BWV Standard Studio at 11 Months Impossible?

[Carolynleanne]

We are hoping to snag a standard studio at 11 months out either through a private renter or a site. Planning to go January 2020. Someone is informing me that it's straight up impossible. Is that true? We had no problem getting a studio at Beach Club 7 months out last year and now i'm wondering if I need to rethink my entire plan.

 

[smcabee]

With Star Wars opening next year, I think its going to be a lot more difficult to get reservations at the boardwalk area resorts.

 

[JETSDAD]

Standard will be tough to rent. I would plan on getting Pool/Garden View.

 

[Brett Wyman]

David's was able to get us a GF 2 bedroom std (which tend to go quickly) at 11 months. The important thing is to make sure your agent, I'd recommend a site over a private owner transaction for this, has your info a few weeks prior to the 11th month date. That way they can go in swinging the morning your date opens up.

Standard will be tough to rent. I would plan on getting Pool/Garden View.

Right and be ready to pay for Garden if STD isnt available.

 

[Carolynleanne]

David's was able to get us a GF 2 bedroom std (which tend to go quickly) at 11 months. The important thing is to make sure your agent, I'd recommend a site over a private owner transaction for this, has your info a few weeks prior to the 11th month date. That way they can go in swinging the morning your date opens up.



Right and be ready to pay for Garden if STD isnt available.

That's what they told me too. Maybe that's the wisest way to do it then. Thank you!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The reality is that most owners looking to rent points via a broker are not going to hover at 7:55AM for the highest demand rooms. We don't have to. We can kick back, drink a coffee, and pick up a booking for an easier category like Pool/Garden without any stress whatsoever. The fee received is exactly the same (per point).

 

[ScubaCat]

I booked a BCV studio December 9-16. No issues with availability but it's definitely disappearing quickly.

 

[kristenabelle]

It's getting rough for standard at BWV (IMO). Luckily we own enough points where I can be lazy and book P/G view. It's certainly not impossible, but I agree that an agency will probably push harder to get your exact request than an individual owner in most cases.

 

[LSchrow]

There are about half as many BWV standard view studios (52) as 110 BCV studios (110), so they really aren't comparable. BWV Standard and BW views (29) are both amazing values & go quickly at 11 months, G/P view is easier with 164 units.

 

[iheartglaciers]

BWV standard is a small category of rooms that has a really low point chart, so it's super popular and hard even for owners to book at certain times of year. If you want it, you need to have an owner lined up before the 11 month mark who is willing to book exactly at 8am (and it's not guaranteed that they'll be able to book it). You won't be able to do it through a broker, but you can find an owner on the rental board. I've done it for renters before, but not all owners will because it is extra work.

 

[Marionnette]

Having watched BWV Std. Studios booking since October, I can tell you that it has been disappearing as soon as the booking window opens at 8:00 AM EST. Availability is there at 7:59 and gone by the time you hit the button to book. I'm of the belief that there are a lot of spec reservations being made in anticipation of SW:GE opening. I was able to piece together a reservation for early December by following behind the walkers and picking up a day at a time. This isn't something that an agency will do for a renter and only the kindest of owners will do it for a private renter. I still had to be online at 8:01 AM each day to pick up the crumbs. I waitlisted days that I couldn't grab and stalked the website to fill any holes. I would not expect much success by going thru an agency and I would expect to pay a premium to an owner if renting privately, if they are even willing to try it at all. It's one thing to do that kind of footwork for myself but I'm less inclined to do it for someone else. Like @_auroraborealis_ said, I can get the standard reimbursement for my points by securing an easier reservation for a renter. And since the Std. View studio requires a lot fewer points than a G/P View, jumping thru hoops for less money isn't something I would sign up for.

Maybe early January will loosen up since a lot of those walkers and speculators were looking to book for SW:GE opening day or Christmas/New Years. But then, you also have Marathon Weekend and those Std. View Studios are popular because of their low point requirement and location. Owners may walk their reservations to secure their spot for that weekend.

In summation, OP, I think you stand a very slim chance of getting a Std. View studio at BWV thru an agency. You stand a better chance by going thru an owner directly but should be prepared to pay them for the work they will need to do in order to secure that studio. Or you can just set your sights on a G/P View and hope for the best.

 

[drusba]

May depend on when in Jan you are talking about and what your rental agent and member may be willing to do. The risk you have is that BWV standard studios at times can fill exactly at 8 a.m. eastern at 11 months out, when the reservations can first be made, for any given arrival date or even a couple days before (by those with arrival dates just before yours). In other words, the winners are those whose computers communicate fastest with DVC's. In Jan 2020 that is highly likely to occur for Jan 1 or 2, and Jan 9-13 (marathon weekend). There is also a real risk it could occur with time from Jan 3 to 8, but a much lower risk Jan 14 to 31. Nevertheless, even for the times of lower risk, you still need a member who is willing to make the reservation in the early morning 11 months out because by 8:30 a.m.. eastern the studios may be gone.

 

[Carolynleanne]

Thanks for the perspective, all. I'll try not to get my hopes up. We've put in a request. If we can get a standard, we'll book 9-10 days. If we have to book a preferred view, we'll likely opt for 7 as the cost is much higher (and the Canadian dollar makes us die a bit inside.) We're hoping to go around Jan 15/16th... after marathon weekend.

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks for the perspective, all. I'll try not to get my hopes up. We've put in a request. If we can get a standard, we'll book 9-10 days. If we have to book a preferred view, we'll likely opt for 7 as the cost is much higher (and the Canadian dollar makes us die a bit inside.) We're hoping to go around Jan 15/16th... after marathon weekend.

I see another problem with your plan.

Owners can only book 7 consecutive nights when the 11-month window opens. After that, they have to wait to add additional nights. An agency won't even contact the owners on their list until all the nights needed for your reservation can be booked. So, for a 9-10 day stay, you're looking at 8-9 nights. This means that instead of trying to get your Std. View studio at 11 months from check in date, they won't even try until 11-months plus 1-2 days. Instead of trying for that reservation on 02/15/19 for a stay that begins on 01/15/20, a request won't be sent to any BWV owners until 02/17/20 in order to get all 9 nights.

MLK Day in the USA will be celebrated on Monday, Jan 20th. Many school are off that day and around here, at least, the Friday before (01/17/20) is a professional day (no students). It's not going to be as quiet at DVC as you might think. A 4-day weekend, combined with low point requirements and a newly-opened SW:GE is going to make getting a reservation for those nights difficult.

 

[Carolynleanne]

I see another problem with your plan.

Owners can only book 7 consecutive nights when the 11-month window opens. After that, they have to wait to add additional nights. An agency won't even contact the owners on their list until all the nights needed for your reservation can be booked. So, for a 9-10 day stay, you're looking at 8-9 nights. This means that instead of trying to get your Std. View studio at 11 months from check in date, they won't even try until 11-months plus 1-2 days. Instead of trying for that reservation on 02/15/19 for a stay that begins on 01/15/20, a request won't be sent to any BWV owners until 02/17/20 in order to get all 9 nights.

MLK Day in the USA will be celebrated on Monday, Jan 20th. Many school are off that day and around here, at least, the Friday before (01/17/20) is a professional day (no students). It's not going to be as quiet at DVC as you might think. A 4-day weekend, combined with low point requirements and a newly-opened SW:GE is going to make getting a reservation for those nights difficult.

Oy, i'm feeling discouraged. So an agency wont even attempt to book the first seven nights and then add the following on? I'll have to call them about that.

 

[Carolynleanne]

I just told my agency to make my alternate a preferred view for the same dates. I give up, haha.

 

[Marionnette]

Oy, i'm feeling discouraged. So an agency wont even attempt to book the first seven nights and then add the following on? I'll have to call them about that.

The agency cannot add nights on. Only the owner can modify a reservation to add more nights. And as was previously mentioned, not a lot of owners are willing to play around with a reservation when an agency isn't paying them anything extra to do it.

Look at it from an owner's perspective: I can try to snag one of a very few Std. View studios right at 8:00 AM and then add on additional nights at a later day for a rental which nets me $14/point. Or I can still get $14/point by making a shorter reservation in a higher-priced, easier-to-book studio for the same number of points. Which would I choose to do?

 

[Carolynleanne]

The agency cannot add nights on. Only the owner can modify a reservation to add more nights. And as was previously mentioned, not a lot of owners are willing to play around with a reservation when an agency isn't paying them anything extra to do it.

Look at it from an owner's perspective: I can try to snag one of a very few Std. View studios right at 8:00 AM and then add on additional nights at a later day for a rental which nets me $14/point. Or I can still get $14/point by making a shorter reservation in a higher-priced, easier-to-book studio for the same number of points. Which would I choose to do?

I understand. That’s why I’ve added preferred view as my backup.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Also worth noting is that your dates align to a federal holiday in the US on 1/20, so that's going to have walkers and people looking to book at 11 months.

 

[Carolynleanne]

You guys... you're killing me here, haha. I abandoned my whole plan! So I switched things up to hopefully make it easier to secure. Opted for 7 nights at Board Walk in either a standard or preferred starting Jan 14. Then a 2 night stay at Boulder Ridge. At least this way I can have my request in at exactly 11 months from the 14th and the 21st.