As a Platinum member let me pass on some insight that you will find helpful if you care to take advantage of it. Though first off let me affirm that what Dougp26364 said is correct, DRI is usually pretty good about managing inventory (there are many different pots the inventory can sit in) and trust me, as a collection member you want DRI to rent out units that look like they are going to be vacant. Every day a unit goes vacant is actually money that could have gone to support the collection or the resort (kind of like an airline flying a plane with empty seats).
Now of course this means that sometimes inventory is pulled at an inconvenient time when we are hoping to book into it only for it to be placed into a pot that we can not reach (like rental or marketing inventory). This is where vacation requests can help which, depending upon your level can be made on line or over the phone. These requests can be made at any time, including inside the discount windows and are usually filled in Loyalty level order if the inventory becomes available. I should point out that DRI wants owners to be able to use this inventory even if it is at discounted points. Every time members use up all of their points, even at a discount, DRI Corporate is actually happy since the owners are more likely to feel like they have obtained their money's worth which means they may buy more points in the future.
All of this is pretty standard stuff that most people who use timeshares a lot often know. So here is something that most people don't seem to know or at least realize it's importance in helping you. Every year, by law, there is a collection meeting for each DRI collection (USA, Hawaii and California) where the officers for the collection are voted in and a presentation is made on the state of the collection (usually including the explanation on how the maintenance fees are calculated and how they are spent). These meeting usually last about 90 minutes and then there is about 30 minutes to an hour for refreshments and schmoozing. Second to your actual vacation this is THE most important meeting to attend to help you use your points (forget the sales presentations/updates)!!! Why you might ask? Well, first off I have only once seen a sales director at these meetings (he was only observing and said nothing). Rather they are attended by the DRI Corporate level managers for many of the other departments (non-sales) in DRI, as these are often the people that DRI votes onto the boards (This is because there are so few owners that actually vote their points and DRI votes all of theirs for their nominees, such that their nominees usually win). These are often the people that want you to make the best use of your current points (they are not the ones trying to sell you more) and if you network with them at these meetings they may take the time to help you find the right process or sometimes a person to help you when you encounter difficulties.
Remember though that these managers are human so please be nice to them, especially if you even think you might want their help someday. However this does not mean that you should not mention (in a non-confrontational manner) any grievances you have. If it is an issue that just affects you, then privately ask one of the Collection officers for your collection if they can help you talk to the right person to address the specific issue. If it is an issue that affects the whole collection (like rising Maintenance Fee's or perhaps how the collection could do something better) then bring it up during the Q&A session at the end. They may not have an immediate answer but you will be heard by the people that can act on it. I have seen several suggestions that have been made during these meetings that have later been implemented in the resorts in that Collection.
Currently these meetings are small and are not well attended, making them pretty intimate. In the past I have attended the meetings for all three collections and found that the most people I have seen in any one session was about 125 attendees (surprisingly it was the Hawaii meeting) and the least was the California meeting with less than 20 people of which maybe 10 people were owners and the rest were DRI corporate managers. These meetings are usually in Las Vegas in late September or early October. You can find the dates on the DRI Collection pages. Hopefully they will publish the specific meeting times and places there as well (the LV resort concierges often do not know about these meetings so you may want to give them some time to get this info before the meeting. The meetings have often started at 10AM or 1PM, but this could change at any time). I should point out that you should attend only the collection meetings that you are an owner in as each collection often has some unique issues that will not be addressed in the other collection meetings (and vice versa).
