(9/6 - Still can't send a confirmation) The Vistana/Marriott Reservation System is a disaster.

[buzglyd]

Makes me glad I have an odd year Bella. They might have this fixed by then.

 

[CPNY]

Maybe it's a feature and not a glitch - just think of all of the weeks they will get back because owners can't reserve them!

Imagine?? Frustrate owners to give back their weeks or allow the time to lapse and take the inventory for the DCE…. Maybe that’s why Harborside isn’t affected. Hasn’t timed out once in all of the searches the last 3 weeks. I’ve run a ton. It could also be the horrible conversion to the Marriott hotels reservation system. Why did MVW admit to vistana having superior IT, then continue to change it over to their junk? THIS IS WHY VISTANA OWNERS HATE THE TAKEOVER!!

 

[pchung6]

I’m very positive Marriott does this time out things with this purpose. A lot owners will deed back or pay to convert. Another reason why so many loyal SPG members dislike Marriott so much. This is just another example and another new low.

 

[echino]

I noticed that Home Resort Reservations at 8-12 months are coming up fine on Villa Finder. But if you search at a resort where you don't own, StarOptions availability within 8 months is not coming up, resulting in a timeout error every time.

 

[DavidnRobin]

I noticed that Home Resort Reservations at 8-12 months are coming up fine on Villa Finder. But if you search at a resort where you don't own, StarOptions availability within 8 months is not coming up, resulting in a timeout error every time.

I cannot make a HomeResort reservation at WKORV after a plethora of attempts over weeks.
Keep getting timeouts. This is on their end after multiple tries using other methods (including VPN).
I can reserve WPORV with no problem.


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[CPNY]

I cannot make a HomeResort reservation at WKORV after a plethora of attempts over weeks.
Keep getting timeouts. This is on their end after multiple tries using other methods (including VPN).
I can reserve WPORV with no problem.


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Right, and I can make reservations at some resorts within 8 months and not others

 

[bogey21]

For the last 5 or 6 years of my TimeSharing life I owned nothing but Fixed Weeks/Fixed Units. Now I know why...

What many don't know about Fixed Weeks at Independents is how easy it was to change your Week at the Resort. In most cases just a phone call to the Property Manager...

George

 

[rickandcindy23]

The answer to issues was always, "Have you deleted your browsing history? What search engine do you use?" "Have you tried using Edge?"
Now it's, "We know it's not working, and we are sure it will be resolved soon." Right. Whatever you have to say to get owners off of the phone.

I am dealing with other issues, like identical reservation dates and unit types, different Vistana numbers, but new Bonvoy numbers, which are the only #'s that the resort has for reservations. This is a huge issue for me right now. How do I know which week these numbers go to? And why are guests secondary to the owners, when guests are added? That is crap. So a renter cannot verify the confirmation either by name or by Vistana number.

But did Vistana have an answer? No. They don't have the Marriott numbers, they have the Vistana reservation #'s only. The right hand and the left hand need to work together. This is ridiculous.

I have deeded summer weeks to reserve for next summer, which have always required a phone call. I can reserve SBP over a year out, but it always requires a phone call. Time on the phone on Friday, waiting for a person to answer: 1 hours and 10 minutes. Is there are better time of day to call?

 

[TravelTime]

I got really lucky and was able to log in after 48 minutes trying on April 1st, 2022 at 9:48 pm PST right when the reservation window opened for April 1st, 2023 in my home resort. I was so pissed off for 48 minutes because I got a message saying they were down for maintenance. Who takes their reservation system down for maintenance when they know the booking window is opening?

Since then, I have logged in on and off to check on whether it times out or not and whether the inventory for the date I wanted is still available. It is hit or miss as to whether I get a time out or not. However, the times I have gotten in, the inventory has still been available. At least that part is a positive. I would be screaming at the top of my lungs if I were unable to book at my home resort at 12 months out.

I am not sure if screaming in a TUG thread will be effective. I assume TUG members are a small percentage of total owners. It is hard to say what will be effective.

Frankly, I am rather shocked Vistana would do this on purpose. To me, this is such a negative that if I were not already a happy MVC owner, I would not want to integrate into the MVC system. I can totally understand why Vistana owners are pissed off at MVC.

 

[DeniseM]

New day - same old BS - time out.

#dontbuymarriott

 

[DeniseM]

I am not sure if screaming in a TUG thread will be effective. I assume TUG members are a small percentage of total owners. It is hard to say what will be effective.

The big TS companies have people viewing TUG every day...

#don'tbuywestin

 

[rickandcindy23]

Screaming at a VSN employee is not a good way to handle it, either. People are fed up, but the VSN people that answer the phone are probably tired of the angry people.

I am also waiting for weeks to show in my account that I bought resale. That is taking forever. Maybe Vistana is short staffed?

 

[CPNY]

Screaming at a VSN employee is not a good way to handle it, either. People are fed up, but the VSN people that answer the phone are probably tired of the angy people.

I am also waiting for weeks to show in my account that I bought resale. That is taking forever. Maybe Vistana is short staffed?

I agree, however, they are the first line of defense. They also wouldn’t be speaking to people who are yelling at them because those people would have already made their reservations online. This isn’t an isolated incident, it’s been ongoing all year.

again, I don’t condone yelling at CS reps. BUT, if they receive enough dissatisfaction from owners, maybe they will push it up to people who can actually make a change. Although, the cynical side of me is starting to agree with one of Denise’s post. Maybe, they are doing this to get all of those unreserved weeks for their own use or to get people to give back their ownership as this is their final straw.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I agree, however, they are the first line of defense. They also wouldn’t be speaking to people who are yelling at them because those people would have already made their reservations online. This isn’t an isolated incident, it’s been ongoing all year.

again, I don’t condone yelling at CS reps. BUT, if they receive enough dissatisfaction from owners, maybe they will push it up to people who can actually make a change. Although, the cynical side of me is starting to agree with one of Denise’s post. Maybe, they are doing this to get all of those unreserved weeks for their own use or to get people to give back their ownership as this is their final straw.

You can express yourself without yelling. I talked to Roger a few days ago and kind of understood his frustration with owners who are taking it out on them.

I think you do need to tell them that this has to be fixed and urge them to escalate your issues with Marriott and Vistana.

I have different issues that VSN cannot help me fix. The resort cannot help me, either. No one can help.

 

[needvaca]

I've tried the reservation system almost every day for a month+ now with the same results.
I can get Staroption reservations for Kierland (my developer bought home resort), St. John, and Harborside.
But I get the "Request Timeout" error message for all other resorts including Hawaii, Colorado, etc.

I noticed now at the bottom, there is a new note that says:

"Please note:

The updated Villa Resort Availability Finder can now recognize most ownership types, however, certain ownership types do not have access."

This leads me to believe that Vistana has ABSOLUTELY done this on purpose, basically locking owners (possibly just resale owners) out of making any Staroption reservations at other than their home resorts. Most likely with the express purpose of reacquiring this inventory for the new Marriott booking system.

This seems highly illegal, possibly class action lawsuit illegal.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I've tried the reservation system almost every day for a month+ now with the same results.
I can get Staroption reservations for Kierland (my developer bought home resort), St. John, and Harborside.
But I get the "Request Timeout" error message for all other resorts including Hawaii, Colorado, etc.

I noticed now at the bottom, there is a new note that says:

"Please note:

The updated Villa Resort Availability Finder can now recognize most ownership types, however, certain ownership types do not have access."

This leads me to believe that Vistana has ABSOLUTELY done this on purpose, basically locking owners (possibly just resale owners) out of making any Staroption reservations at other than their home resorts. Most likely with the express purpose of reacquiring this inventory for the new Marriott booking system.

This seems highly illegal, possibly class action lawsuit illegal.

Holy crap! Pay a premium for Maui and not being able to book and a message like this one? Disgusting.

 

[YYJMSP]

I've tried the reservation system almost every day for a month+ now with the same results.
I can get Staroption reservations for Kierland (my developer bought home resort), St. John, and Harborside.
But I get the "Request Timeout" error message for all other resorts including Hawaii, Colorado, etc.

I noticed now at the bottom, there is a new note that says:

"Please note:

The updated Villa Resort Availability Finder can now recognize most ownership types, however, certain ownership types do not have access."

This leads me to believe that Vistana has ABSOLUTELY done this on purpose, basically locking owners (possibly just resale owners) out of making any Staroption reservations at other than their home resorts. Most likely with the express purpose of reacquiring this inventory for the new Marriott booking system.

This seems highly illegal, possibly class action lawsuit illegal.

i get the same timeout trying to make a SO reservation at Westin Desert Willow (a developer purchase), so i don't think it is maliciously targeted, it's just a complete general rolling failure...

 

[CPNY]

You can express yourself without yelling. I talked to Roger a few days ago and kind of understood his frustration with owners who are taking it out on them.

I think you do need to tell them that this has to be fixed and urge them to escalate your issues with Marriott and Vistana.

I have different issues that VSN cannot help me fix. The resort cannot help me, either. No one can help.

For the record, I was out of 2022 star options by November of last year so I had nothing to yell at them about. If I do get “yell-ie” with CS reps I usually apologize and let them know it’s not them, I’m just extremely frustrated and having a hard time using my big words at the moment lol. That’s when they laugh and go above and beyond to help.

 

[VacationForever]

i get the same timeout trying to make a SO reservation at Westin Desert Willow (a developer purchase), so i don't think it is maliciously targeted, it's just a complete general rolling failure...

Our friends who were in California visiting family could not book at Westin Mission Hills for Thanksgiving period as they were unable to login. I helped them book using their login information and I also had no issue booking for ourselves. I do believe it is a geographical issue.

 

[DeniseM]

I got this response on Twitter - if you are on Twitter you definitely want to tweet about the reservation situation:

@Vistana

Our web development team is aware of the intermittent time out errors that owners have been experiencing recently and are working diligently to improve them. In the interim, if you need assistance with a reservation, please contact Owner Services at 888-786-9637.

 

[10spro]

I've tried the reservation system almost every day for a month+ now with the same results.
I can get Staroption reservations for Kierland (my developer bought home resort), St. John, and Harborside.
But I get the "Request Timeout" error message for all other resorts including Hawaii, Colorado, etc.

I noticed now at the bottom, there is a new note that says:

"Please note:

The updated Villa Resort Availability Finder can now recognize most ownership types, however, certain ownership types do not have access."

This leads me to believe that Vistana has ABSOLUTELY done this on purpose, basically locking owners (possibly just resale owners) out of making any Staroption reservations at other than their home resorts. Most likely with the express purpose of reacquiring this inventory for the new Marriott booking system.

This seems highly illegal, possibly class action lawsuit illegal.

I've had similar experience and kind of wondered this myself. With so many of us experiencing issues, it's been long enough now for IT to figure it out, I have to believe there is something else going on behind the scenes. Very disappointing for a new WKORV OFD resale owner, having a horrible time getting a home reservation.

 

[CPNY]

I got this response on Twitter - if you are on Twitter you definitely want to tweet about the reservation situation:
@Vistana

Our web development team is aware of the intermittent time out errors that owners have been experiencing recently and are working diligently to improve them. In the interim, if you need assistance with a reservation, please contact Owner Services at 888-786-9637.

I posted an encouragement to tweet post in the Vistana/Marriott owners group on FB. Enough is enough. This has to be corrected now.

although now it seems to be affecting the Marriott site as well. Clearly this is due to the merged program, but it still is ridiculously unacceptable

 

[DavidnRobin]

@rickandcindy23
Nobody said scream - I said call and complain (and repeat). Along with other methods discussed here.
There are also FB groups complaining of same thing.
The only time out I am getting is for WKORV (my ownership).
Not… no inventory left, etc.
Getting timed out at various times throughout day and night over weeks now.


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[DavidnRobin]

I do believe it is a geographical issue.

Not geographical - along with other methods, I have used a VPN that allows sign in from various locations throughout the US.
Get Timed-Out every time - going on 7 weeks now.


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[EnglishmanAbroad]

Not geographical - along with other methods, I have used a VPN that allows sign in from various locations throughout the US.
Get Timed-Out every time - going on 7 weeks now.


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It doesn't quite work like that. A VPN is just masking your physical location. Even 'logical' connections have to meander their way through physical infrastructure. What you mention would only be relevant if Marriott were purposefully blocking physical geographies.