Changing guest name through Vistana website (no fee?)

[eunsill]

I always thought there was a $59 fee for guest name change on villa reservations but I recently was able to use the guest name change feature through the vistana website on the reservation and never got charged any fees. I'm wondering if this will hit later for some reason like at checkin or something?

 

[DanCali]

Was it a home resort reservation or Staroptions?

There is no fee to change the name on a home resort reservation. The fee to change a Staroptions reservation is $69 (somewhat different for 5-Star Elite)

Either way, the fee gets charged when you change the name - it won't be charged later on.

 

[dioxide45]

If you are changing it to someone else who is also on the ownership, there is no fee. I have also noticed there is also no fee to change it to the previous owner of the contract or someone you sold a contract to.

 

[damianinpa]

I used my StarOptions to book WKORV which is not my home resort. I called to put the reservation in my daughter's name and I did have to pay $59. Seems petty to me they would charge just to change a name for a family member.

 

[DavidnRobin]

HomeResort reservation —> no charge to change
StarOption reservation —> charge each change

Not sure about FlexOptions.

There was an Owners revolt about this fee.


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[The Haileys]

They're still charging the fee. I tried to change a SVR reservation to my daughter's name. I've always done that three or four days before check-in, but this time the button was not there. I called, and they said they'd have to refer it to the back office, and it would be a $49 charge. Then he "accidentally" disconnected the call. I figured they could deal with my daughter when she got there.

I was able to change the guest name on the Marriott web site, under My Trips. No fee. When my daughter arrived, it was in her name at check-in, but they still had my name when they pulled up the parking pass over at Concierge (aka, agree to Owner Update is the ransom for the parking pass.) I was prepared to get a phone call, but they let her check in and get the parking pass. Still harassed her to go to an Owner Update though. She's like, "This is my mom's. She lets me use it for free, WHY would I want to buy my own?" They also tried to insist that she check in at the VIP desk allll the way on the other side of the property. She told them to stuff it.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Are you even able to get to the website today? It appears to be down.

 

[The Haileys]

Are you even able to get to the website today? It appears to be down.

Nope. I can get to vistana.com but when I click on Login, I get an error:

BAD GATEWAY
The web server reported a bad gateway error.

• Ray ID: 72751314d9eeadbe
• Your IP address: 68.**.**.**
• Error reference number: 502
• Cloudflare Location: Atlanta

 

[alexinorlando]

Yes, I have been getting the same error message all day.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Me too, for several hours.

 

[Rman]

the website was down last night and today , was checking if there is a another link to log in

 

[DanCali]

HomeResort reservation —> no charge to change
StarOption reservation —> charge each change

Not sure about FlexOptions.

There was an Owners revolt about this fee.


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Re Staroption resrevations name changes - 5-Star owners get a waiver for that for each VOI they own (i.e, you own 5 VOIs you can change the name on 5 Staroptions reservations with no fee.). After that it's a discounted fee of $39 instead of $69.

The whole thing may become obsolete later this summer anyway...

 

[DavidnRobin]

Re Staroption resrevations name changes - 5-Star owners get a waiver for that for each VOI they own (i.e, you own 5 VOIs you can change the name on 5 Staroptions reservations with no fee.). After that it's a discounted fee of $39 instead of $69.

The whole thing may become obsolete later this summer anyway...

I was talking about us low brow folk.

Besides, you paid for it indirectly by being 5* and spending $100K+ in first place.


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[The Haileys]

Re Staroption resrevations name changes - 5-Star owners get a waiver for that for each VOI they own (i.e, you own 5 VOIs you can change the name on 5 Staroptions reservations with no fee.). After that it's a discounted fee of $39 instead of $69.

The whole thing may become obsolete later this summer anyway...

I did ask about that when I called to change the guest name. He said that the fees will be dropped in the next maintenance use year, after we start paying the higher MFs. So, that will go into effect with 2023 reservations for most week-based ownerships. I believe the MF use year for Flex is August - July? Something like that.

 

[dioxide45]

Re Staroption resrevations name changes - 5-Star owners get a waiver for that for each VOI they own (i.e, you own 5 VOIs you can change the name on 5 Staroptions reservations with no fee.). After that it's a discounted fee of $39 instead of $69.

The whole thing may become obsolete later this summer anyway...

They would only be obsolete for those that choose to enroll their VOIs in the Abound program. It is possible that not everyone will do that.

 

[jabberwocky]

They would only be obsolete for those that choose to enroll their VOIs in the Abound program. It is possible that not everyone will do that.

What about owners who have both eligible and non-eligible VOIs for enrollment. Do we then have to pay two sets of fees if some are enrolled and not others?

 

[dioxide45]

What about owners who have both eligible and non-eligible VOIs for enrollment. Do we then have to pay two sets of fees if some are enrolled and not others?

Your guess is as good as mine...

 

[Eric B]

What about owners who have both eligible and non-eligible VOIs for enrollment. Do we then have to pay two sets of fees if some are enrolled and not others?

We'll all no doubt find out when they do the hard roll out of Abound including the rules on usage and eligibility on July 1st....

 

[Ken555]

We'll all no doubt find out when they do the hard roll out of Abound including the rules on usage and eligibility on July 1st....

Ha! Which year?


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[kozykritter]

What about owners who have both eligible and non-eligible VOIs for enrollment. Do we then have to pay two sets of fees if some are enrolled and not others?

The way it's been presented in presentations is that the consolidated club dues will apply to any ownership enrolled in the VSN. They had that sheet that was shared here that showed all the fees being consolidated into the club dues and telling what the cost would be for owners, 3* 4* and 5*. If that holds true, then Abound is a red herring in this context. I think perhaps the only people excluded would be those with voluntary unqualified resales. For those owners they would continue on paying all the fees and buying their own II account. I guess we'll know what's correct or not sometime soon.

 

[eunsill]

Was it a home resort reservation or Staroptions?

There is no fee to change the name on a home resort reservation. The fee to change a Staroptions reservation is $69 (somewhat different for 5-Star Elite)

Either way, the fee gets charged when you change the name - it won't be charged later on.

So this was actually not a home resort reservation, it was for Harborside and I did it for 4 reservations.

If you are changing it to someone else who is also on the ownership, there is no fee. I have also noticed there is also no fee to change it to the previous owner of the contract or someone you sold a contract to.

They are not owners

I used my StarOptions to book WKORV which is not my home resort. I called to put the reservation in my daughter's name and I did have to pay $59. Seems petty to me they would charge just to change a name for a family member.

I went through the website and did not call. When doing it through the website I never got prompted to make a payment. Curious whether anyone else has tried this as well and not been prompted. I did read that there seemed to be a disconnect in some resorts between the Vistana reservation system and the Marriott one so you did need to additionally call Marriott and get their name added to the reservation?

 

[dioxide45]

So this was actually not a home resort reservation, it was for Harborside and I did it for 4 reservations.



They are not owners



I went through the website and did not call. When doing it through the website I never got prompted to make a payment. Curious whether anyone else has tried this as well and not been prompted. I did read that there seemed to be a disconnect in some resorts between the Vistana reservation system and the Marriott one so you did need to additionally call Marriott and get their name added to the reservation?

Are you 4* or 5* Elite?

 

[eunsill]

Are you 4* or 5* Elite?

I am 4* but to my knowledge, 4* still has fees to pay? (although I think slightly reduced)

 

[dioxide45]

I am 4* but to my knowledge, 4* still has fees to pay? (although I think slightly reduced)

Unfortunately it doesn't look like VIstana publishes the benefits of Elite levels anywhere online. If they do, I can't find it. We would need to see if there is another 4* Elite owner that can check to see if they have a fee when trying to add a guest name.

 

[eunsill]

Well either way - it's only a net benefit. Next time someone wants to change the guest name - should try going through the website, might be able to bypass the fee. I called the resort to confirm and they got all the name changes through to their system.