Booking a longer stay to get access to dates ahead of 8-month window

[Rinse82]

Has anyone ever done this?

Looking to book a room that is currently showing low availability, about a week away from my 8-month booking window.

Was thinking of booking an extended stay (starting earlier), to get access to those dates now. Would I be able to call in and have Vistana change the arrival date after the fact to my originally intended arrival date?

Have enough SO to do it so was just wondering if anyone else has tried this.

 

[echino]

You can't change a booking. You will have to cancel and rebook.

 

[CPNY]

Has anyone ever done this?

Looking to book a room that is currently showing low availability, about a week away from my 8-month booking window.

Was thinking of booking an extended stay (starting earlier), to get access to those dates now. Would I be able to call in and have Vistana change the arrival date after the fact to my originally intended arrival date?

Have enough SO to do it so was just wondering if anyone else has tried this.

No they cancel and rebook and you better hope the availability Is there.

 

[jabberwocky]

You can’t walk a reservation with Vistana or just drop part of your booking. It would have to be completely canceled and then you risk losing the dates you actually want. If you don’t mind losing the SOs you can always check-in late by letting the resort know, but you won’t get the SO back.

 

[LobsterHunter]

Yes, I've done this and it works. Just call owner services to cancel & re-book the shorter stay. Even if the shorter stay dates do not come back, they will send it to resolution services and you are guaranteed your dates, it just may take a day or two to get the confirmation. The ONLY catch is that if your check-in day is blocked for new bookings, you will have to pick another check-in day. This has only happened to me a couple times at Harborside on a busy Sat check-in, but the Fri or Sun were fine.

 

[ocdb8r]

Yes, I've done this and it works. Just call owner services to cancel & re-book the shorter stay. Even if the shorter stay dates do not come back, they will send it to resolution services and you are guaranteed your dates, it just may take a day or two to get the confirmation. The ONLY catch is that if your check-in day is blocked for new bookings, you will have to pick another check-in day. This has only happened to me a couple times at Harborside on a busy Sat check-in, but the Fri or Sun were fine.

You are not "guaranteed" your dates - as you mentioned, certain check in dates are blocked once fully booked due to business of a resort (and for high traffic periods, Fri/Sun checkin may not have a full week available). Certain dates may also be blocked by others on the waitlist. Short answer, it can be done but there are no guarantees.

 

[LobsterHunter]

You are not "guaranteed" your dates - as you mentioned, certain check in dates are blocked once fully booked due to business of a resort (and for high traffic periods, Fri/Sun checkin may not have a full week available). Certain dates may also be blocked by others on the waitlist. Short answer, it can be done but there are no guarantees.

Even if a person is waitlisted for a reservation within the window of your reservation, they will not get the reservation instead of you. Although I said the reservation was guaranteed, I included the exception if a check-in day was fully booked. And even if a Sat is locked out, I have never had an issue changing the check-in day to a Fri or Sun (or any day if you are within the 8 month window). So while it may not be a 100% guarantee (that you will get your exact dates) it is pretty close.

 

[keepgoing]

I had to shorten my stays in multiple resorts (WKORV, HRA) by calling Vistana and had no issue getting the shortened reservation on the same call. I always ask the agent if he/she can't secure the new date, can I get the old reservation back, and they always say "yeap, but it will take a couple days".