Weeks Inventory Release at 12-mos Reservation Window

[popcorn]

[This post and replies moved from an unrelated thread. <-- SueDonJ]

For 20 yrs I have reserved my three units at the 12 month mark online at 12:01 for our family vacation without issues. For the past two years I have not had success. The travel advisor apologized and launched into a discussion on the points system. Not sure whether there is an advantage. I would consider this if it made sense. Any thoughts?

 

[Dean]

For 20 yrs I have reserved my three units at the 12 month mark online at 12:01 for our family vacation without issues. For the past two years I have not had success. The travel advisor apologized and launched into a discussion on the points system. Not sure whether there is an advantage. I would consider this if it made sense. Any thoughts?

IMO points has a minor impact on availability for very high demand weeks within a season for some resorts but not a lot but I do think it's quite variable by resort. Could you not reserve at 13 months out? Regardless you need to make sure you're calling the first day of availability which may be 1-3 days earlier than 13 months out from your desired check in depending on the day you want and the resort.

 

[popcorn]

IMO points has a minor impact on availability for very high demand weeks within a season for some resorts but not a lot but I do think it's quite variable by resort. Could you not reserve at 13 months out? Regardless you need to make sure you're calling the first day of availability which may be 1-3 days earlier than 13 months out from your desired check in depending on the day you want and the resort.

13 month checkins are usually for consecutive rentals. I have never had problems at 12 months until last year so something has changed.

 

[dioxide45]

For 20 yrs I have reserved my three units at the 12 month mark online at 12:01 for our family vacation without issues. For the past two years I have not had success. The travel advisor apologized and launched into a discussion on the points system. Not sure whether there is an advantage. I would consider this if it made sense. Any thoughts?

Marriott only releases point inventory online at 12am (midnight). As far as I know, they have never released weeks based inventory at midnight. It has always been released at 9:00am ET on inventory release day.

 

[popcorn]

Marriott only releases point inventory online at 12am (midnight). As far as I know, they have never released weeks based inventory at midnight. It has always been released at 9:00am ET on inventory release day.

Not true. I have reserved at midnight for many years without issue. I am a platinum weeks owner.

 

[JIMinNC]

Marriott only releases point inventory online at 12am (midnight). As far as I know, they have never released weeks based inventory at midnight. It has always been released at 9:00am ET on inventory release day.

That has been my experience as well.

 

[Dean]

13 month checkins are usually for consecutive rentals. I have never had problems at 12 months until last year so something has changed.

Concurrent or consecutive weeks, are you reserving totally different weeks? I think covid has had some impact in these areas as well.

 

[SueDonJ]

Not true. I have reserved at midnight for many years without issue. I am a platinum weeks owner.

Like Dean I'd guess that you're not actually working with the exact inventory release date, which is most likely a day or two or three ahead of the exact twelve-month mark. Others are correct that the online system for Weeks has never released inventory prior to the official 9AM Eastern release time. When we stumbled onto this midnight loophole for DC Points inventory, which also has a 9AM Eastern official release time, many of us tried to get the Weeks system to do the same and it never happened.

 

[Mlvnsmly]

Edit: Since this thread was moved, this comment was no longer applicable to the discussion.

 

[dioxide45]

It's my understanding that 13 month deeded week reservations can only be made via phone.

This is correct.

 

[dioxide45]

Not true. I have reserved at midnight for many years without issue. I am a platinum weeks owner.

Do you also own Vistana? Their weeks are available to book online at midnight.

 

[popcorn]

so I tried again tonight to reserve for 2022 with no luck. My son called and was told that they had ocean front units available for an extra charge using points? How to do this? Any idea of the costs? Any help would be appreciated. I am new to the whole points thing. I tried watching the videos. Covid brain is messing me up.

 

[davidvel]

so I tried again tonight to reserve for 2022 with no luck. My son called and was told that they had ocean front units available for an extra charge using points? How to do this? Any idea of the costs? Any help would be appreciated. I am new to the whole points thing. I tried watching the videos. Covid brain is messing me up.

Please don't take this the wrong way as I am trying to be helpful, but your posts on this issues are confusing and missing a lot of information. Weeks open on their availability date (12 months prior to first day you can reserve the week) at 9am Eastern time. Not at midnight.

It is unclear what resort and week you are trying to reserve. You first talked about weeks, but now talk about points. Please be more specific as to what/when/where you re trying to reserve so we can help you.

 

[JIMinNC]

so I tried again tonight to reserve for 2022 with no luck. My son called and was told that they had ocean front units available for an extra charge using points? How to do this? Any idea of the costs? Any help would be appreciated. I am new to the whole points thing. I tried watching the videos. Covid brain is messing me up.

Below is a screen shot from the "When Can I Reserve" page on the Marriott Vacation Club web site. I'm not 100% sure which resort you own, but I believe I saw you originally posted this question in the Ocean Pointe thread, so I looked up the inventory release dates for Ocean Pointe.

For a Friday, Feb 18, 2022 check-in, the 12-Month reservation window opened at 9am Eastern on Wednesday, February 17, NOT midnight last night. If you checked at midnight, reservations for weeks had already been open for 15 hours. Marriott releases an entire week of check-ins on the same day, once per week, so at 9am Eastern this past Wednesday morning February 17, they released inventory for check-ins on Feb 17, 18, 19, and 20 in 2022. NEXT Wednesday, February 24 at 9am Eastern, they will release inventory for February 24-27, 2022 check-ins. You should try again then - 9am Eastern next Wednesday.

 

[catharsis]

Was on the phone with a European Rep at exactly 2PM GMT or (am EST this morning waiting for a week to become available, No inventory was released for the week at 9AM this morning.
I would note that we had discussed before the 12 month deadline arrived today (for week containing 19/20 Feb 2022 check-in dates) that there was zero availability left out of the 13 Month availability, which I had also been unable to secure despite owning multiple weeks. As a multiple-weeks owner, being unable to get the week I want (which is not even the highest-demand week at the property) is pretty disappointing.

The rep took my details and promised to get back to me explaining what happened, but I do not believe I will ever hear from him again.

According to the rep no inventory was released at 9 AM. I have a screenshot from the online system timestamped as showing availability at 09:01 showing zero availability.

There does appear to be something different going on for the last year or to - something may have changed.

 

[m61376]

Unless there was a glitch in the system, week reservations are always released at 12 months from the first check- in day of the week, at 9AM EST. While up to 50% may be released and booked at 13 months for multiple week owners booking consecutive or concurrent weeks, via phone, at least 50% are reserved for booking via online or phone at 12 months.

 

[catharsis]

That was what I expected also, but not my experience online nor that of the rep on the phone,

Could just be the rep's uninformed observation, and this is just a datapoint at the moment, but still useful to document I think in case we start to see a pattern.

 

[RJW]

Unless there was a glitch in the system, week reservations are always released at 12 months from the first check- in day of the week, at 9AM EST. While up to 50% may be released and booked at 13 months for multiple week owners booking consecutive or concurrent weeks, via phone, at least 50% are reserved for booking via online or phone at 12 months.

Are you talking about using points? I have always been able to book just 1 week at the 13 month point using points. I am a select member ( 2 weeks at 2 different locations).

 

[nycjimster]

It really depends on your resort, but high-demand weeks are a challenge. For example, I had a hard time reserving weeks at the Aruba Surf Club during peak February 2022. I called at 9 am 13 months out, and I was told there are no more weeks left. I called at 12 months out, and I was only able to secure 1 week. I tried a week later and told they were out. Interestingly, when I called this past week, there was availability and I was able to book the additional week for Late February. I also tried Points, and I encountered the same issue.

 

[davidvel]

That was what I expected also, but not my experience online nor that of the rep on the phone,

Could just be the rep's uninformed observation, and this is just a datapoint at the moment, but still useful to document I think in case we start to see a pattern.

Whats the significance of this picture?

 

[catharsis]

Whats the significance of this picture?

it shows that at 09:01:53 on the day of release there was no availability shown online. no great significance beyond that. As noted I was also live on the phone with an agent at 9AM EST when the inventory should have posted and he said that nothing had been made available..

 

[davidvel]

it shows that at 09:01:53 on the day of release there was no availability shown online. no great significance beyond that. As noted I was also live on the phone with an agent at 9AM EST when the inventory should have posted and he said that nothing had been made available..

Are you trying to reserve at St Kitts? That is a platinum plus week. What do the grey boxes in the calendar denote?

 

[wjarcher]

I've seen cases where the inventory gets released a couple of hours after 9am, so if you don't see it right at 9am, maybe check back later that morning.

 

[jjluhman]

Below is a screen shot from the "When Can I Reserve" page on the Marriott Vacation Club web site. I'm not 100% sure which resort you own, but I believe I saw you originally posted this question in the Ocean Pointe thread, so I looked up the inventory release dates for Ocean Pointe.

For a Friday, Feb 18, 2022 check-in, the 12-Month reservation window opened at 9am Eastern on Wednesday, February 17, NOT midnight last night. If you checked at midnight, reservations for weeks had already been open for 15 hours. Marriott releases an entire week of check-ins on the same day, once per week, so at 9am Eastern this past Wednesday morning February 17, they released inventory for check-ins on Feb 17, 18, 19, and 20 in 2022. NEXT Wednesday, February 24 at 9am Eastern, they will release inventory for February 24-27, 2022 check-ins. You should try again then - 9am Eastern next Wednesday.

View attachment 32514

Interesting. I have been an owner for twenty years and have always reserved this exact week at Ocean Pointe without any issue. I never saw availability at all this year for 17, 18, 19, or 20 Feb so I still have not reserved a week.