# SVO: MystarCentral Questions



## conkyjoe (Apr 16, 2007)

Greetings,

Does mystarcentral provide:

1.  Real-time Reservation Confirmation 
2.  Current confirmed reservation Number(s) 
3.  Arrival and Departure Dates with Check-in and Check-out times
4.  Unit Nights Reserved per reservation number
5.  Unit type Reserved per reservation number

Seems reasonable that one would want to view this information when loging into one's account.  Maybe I'm expecting too much in my first year of SVO ownership.   Please someone tell me that the information is up there.

I was suprised that I couldn't login and see what reservation we were confirmed for. This months after recieving our USPS confirmation letter.

What a "joke" mystarcentral is.  

Gratefully I get much more valuable content from this forum than anyting mystarcentral has to offer.


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## ciscogizmo1 (Apr 16, 2007)

To answer your questions:

1)  no they don't do real time reservations... but they aren't only timeshare resort like this.  I believe DVC doesn't have real time reservations either.

2 through 5) I've never been able to find.  I find my starcentral a bit confusing.  But I bet DeniseM will find the answer because she seems to know the ins and outs of that website.  I own a Marriott and it is much easier to navigate their website but it does have some problems as well.

I normally get an electronic confirmation (e-mail) of my reservation.  This shows all the answers you have with items 2 through 5.  I've never had a check-in problem.  However, I believe some people call and reconfirm their reservations a few days before arriving.

I'm sure somebody will come along and prove me wrong on all these points too!


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## KOR5Star (Apr 16, 2007)

MyStarCentral was never meant to be a reservations portal.  It's always been advertised as an information repository.  You can review your ownership and what bills are due.  You can run through stored webinars that teach about your ownership.  There are offers for owners. Etc...

If someone caused you to believe it was anything more than that, you should take issue with them.

On-line reservation confirmation is a double edged sword and something I sincerely hope they never implement.  The way they do things now is the most fair.  If they go to an on-line reservations program, there will be issues that make the process better for some people and worse for others.  

First, there would be the technically challenged.  Even in this day and age, many people are not connected.  Anyone connected would be able to beat the unconnected for timestamps every time.  That's just not fair IMHO.  Ownership is ownership.  We should all be treated equally.

Second, even connected people will not be created equally.  The technically astute would be able to very easily beat out the non-astute in the reservations process.  How would you like it if it were downright IMPOSSIBLE for you to EVER get the best timestamp for your home resort, no matter how hard you tried?  

No.  I like it just the way it is... and I would be one of the people that would benefit.... that would run circles around the rest if the system went live on-line.  Maybe that's why I'm so against it.  I realize how truly unfair it could be.  The internet novice has no clue how bad it could be for them.

Trust me, the *last thing* you want it real time reservations confirmations.


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## Transit (Apr 16, 2007)

Welcome back Joe, your asking too much, starcentral is very basic I wish some of the things you listed were available.


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## Westin5Star (Apr 16, 2007)

KOR5Star said:


> MyStarCentral was never meant to be a reservations portal.  It's always been advertised as an information repository.  You can review your ownership and what bills are due.  You can run through stored webinars that teach about your ownership.  There are offers for owners. Etc...
> 
> If someone caused you to believe it was anything more than that, you should take issue with them.
> 
> ...



I, too, dream of real time online reservations.  

First, the whole connected argument doesn't fly.  In life, there are always some that are more connected than others.  Those who aren't as connected always have the ability to get more connected.  I'm no techie, but those who are shouldn't be inconvinienced for my ignorance.  I don't believe in burdening others due to my lack of knowledge or experience.  

Second, the phone system isn't equal at all.  One of my companies has phone banks with dialers and I can have upto 64 calls (I can easily add more dialers to get more lines) going in to Starwood at once at 6am.  My phone then rings as soon as one of my phone lines reaches a live person; I don't even have to wait on hold!  I don't completely understand it all because I'm not a techie but my director of IT makes it happen for me.  This certainly puts those without a phone "system" at a disadvantage.  How is this "most fair"?

My thoughts are that Starwood should setup and implement the most convinient reservation system for their customers.  No system that I can think of will ever be fair.  I realize that some will always have an advantage.  It is up to me to find a way to get an advantage if I so choose.  Otherwise, I should not complain about what is being done.


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## KOR5Star (Apr 16, 2007)

Westin5Star said:


> ... the phone system isn't equal at all.  One of my companies has phone banks with dialers and I can have upto 64 calls (I can easily add more dialers to get more lines) going in to Starwood at once at 6am.  My phone then rings as soon as one of my phone lines reaches a live person; I don't even have to wait on hold!  I don't completely understand it all because I'm not a techie but my director of IT makes it happen for me.  This certainly puts those without a phone "system" at a disadvantage.  How is this "most fair"?


Well, it isn't fair, but no system can be 100% fair.  The situation you describe is unique.  How many owners do you think there are with access to a phone bank system?  

On the other hand, all it takes is some computer savvy to be able to do what you describe on the internet.  In internet terrorism, it's called a denial of services attack, but the same general idea can be used in smaller way to demand/yank access.  That, coupled with a simple script to autofill forms and you're done.  The whole thing could be done automatically faster than you can push your return key right now.  And I'm not talking about 64 requests or even 128 requests on a phone network.  I'm talking 64,000 or 128,000 or more requests for a connection on the internet.  

If they go with a connected reservations system, I only hope they do it right and put in place obstacles that will force people to actually be at their terminals and manually request the reservations.  At least that would give people, without computers, on the phone a fighting chance to get a decent timestamp.

I'm not so quick to disenfranchise fellow timeshare owners simply because they are technology challenged.  I say let's keep the system as fair as possible for our least common denominator.


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## rsweeney (Apr 18, 2007)

Hey CONK,
         If you go on mystarcentral and email them that you would like a confirmation of reservation, they will mail you a nice COLOR copy of it, probably made off a Xerox Printer. I like a hard copy of my resv. so I waited the week or so it took them to mail it out :whoopie:


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