VIP SPECIFIC UNIT REQUEST " GONE WITH THE WIND "

[Sandi Bo]

I miss the instant upgrades that I could do online. I see inventory when I look, but if I choose a unit type that is smaller, I am no longer able to book them myself. I have to call. Calling is best. Maybe Wyndham wanted to give the VIP phone people something to do?

Major frustration, but doing pretty well at accepting it is what it is, is seeing your upgrade there and not getting it because the batch process is so unreliable. Time after time. Tis another loss, for sure.

 

[CO skier]

So what you and others are saying is that " words don't matter " and benefits are not guaranteed,

When it comes to timeshares in general and Wyndham in particular, the answer is a solid "Yes."

There are merger clauses in timeshare contracts that limit the contract to only what is written in the contract, so nothing the sales department promised is part of the contract; i.e., "words don't matter." These merger clauses are pretty much ironclad as they have been litigated over at least the last 20 years.

The second part about benefits was answered in post #18.

 

[schreff]

When it comes to timeshares in general and Wyndham in particular, the answer is a solid "Yes."

There are merger clauses in timeshare contracts that limit the contract to only what is written in the contract, so nothing the sales department promised is part of the contract; i.e., "words don't matter." These merger clauses are pretty much ironclad as they have been litigated over at least the last 20 years.

The second part about benefits was answered in post #18.

So in other words, Wyndham sales and Wyndham owes it to the prospect to tell them not to sign the contract without the advice of their attorney? Cite the specific cases where the merger clause has held up in Court for Wyndham.

And the second parts reflects my previous statement:
if so, what good are VIP benefits in general if they can't be turned off at any time? Did you ever buy a high priced vehicle or real estate in which the sales contract states that the vehicle or property can be taken back anytime in the future whenever the seller decides to? Beyond caveat emptor, yes and words do matter.

And the answer to what good are VIP Benefits of which most are " GONE WITH THE WIND " and the others are suffering from a fatal disease called merger clauses is DO NOT SEEK ADDITIONAL PURCHASES FROM WYNDHAM TO BECOME A VIP? If, like you said, no benefits are guaranteed and admitted that many benefits are now being taken away, i.e. renting, specific units, etc. then Wyndham's integration clause in any form must go. Or is the merger clause nothing more than fraudulent inducement considering the supplemental sales materials and directory? Note: All supporting sales written documentation is contrary to the contract and this should broaden the contract's scope but does not as the contract is limited to the contract ONLY.

 

[CO skier]

Cite the specific cases where the merger clause has held up in Court for Wyndham.

There are many examples available on the internet and in TUG over the years for many different timeshare systems.

Here is just one specific case from 2012: Sirmon v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc.

Sirmon v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc., 922 F. Supp. 2d 1261 | Casetext Search + Citator

Read Sirmon v. Wyndham Vacation Resorts, Inc., 922 F. Supp. 2d 1261, see flags on bad law, and search Casetext’s comprehensive legal database

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The first sentence in paragraph three is part of the court's judgement.

"Here, the parties not only reduced their agreements to writing, they also explicitly agreed that the writings would be the complete agreement and that oral representations would not have any contractual effect. The following provision is exemplary of the type of merger clauses included throughout the contract documents:

This agreement supersedes any and all understandings and agreements between You and Us, and You and We mutually agree that this Agreement represents the entire Agreement between You and Us, and any representation or inducement which is not set forth in this Agreement shall be of no force and/or effect. This Agreement may only be amended or modified by an instrument in writing between the parties.
(Doc. 132–7 at 50 ¶ 17.)

This and other similar provisions clearly provide that oral representations will not be honored. These merger clauses trigger application of the parol evidence rule to preclude oral representations from being considered in a claim for breach of contract. See Envtl. Sys., Inc. v. Rexham Corp., 624 So.2d 1379 (Ala.1993) (noting that while merger clauses may not be exercised to exclude evidence relating to a fraud claim, they may be used to invoke the parol evidence rule for contract claims). Thus, the Court will be restricted to the written agreements when evaluating Plaintiffs' breach of contract claim."


It is clear you have a chip on your shoulder and you want to make the TUG Wyndham forum your sounding board; no rule against that, but as someone else pointed out, it has become repetitive, tiresome, and no one here can do anything about VIP benefits.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Major frustration, but doing pretty well at accepting it is what it is, is seeing your upgrade there and not getting it because the batch process is so unreliable. Time after time. Tis another loss, for sure.

That's not instant upgrade - that's the automatic upgrade process yes? Two different things.

 

[HitchHiker71]

You are wrong. We used to be able to call up and find out what rooms were available, specifically request those rooms, and put a do not move on them. Still subject to availability, but our experience was they were very much honored. This is 2 systems (at least prior) and there may be many things people like about the new functionality - but pre-voyager rooms were assigned when you booked. Only VIP's were able to call and find out the assignment or request an assignment, and resorts could move as needed. But the rooms assignments were done when a reservation was booked. This allowed us to find a floor with multiple available ocean front rooms at Ocean Walk, for example. And yes the blocks were honored. This is a lost benefit.

This is good information - thanks for sharing this. Since I only became an owner in 7/2018 - this predates my personal experiences with Wyndham. How long ago was this the case? Are we talking 20 years ago? 10? Curious.

 

[HitchHiker71]

So in other words, Wyndham sales and Wyndham owes it to the prospect to tell them not to sign the contract without the advice of their attorney? Cite the specific cases where the merger clause has held up in Court for Wyndham.

And the second parts reflects my previous statement:
if so, what good are VIP benefits in general if they can't be turned off at any time? Did you ever buy a high priced vehicle or real estate in which the sales contract states that the vehicle or property can be taken back anytime in the future whenever the seller decides to? Beyond caveat emptor, yes and words do matter.

And the answer to what good are VIP Benefits of which most are " GONE WITH THE WIND " and the others are suffering from a fatal disease called merger clauses is DO NOT SEEK ADDITIONAL PURCHASES FROM WYNDHAM TO BECOME A VIP? If, like you said, no benefits are guaranteed and admitted that many benefits are now being taken away, i.e. renting, specific units, etc. then Wyndham's integration clause in any form must go. Or is the merger clause nothing more than fraudulent inducement considering the supplemental sales materials and directory? Note: All supporting sales written documentation is contrary to the contract and this should broaden the contract's scope but does not as the contract is limited to the contract ONLY.

The rules for the VIP programs haven't changed for 20 years now, meaning the verbiage that the VIP program is subject to change, as has been discussed and demonstrated ad nauseum on this thread, conflicts with your assertion that something has actually changed. Wyndham updated the VIP program in 2012, and then again in 2020 - and has implemented a grandfathering program to preserve certain key benefits for legacy VIP owners - to the extent possible. Change is the only constant in this life. Obviously Wyndham is making changes to how timesharing is going to work over time. Everything used to be weeks based back in the day, now everything is points based, and that was a huge change within the timeshare vertical over time. Again I ask, what is it you are trying to accomplish here explicitly? If you don't like what's happening, write to Michael Brown, write to your political representatives, engage with your AG/DA's office in your home state, if you so desire. If there is any legitimacy to your concerns - then those representatives may or may not take up your concern. Specific to TUG - what is the outcome you are trying to encourage here?

 

[Sandy VDH]

Request it is. I will say that some resorts actually look at the requests, while other do not. I am told that on the hotel end, this request is not on the main reservation screen, but it is on an additional screen that needs to be prompted to open. A lot of the larger resorts, basically ignore this information.

I have requested plenty, both online and by calling. I figure I have about a 25% success rate at getting my request, even as a VIPP.

So I have given up bothering, and if it is really important, I try to find a room category that forces it. Like I do in San Antonio, the unit I want happens to be a handicapp unit, so I book that unit if I can.

 

[schreff]

The rules for the VIP programs haven't changed for 20 years now, meaning the verbiage that the VIP program is subject to change, as has been discussed and demonstrated ad nauseum on this thread, conflicts with your assertion that something has actually changed. Wyndham updated the VIP program in 2012, and then again in 2020 - and has implemented a grandfathering program to preserve certain key benefits for legacy VIP owners - to the extent possible. Change is the only constant in this life. Obviously Wyndham is making changes to how timesharing is going to work over time. Everything used to be weeks based back in the day, now everything is points based, and that was a huge change within the timeshare vertical over time. Again I ask, what is it you are trying to accomplish here explicitly? If you don't like what's happening, write to Michael Brown, write to your political representatives, engage with your AG/DA's office in your home state, if you so desire. If there is any legitimacy to your concerns - then those representatives may or may not take up your concern. Specific to TUG - what is the outcome you are trying to encourage here?

Fairness, the truth, and never let Wyndham get away with what W.C Fields stated, " Never give a sucker an even break ". - Specific to TUG

 

[Sandi Bo]

That's not instant upgrade - that's the automatic upgrade process yes? Two different things.

I don't know what to call it - other than lost functionality, lol. Manual upgrade?

We used to be able to book and do an instant upgrade. Or if you saw an upgrade option after your initial booking, YOU could choose to upgrade your reservation. Now we have to rely on the auto upgrade process and it fails much more than it succeeds.

Along with that, this reminds me, we lost the ability to selectively upgrade. Being in control of the upgrade process, we could choose to upgrade only to a larger unit versus a presidential. Now if we choose to be eligible for an autoupgrade - we take what we get. Example, today a 1 Bedroom Presidential could upgrade to a 2 Bedroom Deluxe or 2 Bedroom Presidential - I may only want a presidential.

 

[Sandi Bo]

This is good information - thanks for sharing this. Since I only became an owner in 7/2018 - this predates my personal experiences with Wyndham. How long ago was this the case? Are we talking 20 years ago? 10? Curious.

I'm not THAT old (although yikes I was thinking my first visit to Bonnet Creek was likely in 2005 (when there only a few towers here)).

Pretty certain that changed with the implementation of Voyager in May 2017. It makes sense, think @paxsarah outlined to changes in how we are reserving now versus pre-Voyager. But because of that - the system does not seem able to hold a specific room for someone. Also at that time, the message was they were giving more control to the resorts as far as room assignments. i can't remember the last time I've called Wyndham corporate and made a room request (which is what we used to do). Now I call the resort.

We are VIP Founders. We make it a point to check in early if at all possible. We find our requests to be granted most of the time. I rarely make a specific room request, I lean towards buildings or view and prioritize what I want. For example - I might say lakeview is most important and second that I would like a particular building. Often I don't know what to ask for, if it's not a resort I've stayed out. I might call and ask for a suggestion, I might try my luck.

 

[CO skier]

Pretty certain that changed with the implementation of Voyager in May 2017. It makes sense, think @paxsarah outlined to changes in how we are reserving now versus pre-Voyager. But because of that - the system does not seem able to hold a specific room for someone.

Call me skeptical, but the only way a certain unit could be "VIP reserved (held)" (in the past or now) would be if the previous guests were checking out of that specific unit on the exact arrival date of the incoming VIP. Right? What are the chances of that? Roughly 1 in 7? Does anyone think the booking engine was ever that sophisticated to discriminate the inhabited check-in/checkout date for any certain unit?

 

[WManning]

So in other words, Wyndham sales and Wyndham owes it to the prospect to tell them not to sign the contract without the advice of their attorney? Cite the specific cases where the merger clause has held up in Court for Wyndham.

And the second parts reflects my previous statement:
if so, what good are VIP benefits in general if they can't be turned off at any time? Did you ever buy a high priced vehicle or real estate in which the sales contract states that the vehicle or property can be taken back anytime in the future whenever the seller decides to? Beyond caveat emptor, yes and words do matter.

And the answer to what good are VIP Benefits of which most are " GONE WITH THE WIND " and the others are suffering from a fatal disease called merger clauses is DO NOT SEEK ADDITIONAL PURCHASES FROM WYNDHAM TO BECOME A VIP? If, like you said, no benefits are guaranteed and admitted that many benefits are now being taken away, i.e. renting, specific units, etc. then Wyndham's integration clause in any form must go. Or is the merger clause nothing more than fraudulent inducement considering the supplemental sales materials and directory? Note: All supporting sales written documentation is contrary to the contract and this should broaden the contract's scope but does not as the contract is limited to the contract ONLY.

Occasional Renting has not been eliminated. IMHO One of the best things Wyndham did in the last few years was to enforce no commercial use. For a majority of owners it has freed up inventory for personal reservations. Especially on the busy holiday weekends. https://clubwyndham.wyndhamdestinat...rces/reservations/owner-priority-reservations

 

[HitchHiker71]

I don't know what to call it - other than lost functionality, lol. Manual upgrade?

We used to be able to book and do an instant upgrade. Or if you saw an upgrade option after your initial booking, YOU could choose to upgrade your reservation. Now we have to rely on the auto upgrade process and it fails much more than it succeeds.

Along with that, this reminds me, we lost the ability to selectively upgrade. Being in control of the upgrade process, we could choose to upgrade only to a larger unit versus a presidential. Now if we choose to be eligible for an autoupgrade - we take what we get. Example, today a 1 Bedroom Presidential could upgrade to a 2 Bedroom Deluxe or 2 Bedroom Presidential - I may only want a presidential.

I can still do instant upgrades within the 45 day VIPG window - so I'm not sure what you're referring to exactly? Obviously we cannot do so with existing reservations in comparison - but I've never been able to do this since becoming an owner in 2018 - so I suspect this type of functionality only existed prior to the implementation of the Voyager system.

The selective upgrades are resort dependent. Some resorts allow you to preserve the category and some don't. I do wish more resorts had support for category preservation though.

 

[paxsarah]

I can still do instant upgrades within the 45 day VIPG window - so I'm not sure what you're referring to exactly? Obviously we cannot do so with existing reservations in comparison - but I've never been able to do this since becoming an owner in 2018 - so I suspect this type of functionality only existed prior to the implementation of the Voyager system.

I had forgotten about this because I'm not VIP, but the bolded is what it used to be. There was no opt-in to auto upgrades once booking in advance, but it used to be that inside the upgrade window a VIP could check if their reservation was upgradable, and manually take it. The opt-in auto upgrade was supposed to replace that, but it's obviously been plagued with inconsistencies basically since 2017 when it was introduced.

 

[Sandi Bo]

Call me skeptical, but the only way a certain unit could be "VIP reserved (held)" (in the past or now) would be if the previous guests were checking out of that specific unit on the exact arrival date of the incoming VIP. Right? What are the chances of that? Roughly 1 in 7? Does anyone think the booking engine was ever that sophisticated to discriminate the inhabited check-in/checkout date for any certain unit?

I guess you could say it was that "sophisticated". In reality, it was the architecture of the system. When a reservation was made, a specific room was assigned. The VC's could see it. If you were looking to book something specific, you could call the VC's and they could tell you what rooms were available and they could specifically book it for you and put a do not move on it. This was a VIP perk or benefit or whatever you want to call it, for them to assist you in finding an available room to your liking. If you had a favorite room, they could check to see if it was available and book it for you.

I know you'll love this -- if they were completely sold out and you cancelled and rebooked your room - you would get your same room back.

Pre-voyager we booked the 4 corners of a floor at Ocean Boulevard, with the assistance of a VC. Put do not moves on them. And yes got those 4 rooms when we checked in. The intent of this ownership - was for family reunions. For me, I really like to be on the same floor as the rest of my family. It is much harder, if not impossible to do, since Voyager. As a matter of fact, don't think we've been on the same floor, anywhere, since 2017. Prior to 2017, we were both at Ocean Boulevard and Ocean Walk.

 

[paxsarah]

I guess you could say it was that "sophisticated". In reality, it was the architecture of the system. When a reservation was made, a specific room was assigned. The VC's could see it. If you were looking to book something specific, you could call the VC's and they could tell you what rooms were available and they could specifically book it for you and put a do not move on it.

And from a non-IT perspective, it seems clear to me that this was possible because pre-Voyager, each suite basically had 52 “chunks” of time per year and depended on a particular check-in/check-out day, and now each suite has 365 chunks that each stand alone equally. The chunks could be broken into 3 or 4 night subsections (and in certain seasons or in the ERP, more flexible lengths), but still functioned as a fragment of the original chunk - which is why we had split reservations that pasted together fragments of different week chunks (and could potentially require a room change and did require double housekeeping unless you called back after your stay and requested a refund if you didn’t have to move).

 

[Sandi Bo]

And from a non-IT perspective, it seems clear to me that this was possible because pre-Voyager, each suite basically had 52 “chunks” of time per year and depended on a particular check-in/check-out day, and now each suite has 365 chunks that each stand alone equally. The chunks could be broken into 3 or 4 night subsections (and in certain seasons or in the ERP, more flexible lengths), but still functioned as a fragment of the original chunk - which is why we had split reservations that pasted together fragments of different week chunks (and could potentially require a room change and did require double housekeeping unless you called back after your stay and requested a refund if you didn’t have to move).

Exactly. So really pre-voyager - less sophisticated - but for a VIP better. That also depends on well resorts manage inventory. If they would combine reservations - and most do (and did pre-voyager) it worked. For a VIP who didn't pay transaction or housekeeping fees, it was no big deal. Actually probably made it more possible for us to book what we wanted versus a non-VIP. I understand things may appear better for some (most) with Voyager. I cannot say the same as being able to book a particular (and yes available) room - was a really nice perk or benefit or whatever you want to call it.

Are people still able to specify a specific room number and get it? I don't even try, I specify a view or such, and hope for something similar. And the resorts do their best to accommodate. But it's still not the same as knowing room 123 is available and I have a do not move on it and I have a very good chance of getting it.

 

[HitchHiker71]

Exactly. So really pre-voyager - less sophisticated - but for a VIP better. That also depends on well resorts manage inventory. If they would combine reservations - and most do (and did pre-voyager) it worked. For a VIP who didn't pay transaction or housekeeping fees, it was no big deal. Actually probably made it more possible for us to book what we wanted versus a non-VIP. I understand things may appear better for some (most) with Voyager. I cannot say the same as being able to book a particular (and yes available) room - was a really nice perk or benefit or whatever you want to call it.

Are people still able to specify a specific room number and get it? I don't even try, I specify a view or such, and hope for something similar. And the resorts do their best to accommodate. But it's still not the same as knowing room 123 is available and I have a do not move on it and I have a very good chance of getting it.

Thanks for the details on this perk that pre-dated Voyager and the current website iteration (originally called project Holiday as it was originally intended to be released during the 2020 Holiday season). While these may not have been stated VIP benefits verbatim - these types of perks were certainly features that some VIP owners came to really appreciate. Perhaps we should create a thread here on TUG to capture some of these types of perks so that I can document them and pass them on to Wyndham with the intention of relaying explicit examples of why VIP owners, particularly legacy VIP owners, feel that their benefits are being whittled away. If I can give explicit examples like this via functionalities that were either available in previous iterations of the online systems, or available via request by calling in and having a VC do it, it may be worthwhile. I’m not confident that some of the current management really understands what could be done in years past that is no longer possible. It may fall on deaf ears but I thinks worth giving it the old college try so to speak.


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[amycurl]

That's an incredibly generous offer, @HitchHiker71, and I think would probably be the most effective strategy. If we learned nothing else from Ron, it was that TUGgers have a *much more comprehensive and detailed* understanding of how the Wyndham system works, can work, and/or has worked in the past, than most (if not all) of the folx in decision-making positions. A little education, with specific examples, as to *why* certain members experience their VIP ownership now vs. then, might lead to some change--and it is probably the only thing that really will.

 

[HitchHiker71]

And from a non-IT perspective, it seems clear to me that this was possible because pre-Voyager, each suite basically had 52 “chunks” of time per year and depended on a particular check-in/check-out day, and now each suite has 365 chunks that each stand alone equally. The chunks could be broken into 3 or 4 night subsections (and in certain seasons or in the ERP, more flexible lengths), but still functioned as a fragment of the original chunk - which is why we had split reservations that pasted together fragments of different week chunks (and could potentially require a room change and did require double housekeeping unless you called back after your stay and requested a refund if you didn’t have to move).

Yes it seems that Wyndham intentionally changed the system and outsourced the room assignments to the local resorts - partly to give the local resorts more control over their own inventory perhaps - but likely also because doing so moved inventory management responsibilities from a centralized to a distributed model. So a win for Wyndham as the program manager as the costs are moved likely to the HOAs best guess.

What I’m now brainstorming about is if Wyndham could utilize a hybrid model - allowing VIPG and above the ability to select rooms similar to how pre-Voyager allowed this functionality- while still allowing the HOAs control over room assignments for the majority of owners. Worth the asking.


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[geist1223]

This assumes Wyndham Corporate cares about its Members.

 

[Sandi Bo]

Yes it seems that Wyndham intentionally changed the system and outsourced the room assignments to the local resorts - partly to give the local resorts more control over their own inventory perhaps - but likely also because doing so moved inventory management responsibilities from a centralized to a distributed model. So a win for Wyndham as the program manager as the costs are moved likely to the HOAs best guess.

What I’m now brainstorming about is if Wyndham could utilize a hybrid model - allowing VIPG and above the ability to select rooms similar to how pre-Voyager allowed this functionality- while still allowing the HOAs control over room assignments for the majority of owners. Worth the asking.


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I can't imagine they will bring something like this back. But it is a perk we miss. It sure was nice for a family reunion to say - oh look if we stay in the 8th floor we call can all be on the same floor - or if 2 of us stay on the 11th floor and 2 on the 10th floor we can all have ocean front, To be able to block those rooms, and very likely get them, was a huge benefit. That said, to me - my husband doesn't think it's a big deal to be floors apart. I've gotten used to not having this ability, but with some recent stays realize how nice that really was to have. And not only for multiple rooms, when traveling alone, my Dad always booked a corner room at Ocean Walk that had a wrap around balcony. At 80 something - that wasn't something he figured out himself - that was tips from sales and calling in and having a VC help him. Never did he cancel/rebook. He stayed at Daytona Beach during bike week because he booked an awesome room, using his ARP, as sales suggested - and wasn't able to rent it because he didn't know what he was doing. I'm pretty sure he never cancel/rebooked because they couldn't use those dirty cancelled points for cruises and such (back when we had the credit pool cancelled points were treated differently).

In the end the resorts still had control over room assignments - I'm sure - they just honored the original system assigned (and do not move flag) assignments - that was our experience.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I'm not THAT old (although yikes I was thinking my first visit to Bonnet Creek was likely in 2005 (when there only a few towers here)).

Pretty certain that changed with the implementation of Voyager in May 2017. It makes sense, think @paxsarah outlined to changes in how we are reserving now versus pre-Voyager. But because of that - the system does not seem able to hold a specific room for someone. Also at that time, the message was they were giving more control to the resorts as far as room assignments. i can't remember the last time I've called Wyndham corporate and made a room request (which is what we used to do). Now I call the resort.

We are VIP Founders. We make it a point to check in early if at all possible. We find our requests to be granted most of the time. I rarely make a specific room request, I lean towards buildings or view and prioritize what I want. For example - I might say lakeview is most important and second that I would like a particular building. Often I don't know what to ask for, if it's not a resort I've stayed out. I might call and ask for a suggestion, I might try my luck.

That was definitely a huge upgrade for Wyndham and a huge downgrade for VIP owners. That is when our upgrades stopped being available to us, but not always. Sometimes I can choose an upgraded unit.

We have been owners for almost 17 years. We have seen changes to the online system that were both good and bad.

I am not harping on Wyndham's suckiness, but I do think owners have some gripes that should be taken seriously by TUG members, who are supposed to support one another and not demonize them because of jealousy, or whatever the motive is. Attacking the OP of this thread is not making you all look very good. Saying that Wyndham can take away benefits at any time, simply because it doesn't affect you is very ego-centric.

I have acquiesced. That is my way of handling it because there are more important things in life, and if I have to make a phone call to get an upgrade, I will make the call. If I have to call the resort and ask for a specific location for my room, I will make that call. But as I said, there are things that get my attention far more than Wyndham's creepiness.

Case in point: I have just re-posted a video on my FB page by some dear friends of ours (Rick's captain at the firehouse) that experienced a true miraculous recovery of their son who almost died in October and is almost in full recovery. He has had struggles his entire life as a boy with Leigh's disease, an autoimmune disorder that he was born with. He has a brother with the same disease, because it is genetic. The two boys will be in the care of their parents for their entire lives. They also have a brother who is healthy and graduates from college in May.

Anyway, Jacob just turned 23 and is progressing extremely well, considering he was not expected to live back in October, when he went into the hospital in a coma and put on feeding and breathing tubes for 22 days. He went into rehab for the following 45 days. He is now walking (he couldn't walk), breathing on his own and eating actual food. He wants to play baseball again on his team. He cannot do that yet, but that is how great he is feeling right now. They are going to Disney World to celebrate his miracle, by the grace of God and so many prayers going out to him.

Why this goes back to Wyndham: I called Wyndham to tell them I want to gift a week to them at Bonnet Creek after Matt's finals are over, and I want to add their name to the room. I was told flat out, no, I cannot do that. It was a gift.

Okay, so I have ongoing searches for two units at a Disney resort through RCI for the end of May. I am sure I will get those two units because it's not a tough time of year for Disney exchanges. They need two for 3 boys who are now men. I would much rather have given them a 3 bedroom at Bonnet Creek so they can be together, but Disney is very good at keeping the rooms together, when it's requested.

We may just show up and check them into a 3 bedroom, leaving Rick's name on the reservation. The kids want to do Disney anyway. I have the 3 bedroom booked already, had it for our kids, but they will suffer at the Marriott resort. Yes, that is a joke.

 

[troy12n]

I think there's about zero chance of something like that coming back, because it would require fundamental changes to how they are now handling reservations, AND perhaps a completely different / separate reservation system.

I get it, as an owner, that doesn't matter to us, but as an IT professional, I completely understand why they did it. Maybe it would be good enough to just have the resorts be a little more transparent.

Especially at high demand resorts, the practicality of being able to line up a specific room, during a specific timeframe has to have so many other things line up perfectly to occur.

My case in point would be Royal Vista in Pompano, There are 2 1BR deluxe units per floor which are corner rooms and 2 bathrooms. There are I think 10 floors with rooms, so there are 20 rooms for the entire resort. They are highly sought after rooms, and everyone who is a VIP requests them. I got one of them ONCE, and they are great.

In order to make that happen, there would have to be:
nobody in that room on your chekin day
nobody who had requested that room PRIOR to you making the reservation for ANY PART OF YOUR stay
no other capacity issues requiring use that that room during any part of your stay

Think if you were staying for a week, starting Sunday, and someone else requested the room previously for a week, on a saturday, the unit type was available, so it let you book the room, and make the request, but they couldn't fulfil the request... especially if you didn't include the entire block of similar rooms

So many moving parts.

Is there a better way to do it? Probably, maybe? But remember, the company is about efficiency and maintaining a system to use for ALL the employees, not the minority of owners VIPG or better...

I'd settle for a reservation system and website that WORKED reliably, I think we are owed at least that. Let's fix that before we put more complexity and band aids on it to try to correct a potentially uncorrectable issue