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Screwed out of Maui

Kaelyn

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I love Maui. But, I live on the East Coast, so the Caribbean is more practical, and I own in Grand Cayman. So a couple of years ago we decided to trade for New Zealand. DAE was the only exchange service with inventory, so I left RCI behind, & off I went. It was a great trip.

Now I have 4 credit weeks with them, & I have been planning a Girls' trip with my bestie for 2 years. I had 3 preferred locations on Maui, but wanted to be notified of anything, and put in my request 2 years out. Unbeknownst to me, the staffer put in that we ONLY wanted those locations. Now we find out that the only time DAE gets those specific locations is on a rental basis, which I was not informed of. So they have had me waiting for a 2 week slot that literally would never happen for 1.5 YEARS! When I called in, & I did, several times, I was always told, we're just waiting for the inventory to come in. THEY LIED TO ME!

Our plane tickets are booked, the car is reserved. Our trip was supposed to be Jan 12-26, 2019. If we cancel, we lose our airfare. If we go, seeking other accommodations, we will be paying a ton of money on top of what I have already paid, for whatever we can get, with no kitchen, which will drive our food costs through the roof, and leave us no $ for fun.

It is far too late to get a timeshare now without paying triple what I already paid in maintenance fees, and that's only for 1 week! I am really unhappy with DAE, but the weeks I traded in have been used, there is no way to get them back. So, I'm screwed.

Anybody have any ideas? Or a TS rental they'd like to lease for not much more than the MF for a tugger who got screwed?
 

LisaH

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Since it’s so close to your prebooked vacation dates, my suggestion is to check the rental sites here and redweek.com to see if there is any availability. Also check AirBnB and VRBO.
 

Kaelyn

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I have checked the rental sites, if I go with anything comparable, it's going to cost me 5K. Never mind that I'm already out the money for the MFs, if I postpone, I lose the airfare.
I am unsure why you would book non-refundable airfare without a confirmed exchange or at least a viable backup?:shrug:
When you request 2 solid years out, you should be able to get it without any trouble.
 

rickandcindy23

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I have checked the rental sites, if I go with anything comparable, it's going to cost me 5K. Never mind that I'm already out the money for the MFs, if I postpone, I lose the airfare.

When you request 2 solid years out, you should be able to get it without any trouble.
Not really. You are not guaranteed to get any exchange. It's never a guarantee, and I don't care what company you are using. Maui is just tough. Whale season is very popular, and Maui is a difficult exchange, anyway. It's one of the toughest.

You should definitely look at rentals on the various websites, and definitely check AirBnB and VRBO for something reasonably priced. Most whale season accommodations will be booked, but you may find something. Most of those places can be had for less than $200 per night. There are quite a few along Lower Honoapiilani Road that are oceanfront.
 

Laurie

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When you request 2 solid years out, you should be able to get it without any trouble.

Not with DAE. Sorry that's your experience with DAE -- mine too, they are the very worst with requests and searches, and I never ever got anything through my requests. Long ago I got something good that appeared last-minute in their inventory -- and once upon a time, they had decent customer service, when Donita was there -- but I once did a deposit first, and had to settle for something at the 3-year mark right before expiration, and I swore never again.

Try calling Trading Places, ask whether they expect to have something. Also try Hawaii Timeshare Exchange and Platinum Interchange -- all the independent exchange companies who might, aside from RCI and II, and all of whom have much more inventory than DAE. Maybe you can exchange a future ownership week with one of them.
 

dioxide45

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When you request 2 solid years out, you should be able to get it without any trouble.
I still think your thread title is disingenuous. You weren't "screwed" out of anything. You never had it to begin with. I could perhaps see a problem if you had a confirmed exchange and DEA had to cancel it because of some issue with the deposit or inventory. Perhaps there are some customer service issues at DEA, but booking non refundable airfare without a confirmed exchange or reliable backup is worse than a rookie mistake. When you play the exchange game, regardless of the company, it is like gambling. You took the gamble with your airfare, you can't blame anyone but yourself.

You could try asking for the thread to be moved to the Ask Dial an Exchange (DEA) forum and see if you get any traction with the rep that checks there periodically.
 

rickandcindy23

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There are inexpensive hotels and condos on Maui that you can find easily enough. Still, it's whale season, and that makes for higher prices.

We have friends who own a condo on Maui. The local management company that rents the unit for them 90% of the time is always telling them not to stay there during whale season because it commands a higher price. They want to go to Maui during whale season. That was their sole purpose in buying a condo on Maui. They literally go on 20 whale watches in 2 weeks.
 

PamMo

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It sounds like you have your heart set on Maui. Sorry it hasn't worked out, but that was a big gamble! I see a 2BR ocean view unit for those exact dates at Sands of Kahana for $4,000 on Redweek ($285/nt), or $3,000 for those two weeks in a 2BR at Hono Koa as an RCI rental. If I were you, I'd book a hotel room as a backup, and scour exchange companies and rental sites for a last minute deal you'd be happy with.

Good luck to you!
 

rickandcindy23

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Hono Koa is not a bad choice. That is around the price of the maintenance fees for a 2 bed, 2 bath with washer/dryer and a great kitchen. I would grab that. Someone could help you, if you don't have a membership anymore.

The unit you will get probably won't be oceanfront, but the views from most rooms are not bad at all. We own oceanfront at Hono Koa, and I absolutely love it. It's such a pretty place to stay and it's West Maui, which is highly desired by most people.

As long as you are on a floor above the first floor, you have a good chance of an ocean view. I have rented through RCI before, Kahana Beach, and we were on the 11th floor there, which I thought was amazing.
 

Kaelyn

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Not with DAE. Sorry that's your experience with DAE -- mine too, they are the very worst with requests and searches, and I never ever got anything through my requests. Long ago I got something good that appeared last-minute in their inventory -- and once upon a time, they had decent customer service, when Donita was there -- but I once did a deposit first, and had to settle for something at the 3-year mark right before expiration, and I swore never again.

Try calling Trading Places, ask whether they expect to have something. Also try Hawaii Timeshare Exchange and Platinum Interchange -- all the independent exchange companies who might, aside from RCI and II, and all of whom have much more inventory than DAE. Maybe you can exchange a future ownership week with one of them.

Thanks!
 

Kaelyn

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I've got some phone calls in, and I'm working on it. I just hate to spend the $ we had planned on for fun on accomodations.
 

Kaelyn

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I'd be perfectly happy with non-ocean view, relatively near the beach, preferably Kihei area. I'm not super fussy about that, I just need a decent place with a kitchen. It's so late in the season that everything is sky high, and it irks me to have banked the time, paid the MF fees, only to not be able to use them, all because of a staffer's goof.
 

Luanne

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rickandcindy23

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all because of a staffer's goof.
A staffer's goof? I doubt that anyone promised you they would be able to get the exact dates you needed. No exchange company does that. If they did do that, that staffer should be reprimanded.

I struggle with one particular exchange company that has a lot of my deposits. I am sure I will lose some of them, when all is said and done.
 

Kaelyn

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You're correct in that they did not promise me certain dates. But, they put in the computer that I would only accept one particular location. While getting in there would have been great, getting the reservation was MUCH more important to me, and I told them so. Their goof locked me out of a LOT of possibilities. So yes, I would definitely say that the staffer's goof screwed me up.
 

Kaelyn

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Not with DAE. Sorry that's your experience with DAE -- mine too, they are the very worst with requests and searches, and I never ever got anything through my requests. Long ago I got something good that appeared last-minute in their inventory -- and once upon a time, they had decent customer service, when Donita was there -- but I once did a deposit first, and had to settle for something at the 3-year mark right before expiration, and I swore never again.

Try calling Trading Places, ask whether they expect to have something. Also try Hawaii Timeshare Exchange and Platinum Interchange -- all the independent exchange companies who might, aside from RCI and II, and all of whom have much more inventory than DAE. Maybe you can exchange a future ownership week with one of them.

I will do that, and thanks. I didn't know about Trading Places. I would hand them a future year if need be. When I use up my credits with DAE, it will definitely be "never again".
 

klpca

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I will do that, and thanks. I didn't know about Trading Places. I would hand them a future year if need be. When I use up my credits with DAE, it will definitely be "never again".
Also check Trading Places Maui. They handle Maui Hill in Kihei.
 

Luanne

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Also check Trading Places Maui. They handle Maui Hill in Kihei.
I just looked at their website. Nothing available in January 2019. We're still waiting on a trade (for a specific resort Maui Hill) and 2 specific weeks.
 

Sandy VDH

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Maui is the hardest trade in all of Hawaii. There is a lot of demand and NOT a lot of supply. 2 years or not, there was never a guarantee.

And by the way, RCI as NOW purchased DAE. So blame RCI.
 

Tamaradarann

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I love Maui. But, I live on the East Coast, so the Caribbean is more practical, and I own in Grand Cayman. So a couple of years ago we decided to trade for New Zealand. DAE was the only exchange service with inventory, so I left RCI behind, & off I went. It was a great trip.

Now I have 4 credit weeks with them, & I have been planning a Girls' trip with my bestie for 2 years. I had 3 preferred locations on Maui, but wanted to be notified of anything, and put in my request 2 years out. Unbeknownst to me, the staffer put in that we ONLY wanted those locations. Now we find out that the only time DAE gets those specific locations is on a rental basis, which I was not informed of. So they have had me waiting for a 2 week slot that literally would never happen for 1.5 YEARS! When I called in, & I did, several times, I was always told, we're just waiting for the inventory to come in. THEY LIED TO ME!

Our plane tickets are booked, the car is reserved. Our trip was supposed to be Jan 12-26, 2019. If we cancel, we lose our airfare. If we go, seeking other accommodations, we will be paying a ton of money on top of what I have already paid, for whatever we can get, with no kitchen, which will drive our food costs through the roof, and leave us no $ for fun.

It is far too late to get a timeshare now without paying triple what I already paid in maintenance fees, and that's only for 1 week! I am really unhappy with DAE, but the weeks I traded in have been used, there is no way to get them back. So, I'm screwed.

Anybody have any ideas? Or a TS rental they'd like to lease for not much more than the MF for a tugger who got screwed?

While I can understand your desire to go to Maui, however, there are other Hawaiian Islands that you could go to and pay the airline change fee. Honolulu and the Island of Hawaii has more availability and perhaps they could get you those locations for your 2 weeks.
 

pspercy

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The other day I received an email from a condo management company in Maui.

It says:
Save 25% off 2019
Peak Season Rates

Travel dates:
Jan 1, 2019 – Mar 31, 2019.

Rates starting from $174.00 a night on Maui or Kauai! Book your Maui or Kauai getaway and enjoy PEAK Season for a fraction of the cost!
Use Promo Code CYB1Book online or call:

1-800-367-5242

https://www.condominiumrentalshawaii.com/irmnet/(S(eg10ouwuspsk15c1qde0cobr))/res/ResMain.aspx

Some of the rates are indeed painful.

Good Luck.
 

frank808

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Will never use DAE again. Deposited my Hilton Hawaiian Village Unit and told no problem in getting a comparable unit to Maui. That never happened and this was in 2010. That deposit and $1500 went to waste many years ago and have never done anything with DAE again. They even called me after a couple years and said would I like to pay to have my deposit extended so that I will get a unit next year. Told them I have waited 2 years and all I get is excuses so why would I throw good money after bad. This was during the recession when not as many were travelling as now.
 

davidvel

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You're correct in that they did not promise me certain dates. But, they put in the computer that I would only accept one particular location. While getting in there would have been great, getting the reservation was MUCH more important to me, and I told them so. Their goof locked me out of a LOT of possibilities. So yes, I would definitely say that the staffer's goof screwed me up.
Your original post said 3 locations and now you are saying 1 location. A goof? Yours or theirs? You booked airfare from the east coast with no unit booked. . .
 
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cerralee

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I have used DAE with considerable success in the past. I now have two weeks banked with them and have a four week window in the Spring also looking for Hawaii. In the past I have secured matches far, far in the future and also seen availability pop up close to the anticipated travel time. Since RCI has taken over DAE, I am not having the success of seeing availability as I have in the past.
That being said, I have also been tracking RCI for last minute availability for Oahu and the rest of Hawaii. I have my echo set up to manually do a search for Hawaii each morning around 7 o'clock. During the week I can expect a few every day to show up last minute. These resorts are at the discounted TPU rate and usually are for the next week to ten days regarding check in time. I keep a calendar and almost every week there has been at least one available resort that shows up. Booking airfare in advance is not for the faint of heart, but the inventory is there. I have a definite advantage as to booking airfare, as my daughter lives on Oahu in a small apartment and can put me up just in case my plans fall through. In the past I have scheduled three month long vacations (30 days) using advance DAE and last minute RCI units. I did stay at my daughters for approximately four nights each time.
Looking at availability that has not shown up in DAE over the last six months, I will probably be going with RCI in the future. I really did like DAE but am disappointed in current trade opportunities.
 
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