No availability- Westin Flex

[mv trip]

Anyone else have trouble using Westin flex? I'm at the point i just want to give it back. Every date I try to make a reservation, there's no availability. Yet if you try to book and pay for a room there is availability for that, just not with my options. Been getting worse each year. Not interested in making huge maintenance fees when I can't even use it anymore

 

[DeniseM]

Are you trying to make home resort reservations (12 mos.) or Staroption reservations (8 mos.)? Are you making your reservations exactly at midnight eastern/9 paific when the inventory is released online? For example, tonight at midnight the 8 mo. Staroption inventory for May 11th will be released.

Timing is the secret to make timeshare reservations, and it's not just because you own flex - this is the strategy that all owners have to use.

 

[alwysonvac]

Which resort(s) are you trying to book and how far in advance?
TIP: High demand resort and/or weeks should be reserved as soon as the booking window opens

From the FLEX FAQs

What is Westin Flex?

Westin Flex is a type of ownership introduced in 2018 which gives the owner 12-month priority access to the following eight resorts:

1. Westin Mission Hills (CA)
2. Westin Desert Willow (CA)
3. Westin Kierland Villas (AZ)
4. Westin Princeville (HI)
5. Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas (HI)
6. Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas - North (HI)
7. Westin Nanea (HI)
8. Westin Riverfront (CO)

What are HomeOptions?

HomeOptions, also frequently referred to as "points," represent a Flex owner's right to make home resort reservations at any of the Flex resorts within the trust that they own (Sheraton, Westin, or Aventuras). Reservations can be made beginning at 12 months prior to arrival, just like any other home resort reservation. However, unlike most other home resort reservations in Vistana, Flex reservations are not limited to week-long reservations beginning on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Flex reservations can be made for any check-in day and for any number of nights (up to 14), based on availability. Note that owners of Sheraton Flex only have priority access to home resorts in the Sheraton Flex program. Likewise, Westin Flex Owners only have access to those in the Westin Flex in the 8-12 month period, and Aventuras owners only have priority access to their two resorts.

What are the differences between HomeOptions and StarOptions?

Frequently, people overcomplicate their understanding of HomeOptions by thinking of them as completely distinct from StarOptions. However, it is easiest to understand HomeOptions by thinking of them simply as a special type of StarOption, with the following single difference:

HomeOptions can be used to make home resort reservations at Flex resorts in their Flex group during the home resort preference period.

Note that for a developer or requalified resale package, the home resort preference period is 12 months to 8 months prior to arrival. For resale Flex ownerships, which have not been requalified, an owner can continue making home resort reservations eight months or less prior to arrival. For other Flex ownerships bought from the developer, reservations made eight months or less prior to arrival would be VSN reservations.

Can HomeOptions be used to reserve any available unit at one of the Flex resorts?

No. Only a portion of the deeds for each Flex resort is held in their respective trust. The other deeds are owned by other owners who have the right to use their deeded ownerships without competing with Flex owners. This cuts both ways: Flex owners cannot reserve inventory that is held by deeded owners, and deeded owners cannot reserve inventory that is held by the Flex trust.

As such, it is possible for a desired reservation to be available to deeded owners in the priority period but not to Flex owners, and vice versa. In addition, the Flex trusts do not contain deeds for every unit type at every resort. Here are some examples of inventory observations made by Flex owners:

• Sheraton Broadway Plantation
  • 3-bedroom Palmetto units do not appear to be part of the Sheraton Flex trust, as they are not reservable using HomeOptions at any time of the year.
• Sheraton Steamboat Springs
  • The East Tower, formerly operated exclusively as a hotel, appears to have been made a part of the Sheraton Flex trust and only reservable by Sheraton Flex owners
  • 3-bedroom units do not currently appear to be part of the Sheraton Flex trust
• Westin Hawaii Resorts
  • There are no oceanfront deeds in the Westin Flex trust
  • There are no event week deeds (weeks 51-52) in the Westin Flex trust

How many HomeOptions are required to reserve resort/unit type/season?

HomeOption values are equivalent to StarOption values for the purpose of calculating the number required for a particular reservation. Simply tally up the weekly and/or daily StarOption values for the desired reservation, and that's how many HomeOptions are required.

The Villa Finder will also specify how many HomeOptions are required in the search results.

Are there limits to how long or how many reservations I can make?

You cannot book a reservation using Flex for a period longer than fourteen (14) days. You can also only have up to three concurrent reservations within the current use year per VOI that you own.

Can I use HomeOptions like StarOptions to make VSN reservations?

Yes, as long as the ownership is "qualified," meaning that it was either purchased from the developer or contractually requalified as part of a subsequent developer purchase.

One benefit of HomeOptions is that even if they are used like StarOptions to book a VSN reservation eight months or less prior to arrival, if the reservation is subsequently canceled (prior to the 60-day restriction), they can continue to be used as HomeOptions to make home resort reservations. This is unlike a typical deeded ownership, which loses its home resort preference as soon as it is used to book a StarOptions reservation.

Can HomeOptions be banked/borrowed?

No. Only StarOptions can be banked or borrowed for use in VSN; however, for qualified Flex contracts, it will appear as though you are banking your HomeOptions.

Once you have banked your StarOptions for a particular year, they can no longer be used to reserve for that year. You cannot bank HomeOptions with the intent of creating a separate "banked HomeOptions" pool that has priority access to the Flex resorts.

While you cannot borrow HomeOptions from a future year to make a reservation, you can borrow StarOptions from the associated VOI to make a reservation through VSN.

 

[dioxide45]

Are you trying to book 12 months in advance? Booking timeshare isn't like booking a hotel. YOu can't just decide on a whim 5 months out to make a reservation.

 

[mv trip]

Thanks for the replies. I've owned for 23 years and the Westin flex for close to 5. I've tried Kierland and a few others. I have never had trouble getting a reservation for a few nights a few months out. Just seems like it's getting near impossible these days. For our big vacations 1 week or longer we do it a year out, but for the ones closer to home, we've always done it a few months out and are very flexible with dates. I've tried almost all dates from now till end of the year with no avail. Just annoyed that there are obviously rooms available, but only for paying folks.. (though as a timeshare owner we've paid, just upfront)

 

[dioxide45]

Thanks for the replies. I've owned for 23 years and the Westin flex for close to 5. I've tried Kierland and a few others. I have never had trouble getting a reservation for a few nights a few months out. Just seems like it's getting near impossible these days. For our big vacations 1 week or longer we do it a year out, but for the ones closer to home, we've always done it a few months out and are very flexible with dates. I've tried almost all dates from now till end of the year with no avail. Just annoyed that there are obviously rooms available, but only for paying folks.. (though as a timeshare owner we've paid, just upfront)

Now till the end of the year is a problem because of the Maui fires. People with cancelled reservations are trying to use up their Options before they expire on December 31st.

 

[DeniseM]

The end of the year is always packed with owners who procrastinated with making their reservations and now find themselves in a use it or lose it situation. Be sure you read the Westin flex info posted in post #3. It's pretty clear that availability is limited for flex owners, and I'm sure your sales person did not disclose that to you.

 

[alwysonvac]

This year is worst that than normal due to the Maui fires last month which caused cancellations at the three Maui resorts. Those folks received restricted StarOptions that must be used by the end of the year.

 

[mauix4]

Booking on Vistana was a problem yesterday. In the morning there was NOTHING in Maui for November, not even 1 night. But a day or 2 before, I saw a lot of options. I went on chat and the agent said no availability. I also looked on Marriott.com and saw there were rooms. I suspected a computer glitch / system problem. A couple of hours later on Vistana, all the rooms appeared again. Definitely a system problem.