Marriott Owner bookings is a nightmare!

[Safti]

For the past 10 years I have been able to get every one of my owner bookings confirmed immediately and they have all been high demand weeks. I needed to do an owner booking on Tues (Dec.24). I did all the right things. Lined up my computer at 8:50am and kept refreshing. Used two different phone lines to call in. Arguably, next new years is an extremely high demand week but I managed it for the past couple of year. This Tues 9am booking was a total bust. My dates came up as gold and I pressed the button only to be sent a message that the computer system was overloaded and therefore I missed out. Both phones were answered at 9:13 and 9:16. Everything was sold out. I am so disappointed. Did anyone else have the same nightmare?

 

[mjm1]

For the past 10 years I have been able to get every one of my owner bookings confirmed immediately and they have all been high demand weeks. I needed to do an owner booking on Tues (Dec.24). I did all the right things. Lined up my computer at 8:50am and kept refreshing. Used two different phone lines to call in. Arguably, next new years is an extremely high demand week but I managed it for the past couple of year. This Tues 9am booking was a total bust. My dates came up as gold and I pressed the button only to be sent a message that the computer system was overloaded and therefore I missed out. Both phones were answered at 9:13 and 9:16. Everything was sold out. I am so disappointed. Did anyone else have the same nightmare?

What resort, size unit and day of the week were you trying to reserve?

Best regards.

Mike

 

[Swice]

Everytime I've logged in over the past few weeks, I have "lost connections," and waited and waited and waited. Also tried calling and was on hold for 45-minutes and, while still on hold, computer finally logged into booking section, and saw all availability was gone. There seems to be a pattern of the system not handling the traffic on days when bookings open.

 

[Safti]

Lakeshore Dec. 27, 2020. Two bedroom

 

[NJMOM2]

I just checked, if you have DC point a two bedroom at Lakeshore is available for any day in December to check. The three bedroom is not available the last two weeks of December.

 

[sparty]

Yes this is what's broken with the system. DC Points res are available, Bonvoy points res are available but weeks owners are locked out within minutes of the window opening. Not right.

Also - be aware you might be in deeper trouble than you think. There may be no open check-in's at all for 2020 and Marriott's response is to bad for you, you lose your week in 2020. This happened to me in previous years. To fix this seems like there needs to be a "replace" function where you can reserve an early year week and then change it for the end of the year week you're looking for w/o the risk of getting nothing and losing the year.

 

[Safti]

This is a total bummer. I see availability for end of Dec with DC points but I don't have any. You can't even book with Marriott Rewards points this early out.

 

[dioxide45]

I didn't have any issues reserving our Grande Vista and Harbor Lake weeks in November. Though I wasn't trying to logon and make reservations during peak times since even for peak gold weeks at Grande Vista, there always seems to be availability which is actually different thank pre DC days when Memorial and Thanksgiving week would book up in minutes.

 

[drlee]

I booked Maui 2021 for the weekend of January 22-23. Booked on Monday, 12/23. Took ten minutes for phone to be answered, but booking for five consecutive weeks went flawlessly. We always start on the earliest day available, and since it's for consecutive weeks, it has to be done on the phone. One year, a few ago, couldn't book on 13 month date, but called again at 12 months and got what I wanted.

 

[turkel]

You didn’t get what you wanted once in 10 years but booking is a nightmare? I am sorry you didn’t get what you wanted but I think the title of this thread is a little over the top.

 

[Safti]

Life in Marriott Land has obviously changed. Maybe that should have been the title.

 

[CPNY]

Interesting considering same thing is happening on the vistana side I’m hearing. As the MVC CEO said, vistana had a superior digital platform. Looks like it’s screwed up in both sides now.

 

[sudiski]

Also - be aware you might be in deeper trouble than you think. There may be no open check-in's at all for 2020 and Marriott's response is to bad for you, you lose your week in 2020. This happened to me in previous years.

How could this be possible? All owners of a deeded week in a season should be able to book a week in their season, even if it's not the one they want.

 

[dioxide45]

How could this be possible? All owners of a deeded week in a season should be able to book a week in their season, even if it's not the one they want.

The problem is that by this time of the year, Marriott may have bulk banked some early year weeks in to II because they were not booked. Those hoping for late year reservations could be left without something to book because weeks are already gone to II. Marriott will often give you a replacement week, which is really just assigning you one of those weeks they already deposited.

 

[bazzap]

The problem is that by this time of the year, Marriott may have bulk banked some early year weeks in to II because they were not booked. Those hoping for late year reservations could be left without something to book because weeks are already gone to II. Marriott will often give you a replacement week, which is really just assigning you one of those weeks they already deposited.

We know that the later an owner leaves it to make a booking for their deeded week, there is an increased risk that all available weeks may have been booked (including by MVC themselves).
I have never heard though of anyone actually having the problem of no weeks at all being available unless booking has been delayed until well into the usage year itself.
Does this happen often?

 

[davidvel]

We know that the later an owner leaves it to make a booking for their deeded week, there is an increased risk that all available weeks may have been booked (including by MVC themselves).
I have never heard though of anyone actually having the problem of no weeks at all being available unless booking has been delayed until well into the usage year itself.
Does this happen often?

You are right.
60 or so days prior to use season/year commencing, there should always be a week available. If not, Marriott is not following the rules.

 

[MALC9990]

How could this be possible? All owners of a deeded week in a season should be able to book a week in their season, even if it's not the one they want.

If you are booking at the end of the year, then you run the risk of missing out since there is no dates left in the year. That is why I never consider booking for weeks late in the year, always in the early months of the year.

 

[BRIAN_H]

Yes this is what's broken with the system. DC Points res are available, Bonvoy points res are available but weeks owners are locked out within minutes of the window opening. Not right.

Also - be aware you might be in deeper trouble than you think. There may be no open check-in's at all for 2020 and Marriott's response is to bad for you, you lose your week in 2020. This happened to me in previous years. To fix this seems like there needs to be a "replace" function where you can reserve an early year week and then change it for the end of the year week you're looking for w/o the risk of getting nothing and losing the year.

Unfortunately, this can be seen as a negative depending on your type of ownership ...
In this scenario, DC point reservations are available but not Week ownership reservations ... As a DC points user primarily, I have had the reverse happen to me; where I can not book at a resort using my DC points, but my neighbor can book multiple week options though his week ownership.

There are PROS/CONS in both directions ... we really just don't like when the negative happens to us.

Happy New Year!

 

[Steve Fatula]

How could this be possible? All owners of a deeded week in a season should be able to book a week in their season, even if it's not the one they want.

Consider a season when it's only open early and late in year, perhaps a silver. So, no one reserves early year portion and everyone wants late year portion. You will run out of weeks of course.

i was given a replacement week once when it happened.

 

[sudiski]

Consider a season when it's only open early and late in year, perhaps a silver. So, no one reserves early year portion and everyone wants late year portion. You will run out of weeks of course.

In this situation, I thought not everyone would be able to book late in the year, but the early weeks would still be available. You may not get what you want, but at least the early weeks in your season would still be available to book. It appears this is not the case.

 

[Steve Fatula]

In this situation, I thought not everyone would be able to book late in the year, but the early weeks would still be available. You may not get what you want, but at least the early weeks in your season would still be available to book. It appears this is not the case.

No, not if no one (super extreme case) reserves any early in the year, and, those dates have passed.

 

[ccpinternational]

For the past 10 years I have been able to get every one of my owner bookings confirmed immediately and they have all been high demand weeks. I needed to do an owner booking on Tues (Dec.24). I did all the right things. Lined up my computer at 8:50am and kept refreshing. Used two different phone lines to call in. Arguably, next new years is an extremely high demand week but I managed it for the past couple of year. This Tues 9am booking was a total bust. My dates came up as gold and I pressed the button only to be sent a message that the computer system was overloaded and therefore I missed out. Both phones were answered at 9:13 and 9:16. Everything was sold out. I am so disappointed. Did anyone else have the same nightmare?

Same thing happened to me. I was trying to book Phuket Beach Club NewYear time.

 

[Beverley]

Unfortunately, this can be seen as a negative depending on your type of ownership ...
In this scenario, DC point reservations are available but not Week ownership reservations ... As a DC points user primarily, I have had the reverse happen to me; where I can not book at a resort using my DC points, but my neighbor can book multiple week options though his week ownership.

There are PROS/CONS in both directions ... we really just don't like when the negative happens to us.

Happy New Year!

Very true. I know there are different "buckets" of inventory and this is how this can happen and it does cut both ways. For instance, in a resort that may have been sold out in 2010 when DC began, an owner must turn in a week for a week to become available for a DC owner (not counting availability that may occur from foreclosed weeks). In a resort that was newer in 2010 wherein it was not sold out, there are weeks that would be in a DC "bucket" that a week's owner might not be able to access.

 

[bazzap]

Same thing happened to me. I was trying to book Phuket Beach Club NewYear time.

Phuket Beach Club Christmas / New Year are the peak, peak weeks, so typically multi Week Owners book these at 13 months out as soon as released and the remaining inventory is booked 12 months out as soon as released.
Sadly this is the way it always is.