Here is what happened with my name change for a Big Cedar - Wilderness Club points reservation. This is a 2024, nuanced situation.
1. I logged in to Bluegreen Owner website, checked the reservation, clicked "edit reservation information" and saw that "add new guest" was sort of grey. At the top of the screen, they indicate that you might be able to call the Premier Service phone number. Since you are Silver or higher, they may allow you to use a "voucher." However, and this is speculation, I believe that a voucher will not work for this property. I am not at Silver, so I did not call them.
2. I saw that I could click the Add New Guest button, where it now gave out the main BG number (Club Services) in a popup. (I remembered something that had told me that I was supposed to call the Big Cedar property for this change, but I seem to have been mistaken.)
3. I was trying to change the check-in guest on a reservation that was over 30 days later. This will probably not work for shorter than that interval, so be warned. I believe that this is covered in a recent email blast that was sent out, and somewhere on a rules page on the website.
4. I called the main BG number, hit 1, and was prompted to give the guest name. I also asked that their email address be on the reservation. I found out later that this was not done, but I updated it manually later.
5. I was now forced to pay a $99 fee over the phone for a "Guest Certificate." The agent sent the reservation info to both me and the new guest.
6. I was told that I can do this kind of change three times per year. This was my first time to have used a "Guest certificate" this year. This may be different for other people or other properties. For example, I looked at another reservation at a different property, and I can easily edit the guest's name and other information. The Big Cedar reservation page is definitely different. I did not get any questions about why I needed to make this change.
I am almost done. However, they are trying to make this really difficult.
I noticed that my email confirmation page had a new potential charge on it - $99 for a "Housekeeping fee" - but I was hoping that my guest did not have to pay anything additional when they check in.
However, I found out that this was the way a "Guest certificate" is billed and presented on the reservation. Obviously, I already paid this, so it can be disregarded.
Transparency! Deterrency!
