I just saw this but I don’t know if I fully understand.
“The new language states that 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. Members can still update guest information or cancel the reservation, but that one change to how dates and room types can be modified has major implications for anyone who has historically used reservation walking to secure particularly difficult accommodations.”
Imagine you book seven nights exactly 11 months before your arrival. Your check-in date is eligible to book that morning, but your original check-out date is approximately 11 months and seven days away. Under the new policy, you cannot immediately modify that reservation forward because the departure date itself has not yet entered the 11-month window.
You would instead have to wait until that original check-out date becomes eligible. By that point, other Home Resort owners have had the opportunity to book the nights that previously could have been protected by repeatedly moving the reservation forward.
This will not affect me because usually I book at 7 months, not 11. (The article does not mention any change to 7-month bookings.)
One thing it does not address though is cancel-rebook. There are two ways I can see getting around this:
Cancel and rebook your reservation moving it one or two days at a time (during a time of day when others are unlikely to be stalking and snag it - but still a risk)
Leap-frogging. Book two reservations of 3-4 days each for offsetting days. Every day, cancel one of them and book it for the next day. When your entire trip is inside 11 months, consolidate by canceling one and extending the other.
Still digesting the rule change but I think this is a pretty creative solve to a very annoying problem. Nothing but hearts from me at this point. I’m a 11 month out booker and don’t walk (not that I’m above it or anything, or blame people who do).
The article mentioned this but I wonder if there will be a way to get around this? Possibly by calling Member Services? If it were me and I had a 2-week stay, I would call MS every few days to extend the stay. I wouldn’t be surprised if they could do it even if you can’t modify online.
No but obviously if I can’t book for a week I wouldn’t go ahead in the first place.
This new rule means I could book for a week and then find we can’t book for the second week. A waitlist would be risky, since we bank and borrow. If we can’t get that second week we’re at risk of losing those points.
It does seem to cause another problem for International visitors. I wonder if they will implement some type of exception process for the 7 day rule. They won’t change it necessarily, but I could see some other creative solution coming to light.
It’s niche but standard view 2BR’s run out at several resorts. We are BLT owners with a big family and I’ve NEVER seen one available for more than a night or two, even at 11 months. Standard view 2BR’s at BLT i mean.