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No Status Line at WKORV at 4pm...when you need it

wtrjock

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Pretty rough experience today at WKORV. As Developer WKORV owners and lifetime Gold members, I am concerned about the derating of our status. We arrive today around noon and walked right up to the SPG gold counter to check in. Our room wasnt ready, which was expected since normal checkin is at 4pm. The front desk offered us lounge keys and we headed to the pool and waited for a call. We got a call around 410pm to head to the desk to get our waiting keys. When we arrived at the front desk...it was a cluster. There were about 10 people waiting in a side line that says key exchange and another 10 people waiting in the check in line. There was no one manning the SPG Gold/Platium window. About 10mins went by and someone finally showed up to the key exchange line and the SPG Gold/Platium line. There was no designation for status at all as the check in line bleeded into the status line. 40 mins later, after watching many people go through the check in line, we received our keys. I asked the person at the key exchange why there is no separate line for Gold/Platium. His response was, try to check in Thursday or Friday, less busy...not exactly the reaponse I was looking for. Very tired from early morning flight and afternoon heat and sun....glad to finally be in our room. Moral to the story is be careful checking in early or around 4pm...also, Gold status doesnt really have a separate line at WKORV. I guess that $20k we paid them a couple years ago doesn't mean much here. Beware!

Hopefully this was a 1 off event. We always get treated very well at WLR in the SPG Gold line. This is our first time to WKORV since buying. Guess we will look for better check days or wait longer next time before heading to the front desk.
 

Ken555

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Most of the time, in my experience, the sign is there but that’s about all. The story I heard years ago, and I believe repeated on TUG, is that since owners (who purchase direct) all receive Gold then why have a separate status check in line at all... but yeah, we’ve all experienced something similar. I recall reading a post on flyertalk about it years ago, where a SPG Platinum went off for paragraphs about how he’d never experienced such a lack of care for elites.

Ultimately, it’s all due to customer confusion...if they respect status then they should provide the same level of service that any SPG/Marriott Hotel would offer. If not, why even bother having the sign?


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wtrjock

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That was exactly my feeling. The SPG sign meant nothing, but I guess it really doesnt anymore anyway with the whole Marriott change. I havent stayed at many Marriott's so I'm not sure how their status lines will work...hopefully better.
 

Denise L

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I don't even recall that there is even a line for SPG Gold, just one for Elite. There is usually a line when we check in early, and another line to stand in to pick up keys later when our villa is ready. I've always stood in the main line. I hope that the Marriott change hasn't made the service worse.
 

DavidnRobin

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I had zero issues checking in for our HomeResort stay at WKORV last month. In fact, we were storing our food stuff around 1:30pm as we arrived early to OGG. Our villa was ready and we were in the villa by 2pm.

Our 2nd week - SO exchange - villa move - in our new villa by 2pm.

There was a stand for ‘some type of status’ checkin that was in service. But, they seemed to be taking next in line - and s sign for rom key pickup.

3rd week at Nanea - also no issue - got in early there as well.
All villa transfers were quite easy and I hate having to move.
Sorry your experience was bad.




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bizaro86

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I've only been to WKORv/WKORVN a few times, but I've never had a room key until 5PM, and it's been after 6 too, check-in or room switch hasnt mattered. We've always done Saturday, which is probably the worst day, but it seriously impacts my desire to go back.

Maybe I've just had bad luck, but this isn't one trip I'm talking about either...
 

wtrjock

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The bellman gave us some more information last night. He was saying that yesterday wasn't normal. There is a special fall vacation going on the east coast. They have way more people than usual. I think it was a perfect storm scenario, but I think with good management, any situation can be controlled. I was surprised there was no supervisor or manager directing traffic...it was so un-organized. I even tried to get the Consieuers to help, but they seemed helpless too. Everyone they tried to call wouldn't answer. I'm over it now...onto vacation!

We went walked by the desk last night. There is a key exchange Podium on the left side, 2 normal windows on both sides of an SPG block and Gold/Platinum SPG carpet in the middle. The Elite podium is on the right side.

There are check in lanes coming in from both sides to the middle which is open to SPG Gold/Platium. The people where spilling out into the middle so I didnt notice that yesterday. I should have walked to the back middle and asked if they were waiting in the SPG Gold/Platium line. That probably would have worked better.

I am only trying to provide info for others. This only pertains to the WKORV south lobby, since we haven't been to the north lobby this trip, north pool is under repair, so we chose the south.

Thank you for all your inputs as well! Love the Tuggers!
 

Ken555

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I had zero issues checking in for our HomeResort stay at WKORV last month. In fact, we were storing our food stuff around 1:30pm as we arrived early to OGG. Our villa was ready and we were in the villa by 2pm.

Our 2nd week - SO exchange - villa move - in our new villa by 2pm.

There was a stand for ‘some type of status’ checkin that was in service. But, they seemed to be taking next in line - and s sign for rom key pickup.

3rd week at Nanea - also no issue - got in early there as well.
All villa transfers were quite easy and I hate having to move.
Sorry your experience was bad.




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The issues, in my experience, tend to occur around 4pm.


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Ken555

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The bellman gave us some more information last night. He was saying that yesterday wasn't normal. There is a special fall vacation going on the east coast. They have way more people than usual. I think it was a perfect storm scenario, but I think with good management, any situation can be controlled. I was surprised there was no supervisor or manager directing traffic...it was so un-organized. I even tried to get the Consieuers to help, but they seemed helpless too. Everyone they tried to call wouldn't answer. I'm over it now...onto vacation!

FYI, they will always say they are full, or near full. It can feel as though it’s half empty, and they will say it’s 90% full. In other words, I don’t trust anything they say re occupancy, as it’s an easy excuse for so many of these questions and what can you say? As for a special vacation...give me a break. It’s not like they suddenly have more units to fill than any other day, yet they have these issues all the time. All. The. Time.





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mauitraveler

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The bellman gave us some more information last night. He was saying that yesterday wasn't normal. There is a special fall vacation going on the east coast. They have way more people than usual. I think it was a perfect storm scenario, but I think with good management, any situation can be controlled. I was surprised there was no supervisor or manager directing traffic...it was so un-organized. I even tried to get the Consieuers to help, but they seemed helpless too. Everyone they tried to call wouldn't answer. I'm over it now...onto vacation!

We went walked by the desk last night. There is a key exchange Podium on the left side, 2 normal windows on both sides of an SPG block and Gold/Platinum SPG carpet in the middle. The Elite podium is on the right side.

There are check in lanes coming in from both sides to the middle which is open to SPG Gold/Platium. The people where spilling out into the middle so I didnt notice that yesterday. I should have walked to the back middle and asked if they were waiting in the SPG Gold/Platium line. That probably would have worked better.

I am only trying to provide info for others. This only pertains to the WKORV south lobby, since we haven't been to the north lobby this trip, north pool is under repair, so we chose the south.

Thank you for all your inputs as well! Love the Tuggers!
Thanks for the follow-up, and I'm glad that you are now on "vacation mode"! Checking in after a long flight is always stressful to different degrees. It sounds like they might have been trying a different formatting of the check-in lines, and you got caught in the chaos that ensued. If you have time, you might consider writing a brief email to the General Manager. We've always had good responses when we've written to the GMs directly, rather than waiting to answer the survey after our stay. I've always felt that the surveys are intended for corporate, and they may or may not forward our responses to KORV.

Enjoy the rest of your well-deserved vacation!! CJ
 

cubigbird

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I don't even recall that there is even a line for SPG Gold, just one for Elite. There is usually a line when we check in early, and another line to stand in to pick up keys later when our villa is ready. I've always stood in the main line. I hope that the Marriott change hasn't made the service worse.

I’m not sure even a VSE Elite Owner check in desk means much. At WLR I have walked up to an empty, unstaffed elite owner desk (off to the left as you enter the main building), only to wait 10-15 mins for someone to show up. Once they do, they stated to go wait in the (lengthy) regular line. Not a good practice and I commented about that in the survey after the stay. It wasn’t until I raised my voice and drew attention to it that they provided elite owner expedited check in. 4pm is a standard check in time at all VSE properties. I would avoid checking in anytime about 3:30pm until about 6pm given lengthy lines that can easily run 45-60 minutes. I have also noticed that SPG elite line means nothing since in the past they were “limited participation.” The sign was there for show, but I agree with others, why have it if you won’t honor it?!?!

If you find yourself checking in at 4pm at WLR, a best kept secret is that you can check in over at Phase 2 and it’s usually empty......
 
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dioxide45

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So is the desk at the Vistana properties a 3-5* Elite checkin line or just a generic one for SPG/MR Gold, Plat, + rewards members. The former would seem to have value, the latter perhaps not so much since many people checking in are probably already MR gold.
 

controller1

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So is the desk at the Vistana properties a 3-5* Elite checkin line or just a generic one for SPG/MR Gold, Plat, + rewards members. The former would seem to have value, the latter perhaps not so much since many people checking in are probably already MR gold.

This was in the Spring 2018 Association Newsletter for WKOR North. It was under the heading Resort Enhancements.

Vistana Signature NetworkTM (VSN) 4- and 5-star Elite Owners may now enjoy a designated check-in line. During peak weekend arrival times, this exclusive check-in line will assist in expediting your arrival process.
 

okwiater

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FYI, they will always say they are full, or near full.

This shouldn't matter. Didn't they sell out the entire resort to owners? If so, there should be enough staff to accommodate them. It's not like a hotel where there is some expectation of fluctuating occupancy. With a timeshare, [virtually] all the units are sold and should be expected to be occupied.
 

wtrjock

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I noticed yesterday that the Elite podium was gone. The SPG block on the counter and Gold/Platium carpet was still on the floor in front of the middle window. That confirms that they setup special for check in days...so I guess they are trying to be more efficient, but still not quite there.
 

Maui_ed

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They know how many guests are expected to check in on any given day, and they know how many are entitled to early check-in privileges, so it shouldn't be too much of a stretch to figure out that the rest of the folks will check in at or after the 4pm check in time. And by now, they should have enough experience with check-in volume to know what is likely to occur. They should be able to staff appropriately. While a stay in Maui is almost always going to be an enjoyable experience, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Doesn't seem like it is asking too much to have this first impression be on par with the rest of the experience.
 
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