Rental reservation Number Changed

[WinniWoman]

I booked a rental unit through a Wyndham owner for a specific building for a few days in December at my home resort. I got the reservation confirmation and confirmed everything with the resort. This was all back in February.

She now sent me another confirmation letter from Wyndham with a different reservation number on it. She said not to worry, that the unit will be the exact same one. I noticed that the number of points used on the confirmation letter is a lot less than the original one.

The original was 119,000 points and the new one is 59, 500 points.It still shows a one bedroom and on the email- from Wyndham I guess-that she forwarded it showed the building name.

What is up with this?

 

[DeniseM]

She rebooked for fewer points, closer to the reservation date. This is a common way of saving points on reservations.

 

[ronparise]

Denise has it right.

and you should remember that we discussed this some time ago

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221682

 

[mistalong]

Not to worry

Although I'm an owner, I rent from a VIP and happens all the time. Doesn't diminish the product at all.

 

[WinniWoman]

Denise has it right.

and you should remember that we discussed this some time ago

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=221682

I know. But she did already put our name on the reservation back in February, so not knowing much about the Wyndham system (I am not a Wyndham owner), I couldn't understand how she could book something with "x" amount of points and then all of a sudden use less points now, but now- I see- this is the "book rebook" thing you guys always talk about here. I never would have thought she would re-book or COULD rebook later since she already put our names on the confirmation. But, I guess, upon thinking about it more, she can even cancel the reservation anytime if she wanted to as well, leaving me in the lurch.

What if she lost the reservation when doing this? I am very surprised she did it. Very nervy if you ask me. I paid her in full immediately after she put our name on the confirmation back in February so as to have no issues, yet she re booked anyway. Right at the onset when I asked her to set up the rental, I told her I was only interested in certain buildings and she agreed to try to get units in those buildings and she quoted me a price. She was able to do so, although she couldn't get 2 two- bedroom units; only 1 one bedroom and 1 two bedroom, so we agreed to that since they were in buildings we wanted and it was a holiday week. We were thrilled.

I have sent her reply to see what she did with my brother's confirmation as well. He is not a timeshare owner and he paid exactly as I did, so I would hope she did not risk his reservation because if she loses it our family XMAS holiday will be ruined. He would not understand any of this and I would be totally embarrassed for arranging it in the first place.

Do you think I should call the resort again to confirm and make sure I am still in the same unit as she stated?

Thanks for your input.

 

[WinniWoman]

I received an email back from her and she said my brother's reservation confirmation number did not change.

I thanked her, but I injected that rebooking could have risked losing the reservation and would have ruined our holiday.

I wanted her to know that I knew what game she played and didn't appreciate it.

Geez!

 

[MaryBella7]

There are ways to cancel and rebook without risk - they have been discussed on TUG at length. It is possible that there was no "game" played with your reservation.

 

[ronparise]

To answer your question "What if she lost the reservation when doing this?". The answer is that she could just return your money and be done with it. I never like to return money. so I wouldnt take the risk, but there are ways to play the cancel and re book game without taking any risk

The $99 guest confirm often doesnt matter. In your case the The owner saved 60000 points (more than likely that means more than $300 If they get those 60000 points in a reservation that the rent will likely bring in more than that.) and its possible that the owner still has some guest certs in his account so maybe it didnt cost anything to add your name to the new reservation.

So I dont cancel and rebook when I have taken someones money,unless I have double booked. Its quite possible thats what the owner did here with no risk

I make two identical reservations early on. When inside the discount window I cancel one and attempt to rebook it. If Im successful I can cancel the second. If Im not successful, I still have my second reservation. ie, no risk.


I wouldnt jump to the conclusion that the owner took any risk, and as it turns out it doesnt matter.... everything is working out

 

[WinniWoman]

Well, I was just curious. Kind of bothers me is all.

If it didn't work out it would have been very upsetting to say the least. This is our XMAS holiday and it involves my brother and his family who have never been to Smuggs and coming on our recommendation. Not to mention that if she was unscrupulous she might not return my money and it would be hard to get the money back as she doesn't even live in the USA. That said, I really have no reason not to trust her in that respect. She has been upfront with everything else and I have had good communication with her throughout the process.

 

[jcraycraft]

After following your line of thinking--I can see a simple solution for you.
Next time, book directly with the resort instead of an owner

........And pay 2-3 times more for your peace of mind

 

[WinniWoman]

After following your line of thinking--I can see a simple solution for you.
Next time, book directly with the resort instead of an owner

........And pay 2-3 times more for your peace of mind

No need for the wise crack. Listen, I have rented from owners many times- (but not a Wyndham owner). Never had any issues. And- there is no issue with this one either, but I was just curious as to why my confirmation # changed. Only asked a question.

When I pay an owner for a rental, I expect that rental. End of story.

 

[jcraycraft]

Wasn't meant as a wisecrack.

You presented a problem--I offered a solution

 

[ronparise]

No need for the wise crack. Listen, I have rented from owners many times- (but not a Wyndham owner). Never had any issues. And- there is no issue with this one either, but I was just curious as to why my confirmation # changed. Only asked a question.

When I pay an owner for a rental, I expect that rental. End of story.

and you have every right to expect that rental

The way it looks to me is that you really dont trust the person you are dealing with, at least not yet, even though, as you say, "I really have no reason not to trust her" Assuming everything works out, perhaps you can be more relaxed next time.

 

[WinniWoman]

and you have every right to expect that rental

The way it looks to me is that you really dont trust the person you are dealing with, at least not yet, even though, as you say, "I really have no reason not to trust her" Assuming everything works out, perhaps you can be more relaxed next time.

I do trust her or I wouldn't have booked with her in the first place. Never gave anything a second thought after I confirmed with the resort back in February.

But after this, I was slightly concerned, which is why I asked the question, but you cleared it all up for me and I am happy.

 

[chapjim]

There are ways to cancel and rebook without risk - they have been discussed on TUG at length. It is possible that there was no "game" played with your reservation.

To the best of my knowledge, there are NO ways to cancel and rebook without some risk. There are ways to reduce risk but not to eliminate it.

There are certain resorts and certain times where the risk of losing a reservation is minimal but not zero. But, you can get surprised and lose a reservation at a place where you've never lost a reservation before. You may be able to find out why, you may be able to make some good guesses, or you may never have a clue why you lost this time but never before.

 

[SMHarman]

Redbook then cancel would be riskless.

 

[MaryBella7]

To the best of my knowledge, there are NO ways to cancel and rebook without some risk. There are ways to reduce risk but not to eliminate it.

There are certain resorts and certain times where the risk of losing a reservation is minimal but not zero. But, you can get surprised and lose a reservation at a place where you've never lost a reservation before. You may be able to find out why, you may be able to make some good guesses, or you may never have a clue why you lost this time but never before.

If you have a backup reservation, you can cancel and rebook without risk as you will have the backup to fall back on. It is a separate reservation you need to use points for, but there is no risk of not having the needed reservation with the backup. Add on a smaller unit, and you can try for an upgrade too. I am not VIap and don't have enough points to do this, but it is what I have read others do, and I believe it is what Ron described as well.

 

[wjappraise]

No need for the wise crack. Listen, I have rented from owners many times- (but not a Wyndham owner). Never had any issues. And- there is no issue with this one either, but I was just curious as to why my confirmation # changed. Only asked a question.



When I pay an owner for a rental, I expect that rental. End of story.

Wow! This seems borderline obsessive to me. This is certainly more than curiosity. Relax. You have your reservation, likely at a very attractive price. Why are you obsessing on the "what if" aspects of your transaction. Weren't you the same poster who was quoting what you "heard" about cleaning fees and thinking your seller wasn't being honest about it? There is an element of trust involved (and resultant risk) with renting units from an owner. Jay correctly provided you the way to avoid the constant worry this has deposited into your life. You are not a good candidate for any level of risk in these transactions. Sometimes it's best to not see how the sausage is made!

Wes



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WinniWoman]

Wow! This seems borderline obsessive to me. This is certainly more than curiosity. Relax. You have your reservation, likely at a very attractive price. Why are you obsessing on the "what if" aspects of your transaction. Weren't you the same poster who was quoting what you "heard" about cleaning fees and thinking your seller wasn't being honest about it? There is an element of trust involved (and resultant risk) with renting units from an owner. Jay correctly provided you the way to avoid the constant worry this has deposited into your life. You are not a good candidate for any level of risk in these transactions. Sometimes it's best to not see how the sausage is made!

Wes



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oye, vey! Sorry I asked. Next time I will just send a PM to someone.

 

[Ty1on]

Well, I was just curious. Kind of bothers me is all.

If it didn't work out it would have been very upsetting to say the least. This is our XMAS holiday and it involves my brother and his family who have never been to Smuggs and coming on our recommendation. Not to mention that if she was unscrupulous she might not return my money and it would be hard to get the money back as she doesn't even live in the USA. That said, I really have no reason not to trust her in that respect. She has been upfront with everything else and I have had good communication with her throughout the process.

The truth is, you don't know that she didn't have a backup reservation in case the rebook failed.

Book two. Rent one and leave the other open.
Cancel the other and attempt to rebook.
If rebook is successful, give new Resv# to guest and cancel the first resv.
If rebook fails, leave the guest in the original resv#.
I think this would be easily doable even at end of year if the renter regularly uses Credit Pool.

 

[ronparise]

The truth is, you don't know that she didn't have a backup reservation in case the rebook failed.

Book two. Rent one and leave the other open.
Cancel the other and attempt to rebook.
If rebook is successful, give new Resv# to guest and cancel the first resv.
If rebook fails, leave the guest in the original resv#.
I think this would be easily doable even at end of year if the renter regularly uses Credit Pool.

I do it, There are only 2 issues, one is the number of credits tied up, for example, Ive got over 800000 credits tied up for one clients vacation, right now.. Not everyone has points to do too many of these. and second is December reservations, I can credit pool as late as Sept 30 so current years credits in a late Novenver reservation allows me to credit pool the "cancelled points. I have to be careful to make December reservations with points already in the pool... Last thing I want is to end up losing too many points.

 

[chapjim]

If you have a backup reservation, you can cancel and rebook without risk as you will have the backup to fall back on. It is a separate reservation you need to use points for, but there is no risk of not having the needed reservation with the backup. Add on a smaller unit, and you can try for an upgrade too. I am not VIap and don't have enough points to do this, but it is what I have read others do, and I believe it is what Ron described as well.

No. That doesn't do it. The statement I took issue with was there are ways to cancel and re-book without risk (of losing the reservation). I maintain there are no such ways.

What you are talking about is reducing the risk of not satisfying a customer if the cancel/re-book fails. If there were risk-free ways of cancelling & rebooking, you would never need the backup. The fact that you feel it necessary to have a backup reservation tells me you don't have a risk-free way of cancelling & rebooking.

Example: I had six identical 2BR Deluxe reservations at Bonnet Creek in September. I made the reservations last spring for five families from the same neighborhood who wanted to go to Disney together with no kids, shorter lines, etc. Five customers and six reservations so I had a spare. Day 60 (or 59 or 58) comes around, I cancel the spare to start a succession of re-bookings but the reservation never comes back as available. I stopped. A few days later, one of the five cancels and I start again. Same result. After a little sniffing around, I find out Bonnet Creek was taking Building 6 out service (well documented here on TUG).

If anyone has a risk-free way of dealing with that, please tell me. I lost about $2,000 on that week (pure loss, not lost profits). (But, my customers were happy!)

I kind of know the tricks. I currently have eleven reservations within the upgrade period. All but three have been upgraded. Three can't be upgraded because they are the top units at the resorts -- nothing to upgrade to. But, if a smaller unit pops up, I'll be on it (unless someone beats me to it).

 

[MaryBella7]

No. That doesn't do it. The statement I took issue with was there are ways to cancel and re-book without risk (of losing the reservation). I maintain there are no such ways.

I never said this: (of losing the reservation)

What you are talking about is reducing the risk of not satisfying a customer if the cancel/re-book fails.

I thought that was what mattered to the OP, and that is all I thought mattered in this thread. What I stated doesn't reduce the risk of not satisfying the customer, it eliminates it.

I am sorry that I upset you with my misleading statement.

 

[WinniWoman]

The truth is, you don't know that she didn't have a backup reservation in case the rebook failed.

Book two. Rent one and leave the other open.
Cancel the other and attempt to rebook.
If rebook is successful, give new Resv# to guest and cancel the first resv.
If rebook fails, leave the guest in the original resv#.
I think this would be easily doable even at end of year if the renter regularly uses Credit Pool.

I am going to chime in one more time. (Ugh! I must be nuts to keep posting on this thread)

Keep in mind I do not know a lot about Wyndham. But- here goes-

Even if she booked a back-up, as you suggested is a possibility; when she booked the backup one now, how then did she get the exact unit for that reservation if the original booked unit was already booked for that same unit?

I am thinking she did not have a backup since i am in the same unit as originally confirmed.


Again, I am just interested for knowledge sake.

 

[ronparise]

I am going to chime in one more time. (Ugh! I must be nuts to keep posting on this thread)

Keep in mind I do not know a lot about Wyndham. But- here goes-

Even if she booked a back-up, as you suggested is a possibility; when she booked the backup one now, how then did she get the exact unit for that reservation if the original booked unit was already booked for that same unit?

I am thinking she did not have a backup since i am in the same unit as originally confirmed.


Again, I am just interested for knowledge sake.

She called owner services with her now discounted reservation and the one that had the special room number on it. and asked that the room designation be removed from the one and added to the other.. ezpz I know that would work for me, I have a certain senior owner services person to call on that has always been able to do what I needed (as long as it didnt break any rules)

And I would challenge your last statement. I doubt that you are interested for the knowledge, It seems to me your interest is in trying to find some evidence that you were wronged in some way... You werent; relax, enjoy your vacation