"Trust" for a presentation/vacation opportunity

[brp]

Hi folks,

I looked through the last couple of months of threads for something similar, but didn't find anything, so a new thread.

Here's the deal:

We got one of those "great vacations if you have a presentation" deals. Westin Kaanapali. The deal is good (6/5 fpr $649) and I do trust that this is legit. We've done it before with Hyatt.

Here's the "trust" part. We want to go next May (Memorial Day weekend). They say that's not a problem, but they're not booking out that far. Since no one can book that far out, and they will let us know "as soon as it's bookable" we're "pretty much " guaranteed to get it. Won't put that in writing, and I get that.

We would have to commit $400 now (non-refundable by the time this comes available).

I'm still inclined to risk the $400, but has anyone had this kind of "arrangement" with a Westin vacation/presentation package? If so, how did it work out?

Looking for actual experience, suggestions, comments (we know HGVC and DVC, but not Westin/Starwood/Vistana.

Cheers.

 

[VacationForever]

If you don't get Memorial Day weekend, do you still want to commit $400 and go for the presentation for a different time period? I don't think you can plan on being able to get the dates that you want - unless it is in writing.

 

[DeniseM]

The deal is legit, but I would not count on getting the date - they are just trying to get you to buy, and have no idea if it will be available.

 

[lizap]

If you don't get Memorial Day weekend, do you still want to commit $400 and go for the presentation for a different time period? I don't think you can plan on being able to get the dates that you want - unless it is in writing.

I agree. I would think you would need to be flexible as to travel dates..

 

[r1lee]

Yeah the deal is legitimate. We just did the same for lagunamar and so did my brother in law. He actually got a refund since they promised him any dates aside from 5 major blackout weekends (Christmas, New Years, 4th of July etc). He couldn't find anything that fit into his schedule

 

[brp]

The deal is legit, but I would not count on getting the date - they are just trying to get you to buy, and have no idea if it will be available.

I agree. I would think you would need to be flexible as to travel dates..

Yeah the deal is legitimate. We just did the same for lagunamar and so did my brother in law. He actually got a refund since they promised him any dates aside from 5 major blackout weekends (Christmas, New Years, 4th of July etc). He couldn't find anything that fit into his schedule

Thanks all. I figured it was legit as they have a good reputation. The "trust" point is that, since no one can book this time yet, and there will be *some* availability, and cine they will know our date preference and notify us as soon as it's available, the odds of all availability being gone if we book immediately is small. At least that's the story. Seems plausible on one level...

We won't go this year as we don't need any more frequent flier miles for status (and that drives most of our trips). For next year, we would need a Holiday to realistically spend the 4-night minimum, Jan/Feb Holidays are already spoken for, so May is the next shot. So, we're really not that flexible.

I know there are no guarantees, so it comes down to whether or not to believe that, by being the first to book when those dates come available, the likelihood is really high.

r1lee - how did your brother-in-law get them to make a promise like that that would lead to a refund that far out? I guess I could try the "what if we can't fin anything to fit our schedule...since those are the only dates that realistically work?

Cheers.

 

[okwiater]

Fwiw, we did an explorer package once and tried to book our preferred dates but they were not available. We asked them to put us up at "equivalent" accommodations nearby per the contract, but they opted to refund us the money instead.

I don't think they have any interest in keeping your money if they can't accommodate you, since the whole point of the deal is for them to sell you a timeshare. You're probably not going to buy one if they give you the runaround.

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

We did the deal in Lagunamar during spring break. They do try to keep you happy and would most likely refund if they can't accommodate. I'd do it in a heartbeat.

 

[Thunder Up]

We were in the same boat. We were offered the same deal last year and wanted to book the package for use in January 2017 for some specific days so that we could extend our stay on Maui after our stay at MOC ended. When the offer came out, The rep told me that you could not book that far out. Told the rep that we were very interested but was unwilling to pay the deposit unless I could get these specific days or otherwise the deal was useless to me. I asked to put my name and phone number down and that when the dates were open or available to call me and we would purchase it. He called back when the dates opened and we purchased the deal. We received the callback before we had purchased the airline tickets so it worked out well for us. Hope you can arrange a deal that works for you. Good luck.

Thunder Up

 

[r1lee]

r1lee - how did your brother-in-law get them to make a promise like that that would lead to a refund that far out? I guess I could try the "what if we can't fin anything to fit our schedule...since those are the only dates that realistically work?

Cheers.

They were very nice. The department that is assigned to this is meant specifically for the explorer package. They were about to give us our refund also, but we made a date work. It was really just, "you guys told us these dates were available" but they weren't. I gave them a date I would like to go, they said it wasn't available but would make a request and 2 days later, I got it.

 

[brp]

I asked to put my name and phone number down and that when the dates were open or available to call me and we would purchase it. He called back when the dates opened and we purchased the deal. We received the callback before we had purchased the airline tickets so it worked out well for us. Hope you can arrange a deal that works for you. Good luck.

Thunder Up

Well, I tried that same arrangement (wait for the call before paying the deposit) and was told that it was a no-go. I kinda figured that this might happen (congrats to you for getting them to do it ). Based on my initial thoughts and some of the latter comments here, I went and put down the deposit. We'll see if the "we'll contact you and you get first dibs" really does pan out on this. Thanks all.

Cheers.