WKORVN room reservation process

I talked to the front desk manager today about how rooms are assigned at WKORVN. As we all know, they are assigned by time stamp. What I didn't know was how that works. Here is what I was told.

First, all room pairs (studio and 1 bedroom) are assigned to a particular arrival day, either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Once they go into rotation, room pairs do not normally change arrival day. There are rooms on each floor and building assigned to every arrival day. That is, there are some 6th floor OF rooms assigned to Friday, some to Saturday and some to Sunday arrival.

Second, rooms are assigned by floors, with the highest floors going first. According to the manager, this was how the "owners" wanted it done. I assume this means that the HOA board decided this.

The time stamp on your reservation determines your place in the assignment queue. The earliest time stamp is at the top of the list, etc.

A few days before the arrival date, they start assigning rooms. The earliest time stamp reservation is popped off the queue and assigned to the 6th floor of a building in its view class. Then the next earliest time stamp is popped and assigned the the next 6th floor room in its view class. Once all of the rooms on the 6th floor in that view class are assigned, they move down a floor and start assigning rooms on the 5th floor. This continues until all owners are assigned a room in their view class.

Once all of the owner reservations are assigned, they look at owner preferences for rooms and floor and do what they can to accommodate them. For example, if one owner was assigned to building 8, but requested building 5, and another owner was assigned the same floor on building 5 but did not request a particular building, they will swap the reservations. Notice that this does not change the floor you are assigned to, only the building or specific room.

Once all of the owner assignments are made, any rooms left over are available to renters. Those assignments are made as the renters check in.

The effect of the method gives the owners preference for the highest floors in their view class, and renters get whatever is left over.

This seems to me like fair method to assign rooms.

Greg

LOL... I'm sorry to laugh but the room assigner TOTALLY mislead you. Did you know that the worst rooms have check-in of Fri and Sundays? I always call for my reservations 1 year out to the minute. Well, one year we decided to check-in on a Friday. We were traveling during what I consider a pretty low peak week. We went during Thanksgiving week. Anyways, we arrived around 4 pm right at check in time. We were assigned a room on the 2nd floor and our patio had a WALL around it. It was not a balcony type patio. They only have few rooms like this in the whole complex. I can show you pictures too. You couldn't even see the ocean unless you looked over the wall. I own an ocean view room. We went back to the desk and that is what they told us. Most of the better ocean view rooms have a check-in day of Saturday. So, I pleaded and begged with the room assigner to move us. Wow... what is amazing is that they found us a room with an ocean view and a really balcony...

BTW, I own at WKORV which the rooms are a little different than the North side. I think the rule works great for your side of the resort just not ours.

Edited to add: How could I get the WORST ocean view room when I called a year out? It would be different if I called 9 months out I would expect that room but I called year out.

ciscogizmo1 said:

Edited to add: How could I get the WORST ocean view room when I called a year out? It would be different if I called 9 months out I would expect that room but I called year out.

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A couple of thoughts on your assignment. There are something like 20 agents taking reservations. So while you are talking to your agent, other agents may also be taking reservations for the arrival you want and they may type faster than your agent.

Also, it does depend on how many rooms they assign to each rotation. I saw a list of the OF rooms at WKORN for a Sunday check-in. It appears that just about 1/3 of the rooms are available for Sunday check-in and that Sunday check-in gets its share of prime rooms.

I don't know what the room rotation assignments for WKORV are.

Greg

Here's the room I was assigned to when I reserved a year out.



I do the standard I want a high floor with the biggest ocean view. You could not see the ocean when sitting in the chairs at all.

The front desk told me that there were not very many desirable rooms on Fri & Sun because the owners don't like to check-in on those days. The rooms got assigned initially based on when the 1st owner made their reservation and most wanted Saturday check-ins.

Now, the resort didn't think we'd like this view better because they claim the room above was more superior than this room:



One thing I don't like about timesharing is that the squeaky wheel gets what they want. If I didn't complain I would have been stuck in that room with no ocean view.

It does depend on what rooms are assigned to check-in on the day you want to arrive. If most people want to arrive on Saturday, then they should probably have more rooms assigned to Saturday check-in. If they get the allocation correct between the days, then the competition for good rooms should be about the same for each check-in day. But if the get the allocation wrong, and assign most rooms to Saturday, and then lots of folks call for a Friday check-in, the available good rooms will be used up quite quickly.

You could always ask them to send you a list of the rooms in your view category that are assigned to the day you want to check in.

Greg

Where you traveling during a busy season/week? I think it's great they were able to accommodate your request to a better view unit.

I arrived on a Friday at WKORV a few weeks ago and got a 5th floor building 7 unit with a great ocean view. And that was via an II trade, so there are definitely good units available for Friday check-ins.

Ken555 said:

Where you traveling during a busy season/week? I think it's great they were able to accommodate your request to a better view unit.

I arrived on a Friday at WKORV a few weeks ago and got a 5th floor building 7 unit with a great ocean view. And that was via an II trade, so there are definitely good units available for Friday check-ins.

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No that is the thing, I was traveling Thanksgiving week. The resort was less crowded compared to a summer week..

I'm sure units get moved from check-in days because you can reserve on points which allows you to basically reserve any day you want of the week. So over time units will probably move from the different check-in dates. My grip was they assigned me the worst unit when they had a better unit available when I called out to reserve my unit a year out. The 1st unit was on the 2nd floor in the back far corner near the lobby and it was considered an ocean view. The second unit was on the 4th floor right next to the elevator close to the ocean side.

gregb said:

It does depend on what rooms are assigned to check-in on the day you want to arrive. If most people want to arrive on Saturday, then they should probably have more rooms assigned to Saturday check-in. If they get the allocation correct between the days, then the competition for good rooms should be about the same for each check-in day. But if the get the allocation wrong, and assign most rooms to Saturday, and then lots of folks call for a Friday check-in, the available good rooms will be used up quite quickly.

You could always ask them to send you a list of the rooms in your view category that are assigned to the day you want to check in.

Greg

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You know once the desk told me that there weren't very many rooms for check-in on Friday, I did check out the resort on Saturday during maid cleaning time. It was obvious the majority of the units have Saturday check-in. The front desk basically told me to guarantee a better unit you should check-in on Saturday. I can't remember what he told me the percentages but they were like 20% Fri, 20% Sun & 60% Sat. Over time the units will move check-in days when people reserve for more than 7 days. I know that some people stay in a one bedroom for 13 nights instead of the 2 bedroom for 7 nights. I've learned my lesson never to check-in on Fri or Sun. Trust me I won't do it because it isn't worth it to me.

We have had good luck checking in to the North side on Sunday. But I really believe it depends on how busy the week is. Last year we only used our 1 bedroom OF, and had a great room, 8614. This year we split and got 8613 for the studio, and 8310 for the 1 Bed. When they gave us 8310 they checked for higher rooms, but none were available.

I don't know how often rooms move to new rotations. The manager seemed to indicate not that often. Yes they do have to work around the rentals and short stays, that can check-in on any day. That complicates their assignments. But she seemed to say that the rotation doesn't change.

I am surprised that the resort was not full for Thanksgiving. That would seem to be a prime time, just like Christmas and New Years.

Greg

Greg - most kids only get 2 days off for Thanksgiving, so the demand is not as high as it is for weeks when they are out of school the whole week.

Thanksgiving week is not a low usage week (we were married during our T-week stay) - certainly not as high as premium weeks and summer weeks, but certainly not as low as the weeks preceeding/following Thanksgiving week - or May for that matter.

To my knowledge - rooms are assigned on Wednesdays - so if it is a concern - call the front desk and make a request to leave a message with the person that assigns the rooms.

DavidnRobin said:

Thanksgiving week is not a low usage week (we were married during our T-week stay) - certainly not as high as premium weeks and summer weeks, but certainly not as low as the weeks preceeding/following Thanksgiving week - or May for that matter.

To my knowledge - rooms are assigned on Wednesdays - so if it is a concern - call the front desk and make a request to leave a message with the person that assigns the rooms.

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I did not think it was peak because there were no chair hogs. The place was empty. You could find a chair any time of the day including near the pool. I've never been off-peak like a non-school holiday so, I really don't have anything to compare it to. It was pretty low crowds for me. I compare it to June or August and those months are crazy where you can't even walk without stepping on a teenager gawking at other teenagers ;-)

I didn't say it was peak - charts show that it is not low season. I have been in Maui (and WKORV) during a few different times (never summer or XMAS) - T-week was busiest. There were both chairs and chair hogs...

This week, according to the front desk, the resort is about 92% full, but there are still many chairs available. When we come out of the ocean from snorkeling, about 11:00am, there are still many chairs available near the lower hot tub on the North side. Also there are open chairs on the shady side of the upper pool. The pools and chairs do not feel crowded.

How crowded the pools are may depend not only on how full the resort is, but what time of year. I believe that right now, the resort has a high ratio of older, retired folks with only the couple staying in the room. During the school vacations, I believe they get many more families with children, so the average number of occupants per room goes up, as well as the demand for space at the pools.

Greg

ciscogizmo1 said:

You know once the desk told me that there weren't very many rooms for check-in on Friday, I did check out the resort on Saturday during maid cleaning time. It was obvious the majority of the units have Saturday check-in. The front desk basically told me to guarantee a better unit you should check-in on Saturday. I can't remember what he told me the percentages but they were like 20% Fri, 20% Sun & 60% Sat. Over time the units will move check-in days when people reserve for more than 7 days. I know that some people stay in a one bedroom for 13 nights instead of the 2 bedroom for 7 nights. I've learned my lesson never to check-in on Fri or Sun. Trust me I won't do it because it isn't worth it to me.

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I know this is a specific discussion about WKORVN, but does anyone know if other resorts (we are at MKO now) have the same F-S-S allocation rations?

gregb said:

This week, according to the front desk, the resort is about 92% full, but there are still many chairs available. When we come out of the ocean from snorkeling, about 11:00am, there are still many chairs available near the lower hot tub on the North side. Also there are open chairs on the shady side of the upper pool. The pools and chairs do not feel crowded.

How crowded the pools are may depend not only on how full the resort is, but what time of year. I believe that right now, the resort has a high ratio of older, retired folks with only the couple staying in the room. During the school vacations, I believe they get many more families with children, so the average number of occupants per room goes up, as well as the demand for space at the pools.

Greg

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This... +1

II Room Assignment

We have an upcoming stay at the WKORV-N through an Interval exchange. Our II account shows a 2 bedroom unit number of 645453. I know this can change and may not be our actual unit that we will have, but if it is what view would this be and would it be 6th floor? We are also Platinum SPG and this is our first II trade to Maui. Could I call and request an ocean view and would they even honor it since it is an II trade? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks!

6 = bldg. 6
4 = 4th floor
53/54 = in the corner by the Koi Pond

Resort Map

In theory, hotel status is not supposed to get you an upgrade at a TS resort - upgrades are more common for Starwood Timeshare Elite Owners.

However, it doesn't hurt to ask and I sure would. I'd Fax them now and call a couple weeks before check in. Be sure you state that you are a Starwood owner trading in with II. I'd ask for Ocean FRONT, rather than Ocean VIEW, because some of the Ocean View locations are not so great - maybe just a sliver of ocean.

Good luck!

Thanks Denise..I appreciate your advice and I will work on faxing them the request. We are 5* Elite Starwood members and that is how we got our Platinum status. It hasn't been that long so I'm still trying to read up on all that it offers. TUG helps a lot as I read up a lot on what everyone says on here. I know it says somewhere on TUG (I just can't find it back) but what is the highest floor and what buildings have the ocean front. Thanks again!

Gotcha - Plat Status is hotel status. 5 Star Elite status is your TS Status and that's what will get you the upgrade. I think you have a very good chance of getting one, unless you are going when the resort is at full capacity, like Easter or 4th of July. Be sure you ask for Ocean FRONT.

See the map for the units closest to the ocean. I would not specify a unit number or floor - I'd ask for a high floor and ocean front - that give you the most chance for success.

Good luck!

Correction - I just remembered that some of the "Ocean Front" units at WKORVN have bad views and most people wouldn't consider them Ocean Front, although Starwood designated them that way, so you might want to list several unit numbers on your request, with the best Ocean Front locations, and ask for a high floor.

Units I'd request:

Bldg. 5 - Units 1 - 12 w/high floor
or
Bldg. 6 - Units 1 - 14 w/high floor

OK...THANKS!! I'm glad that we got in the North Villas. I found the map that you put on TUG so I'll look at that again too. We're really looking forward to the trip. We're staying for 5 nights at the Moana Surfrider on Oahu and then going to Maui after that. We've stayed at the Moana last year and got a great upgrade so we're hoping for that again too. We were at Lagunamar last year and it was beautiful!

FYI - I put a link to the WKORVN map in post 18, above.

Both resorts have their advantages and disadvantages. I like WKOVN for a family with young children, because the 2 sides of the unit are more accessible than at WKORV, but be aware that it doesn't have a regular oven.

Here is a comparison of WKORV and WKORVN

Wkorv

Does anyone have a recommendation for which building to request in WKORV?

naka4 said:

Does anyone have a recommendation for which building to request in WKORV?

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Bldg. 2 or 3, high floor, close to ocean.

Specify that you don't want Bldg. 4, where you may get a highway view.

If you are 5 Star Elite, request Ocean FRONT w/high floor.

Resort Map