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[ 2021 ] Purchase assistance

I missed the 9 pm time for reserving (I'm on the West Coast), but remembered at about half past and was able to book both of my WKV weeks for Saturday, March 14, 2026 check-in. Whew!
 
Need to book 1-year out on a Thursday night (9pm PT, Midnite ET) for a Saturday reservation in 2026.
I was able to book both of our WKV P+ weeks within 3 minutes of each other at 9pm PT a week ago Thursday for Saturday March 8 2026.
Same. We own multiple WKV P+ weeks and I rent them all out during March each year. You definitely have to do it at midnight EDT. Since the Marriott integration the website/IT is awful. Not uncommon to get the spinning wheel and the time out notice. Just keep trying but agree that if you want WKV in March be there at midnight 12 months out.
 
Question about how to maximize booking Hawaii. When the 6-month window opens for SO, do you see a lot of Hawaii inventory? likely holidays are gone but other days? Between 6-12 months, are you able to do a “request first” with II?
 
If you own Vistana and are trading Staroptions, the window opens 8 months out. I have been able to reserve weeks even for high demand dates calling at exactly midnight Eastern Time 8 months out. Sometimes the site is unstable, but trying 15-20 minutes in has gotten me a reservation.

Just a couple of days ago I reserved 23 nights at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas for arrival mid April (about 1 month ahead). I first reserved the maximum 21 nights allowed by the web site, then made a second reservation for 2 extra nights. There was not much selection with respect to unit sizes and views, but I wanted an Island View Studio and got it. I had a similar experience a few years ago when I decided to go to Maui on a Wednesday and found a reservation for the following Saturday. This was in January, so not the highest demand.

I have never traded into Hawaii using Interval International.
 
If you own Vistana and are trading Staroptions, the window opens 8 months out. I have been able to reserve weeks even for high demand dates calling at exactly midnight Eastern Time 8 months out. Sometimes the site is unstable, but trying 15-20 minutes in has gotten me a reservation.

Just a couple of days ago I reserved 23 nights at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas for arrival mid April (about 1 month ahead). I first reserved the maximum 21 nights allowed by the web site, then made a second reservation for 2 extra nights. There was not much selection with respect to unit sizes and views, but I wanted an Island View Studio and got it. I had a similar experience a few years ago when I decided to go to Maui on a Wednesday and found a reservation for the following Saturday. This was in January, so not the highest demand.

I have never traded into Hawaii using Interval International.
23 days! How many SO points do you need? BTW, can you borrow from future use year?
 
23 days in a studio are a little more than 200,000 Staroptions.

You can indeed borrow from the following use year. You can also bank unused Staroptions for use in the future. I think you have 18 or 24 months to use them, depending on elite status level. With some planning, you could use 3 years worth of Staroptions at one time.
 
Quick update on our ownership experience. We got 2 for 1 this year with WSJ (2BR) and WDW (1BR) using our SOs from WKV.

1. Went to WSJ this summer and had a lovely week. The pools needed some updating, and it appeared it was about to start. We loved the separate pool above at VGV as we could come back from island exploration and just walk over. Otherwise, we had to call shuttles which is less convenient (though we never waited 5 minutes all week, from anywhere on the property). We only ate breakfast at the main restaurant (meh, buffet needs an upgrade), but enjoyed the cafe overlooking the bay. Funny enough, I'd say St. John is a mini-Kauai from an island perspective which we enjoyed touring although skip Coral Bay as there isn't much to see. We should have booked a car rental through the Westin onsite car rental, not St John Car Rental as its cheaper and doesn't require a taxi back and forth. Overall we had a great time and my family was glad we went. As someone who is disabled, this property (and island) is a little trickier than Hawaii so we don't anticipate returning.

Food in Cruz Bay was surprisingly good and we recommend La Tapa and 1864 (Extra Virgin Bistro was fine but wouldn't go back).

2. Had a free week in Palm Springs. WDW is a great property and we loved the pool areas even though the weather was unseasonably cool for October (mid 70s for half the week). We did the Tramway and it was 33 and snow flurries on top! The air museum at the Airport was a great option (and better than most) for cooler days. For pool days we called for a shuttle to the main pool as the bottom pool didn't have the slide open and no bar. The tertiary kids pool is pretty lame - only a 1ft wading pool basically. They should upgrade with splash pads or mini slides. Agave had plenty of activities, but we didn't do the daily drink thing at 3pm as we were lazy. Food was great within 10-15 minutes of the property although Sherman's is overrated. The nearby CJ Diner for breakfast, Mimmo's and LG's for dinner were all good. As we are Californians now in Texas we did Islands on the last night while watching the World Series :)

Overall, Palm Springs is great but struggle with a week there unless you play golf. We only booked a 5 night trip with airfare at first, but extended our flight a day as the weather finally turned and we wanted a final pool day.

So we've now been to Princeville, Maui (Nanea), St. John, and Palm Springs since I started this thread. Pretty awesome. Would like to do Cabo but never see an accessible unit pop up. Same with Avon in the summer. We love the Westin product and 2BR villa value is quite high vs. paying up for 4 Seasons/Hotel 1 properties.
 
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