Why is Disney Vacation Club Availability So Limited?
When it comes to booking DVC resorts at Walt Disney World, members are asking two questions more and more: “why can’t I find any availability at the 7-month mark?” and “why can’t I use my points when the same room has availability with cash?” In this post, we’ll answer both questions, and explain some recent Disney Vacation Club trends.
We’ll start with the second of those common questions, the issue of points versus cash. Frequently, there is no availability when attempting to book via DVCMember.com, but ample availability on DisneyWorld.com, or when calling Walt Disney World and attempting to book a reservation.
Contrary to what some members think, this is not a “scam” or shady attempt by Disney in attempting to make more money off of the “same” room from cash-paying guests. While we never put it past Disney to find new and inventive ways to get people to pay more, that’s not what’s happening here. Rather, it comes down to the way room inventory is allocated by Disney…
Think of each Disney Vacation Club resort as two resorts. One is the timeshare resort and the other is the Deluxe Villa Resort. These pull from separate inventories, with timeshare members pulling from the points side of the inventory and the Deluxe Villa pulling from the cash side.
Rooms enter the Deluxe Villa side of the inventory in a number of ways. Some of these rooms are retained by the developer, some “undeclared inventory” that represents points that have not been sold, some are exchanges used for cruises, RCI, etc., some are points reclaimed by Disney via ROFR, and some are breakage–unused points inside the 60 day window.
Each and every way points end up in the Deluxe Villa inventory is on the up and up (and a couple of these are good for the membership as a whole since they keep dues down). There are a number of reasons for Walt Disney World wanting to rent out these points, but the simplest is guest demand.
As Disney Vacation Club demonstrates, there’s a huge market for villa style rooms, and many guests paying cash are willing to pay a premium for such accommodations.
In the past, this was never really an issue among members–at least not as big of an issue as today. That’s because bookings used to be a lot easier at the 7-month mark, so members tended to notice this less. However, as we’ll discuss below, non-home resort availability is becoming increasingly scarce.
This has led to members noticing the cash availability for their resort of choice even when it’s “fully booked” on DVCMember.com, leading them to believe Disney is running some sort of racket.
That should explain the why of there being cash availability when Disney Vacation Club doesn’t have rooms, but it doesn’t totally answer the questions some DVC members have had. Namely, why booking at the 7 month mark has become so much more difficult in the last few years. Our answer, in a word, is competition.
This competition has occurred in a few ways. The first and most noteworthy is Aulani. Originally, I had this further down the list…until I found some numbers about the total number of points at each Disney Vacation Club Resort. To my surprise, Aulani is the second-largest DVC resort, behind only Saratoga Springs. Aulani has a total of over 11 million points, which is more than Beach Club, Bay Lake Tower, and Grand Floridian combined.
Unlike Saratoga Springs, there are a huge number of Aulani points that are not being used consistently at Aulani. As with the other resorts built outside of Walt Disney World (except for the Grand Californian), owners are far less likely to stay at their home resort year after year.
Aulani has created a large pool of points that are infrequently used at Aulani, and the utilization rate of points from Walt Disney World DVC resorts at Aulani is likely lower than Aulani points utilized at Walt Disney World DVC resorts. This is a huge imbalance that means more competition for DVC resorts at Walt Disney World.
Unfortunately, this imbalance will only get worse, as Aulani still is not sold out, so we can expect its owners to increase over the course of the next couple of years, making bookings difficult elsewhere. (I remember the ‘good ole days’ when members complained that Saratoga was having same impact, but within Walt Disney World–now those days seem quaint!)
There are likely a number of other explanations, from refurbishments taking rooms–but not points–out of inventory to a more robust resale market with faster sales than ever before. All of those things play a role in the increased competition at the 7 month mark (and beyond), but I don’t think they are as significant of factors as rentals, the bungalows, and Aulani.
Then there’s the growth of renting out points. Renting Disney Vacation Club points has become increasingly popular, and word has gotten out about it. This is particularly noteworthy when it comes to Disney Vacation Club owners.
That’s something that’s not often considered, but more owners are now aware of Disney Vacation Club point rental options, and these points are less likely to be used at the last minute–or not at all. Likewise, Disney’s promotion of the RCI exchange, Member Cruises, and other ways to utilize points (remember “converted” points don’t just disappear–they become Disney’s to use for cash bookings), fewer points are going to waste.
All of this means more competition for bookings even before the 7-month mark, using points that previously might’ve gone to waste or been used on last-minute bookings, there’s more competition. The rental market has become increasingly sophisticated and savvy from its nascent message board days.
Next, the points allocated to the Polynesian Bora Bora Bungalows. Depending upon the season and view, the Bungalows account for 6 to 7 times the number of points of each Deluxe Studio at the Polynesian. Even though there aren’t nearly as many Bungalows (comparatively speaking) as Deluxe Studios at the Poly, in terms of points, there’s just over double the amount allocated to the Deluxe Studios as the Bungalows.
Unfortunately, we don’t have insight into the point utilization rate of the Bora Bora Bungalows (or even the occupancy rate, for that matter), but last we heard, it was pretty far below the resort-wide average. When we stayed in the Polynesian Bora Bora Bungalow, I’d hazard a guess that over half were sitting empty.
As of last year, the Polynesian was regularly offering tours of the Bungalows, meaning there were consistently empty Bungalows available for that purpose. While we’re not sure whether these tours are still offered, it doesn’t bode well for occupancy/utilization numbers.
Irrespective of whether the Bungalow is booked for a night, those points have been sold and can be used elsewhere. Each one of those that sits empty potentially represents ~7 studios that are filled elsewhere. Even with a supply of only 20 Bungalows, that’s a huge number of studios being filled with points allocated from the Bungalows.
The Cascade Cabins at Wilderness Lodge could have similar consequences, although the adjusted point chart there will hopefully mitigate that. Anecdotally, we’ve heard that the occupancy rate is already much better at the Cascade Cabins, but we’re not sure what that means in terms of point utilization.
Ironically, the best overall solution to all of this is the opposite of what many members assume–building more Disney Vacation Club resorts. Actually, it’s a bit more nuanced than that, as Disney needs to build more DVC resorts at Walt Disney World, with a focus on studios since those are the most in-demand units. In order for this to be effective, Walt Disney World needs another Saratoga Springs-sized resort, as offsetting those ~11 million Aulani points requires more than just add-ons at existing Magic Kingdom or Epcot area resorts (or even the standalone Riviera; it’s a start, but not nearly enough.)
One unintended side effect will be making fall bookings at Epcot resorts even more impossible, but that ship sailed long ago. Not building high-point units that are more likely to sit empty is another component to the solution, as is not building stand-alone properties outside of Walt Disney World. Obviously, Disneyland is the exception to this, and thankfully, it’ll be getting another Disney Vacation Club resort in 2021. Disney should have learned its lesson with Vero Beach and Hilton Head, or at least should’ve allocated more of Aulani to the hotel side, as it’s way too big and few Disney fans–even those who own at Aulani–want to vacation to Hawaii year after year.
With that said, the dearth of availability at the 7-month window really underscores the conventional wisdom to “buy where you want to stay.” I’ll be honest, this is advice we resisted when we first bought into Disney Vacation Club, and it’s why we ended up owning at Saratoga Springs, a resort we didn’t exactly love (although our opinion of it has improved with time–and Disney Springs upping its game). We still don’t fully embrace this wisdom, but disagreeing with it would require ignoring reality. This is why we’ve been saying for the last couple of the years that we’d buy Bay Lake Tower (which also isn’t my favorite resort) if we had to do it over again. For us, that’s a compromise decision and is not pure “buy where you want to stay.” Your mileage may vary if you’re considering buying into Disney Vacation Club and are currently debating a home resort.
If you’re thinking about joining DVC, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club. This covers the pros & cons, resale v. direct, how much money you’ll save, and other important things to know before taking the plunge. If you still can’t decide whether membership is right for you, “try before you buy” with the recommendations in How to Save BIG on Deluxe Disney Accommodations Renting DVC Points.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you had more difficulty in finding DVC availability in the last couple of years? Have you noticed certain resorts or times of the year getting more competitive? Any firsthand experiences you care to share? Any other thoughts or tips to share? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
More people need to visit Aulani! It is beautiful!!!
There are many places on Oahu that are beautiful.
We’ve been owners for a long time and we saw the writing on the wall when Aulani was announced. Disney should have learned its lesson from VB and HHI. So many members saw this coming, and it’s hard to believe Disney didn’t.
The comments on this article are fairly amusing. I suppose sinking 10,000, 20,000 or more into an investment brings out a lot of passion.
We agree it has been very difficult to book at DVC but ultimately it is Disney’s responsibility to abide by their promise and what they advertise regarding the benefits of DVC. I thought renting points was not allowed. Maybe we DVC owners should blast Disney through social media or get major morning news programs like Today Show and Good Morning America, etc. to do a story. What do you think?
Renting points is allowed by the Public Offering Statement. Commercial renting is not. But there is no definition of commercial renting. And GMA is never going to say anything against Disney because Disney owns ABC.
It was made very clear to us about the need to book early, and to buy where you want to stay . It was also made clear that DVC rooms are limited in availability. That being said, Disney will more than hold to their side of the agreement. They want their DVC owners to be happy, and will make adjustments where necessary to do so. First, though, you need to voice your concerns to Disney in writing.
I love that you talk about renting out DVC points as a catalyst for key seven and eleven month booking windows yet on this same website offer ads for said dvc rental organizations. I hope they pay well.
Tom is writing an article explaining why there appear to be shortages. One of the reasons is the people are renting out points and not letting them go to waste. At no point in the article does Tom say that this is wrong and that people should not be doing this. This is an article discusses causes, not judging the why, just explaining the possible why’s. I see absolutely nothing hypocritical.
This blog provides an article on how best to rent out your points,so they do not go to waste. Guess what, if DVC owners don’t rent their points out, then this can help, but the might waste points. The option to rent out points is a benefit to people who can’t use all of their points in a given year. I appreciate the option from Disney.
I own both Saratoga and Vero and have never had an issue booking at 7 or even 6 months. We have stayed at AKV, BCV, BWV, SSR, OKW and VGF. I think the issue is flexibility by the DVC owner, being able to stay at any resort available or booking a non-standard room. My family loves Disney and does not find staying anywhere in Disney an issue as long as we are there.
This year for the first time, I had trouble booking a studio at the 7 month level. Had no trouble with the 2-bedroom villa. Was able to get the studio for 5 out of 6 nights, so we’ll double up the missing night. I do agree that there is not much value in buying the timeshare. It would be better if members got a 1-2 week advantage on fast passes and dining reservations. That would be a real advantage. I guess there are no real advantages unless you are willing to pay extra money. Not sure I would buy again. Seems it would cost less just to rent the points. So much for Walt Disney’s dreams.
This year for the first time, I had trouble booking a studio at the 7 month level. Had no trouble with the 2-bedroom villa. Was able to get the studio for 5 out of 6 nights, so we’ll double up the missing night. I do agree that there is not much value in buying the timeshare. It would be better if members got a 1-2 week advantage on fast passes and dining reservations. That would be a real advantage. I guess there are no real advantages unless you are willing to pay extra money. Not sure I would buy again. Seems it would cost less just to rent the points. So much for Walt Disney’s dreams.
So, am I to understand that if you “rent points” or pay cash, you are able to book at any of the Disney vacation club resorts Prior to the 7 month restriction????
Please clarify this for me!
We have tried numerous times to book studios 5 or 6 months in advance at pretty much ANY Disneyworld vacation club resort and there is nothing available in ALLLLL of them. This never was an issue years back, and we have been members since 1995!!!!
Anyone that can help clarify this for me????
Try googling “Disney vacation club point rental.”
Yes you can rent points at beyond the 7 months because you are renting from someone where it is their home resort so they can rent out the points at the 11 month window.
Well, if you can only stay at a standard view studio, you need to know that inventory is very small. I bet you could sleep a lot later if you are ok with a lake view!
Wake up ! Disney and every other timeshare company are only playing one side of the fence.The cash side. Timeshare has been a scam since its inception.
Since Disney very stupidly teamed up with rci and their cheap timeshares it’s been a nightmare plus the quality has gone down and you get riff Raff on the resorts now.
It was much better when it was more exclusice…I haven’t purchased additional points because of this
I’m curious, could you please define “riff Raff?” Would that be somebody who didn’t buy into a decades long commitment, and was savvy enough to rent points? I haven’t done so yet, but that’s only because staffing at my place of employment means that planning far in advance for vacations is a crapshoot.
I took it to mean that trading through RCI brings in “riff raff” who own a cheaply purchased timeshare that they only use to trade. But I could be wrong.
Riff Raff as in people who buy cheap Spanish timeshares for next to nothing and then transfer to Disney which costs the dvc member 7 times as much ruining the resorts as the class goes down to the toilet
That system was disneys biggest mistake, they need to cut all ties with RCI.
As a brit booking to go next year – we would actually like to stay in a deluxe villa (due to the fact its so far away we book for two-three weeks at a time), but due to the new rules we are unable to book it. We have had to provisionally book another hotel in the meantime (the reason for this is in the UK we have offers that encourage us to book quote far in advance) But there is still no guarantee we will be able to have our Villa of choice! Its so frustrating – if we were booking a regular hotel we wouldn’t have this type of restriction. I don’t understand why they simply don’t save a large proportion of DVC villas and then the rest be opened up from the same time of other hotels and then in the 7 month period if all the DVC places aren’t all taken up by members (which I doubt will happen) that they then can be opened back up to non DVC? Further to this I agree with one of the other comments where there isn’t much advantage to being a DVC member – which is what we found when we went on a tour last year – as in the UK we are offered free dine – free memory maker – fast passes and offers on park tickets – which we just wouldn’t receive as a DVC member.
It’s a timeshare, not a hotel. Owners at the timeshare get to book their home resort at 11 months out and non-home resorts at seven months out. They are intended to be 95-95% occupied at all times.
There really are no benefits left to being a member. Can’t get fast passes as early as everyone else because of dues. They offer everyone the same as members. Only thing left is the little locations around the parks that we can get a free drink. They ruined it.
Payment of dues has no bearing on fastpass bookings.
Now I at least understand. We have owned for 11 years and never had the 7 month issue until last year. Yes, it is annoying and I don’t understand why Disney would rather have an empty room than make a member happy.
Planning DVC vacations is not fun anymore. Our last 3 trips have involved waking up at 3:55 AM every morning for weeks at a time trying to get more than one room for our relatives to join us and stalking the website checking for availability at least 10 times a day. For my in laws 50th anniversary trip our family had to split between two hotels because we couldn’t get enough rooms at one hotel to be together. And because the reservation system only lets you reserve 1 room at a time I’ve had to constantly cancel reservation after reservation because I couldn’t get all the rooms we needed for the same dates. It makes me anxious just thinking about making reservations.
thats when you pick up the phone and call..I made a 2 room ressie and just called..had it booked in less than 10 minutes
That doesn’t work when online reservations open an hour earlier than the phone reservations. The rooms were gone within seconds of online reservations opening. That’s why I could get the first room but by the time I could get back to the screne to reserve the second and third rooms everything was gone. I did that everyday for reservations at Aulani for a couple of weeks until I could get the three rooms we needed. Luckily we were flexible and could push our vacation back 3 weeks.
Book your home resort at 11 months out and you shouldn’t have the problems you have booking at seven months out. And use the waitlist.
Did I miss the details on the new DVC in CA in 2021?
No. Disney is about to break ground on a fourth hotel in Anaheim, and Tom is speaking to the very safe assumption that a portion of the new hotel will include DVC units.
According to my DVC guide (George Rey), there will be no DVC rooms at the new hotel in California.
The 7 month window? Ha! We own at BLT and have to be up at 6 am (time zone difference) just to get a studio at our home resort when the 11 month window opens. By that evening all standard view studios are gone!
Good explanation for the competition. I have never really had much trouble booking at 7 months because I’m not terribly particular about where I stay. We bought at VGF because that’s what they were selling at the time. We never stay there because the points are too high even for studios, so we prefer staying somewhere that requires fewer points. Love BWV and AKV which usually have some availability at 7 months. I have also booked Saratoga several times and waitlisted other resorts. The waitlist has worked for me, so I’ve never actually stayed at SSR, but I would gladly stay there if nothing else was available.
That’s a bummer. I’m not a DVC owner, thought about it for a split second and canned the idea for a multitude of reasons but the primary reason is we rarely book our vacations more than 4 -6 months out. I’d be pretty ticked if something I am spending money on every month had no space available at the 7 month mark, even if I could recoup my costs and rent my points I would not be happy having to use another method to stay at a DVC resort I’m already paying for.