Worthless RCI New Search Engine

[stonebroke]

I am using the new (but hardly improved...at least not yet) RCI search in RCI points. I am specifically looking for a weekend starting on Sept. 28 (the farthest Friday out that one can search) and I did starting yesterday morning. I choose the criteria including the Month and Date. Also chose Nights to be 1 - 6. Many choices appear to be available....but click on availability goes to a page that says Resort not found Please try again SR002. I don't have a problem if there is no availability but don't show it in the search.

Such phantom sightings show up not for just specific days but also searching entire months. For example The Hiltons in NYC for a September search. Sometimes the availability does show up but the dates aren't the dates I requested...what good is that? I have tried other browsers...is it just me or are others have the same problem?

I sent a help message to RCI yesterday.

 

[Ron98GT]

Using IE, I couldn't get the search by date to work at all. The calendar pop-up wouldn't pop-up and if I typed in the dates it would not search?

Using Firefox, I had no problems. Example: Hilton NYC, 29-Sep-2012 to 4-Oct-2012 (5 nites), Studio with no kitchen, is 36,040 RCI Points.

I also see studio's at:

The Manahattan Club, 41,004 points for the same 5 nites.

West 57th Street HGVC, 30,260 points for the same 5 nites. :

*** Use Firefox ***

Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) =

 

[carl2591]

last year anything on firefox above ver. 3.5 was a problem.. but IE was working ok for most clients. now it looks like it flipped over. I use google chrome and it works good.

ver 15.0.874.121 m (man what a number)

 

[learnalot]

I am not the tech guru by any means but just passing on something I read in an earlier thread that seems to have worked for some people...if you are using Internet Explorer, there is a compatibility icon to the right of your address bar. It looks like a torn page. Some people have had their interface problems resolved by clicking on that icon.

 

[Ron98GT]

last year anything on firefox above ver. 3.5 was a problem (Dude, time to upgrade to Version 8.0).. but IE was working ok for most clients (Not since the RCI Ugrade). now it looks like it flipped over. I use google chrome and it works good (Not 100%, but better than IE). (Have you tried looking for a RCI Points TS in NY City starting on Sept 28, for 5 nites, as the OP asked for?)

ver 15.0.874.121 m (man what a number)

Are you aware of the major upgrade that RCI did recently?

 

[Ron98GT]

I am not the tech guru by any means but just passing on something I read in an earlier thread that seems to have worked for some people...if you are using Internet Explorer, there is a compatibility icon to the right of your address bar. It looks like a torn page. Some people have had their interface problems resolved by clicking on that icon.

When using IE, select "Tools", "Compatability View", and then add "RCI".

Unfortunately, although the pop-up calendars are usable under Compatability View, the OP's original problem still occurs: a TS for that time period is not displayed nor are the points.

With Firefox 8.0, there are no problems.

 

[stonebroke]

Rci Don"t Waste My Time!

Perhaps I do have a compatbility problem. I did follow make the change in IE and I may have been searching on an older version of FIREFOX...but this is what happened when I tried a very specific search using the NEW and Improved RCI Points Search using FIREFOX 8.0.1

Search USA, Mid-Atlantic, Maryland, September 2012. The search results say: 12 resorts found.

But wait - I am using points and I don't want to stay a whole week...I want to spend the weekend of Sept. 28th so I choose Sept. 28 as my date. It now says 8 resorts...and each of those says "check in day Sept. 28, 2012).

So I click on the "available units" of first resort at the top of the page...the message comes "Resort was not found.Please try again. (SR002) "

So I use my arrow to go back a page...and I click on the 2nd resort (which happens to be Ocean Time). Low and belhold a page comes up and it says check in "Sept. 17" and it shows a little calendar with a choice of check out dates (Sept. 18, 19, 20, 21).


Of the 8 - Three come up with availability in Sept. None of the dates I am searching for....I don't want a search that shows me dates I don't want. if there is No availability then I will move on but don't waste my time RCI.

Incidently - I did the same search above and did screen captures of the whole process converted them to pdf files and sent them back to the person who had answered my initial complaint - and I get an email back saying we don't accept attached files please send it in a text message.

 

[Conan]

I want to spend the weekend of Sept. 28th so I choose Sept. 28 as my date. It now says 8 resorts...and each of those says "check in day Sept. 28, 2012).

So I click on the "available units" of first resort at the top of the page...the message comes "Resort was not found.Please try again. (SR002) "

I tried to replicate the problem and your RCI Points search worked fine for me. On the left side of the page I narrowed down to Maryland, then September 2012, then the 28th (a Friday, by the way).

The first property that came up is Club Ocean Villas II, and clicking on the 28th as the start date I had the choice of 29, 30, 10/1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 as the end date. Taking Sunday the 30th as the end date I can have Hotel for 5,800, 1BR for 11,000 or 2BR for 16,800. (No info on housekeeping fees for the short stay that I could find - - those can be a trap so you might want to put it on hold and then phone for the bad news about fees.)

 

[stonebroke]

Must be my account that is messed up

I just ran the search again...this time using Google Chrome (says it is up to date). I have over 23K points left from 2011. Over 80 Thousand listed for 2012 and my membership is paid through 2014.

I am getting the exact same thing as described in my earlier post. Another criteria I selected was 1-6 as the "number of nights" (as a criteria - I didn't mention that above I don't think). And I am searching "weekly and nightly exchange vacations"

This is very frustrating.

 

[Ron98GT]

Perhaps I do have a compatbility problem. I did follow make the change in IE and I may have been searching on an older version of FIREFOX...but this is what happened when I tried a very specific search using the NEW and Improved RCI Points Search using FIREFOX 8.0.1

Search USA, Mid-Atlantic, Maryland, September 2012. The search results say: 12 resorts found.

But wait - I am using points and I don't want to stay a whole week...I want to spend the weekend of Sept. 28th so I choose Sept. 28 as my date. It now says 8 resorts...and each of those says "check in day Sept. 28, 2012).

So I click on the "available units" of first resort at the top of the page...the message comes "Resort was not found.Please try again. (SR002) "

So I use my arrow to go back a page...and I click on the 2nd resort (which happens to be Ocean Time). Low and belhold a page comes up and it says check in "Sept. 17" and it shows a little calendar with a choice of check out dates (Sept. 18, 19, 20, 21).


Of the 8 - Three come up with availability in Sept. None of the dates I am searching for....I don't want a search that shows me dates I don't want. if there is No availability then I will move on but don't waste my time RCI.

Incidently - I did the same search above and did screen captures of the whole process converted them to pdf files and sent them back to the person who had answered my initial complaint - and I get an email back saying we don't accept attached files please send it in a text message.

Must be me. I haven't had anybody send me anything, so I did not know that I had a problem. I'll have to check my configurations.

I'm not at home, but did try your points search using IE7 and Google Chrome Rev:15.0.874.121. They both work, but differently.

Skip the following ramble and go straight to Post #14 for the answer.


Using IE7, I did NOT get a calendar pop-up (typical problem with IE) after selecting September 2012. Instead, I had to use "Narrow your search by date", which you'll see when you scrool down to the bottom of the page. Using this method, I see about 10 TS's. I can check and see the availability for all.

Using Google Chrome, it's the opposite of IE. I can NOT use the "Narrow your search by date" feature, but I do see the calendar after selecting September 2012, just like you did. After selecting September 28, I see 11 TS's to select from. After randomly selcting any one of the 11, including the 1st one, I get a pop-up with the check-in date filled-in. For the check-out, I selected October 4th. It shows me the units available and the points required.

Right after the RCI update, I had problems like you are experiencing, expecially with IE, but they have been resolved for the most part, just browser issues.

See if you can get the "Narrow your search by date" feature to work.

Definetly seems like a browser issue.

As you see, two of us got it to work, with me trying on two different browsers.

Let us know if you get it to work.

 

[pranas]

It could be that the deposited weeks are from the week side. I had that problem also but realized that both types of deposits are listed in the same search area.

 

[Ron98GT]

It could be that the deposited weeks are from the week side. I had that problem also but realized that both types of deposits are listed in the same search area.

Thought about that after seeing your post, but looking back at his posts he states that he has "over 23K points left from 2011. Over 80 Thousand listed for 2012 and my membership is paid through 2014." So he has 103K points available.

I thought maybe he was only searcing in weeks, but he states "I am searching "weekly and nightly exchange vacations".

 

[rickandcindy23]

I dislike the new calendar in RCI Points. First, I cannot list sightings anymore, which I used to list some of those. Second, it looks like there are lots of weeks available, but some of it is just a night or two. I just think RCI missed the bar on this one, and by a longshot.

When I talk to RCI about the issue, they say they have had some complaints about it and acknowledge it wasn't as they thought it would be, either.

I am anxiously awaiting my ability to borrow my 2013 points on January 1st. I see some good stuff in points currently that I could actually book, if I just had the points.

There are problems with RCI Points that are even weirder and more annoying. If you see the Hilton NY weeks available and try to see what is bookable, it goes back to the main map. You cannot see anything, so those are apparently ghost listings. That is disappointing.

 

[Ron98GT]

Found the Problem

Ok, I got the same error message that you got: "Resort was not found.Please try again. (SR002) " Got the error when using Google Chrome and selecting "Number of nights" and "1-6". DO NOT Select "Number of nights" and "1-6".

Select:
USA
Mid-Atlantic
September 2102

You should get a pop-up calendar:
Click-on 28

You should see 11 resorts, 2-pages

The first one I see is Club Ocean Villas

Select Available Units

Select 28 again on the pop-up calendar

Next to the box under Check-Out, click on the little calendar next to it.

Click on the right arrow at the top of the box to move to October

Click on the 4

You should see Hotel, 1 BR, and 2 BR units available and the points required.

Give the above steps a try.

 

[LynnW]

I dislike the new calendar in RCI Points. First, I cannot list sightings anymore, which I used to list some of those. Second, it looks like there are lots of weeks available, but some of it is just a night or two. I just think RCI missed the bar on this one, and by a longshot.

When I talk to RCI about the issue, they say they have had some complaints about it and acknowledge it wasn't they thought it would be, either.

I am anxiously awaiting my ability to borrow my 2013 points on January 1st. I see some good stuff in points currently that I could actually book, if I just had the points.

There are problems with RCI Points that are even weirder and more annoying. If you see the Hilton NY weeks available and try to see what is bookable, it goes back to the main map. You cannot see anything, so those are apparently ghost listings. That is disappointing.

I was able to borrow from my 2012 points in the fall of 2010 by paying the MF's ahead of time.

Lynn

 

[stonebroke]

I think it is my account

Ron98GT - that worked...but I am not sure what I did...other than go in to available units see only the weeks availability and then go back out and click on the 1-6. So the question is will I be able to repeat it.


Later that same day: I have been able to repeat it...so the secret if you want 1 - 6 days is to NOT choose 1 to 6 days as a search criteria.

I was able to do this same search in IE as well.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[stonebroke]

On further reflection

O.K. A work-around has been found. If you want less than 7 days do NOT select the "1-6 Days" as a choice but go directly to available units.

The problem with this is that it includes NON Point resorts that you cannot only stay the weekend. Example in our Ocean City Maryland Search....Sea Time. If you click on that it gives you a Friday Sept. 28th check-in. But the only available checkout is the next Friday.

So I have still wasted my time clicking through potentially a huge number of choices before I get to a points resort that allows shorter stays than 7 days.

 

[tschwa2]

One quick piece of advice for searching points. Weekends to drive to destinations (outside of the dead of winter) in the mid Atlantic book up quickly. For best availability you need to search at exactly 10 months.

Also you may not want to discount the full weeks either using points or getaway weeks. Sometimes by the time you use you points, exchange fee, and housekeeping fee (for staying less than 7 days) a week may cost you the same amount or less and you don't have to worry about checking out at 10am on the day you leave when you leave early.

 

[Ron98GT]

O.K. A work-around has been found. If you want less than 7 days do NOT select the "1-6 Days" as a choice but go directly to available units.

The problem with this is that it includes NON Point resorts that you cannot only stay the weekend. Example in our Ocean City Maryland Search....Sea Time. If you click on that it gives you a Friday Sept. 28th check-in. But the only available checkout is the next Friday.

So I have still wasted my time clicking through potentially a huge number of choices before I get to a points resort that allows shorter stays than 7 days.

You are right and it is a PIA that you have to select the Check-in date and then the Check-out date, just to find that it is for 7-nites only. But on the bright-side, only 2 or 3 of the 11 TS's are for 7-nites only. Most should allow you to select less than 7-nites, at least that's would I saw. if you are only seeing 7-nite only TS's, then you do have a problem.

 

[stonebroke]

Missing info - Extra Fees

I also don't see what the resorts charges for a "cleaning fee" of if they charge. That cost information has helped me make a decision where to stay in the past. Maybe I am just not looking the right place?

 

[tschwa2]

Nope not looking in the wrong place, it's just not there most of the time. I usually assume the fee will be $65-100 for all stays less than 7 days or requiring one or more move to a different unit. RCI used to list it for about 80% of the resorts and even then the 20% that were not listed were 50/50 likely to still charge a fee. Now RCI (whether on purpose or a bug) only list fees for about 10% of points resorts and sometimes lists for weeks only resorts. The safest bet is to call each resort before confirming. Calling RCI may or may not help because they are just as likely not to have the info. Even if you call or see the amount on RCI you can show up and they charge you something else because resorts reserve the right to change the fees at any time.

 

[zxcvb531]

New RCI website sucks

it was easier to just put dates and location, you could see all in 2 steps now its like 5 steps and waste of time, jun whoever design its working should be whipped.

short stay fees are nasty, one day is the same as 6 days

 

[stonebroke]

Didn't leave TIP

I felt the cleaning fees were so high at a place we stayed last summer I didn't leave a tip. I intended to write a note saying that because the resort was charging an extra $XX for cleaning that I assumed the person cleaning was getting all of that and therefore felt it unneccesary to leave a tip.

I forgot to leave the note (so they probably think me an old grouch) but if we all did do that...then there perhaps might be a "trickle up" effect.

Thoughts? - (not about me being an old grouch).

 

[rickandcindy23]

I felt the cleaning fees were so high at a place we stayed last summer I didn't leave a tip. I intended to write a note saying that because the resort was charging an extra $XX for cleaning that I assumed the person cleaning was getting all of that and therefore felt it unneccesary to leave a tip.

I forgot to leave the note (so they probably think me an old grouch) but if we all did do that...then there perhaps might be a "trickle up" effect.

Thoughts? - (not about me being an old grouch).

That's ridiculous. The maid isn't going to go to management and tell them your gripe. Tell the resort's manager you despise their housekeeping fees.

If you want to deprive the maid of a tip, do it. But I guarantee the management company just pays the maid $8.50 per hour. The simple fact of the matter is that less than 7-night stays does create the need to clean the unit twice, so they do charge.

I talked to a maid at DVC's Old Key West a few weeks ago, and she told me only about 10% of the people tip. I had forgotten to leave a tip and went back to the unit while she was cleaning. She was very grateful for the $10. It's all I had in cash at the time. Rick usually leaves $20.

If you don't like the food at a restaurant, is your beef with the server? Nope. It's with the manager and the cook. Why does the server get the blame for everything and less $ in their pocket? It's wrong.

 

[Ron98GT]

it was easier to just put dates and location, you could see all in 2 steps now its like 5 steps and waste of time, jun whoever design its working should be whipped.

short stay fees are nasty, one day is the same as 6 days

With the old RCI Points search engine/screens, I didn't like that you could only search one month at a time and you could not cross months. I like the new search engine/screens much more, although it can use some improvement. Also with the new search engine/screens I see more availability and the points required are less. The TS's and city I used for comparison are the HGVC's and the Manhattan Club all in NYC.