Marco Under Water?? / Hurricane Ian-impacted reservations ? [MERGED]

[jpc763]

I think everone understands the coplexities of the issue. One thing that should be pointed out is that HGVC has sent communication to their owners regarding their affiliate resorts on Marco Island. HGVC is probably dealing with many of the same issues. Owners and guests are just looking for basic information. They would be better to send something out like HGVC did than to just leave people in the dark with very poor communication. If HGVC can communicate to owners and guests, certainly MVC could do the same?

HGVC Email re Sanibel/Captiva/Fort Myers and Marco Island Ownerships

Dear Owner, We write today to share an update with you regarding the impacts of Hurricane Ian to properties located in the Sanibel/Captiva/Fort Myers region. All properties in the impacted area remain closed. These properties are: Seawatch On-the-Beach Resort Hurricane House Resort Casa...

tugbbs.com

I would be happy if we could get something line that from MVC. Just saying the power is on and they are assessing damage is insufficient.

As far as talking to people with reservations, they are NOT. We are supposed to monitor HUB for updates. They are cancelling reservations 48 hours before check in, no earlier. So that leaves us with very little time to react to that cancellation.

 

[Superchief]

I think everone understands the coplexities of the issue. One thing that should be pointed out is that HGVC has sent communication to their owners regarding their affiliate resorts on Marco Island. HGVC is probably dealing with many of the same issues. Owners and guests are just looking for basic information. They would be better to send something out like HGVC did than to just leave people in the dark with very poor communication. If HGVC can communicate to owners and guests, certainly MVC could do the same?

HGVC Email re Sanibel/Captiva/Fort Myers and Marco Island Ownerships

Dear Owner, We write today to share an update with you regarding the impacts of Hurricane Ian to properties located in the Sanibel/Captiva/Fort Myers region. All properties in the impacted area remain closed. These properties are: Seawatch On-the-Beach Resort Hurricane House Resort Casa...

tugbbs.com

This email appears to be targeting owners regarding the status of the resort, but I hope they provided more details to people who are holding reservations in the near future. Do they have any other published information regarding expected length of closure?

 

[Superchief]

I would be happy if we could get something line that from MVC. Just saying the power is on and they are assessing damage is insufficient.

As far as talking to people with reservations, they are NOT. We are supposed to monitor HUB for updates. They are cancelling reservations 48 hours before check in, no earlier. So that leaves us with very little time to react to that cancellation.

The biggest problem is nobody at MVC knows what is going on and therefore can't provide any advice to those with upcoming reservations. The only source of this information is the facebook page, which has sporadic posts regarding specific instances. I was shocked that management was telling people with reservations on 10/7 to check the hub, and they would be contacted by MVC. If MVC waits until the last day, points and all travel expenses are lost with no opportunity to make alternative plans. The current HUB update is based on conditions 2 days ago. It would be helpful if they would update the HUB daily at noon with the latest date that all reservations have been cancelled. That would help all of us with upcoming reservations make informed decisions, and there is really no reason why MVC couldn't do this

 

[TravelTime]

The biggest problem is nobody at MVC knows what is going on and therefore can't provide any advice to those with upcoming reservations. The only source of this information is the facebook page, which has sporadic posts regarding specific instances. I was shocked that management was telling people with reservations on 10/7 to check the hub, and they would be contacted by MVC. If MVC waits until the last day, points and all travel expenses are lost with no opportunity to make alternative plans. The current HUB update is based on conditions 2 days ago. It would be helpful if they would update the HUB daily at noon with the latest date that all reservations have been cancelled. That would help all of us with upcoming reservations make informed decisions, and there is really no reason why MVC couldn't do this

If the major damage at Crystal Shores is water in the pool and under the 1st floor rooms, that is not usually a major issue to repair as long as they got the mold remediation company out quickly. The article I posted says mold needs to be dealt with within 72 hours. I assume MVC knows about hurricane risks and has a remediation company they deal with.

I think the major issue here is can they fix the damage and open up in time for check in dates. If not, will MVC refund MFs? I certainly hope MVC is fair. If MVC just returns points and you have a close expiration date, that is not helpful. If I were an owner at Hilton, I like that they said they will refund MFs. Of course, your airfare may not be refundable and that would be a major issue.

 

[Zagrid094]

We had reservations for two (2) weeks at Crystal Shores beginning on October 2, the first week using Club points and the second using our Crystal Shores week ownership. I contacted Owner Services (the number is shown in post 84 above) following Hurricane Ian to review our options. It was suggested that I wait until officially hearing back from MVC regarding the first week reservation as the resort had been closed due to mandatory evacuation of Marco Island, and the management team would be assessing damages to the resort before it could scheduling for reopening. I subsequently received an email from MVC that our initial week had been cancelled. A representative from Owner Services called me on 9/30 to confirm. The 2022 use year Club points applied towards that reservation have been returned to our MVC account in a 60 day hold. Since we are unable to use those holding points prior to their expiration this calendar year, I have submitted a claim with Travelex for reimbursement.

I called the resort directly on 10/3 to see if I could reach someone regarding our week reservation and the call was automatically transferred to a Marriott Customer Advocacy Team member at MVWC's corporate office in Orlando. I found this individual to be helpful in communicating the status of our week reservation and the condition of the resort. After her research with management at the resort itself, she advised me that even though power has been restored, some of the resort sustained water damage which they are currently addressing, while general cleanup on the property has been underway since last week. Telephone and internet services to Crystal Shores has not yet been restored which is also contributing to the delay in reopening. Unfortunately, I was also informed that our week reservation beginning on October 9 would be cancelled and I will be receiving an official notification within a few days. I will be submitting a claim with Travelex for reimbursement of that week as well. For anyone interested, the MVWC's corporate office number is (800) 860-9384.

Our reservation cancellations do not surprise me as Crystal Shores was closed for approximately a month following Hurricane Irma in 2017.

 

[dioxide45]

If the major damage at Crystal Shores is water in the pool and under the 1st floor rooms, that is not usually a major issue to repair as long as they got the mold remediation company out quickly. The article I posted says mold needs to be dealt with within 72 hours. I assume MVC knows about hurricane risks and has a remediation company they deal with.

I think the major issue here is can they fix the damage and open up in time for check in dates. If not, will MVC refund MFs? I certainly hope MVC is fair. If MVC just returns points and you have a close expiration date, that is not helpful. If I were an owner at Hilton, I like that they said they will refund MFs. Of course, your airfare may not be refundable and that would be a major issue.

MVC has never been known to refund maintenance fees. I don't know many timeshare companies that have. They are more likely to extend the use of points in some way like they did with COVID. In the case of weeks based reservations or exchanges, they may have some type of accommodation certificate option available through II, but I wouldn't expect to see any refunding of maintenance fees, nor would I consider refunding of MFs to be fair.

 

[TravelTime]

@Zagrid094 @dioxide45

Putting points into a holding account is useless to me. I would be angry bc I usually can’t find anything with 60 days notice. An accommodation certificate with II is also useless to me.

I would like to know how Travelex insurance works. How would Travelex insurance cover this? If they say the points have been returned, would it still be covered? Do they refund the true cost of the points? I thought I read coverage starts 2 days before and ends 2 days after. Is that correct?

If the answers to the above questions is no, I would not but Travelex insurance. I bought it once awhile back and did not need it. I usually use banked points, so I assume they would put this back into the usage year? Is that correct? Or will they put them into a holding account if THEY canceled on us?

 

[Superchief]

We had reservations for two (2) weeks at Crystal Shores beginning on October 2, the first week using Club points and the second using our Crystal Shores week ownership. I contacted Owner Services (the number is shown in post 84 above) following Hurricane Ian to review our options. It was suggested that I wait until officially hearing back from MVC regarding the first week reservation as the resort had been closed due to mandatory evacuation of Marco Island, and the management team would be assessing damages to the resort before it could scheduling for reopening. I subsequently received an email from MVC that our initial week had been cancelled. A representative from Owner Services called me on 9/30 to confirm. The 2022 use year Club points applied towards that reservation have been returned to our MVC account in a 60 day hold. Since we are unable to use those holding points prior to their expiration this calendar year, I have submitted a claim with Travelex for reimbursement.

I called the resort directly on 10/3 to see if I could reach someone regarding our week reservation and the call was automatically transferred to a Marriott Customer Advocacy Team member at MVWC's corporate office in Orlando. I found this individual to be helpful in communicating the status of our week reservation and the condition of the resort. After her research with management at the resort itself, she advised me that even though power has been restored, some of the resort sustained water damage which they are currently addressing, while general cleanup on the property has been underway since last week. Telephone and internet services to Crystal Shores has not yet been restored which is also contributing to the delay in reopening. Unfortunately, I was also informed that our week reservation beginning on October 9 would be cancelled and I will be receiving an official notification within a few days. I will be submitting a claim with Travelex for reimbursement of that week as well. For anyone interested, the MVWC's corporate office number is (800) 860-9384.

Our reservation cancellations do not surprise me as Crystal Shores was closed for approximately a month following Hurricane Irma in 2017.

I'm very sorry that your reservations were cancelled and it was so difficult to get information from MVC. It's very disappointing that you had to contact them to learn that your 10/9 week reservation was also cancelled. Their post on facebook that no reservations after 10/5 have been cancelled is a lie and neither the Hub nor facebook have this update. Did you cancel the reservations for your points or did MVC initiate the cancellation? It may be more difficult to make a Travelex claim for the points portion since they returned the (now worthless) points to your account. I was told that if I cancelled the reservations and received the points, I could not file a claim. Your weeks reservations should definitely be covered and should be no problem.

 

[TravelTime]

I'm very sorry that your reservations were cancelled and it was so difficult to get information from MVC. It's very disappointing that you had to contact them to learn that your 10/9 week reservation was also cancelled. Their post on facebook that no reservations after 10/5 have been cancelled is a lie and neither the Hub nor facebook have this update. Did you cancel the reservations for your points or did MVC initiate the cancellation? It may be more difficult to make a Travelex claim for the points portion since they returned the (now worthless) points to your account. I was told that if I cancelled the reservations and received the points, I could not file a claim. Your weeks reservations should definitely be covered and should be no problem.

Then this makes Travelex insurance pretty worthless.

I was thinking if someone books during a high risk period, they should give it more thought before going and cancel before 60 days. Or not book at all using Abound points for high risk areas at high risk times. I rarely books to go to FL or Caribbean between Aug and Oct. Now I definitely won’t unless I am staying in a hotel. Hotels let you cancel a few days before.

 

[dioxide45]

@Zagrid094 @dioxide45

Putting points into a holding account is useless to me. I would be angry bc I usually can’t find anything with 60 days notice. An accommodation certificate with II is also useless to me.

I would like to know how Travelex insurance works. How would Travelex insurance cover this? If they say the points have been returned, would it still be covered? Do they refund the true cost of the points? I thought I read coverage starts 2 days before and ends 2 days after. Is that correct?

If the answers to the above questions is no, I would not but Travelex insurance. I bought it once awhile back and did not need it. I usually use banked points, so I assume they would put this back into the usage year? Is that correct? Or will they put them into a holding account if THEY canceled on us?

It will be good to hear from @Zagrid094 claims are processed so we can get more real life experience with their insurance. I suspect that it will be a fight since MVC returned the points, even if they can't use them. I hope it works out better though.

 

[Superchief]

Facebook Update Posted by an Owner (No current updates from MVC)
Owner:
We did receive an email today from the marriott’s customer advocacy indicating our October 9 reservation/check in was canceled.

MVC Most recent response from MVC 2 days ago
Hi, Scott. We apologize for the misinformation. If there are changes to your reservation, you will be notified. As of now, there have been no cancelations for 10/07

 

[Fasttr]

We had reservations for two (2) weeks at Crystal Shores beginning on October 2, the first week using Club points and the second using our Crystal Shores week ownership. I contacted Owner Services (the number is shown in post 84 above) following Hurricane Ian to review our options. It was suggested that I wait until officially hearing back from MVC regarding the first week reservation as the resort had been closed due to mandatory evacuation of Marco Island, and the management team would be assessing damages to the resort before it could scheduling for reopening. I subsequently received an email from MVC that our initial week had been cancelled. A representative from Owner Services called me on 9/30 to confirm. The 2022 use year Club points applied towards that reservation have been returned to our MVC account in a 60 day hold. Since we are unable to use those holding points prior to their expiration this calendar year, I have submitted a claim with Travelex for reimbursement.

I called the resort directly on 10/3 to see if I could reach someone regarding our week reservation and the call was automatically transferred to a Marriott Customer Advocacy Team member at MVWC's corporate office in Orlando. I found this individual to be helpful in communicating the status of our week reservation and the condition of the resort. After her research with management at the resort itself, she advised me that even though power has been restored, some of the resort sustained water damage which they are currently addressing, while general cleanup on the property has been underway since last week. Telephone and internet services to Crystal Shores has not yet been restored which is also contributing to the delay in reopening. Unfortunately, I was also informed that our week reservation beginning on October 9 would be cancelled and I will be receiving an official notification within a few days. I will be submitting a claim with Travelex for reimbursement of that week as well. For anyone interested, the MVWC's corporate office number is (800) 860-9384.

Our reservation cancellations do not surprise me as Crystal Shores was closed for approximately a month following Hurricane Irma in 2017.

I'm confident Travelex will cover both of your weeks if they were cancelled by MVC.

 

[dioxide45]

I'm confident Travelex will cover both of your weeks if they were cancelled by MVC.

I think the bigger question is around points reservations that are cancelled and the points are returned in a restricted state and even a situation where the points expire in just a few months.

 

[Fasttr]

I think the bigger question is around points reservations that are cancelled and the points are returned in a restricted state and even a situation where the points expire in just a few months.

Clearly Holding Account points, especially those with a very tight expiry window, would have an impaired value vs the value of regular points in their normal state. That is why I believe the insurance will cover it.

 

[TravelTime]

Clearly Holding Account points, especially those with a very tight expiry window, would have an impaired value vs the value of regular points in their normal state. That is why I believe the insurance will cover it.

I am surprised MVC won’t at least give them back to the usage year. If Travelex says they will not cover it, can you ask MVC to return them to the usage year?

 

[Fasttr]

I am surprised MVC won’t at least give them back to the usage year. If Travelex says they will not cover it, can you ask MVC to return them to the usage year?

What Use Year did you use for the ressy?

 

[Zagrid094]

I'm very sorry that your reservations were cancelled and it was so difficult to get information from MVC. It's very disappointing that you had to contact them to learn that your 10/9 week reservation was also cancelled. Their post on facebook that no reservations after 10/5 have been cancelled is a lie and neither the Hub nor facebook have this update. Did you cancel the reservations for your points or did MVC initiate the cancellation? It may be more difficult to make a Travelex claim for the points portion since they returned the (now worthless) points to your account. I was told that if I cancelled the reservations and received the points, I could not file a claim. Your weeks reservations should definitely be covered and should be no problem.

Thank you, Superchief. MCV initiated the cancellation, so I am hopeful that Travelex will reimbursement for the points fees as long as the points go unused, which is what I was advised by MVC Owner Services. There is another thread on the Marriott VC Forum in which a Tugger indicates that points will be reimbursed. Will have to wait and see. Unfortunately, due to our schedule for the remainder of the year, we are unable to travel nor any family members.

 

[Zagrid094]

What Use Year did you use for the ressy?

Unfortunately, 2022 use year and one cannot bank points in a holding account.

 

[LMD]

FYI…..this is posted on Collier County’s facebook page (Marco is in Collier County)
(Personally it will be a long while before I go IN the water.)


Beach sand cleaning is progressing. However, a large amount of material is IN the water and covered by shifting sands. This could include glass, metal, wood, and plastic. There may also be toxins, bacteria, pathogens, and other contaminants that may have entered the Gulf from the storm surge that could impact your health. Visitors to the beach should be VERY cautious when entering the water.

 

[Zagrid094]

Then this makes Travelex insurance pretty worthless.

I was thinking if someone books during a high risk period, they should give it more thought before going and cancel before 60 days. Or not book at all using Abound points for high risk areas at high risk times. I rarely books to go to FL or Caribbean between Aug and Oct. Now I definitely won’t unless I am staying in a hotel. Hotels let you cancel a few days before.

This is the first time in 15 years of traveling to Marco Island in October (and years prior to that staying in the now JW Marriott Marco Island resort) using our week ownership that we've been unable to enjoy the beauty of the area and property due to a hurricane. I purchase travel insurance each year in the event that we are unable to travel due to natural disaster, illness, or other unforeseen reason. We were reimbursed for a lost week at MGO due to Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and for another family member using our week there just last month (pending claim processing) due to recent surgery. I think it is worth $199 each year for peace of mind.

 

[rapmarks]

This is the first time in 15 years of traveling to Marco Island in October (and years prior to that staying in the now JW Marriott Marco Island resort) using our week ownership that we've been unable to enjoy the beauty of the area and property due to a hurricane. I purchase travel insurance each year in the event that we are unable to travel due to natural disaster, illness, or other unforeseen reason. We were reimbursed for a lost week at MGO due to Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and for another family member using our week there just last month (pending claim processing) due to recent surgery. I think it is worth $199 each year for peace of mind.

You were able to go after Irma in 2017?

 

[Zagrid094]

You were able to go after Irma in 2017?

Yes, we were fortunate to be able to stay at Crystal Shores that year. Irma struck Marco Island on September 10, 2017, and we stayed at the resort on October 7-18, 2017. The resort opened for owners the day prior to our arrival.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Yes, we were fortunate to be able to stay at Crystal Shores that year. Irma struck Marco Island on September 10, 2017, and we stayed at the resort on October 7-18, 2017. The resort opened for owners the day prior to our arrival.

Post #119 about the lingering affects of the storm have me wondering if we should go in 2 weeks even if it is open?
I’ve been conflicted about going to vacation when people in the area are suffering vs going to contribute to the economy. But now the thought of the water not being swimmable and knowing many things might not be open has be leaning no. What was your experience in 2017?

 

[TravelTime]

What Use Year did you use for the ressy?

I am using banked point for 2013 usage year that goes through June 30, 2024. However my reservation is for next June so I expect Marco Island would have mostly recovered by then. If not I will cancel and get my points back

 

[TravelTime]

This is the first time in 15 years of traveling to Marco Island in October (and years prior to that staying in the now JW Marriott Marco Island resort) using our week ownership that we've been unable to enjoy the beauty of the area and property due to a hurricane. I purchase travel insurance each year in the event that we are unable to travel due to natural disaster, illness, or other unforeseen reason. We were reimbursed for a lost week at MGO due to Hurricane Matthew in 2016 and for another family member using our week there just last month (pending claim processing) due to recent surgery. I think it is worth $199 each year for peace of mind.

I am curious about a few things bc I may by Travelex for 2023.

- How do they cover points and how much do they give back in general? Is it the MFs associated with the points or week? What is MVC re-deposits the points, do they still reimburse if points/week is not usable?
- Does the insurance only kick in 2 days before the trip and 2 days after the trip starts? That is what I think I read online.
- Does it cover other parts of the trip? I think I read it does.