during the holidays. And I think it's likely that DVC has built their last <200 unit property.

I think the only thing that will take the heat off the smaller resorts is making them bigger. They have room to expand VWL, but I'm not sure about BCV.

 

[jarestel]

I believe "buy where you most want to stay" is good advice for the long run. It's not particularly relevant whether anyone is able to get BCV at 7 months for F&W or VWL at Christmas time today. The question is will you be able to do it next year, 5 years from now, 10 years from now? Remember, DVC is a commitment of many years.

It is probably not arguable that it's much more difficult to book certain resorts now than it was 5 years ago. That, of course, should not be read as impossible but certainly harder. And who can predict what level of difficulty will exist in the coming years?

For those who have been able to book non-home resorts at 7 months, congratulations! That's great. But if you will feel "cheated" by DVC if there comes a day when most of your attempts to book the smaller resorts come up empty, I'm sure there will be some smart alec here on the DIS who will say that you should have "bought where you most wanted to stay".

 

[JimMIA]

But if you will feel "cheated" by DVC if there comes a day when most of your attempts to book the smaller resorts come up empty, I'm sure there will be some smart alec here on the DIS who will say that you should have "bought where you most wanted to stay".

I am one of the ones who often say BWYWTS doesn't apply to every family...but I will gleefully also be one of the "I told you so's!"

Of course, if you read Doc's comments on the other thread (with which I also agree), you will see that DVC's response to 11/7 difficulties could well be 11/8...reducing the home resort advantage to give non-home bookers a better chance. We're only guaranteed a one-month advantage.

 

[jarestel]

Of course, if you read Doc's comments on the other thread (with which I also agree), you will see that DVC's response to 11/7 difficulties could well be 11/8...reducing the home resort advantage to give non-home bookers a better chance. We're only guaranteed a one-month advantage.

I guess I don't see any shortening of the home-resort booking period as anything more than a temporary band-aid for the problem. It might help folks looking to book non-home resorts in the short run, but soon enough the owners at the hard-to-get resorts will catch on that if they want to stay at their favorite resort, they better book early. End result - more inconvenience for the people who actually pay the dues at their home resorts, but no real difference in availability for the long term.

 

[starbox]

I am one of the ones who often say BWYWTS doesn't apply to every family...but I will gleefully also be one of the "I told you so's!"

Of course, if you read Doc's comments on the other thread (with which I also agree), you will see that DVC's response to 11/7 difficulties could well be 11/8...reducing the home resort advantage to give non-home bookers a better chance. We're only guaranteed a one-month advantage.

I totally think DVC intends to shorten the home-resort advantage. I'd be willing to bet that there already plans to to do it on the books.

I think it has always been in Disney's best interests to make sure that DVC operates on a system that allows members to use their points at many different locations - the single location timeshare contract lacks broad appeal. There are probably 1000 potential DVC members that would like to option to sleep around at different resorts for different vacation experiences for every one potential member that wants to always know they can stay at resort "x" or "y" during the same week/month (F&W, Chrsitmas) for the next 50 years.

 

[Starr W.]

I saw somewhere that someone mentioned Disney averages a few thousand unsold rooms per night at the resorts(assuming this is done over 365 days) Do you think that we may see more conversions like AKL?

 

[crisi]

I have always felt the difficulty in booking out of your home resort is over exaggerated by those that wish to book their home resort at 6 months or less and wish to discourage anyone else from booking at 7 months out.

If it is, than those people aren't being smart, since what they are encouraging is people who will buy their home resort and book it up before the seven month window opens. Not only will it be even harder to get that reservation at six months - it will be harder to get it at eight. I HATE giving the advice that if you want those BWV Standard Views in October, you should buy there - I own there and I want those BWV Standard Views in October - the selfish thing for me to do would be to tell people "oh, no problem, you should buy SSR." Yet, I don't.

I think most people recommending BWYWTS are trying to avoid people being disappointed - they are also making the idea of "buy where you won't be disappointed to end up" simplifed. I think "buy where you won't be disappointed" is better advice - and realizing the the flexibility of DVC to stay in any resort diminishes the closer you book to your vacation date. It isn't unheard of to be able to get nothing at all - not SSR or BCV - a month or two out from your travel date.

 

[jarestel]

I totally think DVC intends to shorten the home-resort advantage. I'd be willing to bet that there already plans to to do it on the books.

But my point is it won't make any difference in availability. If an owner is paying a premium in dues to own at BWV/BCV/VWL (because let's keep in mind that the dues structure varies from resort to resort) why would that owner continue to pay substantially higher dues if their intent was to stay at SSR or OKW more than once in a while? Common sense would seem to answer that question with "they wouldn't". They would simply sell their contracts and buy in at the resorts with the cheaper dues. So we can conclude that these owners are perfectly content to stay primarily at their home resorts for the next x amount of years.

So that's where the problem arises for the owners of the other resorts who want to stay at BWV/BCV/VWL more often than they want to stay at their own resort. Because no matter what DVC shortens the home resort booking advantage to, it would be silly for someone to pay dues at BWV/BCV/VWL if they could never be guaranteed of staying there. So they would most logically book during whatever slim window DVC granted them.

DVC does tell prospective members that "you can stay at any of the DVC resorts once you are a member" but remember the rest of that sentence: "depending on availability."

 

[TDC Nala]

I own at BCV and always book there early for food & wine, for anything else I have not had any problems getting a room wherever I wanted, even if I had to waitlist for awhile.

 

[crisi]

But my point is it won't make any difference in availability. If an owner is paying a premium in dues to own at BWV/BCV/VWL (because let's keep in mind that the dues structure varies from resort to resort) why would that owner continue to pay substantially higher dues if their intent was to stay at SSR or OKW more than once in a while? Common sense would seem to answer that question with "they wouldn't". They would simply sell their contracts and buy in at the resorts with the cheaper dues. So we can conclude that these owners are perfectly content to stay primarily at their home resorts for the next x amount of years.

So that's where the problem arises for the owners of the other resorts who want to stay at BWV/BCV/VWL more often than they want to stay at their own resort. Because no matter what DVC shortens the home resort booking advantage to, it would be silly for someone to pay dues at BWV/BCV/VWL if they could never be guaranteed of staying there. So they would most logically book during whatever slim window DVC granted them.

DVC does tell prospective members that "you can stay at any of the DVC resorts once you are a member" but remember the rest of that sentence: "depending on availability."

And I don't think they'd change it. Most of the "small resort" owners are at the point in their contracts where they are "paid for." Create a situation that they will be unsatisfied with, and they'll sell. That may flood the market with resales, and while Disney supports resale prices via ROFR in their own best interest, if people start dumping contracts, they'll have a lot of points on their hands. Dissatisfied owners who have reached "payoff" on their DVC may be more than willing to watch Disney exercise ROFR on a contract (or, give someone a bargain if Disney doesn't exercise their rights). That could significantly impact Disney's bottom line, while doing Disney itself little good, since people who bought knew what they were buying.

 

[Granny]

For someone with your flexibility, I think "Buy where you want to stay" means a lot less than it does to some -- and we're in the same boat.

To me, "Buy where you want to stay" is the right strategy for people who:

1. Can book more than seven months in advance. (If you can't, home resort advantage means nothing.)
2. Will be disappointed if they don't get a certain resort or a certain hard-to-get accommodation like a Grand Villa, BWV standard view, or some of the options at AKV.
3. Plan on traveling during peak times and will be disappointed if they don't get what they want.

The only cavaet I would offer is that, as DVC gains more and more members, the smaller resorts like BCV and VWL will become more and more difficult to book in the seven-month window.

Also, I think anyone who plans on booking in the seven month window should realize that DVC can change the ranges of the windows. The only thing we're guaranteed is a one-month home resort advantage. DVC currently offers a 4-month advantage, but they could decide at some point to make that more or less.

Well said, Jim. I also agree that it's not that big of a deal for everyone. To your list above, I will add:

• 
  
  4. People who don't want to hang in limbo on the waitlist
  

We have had zero success with the waitlist so far, and don't have any trust that it is administered fairly. Just too many "coincidental" waitlists just happening to come through when someone calls to check.

For us, buying where we want to stay the most is like buying insurance. Sure, maybe we'd be lucky year after year and get to stay where we really wanted to. But why take the chance with our precious vacation time?