I want to give MVW the benefit of the doubt but the absolute best I can come up with is that following on the heels of closures due to Hurricane Matthew last year, they didn't want to assume the risk of losing any more of their revenue from Irma's effects than the bare minimum. So instead of keeping the impacted resorts closed for another week to get all units up and running, someone came up with the stupid idea of shuffling arbitrarily-chosen VIP's all over the island but gave no thought to the public relations nightmare that would cause. Then on top of that, they added insult to injury by doing the same thing they did following Matthew which was to tell displaced/cancelled guests that all normal cancelation policies would apply so no credits or refunds unless they'd ponied up for travel insurance. (I didn't disagree as strongly following Matthew but MVW didn't bungle those re-openings, and, MVW's competitors are currently relaxing cancellation/refund rules for Irma-impacted guests.)
What a freakin mess. JIMinNC, I think MVW should be reimbursing the cost of your cash stay at their competitor. Not because they're legally obligated, which of course they're not, but because they owe it to you to make up for the way they've totally mishandled this event. Don't give up, don't give in. Go straight to the top and let him know that you are as important as any other guest/owner, certainly as important as any guest who may have been given your accommodations. GRRRR.
I get the idea of trying to minimize the displacement of owners as much as possible (without getting further into the merits of shuffling owners among MVCI properties like they were Marriott Hotels guests). I am bothered by the reference in red above. I understand and accept the risk (unless I buy insurance) that a storm could shut down a resort I have an upcoming reservation at. My reservation is for 'x' resort. 'x' resort is closed due to damage. I'm out my reservation unless I bought insurance. If this was an II exchange, I could try for some type of replacement reservation/week. If this was an ownership (weeks or points) reservation, maybe MVCI can offer me an alternate internal exchange/reservation or I can at least get my points back.
Without insurance, if II gives me a replacement week of any kind because I cannot occupy my reserved resort due to it being closed - that's great on II's part. Similarly, without insurance, if MVCI can provide me an alternate internal exchange of my week
using unassigned inventory (either to HHI for the same dates using this discussion as the example, or elsewhere at another time) or I get my DC points back (albeit in a holding account), great.
Here's my rub.
I'm not the owner being accommodated, I'm the II exchanger or the week/points owner that is being bumped from a resort that is open with a reserved unit that is ready for me to occupy. Having my reservation cancelled to give it to someone else whose resort is closed was not an act of nature, it was an act of corporate.
If MVCI wants to accommodate displaced owners from other MVCI resorts using any unassigned inventory, so be it. Their efforts to salvage vacations for their owners and exchangers is praiseworthy.
What is not praiseworthy is taking assigned inventory away from others at other resorts and then trying to put the responsibility for those owners/exchangers losing their vacations on them. "Well, I guess you should have bought insurance." Really? Is there coverage for a corporate hatchet job?
The folks who should have bought insurance are those with the reservations at the resorts that are closed due to damage. To take away my valid/available reservation and give it to them instead, is transferring their assumption of risk to me. That is not right. I assumed my own risk when I chose whether to buy insurance for my own reservation (
as did they). To make me liable for their risk as well as my own is wrong.
MVCI is now saying there are 2 travel risks to buy insurance for (because if the storm doesn't take out your reservation, corporate still may and give it away).
If MVCI's own actions are the reason I cannot occupy a reserved unit (and not Hurricane whomever), then a points reservations should be restored without the holding account restriction, the opportunity to still use my week should be made available to me (even if that means opening up unassigned inventory in a season or possibly at a resort I don't own - they moved owners among properties on HHI, so it must be a viable option), and MVCI should provide an unrestricted replacement week with Marriott preference through II for exchanges made by owners.
Every coin has 2 sides and while MVCI may be trying hard on its face to help some owners there are others who are getting the tail end. My suggestions immediately above would make it less one-sided, and perhaps cause MVCI to think a little longer before doing this again (if it meant they would be offering up my suggestions as compensation to those they were taking reservations from).