WKORV Check In Strategy

[luv_maui]

It was a zoo, but everybody settled down eventually; the most unfair ranking seemed to go to EOY unit owners. We met this nice couple from NY that owned 2 same year EOY weeks and they were staying for 2 consecutive weeks; they called in at 9AM EST and but they still received priority # 34 and they were placed in a bad 2 floor parking lot/OV unit. Their ranking system seems to treat EOY owners badly and actually it is clearly listed in the owner manual.



Sara

Do you know where in the owners manual where it states this ranking system. As we consider EY vs. EOY, if EOY is treated towards the bottom for room assignment that would deter us from an EOY purchase

 

[Denise L]

FYI, we own two EOYs and book 12 months out at 8am Eastern time. We have been very pleased with our villa assignments on check-in. I do not think that an EOY owner has any more or less of a chance at a good view versus the EY owner. It really has to do with when the reservation was made. Good luck!

 

[ciscogizmo1]

We own every year and OV villa. I called out 12 months to the minute for villa. We did not get an ocean view overlooking the pool even though I requested it. We got a view overlooking the park parking lot towards the ocean and black rock. Just remember that different check in dates may give you an undesirable room. We checked in on Sunday. I found out from another tugger that most of the check-in days are Saturday. That was very evident on the 6th floor when all the rooms facing the pool had a maid cart outside of the room on Saturday. Not sure what we'll do in the future. I was hoping to utilize Sunday check-ins so that we could fly out on Friday and stay in a hotel 2 nights before going over to Westin. We did feel a little remove from the action. I wouldn't mind a view overlooking the North side of the resort in the future. But I know I do not ever want a view over looking the south side. We did not use our balcony very much.

 

[Pedro]

We own every year and OV villa. I called out 12 months to the minute for villa. We did not get an ocean view overlooking the pool even though I requested it. We got a view overlooking the park parking lot towards the ocean and black rock. Just remember that different check in dates may give you an undesirable room. We checked in on Sunday. I found out from another tugger that most of the check-in days are Saturday. That was very evident on the 6th floor when all the rooms facing the pool had a maid cart outside of the room on Saturday. Not sure what we'll do in the future. I was hoping to utilize Sunday check-ins so that we could fly out on Friday and stay in a hotel 2 nights before going over to Westin. We did feel a little remove from the action. I wouldn't mind a view overlooking the North side of the resort in the future. But I know I do not ever want a view over looking the south side. We did not use our balcony very much.

When we were at the WKORV we were told by the manager that the requests are fullfilled based on the order when the reservation was made. Even though you might have called at exactly 8:00 am EST, your reservation might not have been clocked until you were done asking questions, placing requests, etc. Only once your reservation is entered, it is assigned a date/time stamp. It is likely that other people where making reservations at the same time and just happened to beat you by a few minutes and thus got higher priority.

The best approach to get what you want is to:
1. Make your reservation quickly. Call in and get out so it gets time stamped.
2. Then call back and place your specific requests (your priority will stay the same).
3. State your preferences in order of importance to you: Requesting high floor, close to the ocean, pool view will not necessarily give you the same results as requesting pool view, high floor, close to the ocean. When the rooms are assigned, they look at your requests and try to fullfill them in the order they appear. They don't have a way to know which one is more important to you.

I hope this helps.

 

[nodge]

I just received a confirming email from Starwood for my WKORV reservation in February. It included the following notice explaining how Starwood prioritizes guest's room requests:

Important Information Regarding Your Reservation
-Every effort will be made to meet your special requests, including your villa assignment requests.
-Villa assignment requests on reservations made during the Starwood Vacation Network(SM) Reservations Period (eight months or less prior to the arrival date) are fulfilled on a first-come, first-served basis.
-Owners of The Westin Ka`anapali Ocean Resort Villas are not guaranteed their deeded view on reservations made during the Starwood Vacation Network reservations period (8 months or less prior to arrival date). .
-Villa assignments are made based solely on the date and time of the reservation.
-Villa assignment requests will be noted in your reservation, but are not guaranteed to be fulfilled.
-Reservations made during the Starwood Vacation Network Reservations Period are not guaranteed a particular view, floor or villa.
-Special requests placed by Starwood Vacation Network Elite Members are fulfilled based solely on the availability of a vacant villa in the desired upgrade category, once all other requests have been processed.
-In the event of multiple week stays, every effort will be made to keep you in the same villa for the entire stay.
-Unforeseen events or circumstances beyond our control may result in last-minute changes. As a result, villa assignment or special requests that have been fulfilled will not be released or confirmed prior to the check-in process on the day of arrival.
-For Security reasons, neither the resort staff nor Owner Services will confirm specific villa assignment prior to the check-in process on the day of arrival.
-Changes made to the length of a reservation (changing the arrival or departure date) or to a different size villa (other than releasing one side of the lockoff) will result in a loss of priority in the queue for fulfilling requests.

Since elites’ requests are dealt with only after ALL earlier reserved requests are met and since virtually everyone ahead of you in line is requesting an ocean front villa or a water view villa, it appears that elite status can NEVER buy you a better VIEW beyond what you would already get based on your place in line.

-Nodge

 

[DeniseM]

Since elites’ requests are dealt with only after ALL earlier reserved requests are met and since virtually everyone ahead of you in line is requesting an ocean front villa or a water view villa, it appears that elite status can NEVER buy you a better VIEW beyond what you would already get based on your place in line.

-Nodge

I think you are misinterpreting the policy.

5 Star Elites get automatic upgrades before they even arrive at the resort, so they don't have to wait until they get there to put in their request.

4 Star Elites can call and request upgrades before they arrive, so they also get their upgrade before they arrive.

3 Star Elite owners can request an upgrade when they arrive, (maybe sooner) and their request will be met before a one week owner's requests.

You are only guaranteed the view and unit you OWN, and only if you Reserv. during the owner's priority period. The Avg., 1 week, ocean or island view owner is not going to be upgraded to ocean front.

I think this is the statment that is confusing:
-Special requests placed by Starwood Vacation Network Elite Members are fulfilled based solely on the availability of a vacant villa in the desired upgrade category, once all other requests have been processed.

What this means, is that after all the Reg. one week owners have gotten the view and unit they own, then they Elite owners get upgrades. It doesn't mean that after all the one week owners get upgrades, then the Elite owners get upgrades. Notice that it doesn't mention anything about regular week owners getting upgrades.

 

[KOR5Star]

Since elites’ requests are dealt with only after ALL earlier reserved requests are met and since virtually everyone ahead of you in line is requesting an ocean front villa or a water view villa, it appears that elite status can NEVER buy you a better VIEW beyond what you would already get based on your place in line.

I'm 5 Star Elite and have experience with this during high times. This is absolutely true. The time stamp on the reservation is EVERYTHING!

 

[KOR5Star]

5 Star Elites get automatic upgrades before they even arrive at the resort, so they don't have to wait until they get there to put in their request.

Sort of.

I took the comments from Nodge in regards to high time weeks. In that case, there would be no rooms avialable for view upgrade. When there are no rooms available for view upgrade, the unit location is determined by timestamp.

That being said, there IS a unit location benefit to being 5 Star Elite, albeit an unofficial benefit. We get to check in early... personally with the manager or the manager visits us as soon as we are in the room. Since the managers don't want any problems, they tend to make sure we have a nice location right from the start.

 

[DeniseM]

Sort of.

I took the comments from Nodge in regards to high time weeks. In that case, there would be no rooms avialable for view upgrade. When there are no rooms available for view upgrade, the unit location is determined by timestamp.

That being said, there IS a unit location benefit to being 5 Star Elite, albeit an unofficial benefit. We get to check in early... personally with the manager or the manager visits us as soon as we are in the room. Since the managers don't want any problems, they tend to make sure we have a nice location right from the start.

YMMV, but Starwood "policy" says that 5 Star Elites get automatic upgrades in advance (as available of course.) Whether or not that policy is implemented, I can't say.

But if there are 10 people checking in at the same time, and they all called at 12 mos. out when the office opened, and 1 of them is an Elite Member, he is going to get the best location/upgrade of the 10, even if he is 10th in line.

The WKORV knows what Elite owners are checking in on any given day, and if they are following their own policy (big "if" I know ) they aren't going to give upgrades away to single week owners, unless they have already accomodated all the Elite owners that are checking in that day. Yes, single week owners "may" get upgrades, but not before Elite owners.

 

[KOR5Star]

YMMV, but Starwood "policy" says that 5 Star Elites get automatic upgrades in advance (as available of course.) Whether or not that policy is implemented, I can't say.

But if there are 10 people checking in at the same time, and they all called at 12 mos. out when the office opened, and 1 of them is an Elite Member, he is going to get the best location/upgrade of the 10, even if he is 10th in line.

I'm splitting hairs here, but this is not exactly how it works.

The upgrade priviledge is not to cut people in line. The net effect of being Elite can be similar to what you say, but it's not policy.

The time stamp of the reservation is EVERYTHING... Elite or not. What 5 Star Elite buys us is an early check-in and the manager's guarenteed attention. This tends in ensure we are in the top 50% of room locations (maybe even top 33%), but it does not guarentee the best room location available as you seem to imply. The number one time stamp, Elite or not, will get that. ...which is the fair thing to do.

Up until now we've always been there during President's week. We typically get the 5th floor, bldg A, facing the pool and a unit or two away from closest to the ocean. This is a great location, but it's not the 6th floor, bldg A, facing the pool, closest to the ocean as my request typically says. The people with fixed rooms/weeks and better time stamps get those.

Since we have the manager's attention and hours before everyone else checks in, we could complain and insist on a better location, but if the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn't like it much.

I'm 5 Star Elite (all weeks at WKORV) and very satisfied with the way they manage the program. It offers us some clear advantages without stepping on people that spent the time and energy to make sure they got the good time stamps. This is one of the things I think SVN did right on the first try.

 

[Henry M.]

I usually get the room I request. From the MyStarCentral.com description of the Villa Upgrade privilege:

"Your Exclusive Elite Member Services Team may upgrade Three and Four Star Members upon request to a larger villa, a waterfront, water view or preferred villa based on availability. Three Star Members please make your request 30 to 10 days prior to arrival and Four Star Members 60 to 10 days prior. Five Star Members enjoy an automatic villa unit upgrade if available. Some restrictions apply."

I'm not sure exactly how this is handled in practice, but I've always gotten what I have requested on or around the 4th of July holiday which is very busy. Maybe it is because I prefer a certain ocean view room and haven't requested a corner premium villa. I find the sun hits the oceanfront units too strongly in the afternoon. I suppose you could also say I didn't get an upgrade, but rather a specific unit in the category I purchased. In any case, I've been happy with all my stays at KOR.

 

[DeniseM]

"Your Exclusive Elite Member Services Team may upgrade Three and Four Star Members upon request to a larger villa, a waterfront, water view or preferred villa based on availability. Three Star Members please make your request 30 to 10 days prior to arrival and Four Star Members 60 to 10 days prior. Five Star Members enjoy an automatic villa unit upgrade if available. Some restrictions apply."

Thanks for posting this - this is exactly the policy I have been talking about. It clearly states that Elite members get upgraded first.

 

[DeniseM]

The upgrade priviledge is not to cut people in line. The net effect of being Elite can be similar to what you say, but it's not policy.

The time stamp of the reservation is EVERYTHING... Elite or not.

Let me give you a scenario. Let's say I made my Resv. at 12 mos. out and you made your's a day later. I am an Ocean View one-week owner and you are an Elite Owner. When we check in, there is one ocean FRONT unit that is available for upgrade. I ask for an upgrade to ocean front and so do you. According to you, I would get the upgrade to ocean front and you wouldn't, because my timestamp is 1 day earlier? I wish that were true, but if it is, it means that Elites have no priority for upgrades and Starwood's policy (see above) clearly says otherwise. If I was a 5 Star like you I would be asking for ocean front every single time...

 

[Henry M.]

Also, 3 and 4 Star Elites actually have to call ahead to get the upgrade. So don't wait until you get there. If nobody calls in, then I suppose whoever gets to KOR first gets it (except for a 5 Star who should have an available upgrade assigned automatically).

For Elites the timestamp refers to when you called in your request well before arrival, not when you made your reservation or when you checked in. For non-Elites the reservation timestamp should determine who gets any leftover upgrades.

By the time you get to KOR (no matter your status) your room has already been assigned so, other than complaining and bartering with the front desk, there is no advantage to being there early.

I've talked to front desk management before and they spend considerable time in the days before your arrival assigning all the rooms. They don't tell you what the room number is until you actually check in, in case there are unforeseen changes, but the room does get assigned before you ever get there.

 

[mepiccolo]

Just read this post a little late but my husband and I did reserve 12 months out (but more towards evening) and we requested 6th floor, away from construction. We did get 6th floor, but on construction side and coincidentally it was the unit which is listed on our contract. We ended up loving it and would love to be in that unit every year actually. We arrived 3 or 4 hours before check-in time and we were with 2 friends who were renting separate units. Our unit was available to check in early (about noon) but our friends who were renting had to wait until check in time and even a little later. At least they were all able to keep their luggage in our unit until theirs were ready.

As a side note one of my friends was pregnant and had a doctor's note to be away from the construction side due to allergies and they did accommodate her by putting her in the building furthest away from the ocean. Since we and our other friends were in the building near construction she decided she'd just keep the window closed to be near us and they moved her to 1st floor construction side, which her 2 year old loved to look out at. Their unit was convenient to access from the pool area so they weren't that upset about it. Hope you get a room that works well for you.

 

[KOR5Star]

Let me give you a scenario. Let's say I made my Resv. at 12 mos. out and you made your's a day later. I am an Ocean View one-week owner and you are an Elite Owner. When we check in, there is one ocean FRONT unit that is available for upgrade. I ask for an upgrade to ocean front and so do you. According to you, I would get the upgrade to ocean front and you wouldn't, because my timestamp is 1 day earlier? I wish that were true, but if it is, it means that Elites have no priority for upgrades and Starwood's policy (see above) clearly says otherwise. If I was a 5 Star like you I would be asking for ocean front every single time...

I think we've been talking apples and oranges here.

Yes, I agree with what you've said about view upgrades, but I've been talking about visiting during very high time (President's week, July 4th week, etc...) when the facility is booked 100% within hours of the phones opening. There are no view upgrades available.

In this case, when there are no view upgrades to be had, the unit location is determined primarily by timestamp. Elite has certain advantages, but it's more accurate to say we won't wind up in crummy rooms than it is to say we get the best before everyone else. As 5 Star Elites, we get to check in 2 hours before everyone else and the manager personally makes sure everything is OK during this time. Since all managers want to avoid problems, they make sure they're not bringing us to the room behind the slide. ;-)

If I've got a great time stamp, that's another story. Of course I'm going to get exactly what I asked for. But most of the time I'm not "Johnny on the spot" at 8AM and rely on my 5 Star status to make sure I don't get a crummy room... which is probably why I find myself on the 5th floor instead of the 6th.

 

[KOR5Star]

But if there are 10 people checking in at the same time, and they all called at 12 mos. out when the office opened, and 1 of them is an Elite Member, he is going to get the best location/upgrade of the 10, even if he is 10th in line.

This is where our confusion lies.

"best location/upgrade"

You're making no distinction between getting the best location for your reserved view and getting upgraded to a better view... like OV to OF.

With respect to view upgrades, you are absolutely correct... with bells on. ;-) That is indeed the policy, quoted several times in this thread.

 

[KOR5Star]

I usually get the room I request.
...
I'm not sure exactly how this is handled in practice, but I've always gotten what I have requested on or around the 4th of July holiday which is very busy.

Can I assume you typically make your reservations as soon as Orlando opens and have good time stamps?

If not, I'm getting the short end of the stick. ;-)

The combination of Elite and a good timestamp is a slam dunk. You've got the extra attention and they don't have to step on a bunch of people to give you what you want.

 

[pharmgirl]

What I have a problem with is the uncertainty. We have freedom to travel when we want - not dictated by school schedule, etc. We would prefer to NOT travel all the way to hawaii and end up with a poor view - over parking lot no ocean. IF this is all set so far in advance by timestamp, why can't they let us know. I could then change my travel arrangements to a more favorable time.

I love the condos, love the whole area but really dislike intensly the need to pounce for reservations, plan at least 12 months ahead. Didn't realize this when we bought and it is the reason why we would sell and not recommend SVO timeshare to others. We bought Ocean view and if we wait to make plans 5 mths ahead - just tell us there is availability but you will get a condo overlooking parking lot and highway. Then we would decide with full information

With Marriott, we have 2 ocean views and we get oceanviews even if we wait till 5 months. If ocean view is not availble we are told - we don't get shuffled off to an island view unless we agree

 

[DeniseM]

This is where our confusion lies.

I am not the least bit confused, and I stand by my posts. Good luck with your reservations!

 

[ciscogizmo1]

What I have a problem with is the uncertainty. We have freedom to travel when we want - not dictated by school schedule, etc. We would prefer to NOT travel all the way to hawaii and end up with a poor view - over parking lot no ocean. IF this is all set so far in advance by timestamp, why can't they let us know. I could then change my travel arrangements to a more favorable time.

My understanding is that if you own an oceanview and reserve from 12 to 8 months before check-in then, you'll get an oceanview. Now there are some ocean view units that have a view of the parking lot as well. You won't get an over parking lot no ocean view unless that is the view you own or you don't own at Westin and are exchanging in. The view of the ocean is great but I much prefer to sit on the beach.

Or maybe I'm missing your issue???

 

[ciscogizmo1]

With Marriott, we have 2 ocean views and we get oceanviews even if we wait till 5 months. If ocean view is not availble we are told - we don't get shuffled off to an island view unless we agree

Starwood doesn't not give you island view unless you reserve after the 8 month window. So if you own an oceanview you'll get that oceanview if you reserve from 12 to 8 month window.

 

[pharmgirl]

Yes, you get oceanview but ONLY if in the 12 - 8 month window,otherwise you may get an island. That's my point, I own oceanview BUT only if planning 8 - 12 months out am I assured we will get what we own. I think the owners in Maui should get the views owned.

With Marriott(KoOlina), if you own oceanview,you can reserve at any time if an oceanview is available, not tied to 12 - 8 month, and you know you will get an oceanview. Actually you can do this online with marriott so can see availability on calendar. And yes, there is availability less than 8 months, actually we have reserved with less than 4 months and got what we wanted. Sometimes we need to do a Sunday, or Friday instead of a Sat but that's not a problem for us.
Using online calender for reservations is also helpful if trying to coordinate, e.g., ff tickets,trips with family or friends, Maui and Oahu vacations

More information is better information

 

[DavidnRobin]

Yes, you get oceanview but ONLY if in the 12 - 8 month window,otherwise you may get an island. That's my point, I own oceanview BUT only if planning 8 - 12 months out am I assured we will get what we own. I think the owners in Maui should get the views owned.

With Marriott(KoOlina), if you own oceanview,you can reserve at any time if an oceanview is available, not tied to 12 - 8 month, and you know you will get an oceanview. Actually you can do this online with marriott so can see availability on calendar. And yes, there is availability less than 8 months, actually we have reserved with less than 4 months and got what we wanted. Sometimes we need to do a Sunday, or Friday instead of a Sat but that's not a problem for us.
Using online calender for reservations is also helpful if trying to coordinate, e.g., ff tickets,trips with family or friends, Maui and Oahu vacations

More information is better information

Doesn't Marriott have their own discussion board...

You wrote "if you own oceanview,you can reserve at any time if an oceanview is available" - isn't the same true with SVN/WKORV? If you own OV and OV is available - you can reserve it even under the 8-month mark?

There are aspects of SVN ownership that we liked over Marriott, and why we chose SVN - but {again} I thought there was another thread on this

However, this was one reason we bought OF at WKORV in the first place - albeit at a premium. It is certainly a drag to have plan our vacations 8-12 months in advance. Unfortunately, that is how SVO/SVN reservation system works, but we chose it for other reasons - with our eyes wide open.

SVN sure could use an upgrade in thir computer systems - it is an archaic reservation system - and especially sucks for us west coasters.

 

[DeniseM]

pharmgirl - Everyone has different priorities and patterns when vacationing. What is it about making a Resv. 12 mos. out that is difficult for your family? Is it hard scheduling vacations with work that far out? Is it difficult to know when the kid's vacations are? Are you just more spontaneous than that? Just a suggestion, you can always make the Resv. at 12 mos. out and change it later if you have to - at least you will have an early timestamp on the books.

Everyone is different, but I really love making a Resv. 12 mos. out. I already have our Resv. for next summer and our FF Resv. too. Now I can concentrate on the rest of the trip.

If you don't enjoy advanced planning (and lots of people don't) just remember that a 12 mo. Resv. can always be changed. Make a Resv. a 12 mos even if you aren't sure what your plans are and then go from there.