Grand Bliss No Vacancy

[Paul E Morgan]

Last February I had an Interval International exchange confirmation at the Grand Bliss in Nuevo Vallarta. I had spent the previous week at El Cid Marina in Mazatlan, it was my first trip to Mazatlan in 20 years. After a delightful week in Mazatlan, I arrived around midnight at the central bus station, to board the bus to Nuevo Vallarta. The bus arrived in Nuevo Vallarta about 9:30 AM, and I arrived at the Grand Bliss about 10:00AM. At that time I was informed that it was too early to check-in, so I walked around for a while and stopped for an early lunch at one of Vidanta's many restaurants. I returned to the Grand Bliss about 1:00, and was told to come back later. About 3:30 I returned to the Grand Bliss and was told to be seated and wait for the Front Desk Manager. Another 45 minutes or so passed, and I returned to the desk to inquire why the delay. About 5 minutes later a Concierge came over and told me that the Grand Bliss had overbooked, but if I agreed to attend a sales presentation, I could be accommodated in the Grand Luxxe at no additional fee. I pulled out my Grand Luxxe Membership Card and showed it to the Concierge. I then told him I would reluctantly accept the Grand Luxxe accommodations, but I would be unwilling to attend another sales presentation. I told him I had attended a presentation in mid-December at Riviera Maya, and I believe further presentations would be a waste of my time. The Concierge agreed to assign me a Grand Luxxe unit without the upgrade fee.

During my week in Mazatlan I had checked my emails 3 or 4 times, and I never received an email informing me that the Grand Bliss had overbooked. I firmly believe my allocated unit at the Grand Bliss was available, and the "overbook" rhetoric was merely a ploy to get me back at another sales presentation.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi Paul ,
Here is my take on this.-

1) Vidanta TS sales and Vidanta " hotel operations & reservations" have different management . ( both report to top management / family management )
2 ) February is likely the highest occupancy month ( other than the 4 Mexican Holiday weeks that are not included in most contracts)
3 ) Vidanta reservations is excellent - but they basically work like airline reservations since almost all contracts are RTU ( I can go into a more detailed explanation - should you wish)
4 ) Grand Bliss NV is a single building with xx units ( compared to Grand Luxxe and Grand Mayan which have multiple Nuevo buildings )
5) Reservations IMO - does max book ( ie slightly overbook ) like airlines based on historic cancellation patterns . ( Feb 2015 or 2016 - we met 2 couples at MP -PV Marina that were in MP master suites (ie hotel rooms) when they had booked ! bedroom suites .This was Presidents week , and that resort's approx 200 suites were fully booked from Jan - Mid April ) according to the front desk staff . I say approx 200 because the mix of 1 bedrooms + hotel room / master suites to create 2 bedroom suites means the actual number of "unit" bookings vary from week to week and check in day .
<based on the average age of some snowbirds some health related cancellations are likely >
check -ins are for 7 days - but have a mix of Friday / Saturday / Sunday check -ins

The " concierge" who came over to you is the person who books presentations AND that dept is part of the sales organization .
If you ever have this happen again - I would ask to speak (again) to the front desk manager and the hotel manager .

There is one complication .
In the Vidanta "hotel" operation side in NV /PV there is more than one operations manager above the hotel managers due to the number of buildings and brands .
In Feb 2017 -the hotel managers of - Grand Bliss NV , Mayan Palace NV , Mayan Palace PV-Marina and NV Sea Garden all reported to Cassandra Beretta .(and probably still do )
The 5 Grand Mayan building have a different operations mgr. and the Grand Luxxe buildings have a different operations mgr. ( I don' t know names)!

The presentation booking person who spoke to you has the ability to upgrade - in order to book presentations , and likely had knowledge of Grand Luxxe "openings" .
He stepped in to help AND still wanted to meet his "quota number " - so the request to "go to a presentation " . When you explained your "status " as a GL owner who had just done a
presentation - it all worked out .

I believe that the Grand Bliss was actually full for the size unit you had booked and the check in day on which you arrived .
and an upgrade to GL ( rather then a "downgrade" to GM ) was certainly the correct option .

******

Vidanta resorts do have a concierge position / role - that is NOT part of sales . This is the person who does things like print boarding passes , answer questions etc.
This concierge position is a part of the hotel side and reports to the hotel manager - as I understand it .

 

[MuranoJo]

I also own with Vida and have a few thoughts about this as well:
The resorts are so nice, they really don't need to sell so aggressively--I just wish they'd stop the deception. Even if you differentiate between the 'hotel' side and the 'sales' side, it's all the same to the customer and/or visitor--and their reputation.

Anyway, it was pretty slimy IMO to tell you there was no room and they'd give you a room if you attended a pitch. They very well could have been over-booked, but should have just offered you the upgrade, period.
And T-Dot, I was really surprised about the couples you met who had to take basically hotel rooms instead of the 1-beds they had reserved. Unacceptable.

I have a holiday week and have never had such a problem with over-booking for me or my tenants, and I usually book the crowded holiday weeks. I'm hoping these examples are fairly uncommon.

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi MuranoJo ,
RE : the couple(s) who did not get 1 bedroom suite .

We found this out through casual beach conversation .I recall 2 different couples we talked to different days .
In one case - the wife was OK with it - since the front desk mgr. had given them a bunch of resort credits for meals - and she had no plans to cook anyway .
She was happy to be on the beach , in the sunshine - & the room was just a place to sleep .
I do not recall for sure - but it is possible they were even offered an upgrade to the Grand Mayan in NV . I think her husband had family members who were also at the
MP PV -Marina so moving to NV wasn't a good option . Not sure - as it was about 3 years ago .

<Certainly a lot better outcome than when airlines drag people off planes .>

******
About 4 years ago we used our Vacation Fare week to go to Puerto Penasco in mid October . When we booked it (June ? / July ? ) Vidanta was doing the shoulder season promo
of a unit upgrade for the same MF I booked the 2 bedroom - but asked if it was possible to get a second full unit (as we had received one in the prior years promo) .
The reservations person said " she could not offer it at this time since they were already at " xx %" occupancy for the week in question at that particular resort .( It was a percentage number and over 60% )
I asked if it was possible to ask again after Labor Day . She said - you can try . In the end it was only the 2 of us going . Odile had closed Cabo & so I called reservations about
2 weeks before travelling and said - We don't need a 2 bedroom , and you can downgrade me to a 1 bedroom ( in case you need it for a relocation of a Cabo reservation ) . Reservations gave me the resort promo $ credit ( that was option B in the original promo ) even though I had called on short notice . I told him it was appreciated - even though it was not required that they do so .

From this story I learned how on top of unit number / occupancy Vidanta reservations is . I also like calling real people when I book a week .

 

[MuranoJo]

Thanks for the further detail, T-Dot. That was really nice of you to offer to take a smaller unit during Odile. I think you deserved the bonus they gave you, and good for you for considering those who may be desperate for lodging.

 

[pianoetudes]

I had spent the previous week at El Cid Marina in Mazatlan, it was my first trip to Mazatlan in 20 years. After a delightful week in Mazatlan, I arrived around midnight at the central bus station, to board the bus to Nuevo Vallarta. The bus arrived in Nuevo Vallarta about 9:30 AM,

Do you mind sharing the details of your bus trip? I've never taken an overnight bus in Mexico. What kind of bus and how comfortable is it? Is it safe and how much? Where is the bus station in NV?

Thank you.

 

[Paul E Morgan]

The bus was suppose to leave Mazatlan about 1:00 AM, but it was delayed for about 3 hours. However, it still arrived in Nuevo Vallarta on time. I can't remember the name of the bus company. The only stop at a terminal was in Tepic. In Nuevo Vallarta the bus simply rolls to the curb to discharge passengers on the main highway. I believe the stop was about midway between Villa del Palmar Flamingos and the Grand Mayan. The fare was about $20 (I can't remember the exact amount). There is a restroom on the bus, and the seats were comfortable (but not luxurious) (basically they were a slight step up from a Greyhound). The bus is safe. It departs from the central terminal in Mazatlan, and I believe Puerto Vallarta is the final destination (at the PV terminal).