What to do when there is nothing available in the last week of your ownership window?

[bobpark56]

Our ownership window for one of our units is week 34-50. Suppose we want to reserve week 50. And suppose we request that week on the earliest possible day 12 months prior and find that no units of the type we own are available for that week. And suppose also that no reservations earlier in the year remain available.

What now? Are we totally out of luck, as there are no more vacation options open to us for that year. What happens to our home options/staroptions?

In short, how does one best act to reserve a unit in the final week of their ownership period? And what is a good fallback plan if that fails?

 

[VacationForever]

Our ownership window for one of our units is week 34-50. Suppose we want to reserve week 50. And suppose we request that week on the earliest possible day 12 months prior and find that no units of the type we own are available for that week. And suppose also that no reservations earlier in the year remain available.

What now? Are we totally out of luck, as there are no more vacation options open to us for that year. What happens to our home options/staroptions?

In short, how does one best act to reserve a unit in the final week of their ownership period? And what is a good fallback plan if that fails?

There will always be something available at your home resort 12 months out. Non-home resort bookings can only start at 8 months out.

 

[DeniseM]

Our ownership window for one of our units is week 34-50. Suppose we want to reserve week 50. And suppose we request that week on the earliest possible day 12 months prior and find that no units of the type we own are available for that week. And suppose also that no reservations earlier in the year remain available.

What now? Are we totally out of luck, as there are no more vacation options open to us for that year. What happens to our home options/staroptions?

In short, how does one best act to reserve a unit in the final week of their ownership period? And what is a good fallback plan if that fails?

-Do you know you can attempt to make the Resv. at 12 midnight Eastern, the night before the phone lines open? That's when the Resv. window opens.

-Reserve an earlier week in the year as a back up, and use the earlier week, if week 50 is not available.

-Use the Staroptions at another resort.

-Deposit with II

 

[DeniseM]

There will always be something available at your home resort 12 months out. Non-home resort bookings can only start at 8 months out.

Not necessarily - For instance - at WKORV, the OF units sometimes book solid the first day the Resv. window opens and owners get shut out. I don't think this applies to Bob, but it is possible.

 

[vacationtime1]

There will always be something available at your home resort 12 months out. Non-home resort bookings can only start at 8 months out.

Actually not.

Suppose you have 52 owners of a one unit timeshare. The unit is vacant Week 1 because no one reserved it. We now have our 52 owners vying for the 51 remaining weeks. It will be a game of musical chairs the rest of the year. Someone will eventually be shut out, because when week 52 rolls around, there will be two owners who haven't yet used their week.

Obviously my example is greatly simplified, but it establishes the premise.

 

[VacationForever]

Actually not.

Suppose you have 52 owners of a one unit timeshare. The unit is vacant Week 1 because no one reserved it. We now have our 52 owners vying for the 51 remaining weeks. It will be a game of musical chairs the rest of the year. Someone will eventually be shut out, because when week 52 rolls around, there will be two owners who haven't yet used their week.

Obviously my example is greatly simplified, but it establishes the premise.

But I am looking at the specific example of week 34-50. If there are only 16 weeks in the season, it will amount to about 4 months. Non-home resort owner technically won't be able to book week 34 till around week 51. So in week 50, even if week 50 12 months out is full, the weeks 34-49 are still not available to non-home resort owners.

 

[okwiater]

But I am looking at the specific example of week 34-50. If there are only 16 weeks in the season, it will amount to about 4 months. Non-home resort owner technically won't be able to book week 34 till around week 51. So in week 50, even if week 50 12 months out is full, the weeks 34-49 are still not available to non-home resort owners.

Someone could reserve into your season early by reserving multiple weeks. So, it is theoretically possible to be shut out of your season. At that point I would assume your options would be:

(1) Deposit your week into II.

(2) Call Starwood and ask them to find you a week within your season. Based on my experience, it seems that there are frequently weeks that only the inventory specialists can locate. Starwood also owns some weeks themselves and I would not be surprised if they use this as a fungible pool of excess inventory to accommodate owners in extenuating circumstances. I have never heard of a negative experience coming out of Starwood's resolution services department.

 

[bogey21]

After 4 years of having to manage 3 Marriott floating Weeks I sold them and bought 6 Fixed Unit, Fixed Weeks (one was a Marriott Monarch). The big benefit, a heck of a lot less stress! Another was an increase of about $75,000 in my bank account.

George