Disney Closes a DVC Reservation Loophole
DVC members and potential DVC point renters will want to know all about Disney's new mandate. A new policy update has closed a reservation loophole.
DVC Reservation Loophole Closed
Recently, Disney announced an update to the policy for DVC (Disney Vacation Club) reservations. This update has some members celebrating, but for others it has raised concerns.
The problem is that DVC has limited inventory. This means that there is not always availability for all DVC owners who want to use their points for specific resorts during specific timeframes, especially during peak season.
Some members discovered a loophole in the system called "Reservation Walking" to attempt to give themselves an advantage for popular booking windows. However, Disney effectively just ended that loophole.
The new policy for bookings 11 months before check-in states: Modifications to travel dates and room types on a confirmed reservation can only be made when the original check-out date is within 11 months of the modification request.
What is Reservation Walking
DVC Members can book their home resort for up to 7 nights exactly 11 months before the desired check-in date. Some DVC members would give themselves an advantage by "walking" a reservation. This is also a strategy members used to grab popular dates to rent as Confirmed Reservations.
Walking a reservation is when a DVC member books a date range earlier than the actual preferred travel date range. Next, the owner would modify the reservation a day at a time until they reached the date range that they actually wanted in the first place. Someone with enough patience could walk the reservation for quite a while if they wanted to.
Meanwhile, guests who waited until the actual 11-month mark to book that same week might find it is already gone when they try to book it. While Disney's new rule does NOT increase DVC inventory, what it does do is even the playing field a bit.
Now, DVC owners can only modify a reservation's dates or room type once the original check-out date falls into the 11-month range. In other words, now everyone has to wait for the exact 11-month mark to book their home resort. This means that everyone who wants the same dates will be competing for them at the same time.
Who is at a Disadvantage Now
The problem with this new rule is that it could adversely impact owners who used reservation walking to secure longer visits. They will not be able to easily make modifications unless Disney extends the maximum number of nights that can be reserved at your home resort at the 11-month mark beyond 7.
Guests wanting to book longer reservations can still do so if they wait until after the 11-month window has passed. They can just no longer book at the start of the window, secure a week, and then walk the reservation.
The new rule will eliminate the advantage of walking reservations.
And of course, this new rule won't change the fact that at any point, there could be 60 people after the same 8 rooms for the same date range. There is still a potential for disappointment for popular room types during popular date ranges.
What do you think about the DVC rule change? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
