alwysonvac
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Found this old thread and thought I'd add something to the bolded part of the above post.
This tried-and-true method works, of course, as long as there is availability the day after whatever your current reservation happens to be. But the online changeable reservation option often has a problem with a particular kind of transaction. Here's an example:
Let's say you want to reserve 8 days in the Gold period that begins May 7th, 2011, but you want your check-in date to be May 17th. You could simply wait until the 3-day block of May 17/18/19 are available to begin your reservation, but you don't want to take the chance that someone will beat you to it. So you grab May 7/8/9 as soon as they are available, and each subsequent day add to the reservation until you have 8 days--checking in May 7th, checking out May 15th.
Remember, though, that you really want to check in on May 17th, not May 7th, so during the next few days you want to shift your 8-day reservation forward, one day at a time, changing the check-in date from May 7th to May 8th, then May 9th, and so on until you finally reach your goal of a May 17th check-in date.
So on the next day, you enter change mode and see that May 16th is available. In fact, the system is happy to let you add May 16th to your existing reservation. But you don't want 9 days--you want to shift your 8-day reservation from May 7-15 to May 8-16. Shouldn't be a problem (right?) since the system has already told you that a 9-day block (May 7-16) is available. But when you click on May 8th, the system doesn't offer May 8-16, it offers May 8-12. Huh? So you try clicking on May 9th, just to see what will happen. This time, the message Check-In choice does not allow for the minimum 3 night stay appears. You're kidding, right? Clicking May 10th reveals May 10-16. Oh, so now the only way I can move this reservation forward is to shave off 2 days? What kind of two-bit reservation system is this?, you ask yourself.
If this has happened to you, you may not know that what I've described is a known limitation of the HGVC reservation system. When I e-mailed HGVC to ask why, sometimes, the system acts as though it has forgotten about your existing block of reserved days when you try to make a change that alters your original check-in date, I received this response:
In regards to changing reservations on-line, the system will look as if you are making a new reservation when it checks availability, even though you may already have some of the same dates confirmed in the existing reservation. It is an unfortunate limitation on the website for the Change Reservation function.
In other words, we know our system is flawed but... have a nice day!
OK, to be fair, the response also said I can always call a Club Counselor for assistance. But my experience is that a counselor's only option for shifting the reservation in the above scenario while preserving an 8-day block would be the same as mine online--canceling the existing May 7th reservation and quickly re-reserving with a May 8th check-in date. The only difference is that the counselor can waive the extra reservation fee.
So, to continue, taking May 10-16 moves you closer to your desired May 17th check-in date, but the next several days are bound to have you adding on and shaving off days as the system toys with you on your way to the May 17th finish line.
After this kind of treatment, you'll really need a vacation!
Yes, I've run into this problem and yes, I've been told the system will attempt to make a new reservation based on current availability excluding the dates you already have reserved.
The only way around this as Hat Trick describes is to release your original dates (so the system can see availability) and quickly rebook them before someone else does. However you don't have to cancel reservation to release the original dates. Just pick some other date using the changeable reservation option and go back to rebook. That's what I've done.
Hat Trick what I don't understand is why would you start booking on May 7 when you really want May 17 check-in. Why put yourself through the aggravation?
During the club reservation window, the earliest anyone can add May 17 to an existing reservation is two days before. So I would start with the May 15 check-in (May 15, 16, 17 with May 18 checkout) and then start the slide.
