Stop the presses – MyStarCentral was updated!

[nodge]

It's True! MSC was updated today!

All references to that pesky NANEA (WKORV-III / WKORV-Further North / WKORV-N-N) project have been removed, and the former “company news” folder has been replaced with an “Ask Owner Services” folder.

If you click on it, you get videos of real live owners asking real live questions to members of SVO’s owner services department. One owner, Joe, even asks why can’t he book his villa on-line. Cute and perky “Beth,” adorning her cutest cascading heart necklace, does her very darndest to give all the gritty details of which she is so very much aware as to just why that is and when we can expect to be able to make on-line reservations.

. . . . For those who don’t currently have access to MSC, I was able to find a copy of the original script [with stage directions]. For those playing the home game, non essential portions of the script, mainly Joe rambling about why on-line reservations are a good thing, have been removed for clarity and not to hide any balls:

JOE (OWNER): “My name is Joe . . ., and the question I have is WHEN are you going to be able to book your reservation on-line? I haven’t been able to do that . . . and we would like to know WHEN that is going to happen.” (emphasis added).

BETH (SVO): “Hi Joe.” [exude cuteness and perkiness]
BETH (SVO): “My name is Beth, and that’s a great question.” [more cuteness and perkiness]

BETH (SVO): "Right now we unfortunately do not have something where you can book a reservation on-line.” [even more cuteness and perkiness, and maybe a little flub like you’re really nervous to drive the cuteness and perkiness home]

BETH (SVO): “But, it is something we are looking into putting on mystarcentral.com. Right now you can send a reservation request through mystarcentral.com and we have dedicated agents that will book that reservation for you.” [Big smile and even more cuteness and perkiness with the hope that no one will realize that you never really answered Joe’s question and all that you really did was just more-or-less confirm Joe’s statement that he indeed can’t book his villa reservations on-line in a world where you can book virtually everything else on-line including even real-time booking of doggie day care. Head bob. Blink Twice. Keep smiling.]

So there you go. After over 10 years of waiting since the SVO big cheese’s promise of on-line reservations, and the VP of Owner Services stating that the system was being developed in "modules" in 2007 and would be implemented soon, SVO has finally called out the big guns . . . . BETH.

On the plus side, Legoland is coming to the old Cypress Gardens site in Florida in 2011. That’s cool, and what’s even more remarkable is that I learned it first on mystarcentral.com. Who knew MSC could be so darned informative?

-nodge

I hope they'll have water-skiing legos.

 

[DavidnRobin]

You are my hero.

Funny - I can view all the videos except the 'guarantee a villa view' one... the text response is incomplete however - they forgot to add 'based on availability' (meaning you call during the Owners Reservation period of 8-12 months and it is possible your view catagory is already sold out...)

How about this question?

Hi, We are Robin and David from California and we own villas at Ka'anapali and St John, among others - and we have a question...

How does the HOA get reimbursed for VOIs that were taken over by SVO due to deliquent Owners not paying their MFs (because they can no longer afford them due to the large increases in MFs year after year) - that SVO then turns around and uses for SVN, II/RCI, and SP exchanges - or are rented out by SVO?

Beth is very cute and perky - and I love her nervous smile at the end when she realizes that she never answered the question.

Added - you know what? I just did send this question to 'Ask Owner Services' at seetheworld@starwoodvo.com. I look forward to my canned response.

 

[nodge]

Added - you know what? I just did send this question to 'Ask Owner Services' at seetheworld@starwoodvo.com. I look forward to my canned response.

Good thing Jennifer Aniston may be at WKORV-N filming a movie in a couple of months. SVO will need someone like her to sell the non-answer you're going to get on that one.

Sorry ladies, we've only got Adam Sandler and a really old Clint Eastwood for you, so keep your questions simple.

-nodge

Oh yeah, I hope there'll be a gift shop at the new Legoland. You can't find those brick things just anywhere. -n

 

[Quimby4]

Good thing Jennifer Aniston may be at WKORV-N filming a movie in a couple of months. SVO will need someone like her to sell the non-answer you're going to get on that one.

Ladies: Sorry, we've only got Adam Sandler and a really old Clint Eastwood for you, so keep your questions simple.

-nodge

Seriously?
I'm going in April and don't want the Paparazzi trying to pictures of me and Jen....

 

[Denise L]

Very cool, a great place to film and good for the economy.

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.detail/id/528383.html?nav=10

 

[nodge]

It's True! MSC was updated today!

All references to that pesky NANEA (WKORV-III / WKORV-Further North / WKORV-N-N) project have been removed, and the former “company news” folder has been replaced with an “Ask Owner Services” folder.

It's BAAACK!!!!!

The "company news" folder is back on MSC, and the the lead story in it is back to being the following:

Starwood Vacation Ownership Announces Plans for Third Maui Resort

Maui, Hawai‘i (June 25, 2008)—Starwood Vacation Ownership (SVO), a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (NYSE: HOT), announced plans to expand its portfolio of resorts in Hawai‘i with the development of its third vacation ownership resort on Maui. The new property, expected to open fall 2011, has been designed to achieve certification under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, the nationally accepted benchmark for green buildings.

'SVO is proud to be the first stand-alone, full-service resort in Hawai‘i to be developed with this coveted certification in mind,' said Matt Avril, president and managing director of operations, Starwood Vacation Ownership. 'We have partnered with Arup, a global firm of designers, engineers, planners, and business consultants renowned for its expertise in green design, to ensure that the design and operation of the resort is environmentally responsible and contributes to Maui's future sustainability.'

LEED certification recognizes buildings’ superior performance in areas including sustainability of site, water efficiency, energy savings, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and innovation in design. The new, full-service resort will build and operate its own desalination and heat exchange system, which will produce drinkable water on site and utilize cool salt water for its air conditioning system. In addition, a state-of-the-art cogeneration system will provide most of the resort’s electricity and hot water needs.

The beachfront property will be located in Kā‘anapali North Beach, overlooking the Pacific Ocean with stunning views of the islands of Lāna‘i and Moloka‘i. Just minutes away from the shopping, dining and attractions of Lahaina, the resort will be surrounded by the natural beauty of West Maui’s beaches and mountains, which have made the area famous for whale watching, snorkeling, hiking, and horseback riding. The new property will feature 390 spacious, luxury villas including a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units.

'Globally, the Westin-branded vacation ownership resorts in Kā‘anapali, Maui are two of SVO’s most popular resorts among vacation ownership buyers and visitors seeking hotel accommodations,' said Matt Avril. 'With Maui being such an important market for SVO, we are pleased that we will be adding a third resort to our vacation ownership and rental offerings on the island.'

SVO’s new Kā‘anapali North Beach resort will bring the company’s total number of vacation ownership properties in Hawai‘i to four. The first resort, The Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas, opened in December of 2003. Four years later in December 2007, SVO opened its second Maui resort, The Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas North. Earlier this year in April, SVO made its Kaua‘i debut with the opening of The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas.

In 2005, The Westin Ka‘anapali Ocean Resort Villas received the ACE Project of Excellence, the highest accolade of the vacation ownership resort industry from the American Resort Development Association (ARDA). The property had among the highest Guest Satisfaction Index scores of any resort in the Starwood family and is the most requested resort for Starwood owners.

Starwood Vacation Ownership is a division of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which has a long history in Hawai‘i and Maui beginning with the Moana Surfrider, the oldest hotel in Waikīkī, built in 1901. Starwood also manages the Sheraton Maui Resort, the first hotel built on Kā‘anapali Beach, Maui.

For more information on Starwood Vacation Ownership’s resorts in Hawai‘i, contact 800.601.8699 or visit www.starwoodvacationownership.com.

About Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with approximately 900 properties in more than 100 countries and 155,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels, resorts and residences with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis®, The Luxury Collection®, W®, Westin®, Le Méridien®, Sheraton®, Four Points® by Sheraton, and the recently launched AloftSM, and ElementSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. For more information, please visit www.starwoodhotels.com."

Whew!

I was worrried for the past month while this "company news" article was missing that this abandoned SVO construction mess was just going to sit there for months and months and months.

-nodge

 

[DeniseM]

It is really, really hard to believe that they are reposting an article that is 3 years old and that they actually intend to proceed with this project in this economy. Who in their right mind is going to drop $50-$100K on one week of timeshare right now???

 

[nodge]

It is really, really hard to believe that they are reposting an article that is 3 years old and that they actually intend to proceed with this project in this economy. Who in their right mind is going to drop $50-$100K on one week of timeshare right now???

It's weird. SVO is telling its stockholders that there will be no new projects and any planned projects that aren't reasonably close to being finished are dead, yet keeps telling us SVO owners (well at least the ones who don't read TUG) that the NANEA project is right on schedule to open a year and a half from now.

It's like SVO is trying to use this promise of a new resort to induce people into buying a currently available developer SVO unit. "Go ahead. . . buy at Lagunamar . . . we're still building new resorts . . . here look at this press release on the new Maui project planned to open in the Fall of 2011 . . . . Everything's fine!"

The fact SVO pulled the article and then put it back suggests that posting this inaccurate information was intentional on SVO's part. Hmmm. If only there were some sort of law to prevent a company from using deceptive sales/marketing techniques . . . ..

Ah well, at least SVO hasn’t done anything really, really sleazy like run a sweepstakes to induce owners into prepaying their maintenance fees with no prizes actually being awarded so far as we know.

-nodge

 

[DeniseM]

telling us SVO owners (well at least the ones who don't read TUG) that the NANEA project is right on schedule to open a year and a half from now.

Nodge - it's perfectly possible. Maybe they are moving the Tent-alows from the old Sheraton Molokai Ranch to Maui. They could be up in a year and a half and they would certainly be "green." :rofl:

 

[nodge]

Maybe they are moving the Tent-alows from the old Sheraton Molokai Ranch to Maui.

Here in "green" Oregon we call those things yurts.

Hey SVO . . . DeniseM is saving you from another lawsuit here. You've already got the port-o-potties. Better get ARDA working on the needed zoning changes. Given its track record in Maui, that shouldn't be a problem.

-nodge