Starwood claims no reservations available for my fixed/floating SBP in 2015?!?

I own two fixed/floating weeks in the original phase of Sheraton Broadway Plantation (Myrtle Beach.) Due to health problems, I'm just now getting around to booking for 2015, a few months later than I had originally planned to book. I had no problem booking my first ownership -- Saturday, July 11, 2015 was available, which sounds like a great week to me. (Other dates in July were available for that ownership, too.) But, I ran into problems when I tried to book my second ownership, which is a different unit type. For this second unit type (a "shotgun" small 1-bedroom) I was told that nothing at all was available in my season (Gold Plus, weeks 9-43 and 47.) Not am early spring week, not an October week, nothing.

The first two CS reps I spoke to claimed that I had just "booked too late" and that other owners had booked all the weeks. It took me about an hour on the phone (and three different CS representatives) before anyone at Starwood reservations would acknowledge that since 2015 hasn't even started yet, there should be a week available for every owner. (In theory, if Starwood deposited too many weeks with exchange companies, there might be nothing but exchange credits left. But, I wouldn't expect that to be a problem before the use year has even started. Also, Starwood does have a contractual obligation to provide actual reservations at the resort where one owns, not just an exchange credit.)

The third CS rep referred the problem to Resolution Services and someone from Starwood is supposed to call me next week. Hopefully, this is a computer glitch and I'll be able to book something good with my ownership. It shouldn't have taken three CS reps before anyone would acknowledge that there was some sort of inventory problem, though.

I'm wondering if anyone else has run into a problem like this? Also, how early does one usually need to book at SBP to get a summer week?

I own week 52 in SMV and Starwood already booked the week for 2015 automatically. So you may want to confirm if you truly have a fixed week since my understanding is that those are automatically booked yearly.

I think its either a glitch or over depositing in RCI and more likely a glitch. I can't imagine all the October and even September weeks being unavailable at this time.

I booked a July week in a small 1br SBP less than a month ago. I think if you reserve before the MF statements go out you should be ok but to be on the safe side you should probably book by September the year prior.

We own a 1 bed that has very low MF's, around $420 annually, and it books into any small 1 bedroom. I wonder if other owners booked your unit type instead of their own? The unit type you own, does it have that low fee, or is it quite a bit higher?

I would make them give me a small one bedroom of a different type.

Starwood owes you an explanation. If they did give RCI too many units like yours, they need to pull some back or replace those exchanges with small one bedrooms.

I understand the frustration. Starwood told me last year that I own a particular check-in day of the week, and so I cannot book a Saturday for my deeded week, if I own Friday. I can only book the day I own. This happened when I was trying to book a Saturday for my deeded week 27. This year no one told me that, but they did tell me the only day available to book my week 27 was the day after 4th of July, which is a Sunday. I was livid, because I paid for 2015 use early, and then I was denied July 3rd and 4th.

I didn't think it would let me search in the beta availability finder because I already have my 2015 week booked but it did and it still shows 90% of weeks still available including summer weeks. So do you have the designation of
Villa
1 Bedroom Villa | Plantation | Gold Plus
Max. Occupancy 4
or is it called something else?

Also did you confirm that they have you listed as having paid your 2015 MF's?

JudyS said:

The first two CS reps I spoke to claimed that I had just "booked too late" and that other owners had booked all the weeks. It took me about an hour on the phone (and three different CS representatives) before anyone at Starwood reservations would acknowledge that since 2015 hasn't even started yet, there should be a week available for every owner. (In theory, if Starwood deposited too many weeks with exchange companies, there might be nothing but exchange credits left. But, I wouldn't expect that to be a problem before the use year has even started. Also, Starwood does have a contractual obligation to provide actual reservations at the resort where one owns, not just an exchange credit.)

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If you were talking 2016, you'd be correct because the Owner's Priority booking window for exchange owners hasn't closed yet. But I'm not sure why you think that there should be a week available for every owner in 2015 since 2015 hasn't started yet. We're just 6 weeks away from the new year. The 8-12 month window for gold+ owners to book one of the earlier weeks in their season closed back in June. That gave nearly 5 months for exchangers to snag that unbooked week.

You don't believe that Starwood is supposed to withhold from exchange inventory a unit of the size bought, in the season bought, for every owner who hasn't booked their 2015 week yet, do you? If so, that's most certainly not the case. First of all, that would only be workable in an entirely closed (e.g. all fixed week/fixed unit) system. It would be completely unworkable in a system that allows exchanges, even if they limited exchanges to other owners in their season, such as yourself. Because the later in the year you get, the fewer units there'd be available in the weeks remaining in that particular season to exchange into. At some point in time, the number of owners who hadn't booked yet would exceed the inventory remaining in that season. Withholding inventory would cripple an internal exchange system, let alone an external one. Outside exchangers would never see a fall or early December week!

So yes, it's theoretically possible that you ARE too late and that all the gold season owners snagged what was left of the 2015 gold+ inventory, possibly when they called in a month ago and realized that the summer week that they really wanted had already sold out, and the spring week that was their alternative had already been snagged by exchangers. That's an inherent flaw in a system that uses a closed calendar year for booking (vs rolling 12 months), and a serious downside to the SVN system for people who can't or won't plan ahead. And by "ahead" I'm talking 12 months+.

Good luck with the resolution department. I do think they'll be able to find a week for you, even if they have to put you on a wait list for any owner who cancels a week in your season.

SVN inventory is separate from non SVN so "exchanges" shouldn't be able to get into the inventory and Starwood only gets the right to the inventory if it isn't booked at 60 days. Starwood does do large bulk banks into RCI from SBP even before float owners have access to their own inventory often at 18 months in advance.

JudyS said:

I own two fixed/floating weeks in the original phase of Sheraton Broadway Plantation (Myrtle Beach.) Due to health problems, I'm just now getting around to booking for 2015, a few months later than I had originally planned to book.

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I don't know if the same applies to SBP, but fixed/float weeks at SVR require you to confirm your fixed week reservation no later than 10mos before your date, or it turns in to a float week, and then it's first-come first-served for flat reservations in your season.

Given the home report period at 8mos out only has a few weeks left in your season, I'm not surprised that there is a shortage of inventory...

tschwa2 said:

SVN inventory is separate from non SVN so "exchanges" shouldn't be able to get into the inventory and Starwood only gets the right to the inventory if it isn't booked at 60 days. Starwood does do large bulk banks into RCI from SBP even before float owners have access to their own inventory often at 18 months in advance.

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We don't know that JudyS is not an SVN member. We only know that she owns 2 SBP weeks. And it doesn't matter. No matter what membership she has, Starwood at some point deposits unbooked (or projected unbooked) inventory into an exchange system. My points was that one should never expect that they will be able to book a week in their season as long as that use year hasn't started.

Judy probably has floating weeks not in Staroptions.

As already stated, there are lots of small and premium one bedrooms still available for 2015, including prime summer. Apparently her unit type is different. I keep wondering how many of these shotgun units there are, and what the fees cost for those units. I thought that is what I owned with my small one bedroom, and as I said before, they let me book any small one bedroom with my week. But maybe this is very different from what I own.

Am I reading this right? Judy owns a Week to use every year. It is now November 2014 and nothing is available in 2015. How can this happen? I could understand if she was searching in November 2015, but not in 2014>

George

On the positive side, even if there are no weeks available (which is very believable), I suspect if deposing them in RCI or II other similar or perhaps better weeks would be available. The only downside to this is the exchange fee.


Sent from my iPad

Without knowing what the reservation rules are at this resort for a fixed-float week, it's really hard to say what's going on here.

If it does have to be reserved by the 10 mo. mark - she has missed most of her season, because 10 mos. from today is Sept. 22.

If there are a very limited number of the type of units that Judy owns, that would come into play, as well.

It is not unusual for certain types of units to book up really early at some resorts - for instance, the ocean front units at WKROV, book up really early.

One more note: I don't see any deposits in II, but there are many in RCI for this timeframe. Maybe Starwood pre-deposited too many units? Since Aug. of 2009, Starwood has bulk space banked inventory at their discretion - they don't wait until owner's "designate their week for exchange," and they may have deposited too many units at the end of the season, where there is generally, less demand.

It doesn't have to be booked prior to 10 months. The only two quirks is you can book your deeded week up to 24 months early and as late as 1 day before 12 months without competition from other same resort/same season SBP owners of other weeks. Quirk 2 you have to prepay your MF's before you can reserve your week. Other than that you can book any week in your season at 12 months and as late as the day before check in subject to availability.

tschwa2 said:

It doesn't have to be booked prior to 10 months. The only two quirks is you can book your deeded week up to 24 months early and as late as 1 day before 12 months without competition from other same resort/same season SBP owners of other weeks. Quirk 2 you have to prepay your MF's before you can reserve your week. Other than that you can book any week in your season at 12 months and as late as the day before check in subject to availability.

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I think it's the "subject to availability" that is coming into play here.

but who could have taken every week. Starwood has no right to take unused weeks before 60 days before check in. We are still outside of 60 days before week 9.

If they over bulk deposited then they need to find her a week in a different but configuration from their weeks that is at least as large as her unit.

Personally I still think it must be a glitch. It might also be useful to find out how many units there are of that particular configuration at SBP.

tschwa2 said:

If they over bulk deposited then they need to find her a week in a different but configuration from their weeks that is at least as large as her unit.

Personally I still think it must be a glitch. It might also be useful to find out how many units there are of that particular configuration at SBP.

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I agree - but the entry level Reps have no authority to do so, and that's why they kicked it up to Owner Resolution Services.

The only two quirks is you can book your deeded week up to 24 months early and as late as 1 day before 12 months

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OK - but the entire season that Judy owns is now past the 12 mo. mark, so maybe she has missed the owner priority period?

Week 47 starts Nov. 20, and today is Nov. 22.

She missed the priority to book her deeded week only. Her ability to book in her deeded season never goes away. Only SBP gold plus owners can book the weeks. So even if every owner at SBP in gold plus has already booked including Starwood and they removed the inventory of all SVN members from the pot of weeks there would still be her one week left. MF's aren't passed due yet and typically there is at least an 8% delinquency rate so at least 8% haven't booked any weeks yet. Starwood always claims that they keep inventory separate so her non SVN week should not be available to SVN owners and Starwood can't claim any weeks other than their own until 60 days.

So we are back to: 1) they deposited too many weeks or 2) it's an error?

tschwa2 said:

So even if every owner at SBP in gold plus has already booked including Starwood and they removed the inventory of all SVN members from the pot of weeks there would still be her one week left.

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This is what I have a problem understanding. How can there not be one Week during 2015 available for her use?

George

bogey21 said:

This is what I have a problem understanding. How can there not be one Week during 2015 available for her use?

George

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There can't be, unless Starwood deposited too many to RCI. They did at least two huge bulk banks of summer weeks in RCI this year for summer of 2015.

I may be mistaken, but don't they allow silver to upgrade to gold season for a fee within a small window prior to booking?

so, technically, if the window for silver to upgrade was open for a small portion of the gold season and if the first few weeks were taken by silvers upgrading and if all the other gold owners booked the back end of the period, I think this could be possible - but that is a lot of 'ifs'.

I think someone has messed up the inventory pools.....and agree I would escalate this up the chain and it would start with, 'refund my MF or give me a week within my season'. Not reasonable for this to happen so far in advance IMnsHO. I can see late in the same year, but not prior to the year even starting.

I am interested in seeing how this is resolved, as I have weeks and would like to learn from someone else's experience rather than have an experience like this myself.

Best of luck btw

tschwa2 said:

It might also be useful to find out how many units there are of that particular configuration at SBP.

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I just called the front desk, and they said there are 32 of those type of unit in the Plantation phase.

traveldaddy said:

I may be mistaken, but don't they allow silver to upgrade to gold season for a fee within a small window prior to booking?

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You can upgrade by one season for a check in date within the next two months, at a cost of $25 per day. We're more than two months out from week 9, so it can't be that either.