Parking fees for owners with access pkg?

[Tucsonadventurer]

We are Vistana owners who are adding a 5 day access package at Nanea this summer. When we confirmed our dates they weren't sure if we would need to pay for parking for the 5 days. Does anyone know?

 

[Moparman42]

Historically, parking has only been free on your ownership stay, so I would plan on paying for it. You could always call the resort to verify, but I stayed on the explorer packages and always had to pay for parking.

 

[daviator]

Officially, parking isn’t included on promotional packages, only on ownership stays. So the official answer is that you’ll have to pay.

In practice, I have found that they don’t always charge you, especially if you’re at a resort where you are an owner. I’ve frequently combined Encore package stays with ownership stays, and haven’t been charged parking for any of it. But maybe I’ve just been lucky.

I wouldn’t ask about it at check in unless they bring it up, because you might end up reminding them that they’re supposed to charge you!

 

[Gremanda]

We stayed at Nanea last month by combining 4 days from StarOptions and a 5 day Encore package. We paid for parking for the 5 days of the Encore package. It is kind of a wash, as you don't get charged for the room taxes for the Encore package days. The room taxes for the 4 "owner" days were just shy of $24/day.

 

[iowaguy09]

We stayed at Nanea last month by combining 4 days from StarOptions and a 5 day Encore package. We paid for parking for the 5 days of the Encore package. It is kind of a wash, as you don't get charged for the room taxes for the Encore package days. The room taxes for the 4 "owner" days were just shy of $24/day.

This is also how it was explained to us when we purchased a WKORV Encore Package last year: we pay the parking fee but not the room taxes, so it is pretty much a wash.

 

[dioxide45]

Encore Packages also don't qualify for Elite Nights in Bonvoy. Some have managed to get around these things on the Marriott side by combining a DC point reservation with an Encore Package, but it doesn't always work and on the Vistana side, up till now they never had a Marriott Bonvoy confirmation number. I doubt there is a way around the parking fees on an Encore with Vistana right now.

 

[TravelTime]

Why is there no room tax with Encore packages?

 

[dioxide45]

Why is there no room tax with Encore packages?

I suspect that TOT is not payable because it is not a timeshare based stay. Similar to renting on Marriott.com and perhaps they hide the nightly TAT in the fee you pay to purchase it.

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

Great information, thank you. I'll let you know how it works out. Either way it's a great deal

 

[daviator]

I suspect that TOT is not payable because it is not a timeshare based stay. Similar to renting on Marriott.com and perhaps they hide the nightly TAT in the fee you pay to purchase it.

I think that' technically, you are not paying anything for the stay. You are paying to preserve the deal they presented to you at the initial sales presentation, and in exchange they give you a stay to come back and experience the property again. You are utilizing inventory that the developer maintains for that purpose.

So it’s a bit of a tax dodge by the developer, by treating the stay as a free promotional stay, there is no TAT. Or maybe I’m completely wrong and they just bake it into the price that you pay, as @dioxide45 suggests.

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

I think that' technically, you are not paying anything for the stay. You are paying to preserve the deal they presented to you at the initial sales presentation, and in exchange they give you a stay to come back and experience the property again. You are utilizing inventory that the developer maintains for that purpose.

So it’s a bit of a tax dodge by the developer, by treating the stay as a free promotional stay, there is no TAT. Or maybe I’m completely wrong and they just bake it into the price that you pay, as @dioxide45 suggests.

The price is very reasonable 1995 for 5 nights plus 100,000 bonvoy pts. We bought a Hyatt package for 2499 , which they now sell for 2999 with 25,000 Hyatt points. But with Hyatt we get oceanfront and most likely parking lot , at Nanea. We are in Maui for 7 weeks so we are pretty thrilled and counting down

 

[daviator]

The price is very reasonable 1995 for 5 nights plus 100,000 bonvoy pts. We bought a Hyatt package for 2499 , which they now sell for 2999 with 25,000 Hyatt points. But with Hyatt we get oceanfront and most likely parking lot , at Nanea. We are in Maui for 7 weeks so we are pretty thrilled and counting down

I think the Encore packages are a great deal, generally, and I usually buy one when I have the opportunity, so long as I think I can use it. The only downside is the necessity to sit through a sales presentation.

I find the Encore packages less useful for Maui though, because the cost and mechanics of getting there and back are significant enough that I don't want to go for just four nights. Of course, you can buy an Encore package and try to piggyback it with an ownership stay, and that can work out well if you're able to get the dates you want. But there's a lot of uncertainty since the Encore inventory is from a different bucket than any of the others that owners can access, and so you have to book your week and then hope you can get the appropriate dates for the Encore package. They also often don't open up booking for the Encore packages until six or eight months prior.

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

I think the Encore packages are a great deal, generally, and I usually buy one when I have the opportunity, so long as I think I can use it. The only downside is the necessity to sit through a sales presentation.

I find the Encore packages less useful for Maui though, because the cost and mechanics of getting there and back are significant enough that I don't want to go for just four nights. Of course, you can buy an Encore package and try to piggyback it with an ownership stay, and that can work out well if you're able to get the dates you want. But there's a lot of uncertainty since the Encore inventory is from a different bucket than any of the others that owners can access, and so you have to book your week and then hope you can get the appropriate dates for the Encore package. They also often don't open up booking for the Encore packages until six or eight months prior.

We had no trouble booking as inventory changes daily. We called throughout the week and our dates opened up. Because we have an extended stay I don't mind the presentation. They have been low pressure in Maui. But I get it, if we had limited time, I would not want to spend it at a presentation. As a couple, we typically stay in 1 bedrooms or studios , so when we bring family and friends the 2 bedroom encore packages help us extend our SOs