Overlapping Orlando Reservations.

[AwayWeGo]

When we bought (smalltime) into RCI Points in 2005, we followed the eBay timeshare broker's advice & signed up 5 extended family members as Additional Users on our RCI Points account -- entitling us to make reservations for those 5 relatives & get them Guest Certificates at no additional charge.

Our nephew decided to take his family of 4 to Orlando in January 2007, so we snagged him a 2BR Instant Exchange reservation into Vistana Villages for January 6 check-in. Unfortunately his plane tickets are for January 5 -- by the time he got those, his Instant Exchange timeshare reservation was already locked in.

As it happens, The Chief Of Staff & I will also be on timeshare vacation in Orlando right about that same time, checking in at Silver Lake Silver Points (Last Call) on January 5.

You can see where this is going. The Chief Of Staff called up RCI, said she'd like our nephew to check in ahead of us at Silver Lake Silver Points on January 5. RCI said OK, also said they would fax something to Silver Lake Silver Points letting them know our nephew will be showing up ahead of us & checking in. Then next day, The Chief Of Staff & I will show up at Silver Lake Silver Points while nephew & family will head over to Vistana Villages & check in over there for the rest of their stay. They won't be staying all week, so The Chief Of Staff & I just might finish out their Vistana Villages week for them. We're the RCI members & we're the folks paying for both reservations, so why not?

Back in 2003 we were wowed by Vistana Villages. We were staying at Vistana Orlando on our very 1st timeshare exchange, & signed up for their timeshare tour so we could get discount Disney tickets for our son & daughter-in-law & grandson, who were with us at Vistana Orlando. The tour lady didn't show us Vistana Orlando where we were staying, she took us over to Vistana Villages. I don't remember the actual units so much as the impressive look of the public spaces at Vistana Villages & the fabulous island waterfall pool with curved zero-depth entry. It will be nice to go back for a few days' leftover stay after our nephew & his bunch return home.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[spiceycat]

you are gonna be busy - but I love 2 resorts on one visit!!!

[Miss Marty]

Originally Posted by AwayWeGo

As it happens, The Chief Of Staff & I will also be on timeshare vacation in Orlando right about that same time, checking in at Silver Lake Silver Points (Last Call) on January 5.

You can see where this is going. The Chief Of Staff called up RCI, said she'd like our nephew to check in ahead of us at Silver Lake Silver Points on January 5. RCI said OK, also said they would fax something to Silver Lake Silver Points letting them know our nephew will be showing up ahead of us & checking in. Then next day, The Chief Of Staff & I will show up at Silver Lake Silver Points

What do you think of the housekeeping fees at Silver Lake - (Points)


A security deposit of US$200 or a valid credit card is required
at check-in. *REFURBISHING BEING DONE ALL OF 2007*

HOUSEKEEPING FEES PER WEEK:
HOTEL US$15;
1BR Units ending with B or H US$30;
1BR Units ending in A or G and 2BR Units US$40;
3BR Units US$65.

H UNITS DO NOT HAVE KITCHENS OR WASHERS/ DRYERS;
B AND D UNITS HAVE PARTIAL KITCHENS, BUT NO WASHERS/DRYERS.

What size unit did you reserve? Looking forward to your review!

[cindi]

Originally Posted by Marty Giggard

What do you think of the housekeeping fees at Silver Lake - (Points)


A security deposit of US$200 or a valid credit card is required
at check-in. *REFURBISHING BEING DONE ALL OF 2007*

HOUSEKEEPING FEES PER WEEK:
HOTEL US$15;
1BR Units ending with B or H US$30;
1BR Units ending in A or G and 2BR Units US$40;
3BR Units US$65.

H UNITS DO NOT HAVE KITCHENS OR WASHERS/ DRYERS;
B AND D UNITS HAVE PARTIAL KITCHENS, BUT NO WASHERS/DRYERS.

What size unit did you reserve? Looking forward to your review!

I think things are getting ridiculous. You have to pay for the housekeeping salary so the resort doesn't have to? WRONG!

I can understand charging extra for the mid week cleaning, if you CHOOSE to have it, but not for what should be expected.

A person is going to have to be VERY careful about what exchanges to accept anymore. All the extra charges are getting out of hand.

I don't know if you have been following the topic about the electricity surcharge at Morritts, but I had to laugh out loud at the comment about "Oh, you wanted a door? That will be extra".

[AwayWeGo]

Originally Posted by Marty Giggard

What do you think of the housekeeping fees at Silver Lake - (Points)

A security deposit of US$200 or a valid credit card is required
at check-in. *REFURBISHING BEING DONE ALL OF 2007*

HOUSEKEEPING FEES PER WEEK:
HOTEL US$15;
1BR Units ending with B or H US$30;
1BR Units ending in A or G and 2BR Units US$40;
3BR Units US$65.

H UNITS DO NOT HAVE KITCHENS OR WASHERS/ DRYERS;
B AND D UNITS HAVE PARTIAL KITCHENS, BUT NO WASHERS/DRYERS.

What size unit did you reserve? Looking forward to your review!

Whoa -- when The Chief Of Staff finds out about that Silver Lake Silver Points houskeeping fee, I could be in trouble. (Maybe I can get my nephew just to pay it at check-in, along with his credit card imprint, then repay him on the sly with nobody the wiser.)

We dawdled so long before making our January Last Call & Instant Exchange reservations that I was in too much of a hurry when I did get round to it -- might not have gone for Silver Lake Silver Points if I could have snagged some other 1BR 4/4 Full Kitchen unit without paying an extra Housekeeping Fee. Haste makes waste.

$200 deposit or credit card at check-in is OK. Shucks, I even have to do that at my owm home timeshare resort where I'm a deeded & fee-paying owner.

Don't know what to make of Refurbishing Being Done All Of 2007 -- maybe a nuisance factor, maybe nothing. Might refer to construction hustle-bustle on site, or possibly temporary unavailability of certain units undergoing renovation. We'll see, eh? (Over at Cypress Pointe Phase 1, where we took our "surprise vacation" in October 2006, major serious refurbishment was going on all over the place -- new standing-seam metal roofs on all the condo buildings, new concrete-block laundry-housekeeping-service building going in from the ground up, & I don't know what-all -- with zero inconvenience or disturbance to owners & guests at the resort.)

According to the RCI Reservation Confirmation that we received via snail mail, our Silver Lake Silver Points reservation is for Unit #9201B, 1BR, Full Kitchen, 4/4 occupancy. (Should be OK for our nephew & his spouse & his 2 daughters for their 1st night in town before moving into to their 2BR Instant Exchange unit over at Vistana Villages.)

Meanwhile, I got a fresh oil change today -- with new oil filter -- so the car is good to go on another non-stop trip down I-95 & across I-4.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[cindi]

Alan,

I should have read the fine print better too, when I snagged that two bedroom for March 08 at Morritts Grand. I was just too excited to pay attention to that. Now I wish I had.

[timeos2]

They are charging housekeeping fees for points reservations for a full 7 days? Thats not right - those costs are paid by the depositing owners. Who do they think they are, Disney? If a week is split up there is usually a fee and I can understand that as it wouldn't be part of a "standard" ownership/use period.

[spiceycat]

when I mentioned those fees - someone else that they didn't pay them.

so I guess when you check in you can refuse the housekeeping and not pay them.

[Carl D]

None of my business really; just curious-
Not specifically about your situation, but I read quite often about folks giving family or friends the remainder of a partially used week. I always figured they paid for a full cleaning before the new people moved in. Is this not the case?
It seems like the right thing to do, even if they charge a few bucks for a mid week cleaning.

[AwayWeGo]

Originally Posted by Carl D

I read quite often about folks giving family or friends the remainder of a partially used week. I always figured they paid for a full cleaning before the new people moved in. Is this not the case?

Nephew & family will be there 1 day before moving over to the other timeshare, so we don't need full-bore cleaning. We'll be happy with just a linen exchange. Shucks, we can even make the bed ourselves -- just like being at home. Ditto if The Chief Of Staff & I go over to the other timeshare after nephew & family leave -- clean sheets & fresh towels will make us happy.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[Carl D]

Originally Posted by AwayWeGo

Nephew & family will be there 1 day before moving over to the other timeshare, so we don't need full-bore cleaning. We'll be happy with just a linen exchange. Shucks, we can even make the bed ourselves -- just like being at home. Ditto if The Chief Of Staff & I go over to the other timeshare after nephew & family leave -- clean sheets & fresh towels will make us happy.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

I think I agree with you for your specific situation. A linen change is fine since it's family and only 1 night.
I guess I strayed a bit from topic since your post reminded me of others who rent 1/2 of a week to strangers. I hope there would be a cleaning in that situation!

[AwayWeGo]

Originally Posted by timeos2

They are charging housekeeping fees for points reservations for a full 7 days? Thats not right - those costs are paid by the depositing owners. Who do they think they are, Disney? If a week is split up there is usually a fee and I can understand that as it wouldn't be part of a "standard" ownership/use period.

The Chief Of Staff, who TUG regulars know as an extremely bright & capable woman (nice looking, too), got on the phone today & called up the folks at Silver Lake Silver Points for 2 main reasons.

(1) To find out what's up with that housekeeping fee in view of the fact we won't be needing or expecting housekeeping service during our stay, other than linen exchange, which we're willing to take on a do-it-yourself basis -- we hand'm the old sheets & towels & they hand us the fresh 1s.

(2) To make sure they know our nephew will be checking in on our reservation Friday, & we'll show up in person ourselves on Saturday.

The Silver Lake Silver Points person said the resort does not charge a houskeeping fee except when people stay for less than a full week. That's at odds with what's on the RCI web site & what's on the RCI paperwork we received confirming our Last Call reservation, but never mind -- we'll go with what the resort person told us over the phone.

The Silver Lake Silver Points person said when asked that RCI had not informed them that our nephew will be checking in a day ahead of us, but did say that since they got telephone notification from us, that will be OK with them. (That doesn't necessarily mean RCI didn't follow through as agreed on notifying the resort. Maybe an RCI fax was received OK & is just sitting in somebody's in basket somewhere instead of going to the check-in desk. Who knows?)

These pre-vacation checks & re-checks are just another example of the wisdom of Ronald Reagan when he said (in a different context), "Trust, but verify."

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[rkd]

We have stayed at Silver Lake several times and have paid the previously stated housekeeping fees whenever we stayed less than a week. When we stayed for 9 nights, we were not charged a housekeeping fee.

Do most resorts charge a housekeeping fee? We have reservations for a few days at Orange Lake and were informed they also have a HK fee.

So, our 2 nights in a 2 bdrm cost $49 + $40. With an exchange fee and housekeeping charge, the "free" or "previously paid" weekend isn't just points only.

Still it is better than the rack rate for a 2 bdrm condo.

Any resorts that don't charge a HK fee?

Regina

[AwayWeGo]

Everything worked out great. Our nephew & his family were totally wowed by Silver Lake Silver Points their 1st night in Orlando (using the 1st night of the Last Call reservation we made for ourselves), then wowed all over again the next night after they checked in at Vistana Villages (using the 1st 3 days of the Instant Exchange reservation we got specially for them).

Nephew & family had to go home after their long weekend, so The Chief Of Staff & I moved on over to Vistana Villages. The way it worked out (exactly according to The Chief Of Staff's plan), giving nephew the 1st night of our reserved week meant he & his family didn't have to make do with a motel their 1st night in town. Plus, The Chief Of Staff & I still got to enjoy 7 timeshare days in Orlando by starting a day late at Silver Lake Silver Points, then going over to Vistana Villages for the rest of nephew's reserved week.

Vistana Villages didn't know we also were staying at Silver Lake Silver Points & vice versa. We didn't check out at Silver Lake Silver Points till the final day of the 7-day reservation, even though we had moved ourselves & our stuff (most of it) over to Vistana Villages. We did go back to Silver Lake Silver Points after accepting their invitation to go on a tour & attend a presentation -- for an appropriate reward. (We declined the Vistana Villages tour & presentation -- the reward offered there was not sufficiently appropriate. So it goes.)

Nothing is at all sneaky, underhanded, or unethical about this particular piece of harmless timeshare double dealing. We (The Chief Of Staff & I) are the RCI members. Our money paid for both reservations (& our points, too, for 1 of'm). With nephew & family able to stay in town only a few days, there was no way around wasting part of 1 of the reservations. I can't imagine why anybody at RCI or either of the resorts would care which timeshare went unused for a few of the days we paid for.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[AwayWeGo]

The sales guy at Silver Lake Resort Silver Points last week, looking over his notes at the list of timeshares we own, slipped up & asked whether we got those on "the black market." He quickly corrected himself & said he meant to say "the resale market."

No harm, no foul. Besides, nobody's perfect.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[AwayWeGo]

After nephew & family moved from the 1BR Silver Lake Silver Points unit we reserved for ourselves over to the 2BR Vistana Villages unit we reserved for them, they found so much fun stuff to do over there that they stayed on site 1 day that they figured they'd be out & about at the theme parks. That left them with some pre-bought 2-day park tickets when they had just 1 day left in Orlando.

The Chief Of Staff told them to fret not. She took their 2-day tickets & whipped out enough cash for them to buy the new tickets they needed for their remaining day of Disney frolics. Then she went to the computer terminals set up for owners' & guests' use at Silver Lake Silver Points & put the unwanted 2-day park tickets up for sale on Craig's List, mentioning that anybody interested should call & not rely on E-Mail.

Back in our Silver Lake Silver Points unit about 25 minutes later, somebody from out in the Pacific time zone called wanting to buy the tickets. The Chief Of Staff said they could sent payment via PayPal. We went back to the resort's computers, logged on to PayPal, & sure enough, the agreed upon sum had just been zapped into our account. We E-Mailed back acknowledging receipt of the funds & wrote down the ticket buyer's Far West address, promising to send the tickets next morning via USPS Priority Mail. We did that, then E-Mailed the USPS delivery confirmation number to the purchaser. Checking that number on the USPS web site over the next couple of days, we learned that it's strictly a delivery confirmation number, not an item tracking number showing where in the system the item is at any given time. So it goes. Still, the tickets got delivered OK & everybody was happy. The Chief Of Staff got more selling the tickets via Craig's List than she had handed over to nephew & family previously, so we went over to Vistana Villages 1 evening late & she gave'm the rest.

I have known that woman (The Chief Of Staff, I mean) since 1955 & have been married to her since 1964 & she still manages to come up with new & imaginative ways to impress me with her talents. Wheeling & dealing isn't even the half of it.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

[bnoble]

Perhps the best piece of advice I have ever received: Marry above your station.

Strong work, Alan!

[AwayWeGo]

As of this morning, the TUG Reviews Section has detailed accounts of our experiences both at Vistana Villages & at Silver Lake Resort Silver Points, the 2 Orlando timeshares covered by our overlapping reservations last month.

Short version: They were both excellent, specially Vistana Villages.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.