Room Assignments - Vidanta Nuevo Vallarta

[mikenk]

I am currently staying at the Grand Luxxe Villa in Nuevo. Usually we get good room assignments - sometimes in Tower 1 but mostly in Tower 2; this time we were assigned the worst possible villa location - floor 1, Tower 4, facing the river.

While I know the general belief on this forum is that owners get better room assignments than exchangers, I have always questioned whether that was true and how much influence sales has on that process. I realize that as an owner, I have paid less than most starting with a resale and being here on my Senior Discount, so it is logical that I would get a low room assignment compared to other owners - but logically above exchangers.

Here's my question to Tuggers. Are there exchangers here now or during the week of Nov 11-17 that are staying at the Grand Luxxe Villa? If so, can you tell me your floor and tower number. This would be a good test to see if Vidanta owners really get better room assignments than exchangers. I suspect they do not.

On the good side, once you get over the fact you don't have a view, everything else is still the same and you still have a great time.

Mike

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi Mike ,
As you say - once you get over the view .../ and sometimes you decide you like it .

As an MP owner in 2016 - at PV-Marina - we had first floor above lobby Marina view . As it turned out we had more privacy on the balcony because of the palms and the driveway roof
and the "backstairs" were an easy walk to the lobby ( instead of an elevator wait ) We would take that suite again . We also like the morning sunrise .

IMO - I think your check in day ( Fri/ Sat /Sun) can be a random factor as well . An exchanger checking in the day after you might get something "better " based on available rooms that day .

Enjoy the week & weather .
If you have time ,I like reading your NV updates.

 

[rpennisi]

As an exchanger into the GL in RM in August, we got the first floor. But I liked it because the buildings were only 3 stories and the surrounding jungle probably went up that high. Also, we enjoyed watching the foraging troupe of coatimundi go by every morning. No elevator to take and coffee right down the hall.

 

[pittle]

Are you going to be there next week too? We will be at the GM then.

The WIVC in Conchas Chinas is a totally different experience than Mayan World, but we like it. It only has 14 units and is older, but spotlessly clean and well stocked with supplies. There are several Canadian families here that always meet up here. They have welcomed us with open arms and we are invited to dinner tomorrow night in one of the units. I guess one Italian guy is quite the cook and we have been invited for Carbonara. I asked what I could bring and he told us just a plate and fork for each of us because he only has 8 in his unit and there will be 15 people! This little group is all 63-75, so we fit right in.

 

[rpennisi]

A pinot grigio would go well with the carbonara

 

[Eric B]

We lived in Italy for 4 years, so I make a mean carbonara myself. Started raising Berkshire hogs 4 or 5 years ago and curing my own pancetta, which is key to a good one; it’s just about impossible to get really good pancetta where we live now (MD).

 

[mikenk]

Are you going to be there next week too? We will be at the GM then.

The WIVC in Conchas Chinas is a totally different experience than Mayan World, but we like it. It only has 14 units and is older, but spotlessly clean and well stocked with supplies. There are several Canadian families here that always meet up here. They have welcomed us with open arms and we are invited to dinner tomorrow night in one of the units. I guess one Italian guy is quite the cook and we have been invited for Carbonara. I asked what I could bring and he told us just a plate and fork for each of us because he only has 8 in his unit and there will be 15 people! This little group is all 63-75, so we fit right in.

 

[mikenk]

Hi Phyllis,

No, we go back Saturday, the 18th. Sorry we will miss you and Mike; it would be nice to catch up and compare notes on all our travels.

Mike

 

[RussellSun]

As an exchanger into the GL in RM in August, we got the first floor. But I liked it because the buildings were only 3 stories and the surrounding jungle probably went up that high. Also, we enjoyed watching the foraging troupe of coatimundi go by every morning. No elevator to take and coffee right down the hall.

Since there are no views in Riviera Maya, the floor you are put on does not matter. In Nuevo Vallarta, it matters a lot because there are ocean views and river views so you need to be at least above the 4th floor, 6th floor and above is even better.

 

[RussellSun]

I am currently staying at the Grand Luxxe Villa in Nuevo. Usually we get good room assignments - sometimes in Tower 1 but mostly in Tower 2; this time we were assigned the worst possible villa location - floor 1, Tower 4, facing the river.

While I know the general belief on this forum is that owners get better room assignments than exchangers, I have always questioned whether that was true and how much influence sales has on that process. I realize that as an owner, I have paid less than most starting with a resale and being here on my Senior Discount, so it is logical that I would get a low room assignment compared to other owners - but logically above exchangers.

Here's my question to Tuggers. Are there exchangers here now or during the week of Nov 11-17 that are staying at the Grand Luxxe Villa? If so, can you tell me your floor and tower number. This would be a good test to see if Vidanta owners really get better room assignments than exchangers. I suspect they do not.

On the good side, once you get over the fact you don't have a view, everything else is still the same and you still have a great time.

Mike

I think it is terrible that they put you, as an owner, on the first floor at the GL NV. You should be at least 6th floor or higher. Not fair at all!

 

[mikenk]

I think it is terrible that they put you, as an owner, on the first floor at the GL NV. You should be at least 6th floor or higher. Not fair at all!

I have always expected that Sales has a strong say in room assignments; fairness is not in their vocabulary.
Having a exchanger in a better location is better for sales - end of story.

In contract matters, Member Services are great and all of my addenda have been honored. It would be great for owners and I think for the company long term if they stopped any involvement of Sales in the operational part of the business.

In reality, the room assignment is not really that big of a deal. The golf, beach, margaritas, etc are the same; however, it still irks me that they don't value ownership more. I have been coming here since 2005; the thought of a first timer having priority over a long term owner is aggravating. I usually attend the upgrade meetings and am open to changes, I refused any update meeting this time or probably ever again.

Mike

 

[pittle]

Well, we arrived at the Grand Mayan Nuevo today. Check-in is now at the new Conference Center and was not crowded at 3:30 when we arrived. The gal at the computer station gave us our wrist bands and handed us off to another person who did her best to get us to go to the Friday owners update. She said we would just have breakfast and a quick update on what is happening and could leave whenever we wanted. We said no thank you, we had done that a few years ago and wasted several hours of our vacation. She kept trying to get us to go - said they would waive the $75 fee, give us discounted massages or golf and 10% off whatever we charge to our room, but we still said no. Then she said that since we exchanged in she would not be able to get us a higher floor or ocean view and I said that I preferred shade in the late afternoon - seemed to shock her. So, when we got over here to the GM, we got a room on 1st floor facing palm trees. She must have had them put this room in the system as soon as we left the area because she said it would be 30 minutes or so before they would have a room for us. It is not a problem for us, but there is a huge A/C unit not far away, so it is noisy. I can tune that out too - we live 2 miles from the runway at Luke AFB and the F-35's are really loud! (But not continuous).

You know, for the price we paid for the Getaway and the $75 fee, we have a 2-bedroom Grand Mayan for $63.43 per night - we can live with the A/C running outside. Once it is dark, we are in and can barely hear it. The unit is nice, it is clean, and there is even a coffeemaker and small fridge in the lock-out unit now. We did not have that last year in the GM unit on the 6th floor.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi Phyllis - RE : small fridge & coffeemaker in the lockoff ( ie hotel room ) . Interested in finding out if this is a update to all Grand Mayan Nuevo lock-offs .

Enjoy the sunshine , pools & beach

 

[pittle]

Not sure - we are in the same building as last year - Coban. This unit has a king bed in each bedroom and last year one bedroom had 2 beds and the other had a king. I do not know if that makes a difference.

I found it when putting away our clothes - one side of the dresser had 2 drawers and the other side doors. There have always been 4 drawers. When I opened the doors there was a fridge. It was larger than the one we saw in the Grand Bliss unit lock-off in 2013. This one is about 2' wide and 26" tall. The coffeemaker is exactly like the one in the kitchen and there are 2 large cups on the tray with it on one of the end tables. It was a pleasant surprise and nice upgrade to the unit.

 

[pittle]

The saga continues ...................

This morning my husband who never complains about anything went down to the front desk and told them that all the noise from the A/C below and whatever other equipment just past the driveway woke him up numerous times during the night and that we needed to move from this location. i was shocked as he is much more easy going than me. they told him they would wait until all the Sunday people arrived and let us know tomorrow. We have noticed that check-in was extremely fast yesterday and there was hardly anyone on the beach between 9-noon today. The lazy river did have some activity but there were a lot of empty chairs everywhere.

Then around noon when we came up from the beach, the phone rang and someone from the group that begs you to come to updates called. Mike pointed to me to pick up the other phone and listen in. He explained the situation with the noise and how because of it, we could not use our deck. He told her that we had been owners for 18 years. She kept on trying to get us to come to the update and he told her that I was pretty update on all Vidanta goings on from blogs. She asked him one question that he did not answer correctly, and I chimed in, so then she wanted to talk to Miss Phyllis. She said she would do her best to get us moved to a different location and I thanked her and told her that it did not need to be ocean view because last year we loved watching the employees as they came to and from work on the street below. She said that if we had our photo Grand Luxxe cards, we would not have had a problem and if we came to the update, we could get them then. I told her I would wait until we qualified for Senior Certificates. Her next tactic was that we needed to learn about the cruise ship and I told her that we had no interest in cruises, nor the amusement park - we came for the pools and beach. She said if we would attend, she would change our bracelet to GL, but I told her the "kids" loved the lazy river and that was one reason we chose GM. She kept on, but I kept saying no thanks.

Later, we did try sitting on the deck to read. One lounge chair looked saggy & when Mike sat on it, it immediately gave way. He is not a fat guy! We called and it was replaced. I remembered that I had a decibel meter on my phone (won't go into why), and it registers an average of 83 - same as an alarm clock or city traffic. Normal conversation at 3' is 60-65. (That is what we hear when neither of us are saying a word - just reading - in the living room). A telephone dial tone is 80. Jackhammer or subway train is 95. So that gives you an idea of the noise level. 90-95 is the level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss.

Will let you know if we get moved tomorrow.

 

[rpennisi]

Good luck. With all your Mayan World ownership history and upgrade to GL, and still no preference for a decent placement.
This shows that it is not the hotel side (as T-Dot puts it), but the sales side that calls the shots for room placement.
We will be at the GM in January, and if I get your suite, I will give into the presentation, but will walk out at the earliest I can.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

The saga continues ...................

This morning my husband who never complains about anything went down to the front desk and told them that all the noise from the A/C ...woke him up numerous times during the night and .....Then around noon when we came up from the beach, the phone rang and someone from the group that begs you to come to updates called. Mike pointed to me to pick up the other phone and listen in. He explained the situation with the noise and how because of it, we could not use our deck. He told her that we had been owners for 18 years. She kept on trying ....... we needed to learn about the cruise ship >>>>>

Will let you know if we get moved tomorrow.

*******
RE ; Cruise ship

FYI - Ship is (now) called Vidanta Alegria

Registered owner :Hotels Dinamicos SA Mexico
Operator : Grupo Vidanta

entered service 1990
built in Valencia Spain-Union Naval de Levante
formerly operated by - All Leisure Holidays / name - Voyager


152 m (500 ft ) x 20 m (65 ft ) gross tonnage 15,396
listed passenger cap -508
listed 7 decks


status - upgrade / under repair
estimated finish date May 2018 as a luxury cruise ship ( from Nedcruise.info)
current position (reported) Southern Spain -El Puerto Santa Maria

when I first came across this in April : the ship was moored in Singapore ,
and appeared to have changed registration to Vidanta Alegria in March 2017

*******
Phyllis -
If you need more " Vidanta cruise ship information " you will have to sign up for the presentation . LOL

Every place has a: "can't stay in this room " / I guess you won the (TS sales ) lottery

 

[mikenk]

We arrived back home Saturday. Pittle's saga is certainly reminiscent of ours regarding room assignment. A day or so after we checked in, some lady called and urged us to come to the update so I could learn how to get better room assignments in the future. I less than politely told her what to do with her offer.
A couple of days after that, Member Services did call with a better room. Yeah, right, 6 people pack up and move mid week. No Way.

Earlier at check-in, we were clearly singled out; I am clueless as to why. Our luggage was all loaded into the zippered carts. A lady comes up to the bellhop and they remove all of the luggage and load it piece by piece on a electric cart which accompanied us to Tower 4. Who knows where it went from there as I fought my way through the checkin process; finding the luggage later was also a pain. To me, it is clear some sort of targeting of individuals is going on - for whatever reason.

My conjecture is (and I hope I am wrong) is that Sales is being allowed to take an increasingly active role in room assignments. Furthermore, they appear to have a strategy of giving some owners poorer rooms in hope they will pay more money to upgrade with the promise of better room assignments in the future - which is of course pure BS.

If that is the strategy, it is fundamentally stupid as owners like myself will simply refuse to ever attend any upgrade presentation. On this forum, I have frequently stated that I always attend the presentations - both to learn and willing to trade cash for new addenda - which I have done several times. However, it doesn't take much disrespect from Vidanta to totally change that attitude.

So far, Vidanta Member Services has been great in honoring the wording and intent of the contract; if so, we will still be fine regardless what room assignments we get as it is really not that big of a deal - except for the disrespect to long term owners.

Mike

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi Mike ,
I read your post this morning , and have thought about it .

IMO - this is coming from the added power given to " wrist band / room key - presentation booking " staff and their management ;and probably a quota requirement change within their group
which is the booking arm of sales .

Sales wants " qualified " bodies that are likely to buy or upgrade . Increasing raw numbers may or may not achieve this . Pissing off long time owners is unlikely to help achieve this.

This may fall under - power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absolutely . The new "system" needs some tweaking as it seems to be driven by presentation booking quotas .

It is interesting that you came in on a member booking , and Phyllis came in on an exchange BUT both of you received the same "punishment " when you said no to a presentation . Given that the Nuevo resort is not near full capacity in mid Nov - to me the room assignments were punishment driven by THE SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS with whom you both declined to book a presentation . How far up their management chain AND TS sales management chain AND Vidanta upper management AND ownership this goes - is unknown at this time .

I think it is interesting that Member Services called you ( the timeline ( midweek) is unfortunate - but remember they are closed Sat & Sun . Your saga obviously went beyond "hotel side " front desk & staff .**

** ( added - "hotel side " front desk & staff obviously have no control over room assignments as it has been assigned to the presentation booking work force at Nuevo)

 

[pittle]

Today's update!

This morning we received a call from someone wanting us to take the update! Surprise, Surprise!!! Mike firmly said that this was the 3rd time we had been contacted and the answer was still no.

About 9:30 we received a call and told to pack up and call the bellman at 10:00. We were moving to a higher floor in another building and would have a view of the light show. But, our room would not be ready until 3:00! So, we packed up, called the bellman and headed to a shady spot near the wave pools because we did not want to drag our rolling computer bag through the sand. We read our Kindles a while and at noon ordered lunch (it took about 45 minutes to get a burger & fries) and a bucket of beer. Once we finished that, we turned our towels in and headed towards the GM Lobby around 2:15 and our room was ready. We are now on the 6th floor of the building with Brio. We can see Santuario and the lake by La Cantina so we will see the light show. I can see the new buildings that are going up closer to the highway and Grand Luxxe Building 5.

Also, I immediately noticed that this unit smells better - no fragrances! I have fragrance allergies and the other one had some air freshener smell lingering in the living room area. Mike called it musty, but it may have been and they tried to cover it.

BTW - we did have one of the small fruit trays on the dining table when we got here. We will probably unplug the phones before we go to bed tonight so that we do not get anymore calls to come to the update.

Hopefully we will sleep better tonight and when the "kids" arrive on Wednesday, they will not have to tolerate the noise.

 

[mikenk]

Hi Mike ,
I read your post this morning , and have thought about it .

IMO - this is coming from the added power given to " wrist band / room key - presentation booking " staff and their management ;and probably a quota requirement change within their group
which is the booking arm of sales .

Sales wants " qualified " bodies that are likely to buy or upgrade . Increasing raw numbers may or may not achieve this . Pissing off long time owners is unlikely to help achieve this.

This may fall under - power corrupts & absolute power corrupts absolutely . The new "system" needs some tweaking as it seems to be driven by presentation booking quotas .

It is interesting that you came in on a member booking , and Phyllis came in on an exchange BUT both of you received the same "punishment " when you said no to a presentation . Given that the Nuevo resort is not near full capacity in mid Nov - to me the room assignments were punishment driven by THE SPECIFIC INDIVIDUALS with whom you both declined to book a presentation . How far up their management chain AND TS sales management chain AND Vidanta upper management AND ownership this goes - is unknown at this time .

I think it is interesting that Member Services called you ( the timeline ( midweek) is unfortunate - but remember they are closed Sat & Sun . Your saga obviously went beyond "hotel side "
front desk & staff .

I am really struggling to understand their underlying rationale. I do know that in any business, it is always good to take care of customers that have been with you through the growing years. Both Phyllis and I (and many others) bought into the premise with real money when nothing existed above Grand Mayan. It is disappointing not to see any sense of acknowledgement; for sales, it appears to be all about cash flow not promoting long term relationships.

Hopefully, in time, it will all work out. Vidanta certainly has a history of change. Time will tell.

Mike

 

[RussellSun]

I am a new Grand Luxxe member and I am already under the impression that they could care less about members. I will eventually post about my first stay at Grand Luxxe in the 2 level penthouse one bedroom Loft. It is not up to the standard of AAA 5 Diamond service or quality and the management does not care. It is beyond me how Grand Luxxe got this award. Nothing except the stairs is real wood. I have complained about a few things and no one has contacted me.

 

[rpennisi]

They care about their members, but only those who have given them the most money.
The word is they don't borrow, so they need more and more money to keep building, etc., etc.
Anyone on TUG or is a Mayan World (credit to Phyllis) owner for some length of time has seen this for themselves.
However, they are great resorts.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

However, they are great resorts.

The "hotel side" cares about each visitor . The staff member we interact with the most is the always hardworking person assigned to clean our room each day & bring fresh towels etc .
That care (and hard work) has made for enjoyable vacations & as a result we try to tip that person well . The same with the waiters & servers around the pools and restaurants bell- staff etc.

******

IMO - this is quota driven, and the presentation booking staff is "punishing " those who do not help them meet what is likely a new higher quota .

-The punishment may or may not be management sanctioned . BUT management gave the presentation booking work force the tool to punish ,by letting them
(now) fully control room assignments. IMO - in the prior format they had the tool to reward via a room move or upgrade , but that was after "hotel side " front desk had distributed rooms based on availability .

Agree - Sales revenue drives Vidanta growth .
Some level of management thinks this "change" will create sales revenue growth .
Existing owners on this forum seem to think otherwise , perhaps because "punishment " is rarely an effective reward .

*****
Expected and unexpected consequences of management pressure to - " meet high quota numbers "

Think - Wells Fargo Bank

That news story was a PR disaster and brand image killer.

 

[RussellSun]

The "hotel side" cares about each visitor . The staff member we interact with the most is the person assigned to clean our room each day & bring fresh towels
That care has made for enjoyable vacations & as a result we try to tip that person well . The same with the waiters & servers around the pools etc.

******

IMO - this is quota driven, and the presentation booking staff is "punishing " those who do not help them meet what is likely a new higher quota .

-The punishment may or may not be management sanctioned . BUT management gave the presentation booking work force the tool to punish ,by letting them
(now) fully control room assignments. IMO - in the prior format they had the tool to reward via a room upgrade , but that was after "hotel side " front desk had
distributed rooms based on availability .

Agree - Sales revenue drives Vidanta growth .
Some level of management thinks this "change" will create sales revenue growth .
Existing owners on this forum seem to think otherwise , perhaps because "punishment " is rarely an effective reward .

*****
Expected and unexpected consequences of management pressure to - " meet high quota numbers "

Think - Wells Fargo Bank

The news story was a PR disaster and brand image killer

The staff does not look as happy as they did when we were here in the summer. They all look like they are under a lot of pressure. The resort looked busier in low season than now so this is rather perplexing to me. I think they should put members in the best rooms within their category so we will want to upgrade and return. It is easy for me to go elsewhere and not utilize my membership and Vidanta will lose revenue and goodwill. We are all quite active on review boards and they should be courting their high value members for good reviews. Frankly, they should value every member equally. I guess they could care less if we never come back because all they want is to get the upfront fee. They do not seem to care about earning usage fees. I will not pay usage fees if they are going to put me in bad rooms in Nuevo Vallarta. I will stop coming here. I get the impression all they care about is money. They told me members are prioritized based on their investment and their is a sales person on the room assignment team. When I bought the membership, sales told me Grand Luxxe owners get priority when we stay at Grand Bliss or Grand Mayan. More lies!