Screwed out of Maui

[klpca]

I have my echo set up to manually do a search for Hawaii each morning around 7 o'clock.

How do you get it to log in by itself & do a search? Fascinating.

 

[cerralee]

How do you get it to log in by itself & do a search? Fascinating.

I have given the wrong impression. It is just a reminder that says check rci every morning.

 

[klpca]

I have given the wrong impression. It is just a reminder that says check rci every morning.

Bummer! I has hopeful, lol.

 

[cerralee]

Give it time....yesterday I got a message I could change my TV channels by talking to it!! That Alexa is a clever one!!

 

[T_R_Oglodyte]

Give it time....yesterday I got a message I could change my TV channels by talking to it!! That Alexa is a clever one!!

 

[alwysonvac]

.... 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.

Depending on the type of airfare you purchased, you might be able to reschedule your flight for a later date after paying a penalty (hefty change fee + airfare difference). Pay attention to their rescheduling deadline (normally a year after purchase). This will give you time to secure your Hawaii exchange weeks first based on availability then rebook your flight based on your confirmed exchange dates.

TIP: Try to be flexibile with your exchange travel dates (if possible) by requesting months instead of specific dates. Non-Holiday weeks (whenever the majority of kids are in school) such as April/May & Sept-Dec have lesser demand.

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/best-and-worst-airlines-for-flight-change-fees
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/airline-change-and-cancellation-fees-how-to-avoid-them/

....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....

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.

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.

Just want to make sure you understand that even if the staffer had setup your request correctly to take anything on Maui there was never a guarantee.

You goofed when you booked airfare expecting a match for a specific date in a high demand area.
Exchanging requires flexibility. This applies to all exchange companies. Timeshare exchanges are not like booking a hotel reservation.

It is important to understand that exchange companies only have access to what is deposited and not all weeks are deposited. The number of deposits for each resort varies. You will have no idea how many weeks are actually deposited (for example it could be 1, 10, 30, 60 or 100s), what time of year they make deposits, which weeks do they deposit (Winter, Spring, Fall or Summer week) and where are you in the exchange queue.

Keep in mind as an trader, you have to be willing to take whatever is deposited (whatever resort, unit sizes and/or dates that become available). Expect high owner occupancy at high demand resort and/or destinations especially during peak travel season (that's why most of these owners bought there). Having the flexibility to pick and choose where you want to stay and when you want to stay is an owner benefit. For high demand destinations and/or resorts, traders must compete to get whatever is leftover. Whenever you narrow your selection to a specific travel date or resort, you may limit your chances of a successful match. It's best to make a broad request in terms of travel dates (weeks/months vs a specific date) and/or resorts.

 

[Tamaradarann]

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.

I believe that the following may help clarify what the problems are that got you into your dilemma:

1. Your thinking that the staffer put in that we ONLY wanted those locations on Maui, but you wanted to be notified about anything is not possible with the RCI search system that I used and inputted the request to get 2 weeks in Maui in April 2019. Perhaps the DAE system has the same limitations. First of all your thinking was very narrow in the definition of "anything". My anything would be anything in the islands of Hawaii. Second of all I started this search in the winter of 2018. Third, I specified that I wanted weeks starting from April 19th thru April 27th but I put about 20 of the top rated RCI resort numbers in Maui, Oahu, Kauai, and Hawaii Island. After the Kaanapali Beach Resort in Maui came up starting April 19th, I requested the same resorts again for the 26th of April. If I got another resort in the Hawaiian Islands I would have moved to another resort, however, to my good fortune the Kaanapali Beach Resort came up in a few days starting with the 26th of April, so we are good for 2 weeks in the same resort.

2. You can't book your airfare before you get your timeshare time is booked for hard to get locations. For Las Vegas and Orlando you can do that except perhaps when the kids are out of school.

 

[alwysonvac]

Renting is another option. TUG member LisaRex provided great tips on how to choose a VRBO renter - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1870837&postcount=12.
And there also are other rental websites like redweek.com and the TUG marketplace


If you’re an RCI member, there are getaways for your travel dates

 

[TravelTime]

To the OP: I do not know the details but I feel really bad for you. I empathize with your situation. It sounds like you trusted this exchange company and they screwed you. I hope you can find another affordable place to stay with your friends. It is terrible that we live in a world where we can no longer trust other and when we do, we get criticized for it. Or maybe you can put some pressure on the exchange company or RCI, their parent company, to find something for you.

 

[Dean]

To the OP: I do not know the details but I feel really bad for you. I empathize with your situation. It sounds like you trusted this exchange company and they screwed you. I hope you can find another affordable place to stay with your friends. It is terrible that we live in a world where we can no longer trust other and when we do, we get criticized for it. Or maybe you can put some pressure on the exchange company or RCI, their parent company, to find something for you.

If your reference is to the admonishments on this thread that the OP should not have booked airfare without accommodations or a backup plan or that their request was too narrow, I completely disagree. In reality we don't know what happened here other than they did not match. We weren't there and there were likely misunderstandings on both ends of the conversation based on what's been shared here. As for societal trends, I'd say lack of personal responsibility is more common and often the source of criticism.

 

[Tamaradarann]

If your reference is to the admonishments on this thread that the OP should not have booked airfare without accommodations or a backup plan or that their request was too narrow, I completely disagree. In reality we don't know what happened here other than they did not match. We weren't there and there were likely misunderstandings on both ends of the conversation based on what's been shared here. As for societal trends, I'd say lack of personal responsibility is more common and often the source of criticism.

While I also sympathize with Kaelyn, sympathizing with her doesn't help her with this situation or the next timeshare vacation plan. I tried to give some constructive criticism in the form of what I did to successfully get 2 weeks in Maui. I agree with you that lack of personal responsibility is common and misunderstandings on both ends the source of the problem.

I don't know the DAE system and their likelihood of getting you what you want. I have been timesharing successfully for 14 years primarily with the Hilton Grand Vacation Club and RCI systems and have always gotten what I wanted, or changed my plans to align with what was available. However, I did not let the exchange company solely control my success. I studied the systems with possible scenarios to see what I could book. I looked at what was readily reservable today as a basis, and then tried different possible reaches. Maui was one of my reaches. With vacation planning I usually take what others have called the belt and suspenders approach. (I had a backup plan with the Hilton Grand Vacation Club in Honolulu if I couldn't get any of the resorts that I searched for with RCI). These thoughts are not meant as criticism, they are meant to put out there what has been successful for me.

 

[Dean]

While I also sympathize with Kaelyn, sympathizing with her doesn't help her with this situation or the next timeshare vacation plan. I tried to give some constructive criticism in the form of what I did to successfully get 2 weeks in Maui. I agree with you that lack of personal responsibility is common and misunderstandings on both ends the source of the problem.

I don't know the DAE system and their likelihood of getting you what you want. I have been timesharing successfully for 14 years primarily with the Hilton Grand Vacation Club and RCI systems and have always gotten what I wanted, or changed my plans to align with what was available. However, I did not let the exchange company solely control my success. I studied the systems with possible scenarios to see what I could book. I looked at what was readily reservable today as a basis, and then tried different possible reaches. Maui was one of my reaches. With vacation planning I usually take what others have called the belt and suspenders approach. (I had a backup plan with the Hilton Grand Vacation Club in Honolulu if I couldn't get any of the resorts that I searched for with RCI). These thoughts are not meant as criticism, they are meant to put out there what has been successful for me.

I think all independent exchange companies present challenges in terms of volume though all have a place for the right situation. DAE specifically seems to be good for those trying to trade up and less so for those who have higher demand options simply because of their exchange model. Not right or wrong, just different. And historically I think they've been good for Europe though I haven't personally used them. Even with II or RCI and a Marriott internal preference even planning 2 years out, I would not have been confident scheduling air without a back-up plan.

 

[Tamaradarann]

I think all independent exchange companies present challenges in terms of volume though all have a place for the right situation. DAE specifically seems to be good for those trying to trade up and less so for those who have higher demand options simply because of their exchange model. Not right or wrong, just different. And historically I think they've been good for Europe though I haven't personally used them. Even with II or RCI and a Marriott internal preference even planning 2 years out, I would not have been confident scheduling air without a back-up plan.

Not only do I concur with your last statement about scheduling air without a reservation or a back-up plan, I still haven't booked our return air from Maui. I don't like the rates using miles on Hawaiian Airlines right now, so I am waiting for what I consider the right amount of miles for the trip. If I don't get the right miles, I might just stay in Honolulu for week or so, or maybe go to Las Vegas or the West Coast with Hawaiian miles and stay for awhile and fly home to NY on Southwest. The cab ride from Islip, our local airport, is 1/3 the cost of coming from JFK. We are retired so we can vacation 365 days a year if we want.

 

[TravelTime]

Maybe the best solution is to fly to a different island that has more availability at cheaper prices. It is a short hop, skip and a jump.

 

[Tamaradarann]

Maybe the best solution is to fly to a different island that has more availability at cheaper prices. It is a short hop, skip and a jump.

We may do that but the ultimate object is to get back to Long Island, and at that point we will have been in Hawaii already for a very long time. We have been to all 6 islands you can go to and spend many nights on Oahu every year. There are very good airline mile flights to the west coast but the trips to JFK leave sometime to be desired. We will then be half way back to Long Island and can get a Southwest flight the rest of the way. Las Vegas is always a blast and the weather in Spring and Fall is the best. We have never been to Arizona, Washington or Oregon so if we can spend some time there on our way home it is a win win.