Wonderful News !! Classic Reservation System is coming back in the interim

alwysonvac · Nov 5, 2012

Well over a weeks ago, I posted a question on facebook regarding HGVC's progress to launch a redesigned reservations system but I didn't receive a response - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1378662&postcount=14

So on Sunday, I sent an email stating the following...
"Kim Kreiger’s letter six months ago (see email below) stated HGVC will keep us posted on their progress to launch a reservations engine. Nothing has been reported thus far. When can we expect a progress report?"
Here's a link to Kim Krieger's April letter - http://tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1278736&postcount=33

I received the following response today.
"Thank you for contacting us. A brand new reservation engine is forthcoming for 2013, but in the interim, we will be launching an ADA compliant version of the ‘Classic Reservation System’......."

The email response goes on to say that the launch was originally scheduled for tomorrow, November 6th, 2012 but during some final testing of the system they found that there is one component that needs some re-tweaking. It goes on to say that the launch will be delayed to sometime this week or next.

THIS IS FANTASTIC NEWS !! I'M VERY HAPPY CAMPER !! :cheer:

PigsDad · Nov 5, 2012

WooHoo!

jestme · Nov 5, 2012

That is great news! I'm a very happy camper as well! With the upcoming payment of dues online the Revolution system just wouldn't have made it.

Talent312 · Nov 5, 2012

Hold on. I just got used to the crappy, new "Revolution" system.
Teasing us with this old friend, on a temporary basis is simply cruel.

HatTrick · Nov 5, 2012

night0wl · Nov 5, 2012

Wow...this is awesome...they listened.

vegasVIP · Nov 6, 2012

I've never used the Classic system, but from all the FanFare I'm interested in trying it out.

linsj · Nov 6, 2012

This is great news! It's what they should have done in the first place instead of removing the classic system.

jehb2 · Nov 6, 2012

Now this is a real shocker. Seriously.

DEROS · Nov 6, 2012

Pessimist

I will believe it when I see it.

Also why interim? If the renewed system is ADA compliant they should make it permanent. The reason they moved to the new "revolution system" was because it wasn't ADA compliant.

SmithOp · Nov 6, 2012

My take

They were sold a pig in a poke by a slick talking IT salesman. Once they took over the system in house they found out how easy it was to make the old system Ada compliant.

ccwu · Nov 13, 2012

I did not see it yet. I called elite customer services for something else and question about the rumor of the the return of the classic reservation system. The elite customer service said that they were not aware of it and they doubt the classic would return.

I wonder if anyone saw and use the classic reservation system.

whatsburning · Nov 14, 2012

The check's in the mail...

alwysonvac · Nov 14, 2012

ccwu said:
I did not see it yet. I called elite customer services for something else and question about the rumor of the the return of the classic reservation system. The elite customer service said that they were not aware of it and they doubt the classic would return.

I wonder if anyone saw and use the classic reservation system.

Nothing yet.
I'll send a follow up email if nothing happens by Wednesday, November 28.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

urple2 · Nov 14, 2012

I haven't been on here in a while and before reading these posts I had just sent an email to Hilton(input) complaining about the "Revolution" system and the fact that I cannot use it with a tablet,as I can with any other timeshare or exchange company. Also, I inquired about not being able to see those last call affiliate deals online and lastly,why I have to look at airline advertisements on a site that's suppose to be a member site and paid for by members.

Great to see others are letting them know of their dissatisfaction also.

ccwu · Nov 14, 2012

urple2 said:
I haven't been on here in a while and before reading these posts I had just sent an email to Hilton(input) complaining about the "Revolution" system and the fact that I cannot use it with a tablet,as I can with any other timeshare or exchange company. Also, I inquired about not being able to see those last call affiliate deals online and lastly,why I have to look at airline advertisements on a site that's suppose to be a member site and paid for by members.

Great to see others are letting them know of their dissatisfaction also.

good point. The revolution system does not work on iPad. It works terribly in the Mac laptop that does not operate under window platform. I had to call the customer service to get things done when I am traveling and work with my laptop. I have a pc at home operate under window. Luckily there is no additional charge to me for any activities so I did not think to complain yet. It is just annoying that I could work on most of the other TS transaction but have a hard time with revolution system. Besides, even the elite phone line was busy and a long wait to talk to a real person. (i tried the regular customer service line, it was a long wait too. I wonder if anyone experienced the waiting time calling in to member service.) It is time consuming to call in for any service.

I will send an email to complain. May be all of us send email to complain, they could realize that owners did not appreciate that they changed from classic to revolution.

DEROS · Nov 14, 2012

Response

urple2 said:
........,why I have to look at airline advertisements on a site that's suppose to be a member site and paid for by members.

Great to see others are letting them know of their dissatisfaction also.

HGVC Member Relation: The fee we collect from your annual membership is keep low by allowing select merchants that provide value added service to our members. Without these value added advertisement, we would have to increase the members fee to reflect the rising cost of developing a world class reservation system. Thank you for taking the time to provide us critical information that will be used to determine how we can improve your overall satisfaction. If you wish to talk to a owner representative about your vacation ownership please call 1800...... :hysterical:

urple2 · Nov 14, 2012

lol... Nice!

Had you not posted the little guy laughing,I would have swore you were a HGVC Rep.

urple2 · Nov 18, 2012

Hilton Response:

"Thank you for your valuable feedback regarding our on-line booking engine. I shared your communication with the appropriate team and it will be taken into consideration. I am glad to confirm that we have been working with a third party company to bring a new on-line experience to our Club Members in the coming months. With enhancements including accessibility via hand held devices. Although we are yet to have all Hilton Grand Vacations Club affiliated resorts available for on-line bookings, you may rest assured, we are committed to providing you with a booking engine that includes all our affiliated destination resorts.

Once again, Thank You for taking the time to provide us with your feedback. Should you have future suggestions, inquiries or requests relating to our Hilton Grand Vacations Club features, please let us know.
Cordially,"

night0wl · Nov 18, 2012

So no classic? Just more pr diversion tactic? They really don't get it do they.

DEROS · Nov 19, 2012

night0wl said:
So no classic? Just more pr diversion tactic? They really don't get it do they.

Ohhh... they get it. Every year in raising membership and maintenance fees.

alwysonvac · Dec 1, 2012

No news yet

alwysonvac said:
Nothing yet.
I'll send a follow up email if nothing happens by Wednesday, November 28.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving

UPDATE...

On Monday, November 26, I sent an email requesting an update based on the November 5th email response I received.

On Thursday, November 29, I sent an email reminding them that I was still waiting for a response.

NOTE: HGVC Auto Reply email states "Thank you for your email. Our service goal is to respond to requests during the same business day. However, when message volumes increase or time zones differ, we commit to responding to all emails within three (3) business days. "

alwysonvac · Dec 5, 2012

We'll have to wait until 1st quarter of 2013

UPDATE...

I received the following response today after forwarding my email chain yesterday to Mr Kreiger (see below).

Honestly, since they missed the November window, it makes perfect sense to wait until the end of year activity is completed. December is the busiest time of year for them and it would be too risky to introduce anything new during this timeframe.

I'm just happy that they're still moving ahead with plans to launch the ADA compliant version of the Classic reservation system

Dear Mrs. xxxx,

I would like to apologize for the oversight in response to your previous emails regarding the release of the ADA compliant version of the Classic Reservation system. We have been working very hard on many aspects of the website in 2012 and have made numerous improvements. The Classic ADA function is currently planned to be deployed in the 1st quarter of 2013. We are currently testing this feature, but we are also mindful of the end-of-year deadlines and do not want to launch a high-load feature to the web site until next year.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any further questions.

Best regards,

xxxxxx
Customer Relations Specialist
Hilton Grand Vacations Club
6355 MetroWest Blvd., Suite 180
Orlando, FL 32835
800-932-4482 ext. xxxx

jestme · Dec 6, 2012

Hmmm. Sort if good to hear, but at $125 per member, * 155,000 = $19.3M. If capacity was really the issue you would think they could afford a second web server to run the Classic system on, and not have it affect Revolution at all. They used to run them both in parallel so they have all the interfaces.
Let's hope they are adding other things to it as well, like online access to all the affiliates.

alwysonvac · Dec 6, 2012

jestme said:
Hmmm. Sort if good to hear, but at $125 per member, * 155,000 = $19.3M. If capacity was really the issue you would think they could afford a second web server to run the Classic system on, and not have it affect Revolution at all. They used to run them both in parallel so they have all the interfaces.
Let's hope they are adding other things to it as well, like online access to all the affiliates.

JMHO... I think it has to do with avoiding unexpected issues that can always be introduced with a new release of any software. Any problem can occur (not just capacity related issues). Think about the various glitches that folks constantly have to deal with after each RCI upgrade or Microsoft operating system upgrade.

They really shouldn't take the risk during this extremely busy timeframe. If any problem occurs, there will be an increase of emails and phone calls and demands on IT to address the issues (asap depending on the severity of the problem).

Also, since Classic is an interim solution, I'm not expecting any new features other than an ADA compliant version.
Of course, if they provide any additional features that would be added bonus for us

Wonderful News !! Classic Reservation System is coming back in the interim

alwysonvac

PigsDad

jestme

Talent312

TUG Review Crew: Veteran

HatTrick

night0wl

vegasVIP

linsj

TUG Review Crew: Veteran

jehb2

DEROS

SmithOp

TUG Review Crew

ccwu

whatsburning

alwysonvac

urple2

TUG Review Crew: Expert

ccwu

DEROS

urple2

TUG Review Crew: Expert

urple2

TUG Review Crew: Expert

night0wl

DEROS

alwysonvac

alwysonvac

jestme

alwysonvac