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Westin St John [Master Thread] - Part 2 (June 2014 and forward)

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GregT

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Last night (9pm PST), I used the SO from our WSJ-VGV 2018 weeks (June) to reserve 17 nites next June at WPORV in a 1Bd at the 8-month opening.

While we are paying a somewhat high cost for these nites, but at least the travel costs will be less as we live in SF Bay Area. I feel bad for those living on East Coast or South like majority of WSJ Owners.

We choose Kauai over Maui because we are going to Maui for 3 weeks in Sept.

38 nites in HI in 2018 - woohoo!

We usually go to WPORV in Sept - be interesting to see north Kauai in June.


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I think that's fantastic - I love WPORV and June visits have been great for us two years in a row. I'm sorry we are skipping 2018 it would have been nice to meet you!

Well enjoy both Kauai and Maui - you will have a great time!

I'm a little surprised we aren't seeing many WSJs on eBay - I am curious if we will see more in the coming months.

Best,

Greg
 

Helios

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Wow thay is actually a great deal. Better than the SP purchase certificates included with developer purchases.

I may actually purchase a package at this rate.
I thought the prieces would be the same as the inventive certs. I am in as well.
 

Helios

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Since these SP would be TS generated, the conversion to MR points should be restricted (per the conversion rules)...I know in practice it can be done since these unallowed conversions are not restricted by the conversion interface.
 

GrayFal

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I'm a little surprised we aren't seeing many WSJs on eBay - I am curious if we will see more in the coming months.

Best,

Greg
Too soon.

The typical owner is not “us” who are on top of the situation.

Agree that in the coming months we could see a lot of resale activity.
 

tomandrobin

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Too soon.

The typical owner is not “us” who are on top of the situation.

Agree that in the coming months we could see a lot of resale activity.


Wait for the maintenance fees and expected SA bills to come out......then check a month later. I would expect that 5-10% will just walk away.

And if we have an economic meltdown like 10 years ago, you will see a flood of $1 sales.
 

tomandrobin

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While we are paying a somewhat high cost for these nites, but at least the travel costs will be less as we live in SF Bay Area. I feel bad for those living on East Coast or South like majority of WSJ Owners.

We choose Kauai over Maui because we are going to Maui for 3 weeks in Sept.

38 nites in HI in 2018 - woohoo!

38 nights......I like your fallback plan!

And yes, the traveling from the east coast to Hawaii sucks!
 

cubigbird

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Here is the correspondence from Sunset Bay. No new news here different from the other emails sent out:

October 2017

Dear Fellow Sunset Bay Owner:

As you are aware, Hurricane Irma was devastating for the island of St. John and many other Caribbean islands. As a result of the damage sustained at The Westin St. John Resort Villas, management has determined to close the resort, at least through June 2018, while major repair work is being done. Vistana Signature Experiences (Vistana) has recently communicated with Owners regarding vacation opportunities during this time period. The Board is further reviewing the 2018 budget in light of the temporary closure of the resort, and we will be in touch soon to provide more information on this matter.

RESORT UPDATE

The resort suffered extensive damage. The pool filled with sand and mud, Snorkels Bar & Grill and the gazebo were destroyed, and the Sunset Bay buildings and lobby building suffered serious roof damage. Vistana is working with a contractor who has been conducting a careful inspection of all buildings while debris cleanup has been ongoing. Fortunately, insurance covers hurricane damage and the claim is already in progress.

ST. JOHN UPDATE

There was major damage in downtown Cruz Bay and most of the structures in Coral Bay were destroyed, leaving many residents without homes. Fortunately, all staff members and Guests who were at the resort when the hurricane hit were uninjured, and all Guests were successfully evacuated. At present, the only electrical power on the island is the power from generators, including at our resort. A few restaurants and markets on the island have recently reopened. The airport on St. Thomas has reopened and mail service has resumed. The ferries and car barge are running on a limited schedule. While these are all encouraging signs of progress, the road to recovery will be lengthy.

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

The residents of St. John and the other U.S. Virgin Islands are in need of basic necessities including food, water, clothing and shelter. Please consider providing support toward this effort. Following are links to organizations directly committed to providing USVI humanitarian relief.

St. John Community Foundation http://thestjohnfoundation.org/
Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands http://cfvi.net/
St. John Rescue, Inc. http://www.stjohnrescue.com/

We will share more news on the progress of the repairs and remediation as it becomes available. The annual meeting, scheduled for March 7, 2018, will be held as planned but will be relocated to Orlando, Florida.

Thank you for your concern and support.

Your Sunset Bay Board of Managers
 

canesfan

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Our Bay Vista email was the exact same. It would’ve been nice if they addressed if there were damaged to Bay Vista Villas. Hopefully that means there is minimum damage.


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melissy123

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How are there still ads on Redweek for WSJ rentals through the end of year and into next year? Caveat emptor and all that but shouldn't Redweek pull those ads?
 

cubigbird

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Here’s an updated photo of WSJ that is on Facebook dated today 10/9. Looks like the green on the island is coming back and the resort is seeing some construction.
 

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letsgomets

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Is that the tennis court and playground area that looks like it has been stripped into a construction zone?
 

okwiater

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Nice to see the green coming back. Sad to be missing our planned stay this coming January but looking forward to our Big Island and Maui replacement vacation, and hopefully a return to WSJ in 2019.
 

DeniseM

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Redweek is cancelling WSJ Ads and giving owners a credit - what that means is that you should not initiate the cancellation - let Redweek do it to ensure that you get the credit. The credit will be on your Redweek account and will apply to future Redweek Ads. I think this is very generous.
 
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Carolyn

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Where do I find out about buying one of the Starpoints packages that was mentioned earlier? I can’t seem to find it.
Thanks.
 

GrayFal

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Where do I find out about buying one of the Starpoints packages that was mentioned earlier? I can’t seem to find it.
Thanks.

Where do I find out about buying one of the Starpoints packages that was mentioned earlier? I can’t seem to find it.
Thanks.
You have to call according to the email
 

Dawnwrey

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Hello, I just phoned them. The Star points deal is as follows:
You can buy one of three SPG star points options. You can only buy one option. Offer good to BUY the points by December 31, 2017.
--50,000 SPG Star Points = $825.00
--90,000 SPG Star Points = $1,485.00
--110,000 SPG Star Points = $1,815.00

This equates to 1.6 cents per SPG Star Point. Far less than any of SPG's regular offers of around 2.6 - 3.5 cents per point.
 

SandyPGravel

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Hello, I just phoned them. The Star points deal is as follows:
You can buy one of three SPG star points options. You can only buy one option. Offer good to BUY the points by December 31, 2017.
--50,000 SPG Star Points = $825.00
--90,000 SPG Star Points = $1,485.00
--110,000 SPG Star Points = $1,815.00

This equates to 1.6 cents per SPG Star Point. Far less than any of SPG's regular offers of around 2.6 - 3.5 cents per point.

Can someone tell me the value in buying one of these? (I'm not trying to cause an argument, just trying to see the value.) As an example I checked the $$ cost for a 12,000 point room compared the cost of using 12000 points at $0.0165c each. The room was $162 cash, but the points would cost $198. And if it is a no-no to convert the points to Marriott...you can only use them for SPG hotels or can you convert to airline miles? I don't know if that conversion comes out any better. My understanding is for every 20,000 points you get 25,000 airline miles or something like that.
 

SMHarman

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Can someone tell me the value in buying one of these? (I'm not trying to cause an argument, just trying to see the value.) As an example I checked the $$ cost for a 12,000 point room compared the cost of using 12000 points at $0.0165c each. The room was $162 cash, but the points would cost $198. And if it is a no-no to convert the points to Marriott...you can only use them for SPG hotels or can you convert to airline miles? I don't know if that conversion comes out any better. My understanding is for every 20,000 points you get 25,000 airline miles or something like that.
Does your cash number include all fees and taxes? What are the cancellation penalties on the cash rate?

What if that room was super popular.

What about the nights and flights options or the redeem four get fifth night free options.

Also the suite upgrade on many European hotels is a suite (boom boom) spot.
 

DavidnRobin

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As this offer is just for WSJ owners...
I did buy these and I have been a critic of SP valuation, and reason for consensus poll linked above.

For me... I am low on SPs (~20K) so unlike previously when I had >200K - they are more valuable to buy if one has a use for them and do not have more than they need. 1.65c/SP is a reasonable price to pay since I think I can get at least 2.5 c/SP out of them - which I think I can do. I also have CSR points.
I did not find the Marriotts to be of value when I looked.
In a few weeks we are staying in NYC (Le Parker Meridien, SPG Cat6 - based on location only) for 100K SPs - 6 nites (1 free) - which works out to ~$275/nt @1.65c/SP



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Helios

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Can someone tell me the value in buying one of these? (I'm not trying to cause an argument, just trying to see the value.) As an example I checked the $$ cost for a 12,000 point room compared the cost of using 12000 points at $0.0165c each. The room was $162 cash, but the points would cost $198. And if it is a no-no to convert the points to Marriott...you can only use them for SPG hotels or can you convert to airline miles? I don't know if that conversion comes out any better. My understanding is for every 20,000 points you get 25,000 airline miles or something like that.
The conversion will not work in your favor for all rooms via points. However, you can get a large value out of those points at several locations. It all depends on your travel patterns. Using the points in Europe of converting them to miles to be used for international premium cabin trips is the best value IMO.
 

canesfan

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I try to use points for European rooms. Sometimes cash and points work out favorably but not always. We have stayed in some incredible hotels and been upgraded to Suites that we would have never paid for if not for points and SPG preference. You really need to weigh your options on what it’s worth to you.


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SandyPGravel

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The conversion will not work in your favor for all rooms via points. However, you can get a large value out of those points at several locations. It all depends on your travel patterns. Using the points in Europe of converting them to miles to be used for international premium cabin trips is the best value IMO.

I only checked on the conversion for one hotel in Waikiki. We haven't traveled to Europe, so I have never checked anything there. I did convert SPG points for airfare once. I don't remember being savvy enough to determine if it was the best value, it was just nice not "paying" for airfare to St. Thomas. (We didn't upgrade to 1st class.)

Does your cash number include all fees and taxes? What are the cancellation penalties on the cash rate?

What if that room was super popular.

What about the nights and flights options or the redeem four get fifth night free options.

Also the suite upgrade on many European hotels is a suite (boom boom) spot.

Some of the other reasons aren't specific to using points. I still get an upgrade whether I pay cash or use points(maybe we aren't getting the upgrades others are, but we've been happy). I still have to pay the resort fee at the hotel if I use points (according to the reservation I currently have in Waikiki.) But you are correct I don't pay the taxes if I use points. Still get the free night if I pay cash on the "get 5th night free". Not sure what the room being super popular has to do with the value of buying points vs paying cash? I can still get the room if it is available paying cash. By paying cash I mean using the CSR card and earning three points per dollar.

Our best use of Starpoints......Hotel stays with being 5*, lots of fantastic upgrades and Airlines.

We're never going to be 5* or even 3* for that matter. We have enough options to be 3*, we just bought the second unit resale so we're not worthy! (Sorry lame Wayne's world reference:doh:)

Again I am not trying to cause an argument, just trying to see if I should consider buying the points or not. :thumbup: At least they wouldn't expire for 6 years and I wouldn't have to keep track of them as much. (We got rid of the AMEX card so I have to keep better tabs on the account.)

I have to try and keep three different point systems straight in my head, so I get a tad overwhelmed. We still have SPG points, we have CSR points and we have Capital One Miles. Plus the random FF miles that I try to keep current so I don't lose them. (But I don't fly enough for those to add up quickly.)

Thanx for your input!
 
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