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

[Zagrid094]

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?

As I stated previously, Irma and Ian were different storms. Irma was primarily a wind event at Marco Island producing lesser storm surge than Ian, so the effects will be inherently different. There was some storm debris still piled on the street curbs by homeowners when we first arrived, but the majority picked up during our stay from what I recall. The beach was so clean it was as if no storm had occurred. I was so amazed with the condition of the island, I thanked the men who drove the tractors on the beach each morning to maintain the beach condition and wrote a letter to the Marco Island City Council and Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee praising them for the outstanding job the entire community and city employees had done restoring the island to its natural beauty. It was remarkable considering only a month had passed since the hurricane.

With that said, Ian could have affected the island and beaches differently since there was higher storm surge. You can always contact the city for details regarding the condition of the island and beaches before going. From what I have seen on Facebook, businesses and restaurants are beginning to reopen. If my reservations had not been cancelled, I would be at Crystal Shores right now. I can't imagine Marriott reopening the resort or the city allowing visitors if the island was unsafe. I know they are working as hard as possible so that visitors/guests can return and support the island and area economy as soon as possible.

 

[travelhacker]

I’m scheduled to stay at Crystal shores on an interval exchange with checking on the 16th.

I have eplus on the exchange. If Marriott cancels on me, can I eplus to something else? If so I’ll ride it out for another week.

I’m in flexchange already, so at this point it makes sense to swap out closer to the check in date.

 

[travelhacker]

One other thought.

I’m a little annoyed at MVW. The HRC in Bonita springs (Coconut Plantation) originally gave a tentative date of 11/1. I believe this was posted by their GM based on how it was written.

A day or two later HRC updated the language to match Crystal Shores (“we’re assessing damage”), that tells me it was a “corporate” decision for language.

I believe the damage was more extensive at Coconut Plantation.

I just wish they gave us a tentative date to help us plan a bit better.

 

[Dean]

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.

Agreed and there's no reason they should. It's no different than if one owned a condo there other than the repair risks are far less. Hopefully MVC will give some flexibility for those affected, maybe some extension on the points along the lines of Covid. Unlike Covid, this is a smaller subset of the membership and flexibility would not affect the system nearly as much. For weeks possibly an II deposit also like during Covid.

 

[Pamplemousse]

As I stated previously, Irma and Ian were different storms. Irma was primarily a wind event at Marco Island producing lesser storm surge than Ian, so the effects will be inherently different. There was some storm debris still piled on the street curbs by homeowners when we first arrived, but the majority picked up during our stay from what I recall. The beach was so clean it was as if no storm had occurred. I was so amazed with the condition of the island, I thanked the men who drove the tractors on the beach each morning to maintain the beach condition and wrote a letter to the Marco Island City Council and Beach and Coastal Resources Advisory Committee praising them for the outstanding job the entire community and city employees had done restoring the island to its natural beauty. It was remarkable considering only a month had passed since the hurricane.

With that said, Ian could have affected the island and beaches differently since there was higher storm surge. You can always contact the city for details regarding the condition of the island and beaches before going. From what I have seen on Facebook, businesses and restaurants are beginning to reopen. If my reservations had not been cancelled, I would be at Crystal Shores right now. I can't imagine Marriott reopening the resort or the city allowing visitors if the island was unsafe. I know they are working as hard as possible so that visitors/guests can return and support the island and area economy as soon as possible.

Thank you for the reply and your thoughts. I appreciate it.
The only thing I’m not sure about is that MVC wouldn’t open the resort- not if it was truly unsafe but, but maybe the pool(s) weren’t open or the town closed the beach or such.
Hopefully the resort does reopen soon.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

Thank you for the reply and your thoughts. I appreciate it.
The only thing I’m not sure about is that MVC wouldn’t open the resort- not if it was truly unsafe but, but maybe the pool(s) weren’t open or the town closed the beach or such.
Hopefully the resort does reopen soon.

My guess is that their available staffing "could be" an issue, especially if some of the employees had impacts in their own homes or apartments..... Not a lot anyone can do about that.



.

 

[travelhacker]

My guess is that their available staffing "could be" an issue, especially if some of the employees had impacts in their own homes or apartments..... Not a lot anyone can do about that.



.

I’m fine with that, but their communication has been really bad.

I’d really like something like “Due to the impact of the storm and the impact on our staff, we have a tentative reopening date of 10/29 (or whatever date they think they can pull off). The reopening could be pushed back depending on external factors such as inspections, all amenities may not be available upon reopening”.

I don’t want to find out 2 days (or 4 days) before check in.

IMO it’s a corporate decision to leave it ambiguous and I just don’t understand the motivation.

 

[vol_90]

Good driving tour of Marco Island on youtube:

(3) What Saved Marco Island From Hurricane Ian? Best Place To Invest? - YouTube\

 

[Superchief]

I’m fine with that, but their communication has been really bad.

I’d really like something like “Due to the impact of the storm and the impact on our staff, we have a tentative reopening date of 10/29 (or whatever date they think they can pull off). The reopening could be pushed back depending on external factors such as inspections, all amenities may not be available upon reopening”.

I don’t want to find out 2 days (or 4 days) before check in.

IMO it’s a corporate decision to leave it ambiguous and I just don’t understand the motivation.

The longer they wait to inform people, the more MVC points become unusable, resulting in more profit for MVC.

 

[travelhacker]

My guess is that internally, they are planning on an 11/1 reopening.

This is on the Marriott website (cash rates) -- they aren't allowing anyone to book until 11/1.

Can anyone confirm if they have dropped any points availability until 11/1?

 

[jpc763]

Can anyone confirm if they have dropped any points availability until 11/1?

I am seeing no availability for October but November availability starting 11/1 as well.

 

[travelhacker]

I am seeing no availability for October but November availability starting 11/1 as well.

Darn.

Sadly, I was optimistic as I read reports from people in Marco Island, and I had a couple of great opportunities pass me by (Ocean Pointe, Orlando)

I guess I better be on the lookout for something else to exchange into.

 

[travelhacker]

I've just gotta say, if 11/1 is their internal date. Why string us along? I understand that it was a big storm, but their replies on their own Facebook made it sound as though they were planning on reopening quickly.

I know that the Hilton next door has reopened.

 

[Superchief]

I've just gotta say, if 11/1 is their internal date. Why string us along? I understand that it was a big storm, but their replies on their own Facebook made it sound as though they were planning on reopening quickly.

I know that the Hilton next door has reopened.

The JW and almost all the restaurants in the area are open, so this is concerning. Even Stiltz appears to be open. There are still no updates on the Hub or facebook pages.

 

[VacationForever]

They may need to keep some rooms as "out of order" while they repair rooms that might have gotten water intrusion and they expect all rooms to be available starting from Nov 1. So it is possible that timeshare stays are available before Nov 1.

 

[Pamplemousse]

The JW and almost all the restaurants in the area are open, so this is concerning. Even Stiltz appears to be open. There are still no updates on the Hub or facebook pages.

Is the JW open?
The alert still says closed and cancel fee waived through 10/11? Looks like they are taking reservations for the 12th.
The camera picture has change but it’s not live since it’s showing sunny at 10 PM

 

[travelhacker]

I got a kick out of this -- not impressed at all by MVW:

Update for Hyatt Siesta Key:

Update for Hyatt Coconut Plantation:

Update for Marriott Crystal Shores:

 

[Superchief]

It appears that MVC's terrible owner relationship and communication policies are now being also felt by Hyatt owners.

 

[jpc763]

This was posted on the FB Marriott Crystal Shores page today

"FYI, What I received from the hotel today: 10.6 Update: Remediation and recovery efforts continue at Crystal Shores. We do not have a reopening date at this time; however, we have cancelled all reservations through October 10th. Our goal is to open a portion of villas for owners as soon as possible; however, it will be several weeks before all villas are returned to service. The remediation process is slow and requires a detailed inspection of every villa to assess potential water intrusion and damage. We appreciate your patience as we work through this process. In terms of Marco Island, many businesses remain closed, there are still some power outages in the area and the fiber optic line to the island was severed resulting in no phone or internet service"

I do not see that update on HUB or any official Crystal Shores source, this is from someone about their reservation.

 

[TravelTime]

This was posted on the FB Marriott Crystal Shores page today

"FYI, What I received from the hotel today: 10.6 Update: Remediation and recovery efforts continue at Crystal Shores. We do not have a reopening date at this time; however, we have cancelled all reservations through October 10th. Our goal is to open a portion of villas for owners as soon as possible; however, it will be several weeks before all villas are returned to service. The remediation process is slow and requires a detailed inspection of every villa to assess potential water intrusion and damage. We appreciate your patience as we work through this process. In terms of Marco Island, many businesses remain closed, there are still some power outages in the area and the fiber optic line to the island was severed resulting in no phone or internet service"

I do not see that update on HUB or any official Crystal Shores source, this is from someone about their reservation.

This is helpful information. Sounds like they are doing mold remediation. If that is the only significant problem and they started it quickly, then they should be opening soon.

 

[travelhacker]

This is helpful information. Sounds like they are doing mold remediation. If that is the only significant problem and they started it quickly, then they should be opening soon.

Yep, this is helpful. I only wish it came through the official communication channels (like they always say will be used).

 

[JIMinNC]

I've just gotta say, if 11/1 is their internal date. Why string us along? I understand that it was a big storm, but their replies on their own Facebook made it sound as though they were planning on reopening quickly.

I know that the Hilton next door has reopened.

It may be that 11/1 is the soonest they are comfortable right now accepting NEW reservations, but they are still hopeful that the resort can re-open for at least some EXISTING reservations sooner than that.

 

[Superchief]

I called the resort directly and was given a text number for resort status. The information above is the exact information that was provided by the text reply. Text number is 407-358-3745.

It appears that some villas are damaged so it will be a phased reopening. This will be a challenge because of all of the different view types. I had reserved gulf front and assume they might be most impacted by damage. I assume owner reservations will be given priority. In a similar situation at Ocean Pointe a few years ago, Encore packages and Hotel reservations had priority over II exchanges.

I decided to cancel my 10/15 reservations and was able to book 2 weeks in Orlando after Thanksgiving. Otherwise I would lose my points and MVC is not extending expiration dates at this time. Good luck to everyone.

 

[jpc763]

I called the resort directly and was given a text number for resort status. The information above is the exact information that was provided by the text reply. Text number is 407-358-3745.

It appears that some villas are damaged so it will be a phased reopening. This will be a challenge because of all of the different view types. I had reserved gulf front and assume they might be most impacted by damage. I assume owner reservations will be given priority. In a similar situation at Ocean Pointe a few years ago, Encore packages and Hotel reservations had priority over II exchanges.

I decided to cancel my 10/15 reservations and was able to book 2 weeks in Orlando after Thanksgiving. Otherwise I would lose my points and MVC is not extending expiration dates at this time. Good luck to everyone.

I am also Gulf Front and used points so assume that I would behind Owner Reservations but ahead of Encore and Hotel?

I am glad you found something. We are planning our backups at this point but there is very little availability at this point.

 

[jpc763]

The information above is the exact information that was provided by the text reply. Text number is 407-358-3745.

I texted to that number and did not receive a response other than "Text STOP at any time to opt-out of receiving messages."

UPDATE - I got that same message. Between that message and the message from Collier about the gulf water, we are strongly considering cancelling at this point.