Tips for Making a DVC Reservation
One of the best parts of being a DVC Member is always having that next vacation booked! Whether you are a new DVC Member getting to know the system or a more experienced DVC Member, here are some tips to make booking reservations easier.
Secure Your Home Resort First
Starting with the basics, a good rule of thumb is to always book your home resort first. You can book as early as 11-months out from your check-in date, and this is when availability is best. Even if you intend to book your stay at a non-home resort, it helps to book your home resort first to ensure that you have a room reserved for the dates that you want.
Set Waitlists as Soon as Possible
If you can’t find the room that you want to book, you can always put in a waitlist for it. DVC Members can have up to two concurrent waitlists per Membership. While waitlists are never guaranteed to come through, the earlier you can place your waitlist, the better your odds will be for having it fulfilled. Waitlists can be helpful even within the 7- to 11-month booking window if you’re looking to stay at your home resort but perhaps prefer a different room type or view.
Book Split Stays as Separate Reservations
This tip may seem obvious, but when you are looking to book a split stay, this is key. If you book your trip at your home resort first, you’ll still want to book the trip as two separate reservations. This way, at the 7-month mark you can easily modify the reservation to change the resort for one or both legs of the trip.
If you were to book your home resort as one continuous stay and then decide later that you want to create a split stay, it’s a little more cumbersome. At the 7-month mark, you would have to first shorten your original trip and then book a separate reservation for the other resort for the second part of your stay. This can also be slightly risky because in the time that it takes for you to shorten your original trip, there’s always a chance that you may lose the room you want for the second part of the trip.
Keep Checking Availability
When all else fails, keep checking back for availability. Things do tend to shift, especially around the 7-month mark when people look to switch resorts. You’ll often see more shifts before 30 days out from check-in since Members want to avoid having their points land in Holding Accounts.
If you’re able to find a few days here and there, you may be able to piece it together into one reservation. Member Services can help combine them if the reservations are for the same resort, room type, and view. By having them under one reservation, you’ll have a single confirmation number, which helps ensure that you won’t have to check in and out of your room for each part of the stay. Plus, it makes it easier to book your dining reservations for the full length of your stay instead of having two or more separate booking windows for dining.
Don’t Forget About One-Time Use Points
If you find yourself short of a few points to make your reservation, you can purchase up to 24 one-time-use points per Use Year by calling Member Services. The caveat is that these points can only be used at the 7-month mark or under. Currently, they cost $20 per point. If you end up cancelling a trip that was booked with one-time-use points, you have until the end of your Use Year to use them.
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