Receiving complimentary upgrade, except it's a downgrade for me

[Nowaker]

I woke up to an email from HGVC:

I received an upgrade from 2 Bedroom to 2 Bedroom Plus.
The first one is ground floor with a grass patio. It's fantastic with kids.
The second one is second floor with a balcony. Meh.

I am HGV Max now, and this is probably why I got upgraded. However, I wasn't HGV Max at the time of booking, so I couldn't have opted in for upgrades. And I know I absolutely would not opt for upgrades when I know what I book.

I was able to get it reversed by calling the support, but not without a fight. So - I call in, explain I received an upgrade that I don't want and didn't consent to, I want my original unit back. She says she would waive the cancellation penalties because it's the first time I'm cancelling, and the original unit is still available so she can book it right after cancellation processes... WHAT?! I explain again, I want my original unit back and I want to avoid any situations where my reservation is canceled, while someone else takes the inventory before she books it again. She argues with me that this is how the system works, it's a courtesy, yada yada, to which I say this is all unacceptable, I need this back to the original state without canceling anything. She puts me on hold to contact the supervisor, but she figures out how to fix it herself, and just modified it without canceling. Sigh.

I was pretty lucky I caught it early and my original unit was still available. We're talking a Christmas/NYE stay in Kings Land in Hawaii.

 

[ernststarhemberg]

Yeah it sounds like she was delivering her canned response without registering that your situation was different from the other 150 calls she got that day about changing a reservation.

 

[HuskerATL]

interesting because, normally, you get the message when you book if you want to accept an upgrade. For Elite Premier owners, we get this with each reservation and get upgrades about half the time, depending on the property.

 

[bizaro86]

I woke up to an email from HGVC:

View attachment 102558

I received an upgrade from 2 Bedroom to 2 Bedroom Plus.
The first one is ground floor with a grass patio. It's fantastic with kids.
The second one is second floor with a balcony. Meh.

I am HGV Max now, and this is probably why I got upgraded. However, I wasn't HGV Max at the time of booking, so I couldn't have opted in for upgrades. And I know I absolutely would not opt for upgrades when I know what I book.

I was able to get it reversed by calling the support, but not without a fight. So - I call in, explain I received an upgrade that I don't want and didn't consent to, I want my original unit back. She says she would waive the cancellation penalties because it's the first time I'm cancelling, and the original unit is still available so she can book it right after cancellation processes... WHAT?! I explain again, I want my original unit back and I want to avoid any situations where my reservation is canceled, while someone else takes the inventory before she books it again. She argues with me that this is how the system works, it's a courtesy, yada yada, to which I say this is all unacceptable, I need this back to the original state without canceling anything. She puts me on hold to contact the supervisor, but she figures out how to fix it herself, and just modified it without canceling. Sigh.

I was pretty lucky I caught it early and my original unit was still available. We're talking a Christmas/NYE stay in Kings Land in Hawaii.

Great stay! I totally agree I wouldn't want to move to floor 2 at K.L. With kids the grass patio is priceless, and I love the short cut to the BBQ grills as well.

 

[jehb2]

With kids the grass patio is priceless, and I love the short cut to the BBQ grills as well.

I completely agree. We always stayed in the penthouse/3rd floor units at the bay club. However, once my kids got into elementary school, they specifically requested the ground floor units. And I had to admit it was really nice for them to be able to run in and outdoors and to be able to play in the “backyard.” However, never would I ever choose the second floor. Why would I choose the second floor. That makes no sense. My choice would either be the top floor or the ground floor. And usually they give the second floor to people who trade in via RCI. I find your “upgrade” suspicious.

 

[HuskerATL]

I completely agree. We always stayed in the penthouse/3rd floor units at the bay club. However, once my kids got into elementary school, they specifically requested the ground floor units. And I had to admit it was really nice for them to be able to run in and outdoors and to be able to play in the “backyard.” However, never would I ever choose the second floor. Why would I choose the second floor. That makes no sense. My choice would either be the top floor or the ground floor. And usually they give the second floor to people who trade in via RCI. I find your “upgrade” suspicious.

The second floor on the Bay Club villas are nice with higher ceilings and more natural lighting. We prefer those.

 

[Volcom32001]

I woke up to an email from HGVC:

View attachment 102558

I received an upgrade from 2 Bedroom to 2 Bedroom Plus.
The first one is ground floor with a grass patio. It's fantastic with kids.
The second one is second floor with a balcony. Meh.

I am HGV Max now, and this is probably why I got upgraded. However, I wasn't HGV Max at the time of booking, so I couldn't have opted in for upgrades. And I know I absolutely would not opt for upgrades when I know what I book.

I was able to get it reversed by calling the support, but not without a fight. So - I call in, explain I received an upgrade that I don't want and didn't consent to, I want my original unit back. She says she would waive the cancellation penalties because it's the first time I'm cancelling, and the original unit is still available so she can book it right after cancellation processes... WHAT?! I explain again, I want my original unit back and I want to avoid any situations where my reservation is canceled, while someone else takes the inventory before she books it again. She argues with me that this is how the system works, it's a courtesy, yada yada, to which I say this is all unacceptable, I need this back to the original state without canceling anything. She puts me on hold to contact the supervisor, but she figures out how to fix it herself, and just modified it without canceling. Sigh.

I was pretty lucky I caught it early and my original unit was still available. We're talking a Christmas/NYE stay in Kings Land in Hawaii.

Which code do you book for the 2 bedroom(2BR or BR2) for the "backyard/grass patio? Or do they both have it? Also is there a building/room you request?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

The second floor units at Kingsland are considered "plus" an upgrade that requires more points, but not a plus to most hence they are empty.

I agree it is a strange setup because we also prefer bottom with grass patio or top floor premiere, but this was set long ago by developers who never stayed in the units so nothing suspicious about it. Go look at the points charts.

I am willing to bet that the agent cancelled and rebooked just to get OP to stop complaining. Why they cannot put the current second floor reservation temporarily into a holding account controlled by HGVC to free the points and then book the new room is beyond me.

 

[brp]

Great stay! I totally agree I wouldn't want to move to floor 2 at K.L. With kids the grass patio is priceless, and I love the short cut to the BBQ grills as well.

Absolutely. We don't have kids, but still love the "infinite lanai" and the walk to the Serenity Pool hot tub in the morning and grills in the evening. We specifically choose phase 1, first floor (the latter by request) for this reason.

They could move us to a 2BD elsewhere, and this would be a downgrade.

Cheers.

 

[letsgobobby]

I woke up to an email from HGVC:

View attachment 102558

I received an upgrade from 2 Bedroom to 2 Bedroom Plus.
The first one is ground floor with a grass patio. It's fantastic with kids.
The second one is second floor with a balcony. Meh.

I am HGV Max now, and this is probably why I got upgraded. However, I wasn't HGV Max at the time of booking, so I couldn't have opted in for upgrades. And I know I absolutely would not opt for upgrades when I know what I book.

I was able to get it reversed by calling the support, but not without a fight. So - I call in, explain I received an upgrade that I don't want and didn't consent to, I want my original unit back. She says she would waive the cancellation penalties because it's the first time I'm cancelling, and the original unit is still available so she can book it right after cancellation processes... WHAT?! I explain again, I want my original unit back and I want to avoid any situations where my reservation is canceled, while someone else takes the inventory before she books it again. She argues with me that this is how the system works, it's a courtesy, yada yada, to which I say this is all unacceptable, I need this back to the original state without canceling anything. She puts me on hold to contact the supervisor, but she figures out how to fix it herself, and just modified it without canceling. Sigh.

I was pretty lucky I caught it early and my original unit was still available. We're talking a Christmas/NYE stay in Kings Land in Hawaii.

thanks for sharing

1. when and how were you first notified of the upgrade?
2. when you made your reservation were you advised you were eligible to be upgraded and did you consent to that?
3. are upgrades a benefit of Max?

i have free Max (like you?) and don't want any upgrades. like you i know what i reserve and don't want that to change (I suppose sometimes it could be a true upgrade but more often I'd be stressed out about getting a room I didn't want)

 

[CalGalTraveler]

When we reserve as Legacy elite, we are asked whether we would accept an upgrade as part of checkout. You can decline

OP is in a one-off situation because he reserved prior to upgrading in MAX. He will be asked in future reservations.

Generally upgrades are a good thing. People would complain if they bought into Max and didn't have option.

 

[letsgobobby]

When we reserve as Legacy elite, we are asked whether we would accept an upgrade as part of checkout. You can decline

OP is in a one-off situation because he reserved prior to upgrading in MAX. He will be asked in future reservations.

Generally upgrades are a good thing. People would complain if they bought into Max and didn't have option.

i have made reservations since getting max and have never been asked -

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Are you at a tier in MAX that offers upgrades? If so, then perhaps a MAX glitch?

 

[Snezz1e]

I have MAX and for me, if you open up reservation details there's a line under the "Your Reservation is Confirmed" section that states "Eligible for Room Upgrade" with Accepted or Declined under it. I usually get a popup for most reservations asking if I want the upgrade and I have declined it for King's Land for a friend since they wanted the first floor.

I don't get the pop-up if upgrades are not possible like at Flamingo where there's only standard rooms with no Plus options. The same apply if you book the highest tier for room size.

There has been a few instances where I didn't get the pop-up when upgrades are possible. A recent Grand Islander booking didn't have the pop-up but when I go into reservation details it has the upgrade status as Accepted. It happened a few other times and it's always accepted status in reservation details.

So you should check your reservation details to confirm you're not eligible for another upgrade on your fixed reservation.

 

[ljmiii]

I have MAX and for me, if you open up reservation details there's a line under the "Your Reservation is Confirmed" section that states "Eligible for Room Upgrade" with Accepted or Declined under it...

Learn something new every day...I never noticed that 'View Details' link before. TY!

 

[letsgobobby]

Are you at a tier in MAX that offers upgrades? If so, then perhaps a MAX glitch?

i don't know, I'm in the "never asked for it, didn't pay for it, don't really want it" tier...