October 2021 Availability and Booking

fumanchu2488

Mouseketeer
Joined
May 20, 2020
So we landed on moving our May 2021 vacation to October 2021. We are planning on October 17th thru the 22nd at our home resort (RIV). The travel party will be me, my wife and our 2 sons. My parents will also join us for part of the stay. We currently have a standard view studio and a tower studio booked under separate reservations on the website.

I have been tracking availability for September to see if we will be able to modify at 11 months. Right now, it looks like both the tower studio and standard view studios are booked at 11 months. I guess this could be people walking reservations as well for the 50th.

We have no desire to be there for the actual 50th. We are just kind of stuck with this mid-October travel period for a bunch of reasons. We might be able to do mid-November as well if we think that will be easier.

Question is: are people seeing this lack of availability at most resorts for next September? What is everyone's strategy for booking next fall? I am getting nervous now since we want to just modify our reservation to the new dates since the points are exactly the same.
 
Those studios went fast all though last fall right at 11 months, Many people may end up walking them as well.

Trying for 2 will be tough. What I might suggest is that you modify one a day earlier than you want and then the other on the actual 11 month window so you are only doing one at a time,

I did that last year. For example, modify, right at 8 am, one on the 11th month for October 16th and the other one on the 11th month window for October 17th.

This way, you are not trying to do both at the same time. Once you get them both booked, you can adjust to the exact dates.
 
"Fall Frenzy" is a very real thing and will be even more so with the points surplus, Food & Wine, and the 50th all culminating into the "perfect storm" of limited or no availability. You will however see shifting at 7 mos. Book what you can and waitlist/stalk is always my go to advice.
 


"Fall Frenzy" is a very real thing and will be even more so with the points surplus, Food & Wine, and the 50th all culminating into the "perfect storm" of limited or no availability. You will however see shifting at 7 mos. Book what you can and waitlist/stalk is always my go to advice.
So when you do this, will you book two reservations with a gap between and just hope you fill it? Can you even do that?
 
So when you do this, will you book two reservations with a gap between and just hope you fill it? Can you even do that?

If you can’t get a full trip and have a gap in the middle, it will need to be booked as two, so different 11 month windows.

Then hope you can fill it. Honestly, if you know May Is off, I would start trying to book from now to get the rooms and then walk them forward to the real dates.
 
I've been wondering about Oct 2021 too. I'm new to DVC and just when I think I understand it all, I read a post and my face looks like someone has just spoken to me in another language.

Here is my plan. I'd like to book at my home of BLT for Oct 9-16, 2021. That means I can book on Nov. 9th as early as 8:00 a.m., right? Also, if my UY is Sept, when I book if I don't have all of the points now, the system will borrow them from 2021, I think? Not exactly sure. I have used some points for a Sept 2020 trip and have a trip booked for Feb 2021 using the 2020 points, but Nov 9th is next month so does the remainder of my 2020 points get used for the booking and the rest get borrowed?

See, thinking I understand borrowing in theory then applying it to reality makes me question my comprehension of it. Newbies...
 


I've been wondering about Oct 2021 too. I'm new to DVC and just when I think I understand it all, I read a post and my face looks like someone has just spoken to me in another language.

Here is my plan. I'd like to book at my home of BLT for Oct 9-16, 2021. That means I can book on Nov. 9th as early as 8:00 a.m., right? Also, if my UY is Sept, when I book if I don't have all of the points now, the system will borrow them from 2021, I think? Not exactly sure. I have used some points for a Sept 2020 trip and have a trip booked for Feb 2021 using the 2020 points, but Nov 9th is next month so does the remainder of my 2020 points get used for the booking and the rest get borrowed?

See, thinking I understand borrowing in theory then applying it to reality makes me question my comprehension of it. Newbies...

The booking window for October 9th opens at 8:00 am on November 9th,

When deciding on what points will be used, it is based on the UY of the trip and not what UY you are in when you call.

With a Sept UY, your October 2021 trip is in your 2021 UY. That means you can book it when you call in November, with banked 2020 points, 2021 points, and borrow up to 50% to finish the reservation from 2022 points,

If you have not yet banked your 2020 points by the time you call, and then bank later, you can go online and modify the trip to pick those up and free up 2021 points..or call MS to do it.

Just remember, borrowing is a final transaction.
 
If you can’t get a full trip and have a gap in the middle, it will need to be booked as two, so different 11 month windows.

Then hope you can fill it. Honestly, if you know May Is off, I would start trying to book from now to get the rooms and then walk them forward to the real dates.
So to book now I need to find a date that opens for the Tower Studio, correct? Like right now, there doesn't look like any availability until the 18th. But what if the 18th isn't open at 8 am? Just keep checking?

Also, how do you walk this stuff when the points change? Right now I have a room booked for 39 points from Sunday thru Thursday. For me to walk to my date I will need a reservation that takes more than that amount of points. If I borrow more points for walking, can I then bank 2020 UY points?

Damn my head hurts.
 
So to book now I need to find a date that opens for the Tower Studio, correct? Like right now, there doesn't look like any availability until the 18th. But what if the 18th isn't open at 8 am? Just keep checking?

Also, how do you walk this stuff when the points change? Right now I have a room booked for 39 points from Sunday thru Thursday. For me to walk to my date I will need a reservation that takes more than that amount of points. If I borrow more points for walking, can I then bank 2020 UY points?

Damn my head hurts.

You try to get a date right at the 11 month window and Once you get it, you simply go in and modify every few days with a 4 day stay. If you have to borrow points to move it forward, then you have to reduce to just 2 nights so you don’t borrow as they don’t go back,

It looks like people may already be walking those rooms. The difficult part will be that if you don’t have any extra points to do this, you have to move it more often.

The other option will of course just try at the 11 month window, and if not available, put in a waitlist and keep trying as you may be able to pick up rooms as people drop them.
 
Checked again this morning. This availability just doesn't make sense to me. Everything is open up until right at the 11 month window. It either means people are really interested in these low point season of early September or everyone is walking reservations to the 50th. Any thoughts?532432
 
Checked again this morning. This availability just doesn't make sense to me. Everything is open up until right at the 11 month window. It either means people are really interested in these low point season of early September or everyone is walking reservations to the 50th. Any thoughts?View attachment 532432
They are walking, and also RIV is not fully sold out so they have not declared the full room inventory for DVC members to use and have access to. For example, even at CCV which is near sold out, we are missing some rooms they are using for DVC showings, including a cabin, one bedroom and studio. Once they have 100% sold out of points they should put these rooms back into the CCV inventory for us to have access to.
 
They are walking, and also RIV is not fully sold out so they have not declared the full room inventory for DVC members to use and have access to. For example, even at CCV which is near sold out, we are missing some rooms they are using for DVC showings, including a cabin, one bedroom and studio. Once they have 100% sold out of points they should put these rooms back into the CCV inventory for us to have access to.

The POS specifically allows them to keep rooms for marketing purposes so I do think they can decide to do that even after resorts are sold out,

Waking does not explain holes for future dates unless every single person is traveling The exact same days.

I think things are being removed and put back and not sure why.
 
The POS specifically allows them to keep rooms for marketing purposes so I do think they can decide to do that even after resorts are sold out,

Waking does not explain holes for future dates unless every single person is traveling The exact same days.

I think things are being removed and put back and not sure why.
Sept 15 & 16 2021 for RIV tower was available this morning at 8AM
 
Sept 15 & 16 2021 for RIV tower was available this morning at 8AM

Yes, as long as the 15th was bookable, the next 7 days should also be bookable because you are reserving a specific room,

The fact that days after the 16th were not, then that specific room has been taken out of service prior to 11 months.

It can’t be another owner because they wouldn’t be moving rooms. So, if right now days more than 11 months out are gone, something is happening.

ETA: I do wonder if they are doing it to prevent walking in a way that allows them To do it. I know people don’t like the practice and have complained a lot to DVC.

While this may not be the idea people had in mind, it certainly solves the problem without impacting the system in other ways. It appears that it is showing up as an issue on a few select type of rooms, ones that are very popular.
 
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I checked the availability at BWV studio/2bedroom for Sept. 15 through Sept. 21, 2021.
It seems these dates are being walked. However, Sept. 20 & 21 were not available, which doesn't make sense unless those rooms are somehow out of inventory.
 
Yes, as long as the 15th was bookable, the next 7 days should also be bookable because you are reserving a specific room,

The fact that days after the 16th were not, then that specific room has been taken out of service prior to 11 months.

It can’t be another owner because they wouldn’t be moving rooms. So, if right now days more than 11 months out are gone, something is happening.

ETA: I do wonder if they are doing it to prevent walking in a way that allows them To do it. I know people don’t like the practice and have complained a lot to DVC.

While this may not be the idea people had in mind, it certainly solves the problem without impacting the system in other ways. It appears that it is showing up as an issue on a few select type of rooms, ones that are very popular.
It took me 100 times of reading this to comprehend but I think I get it. There is no way that a room past the 11 month mark could be booked fully if the 15th is showing available because there would be no way to book that room. Makes sense.
 
I checked the availability at BWV studio/2bedroom for Sept. 15 through Sept. 21, 2021.
It seems these dates are being walked. However, Sept. 20 & 21 were not available, which doesn't make sense unless those rooms are somehow out of inventory.
I was thinking it could be something with them dedicating their developer rooms and maybe that dedication is ending September 2021 (past the 11 month mark). I thought most of that was only at RIV but it may have been at all or most resorts.

Could that be a possibility?
 
Luckily for us, we will be booking a two bedroom. We usually do deluxe studio, but are getting a two bedroom for the anniversary trip. Should be fine availability. Good luck to all trying for studios though!
 

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