SVN StarOption Booking Attempts at Big 3 – No Joy

Hi Gang,

I just spent this weekend calling SVN bright and early at 6 AM (my time) / 9 AM Eastern time, to see if they had anything available for the week of March 22, 2008 (Portland, Oregon Public school’s spring break week) to tempt me into giving up my confirmed reservations at my home resorts. The 8-month StarOption booking window for this time period had just opened up this weekend.

Namely, I was seeking availability at any of the “Big 3” resorts (Westin St. John, Harborside, or either of the two Maui properties (WKORV, or WKORV-N)). No luck.

Yesterday, I waited on hold (via the special “elite” member phone-in number) for about 25 minutes before anyone answered, but this morning someone answered within about a minute. I’m OK with getting skunked, but the most annoying thing in the whole process, besides the obvious fact that I had to get up before 6 AM on a Sunday just to have a reasonable chance of booking something, was the ad for the Starwood American Express credit card that plays while you are on hold. It was OK to listen to for the first couple of times, but after hearing it play over and over and over, at around the 20th time it got very, very annoying. So much so, that I’m thinking of actually canceling my Starwood AM EX.

If SVN is going to force us to listen to ads while we wait on hold at 6 AM on a Sunday to reserve our units, it would be nice if they varied them a little, or even had ads for different things.

My experiences with SVN this weekend confirmed the following two basic tenets of timesharing promoted here on TUG:

1. Buy where you want to go; and,

2. Buy resale (the “benefits” associated with buying from the developer - like the special phone in line for elite members, etc., are simply not worth the higher price you pay to buy from the developer.)

My experiences with SVN this weekend also confirmed the following personal beliefs that I now have about SVO Management, Inc, these are the folks our home resorts each pay over $500,000/year to in “management fees” (beyond the actual costs of maintaining each property) and most of the over 200,000 of us all also pay at least $99/year (totaling nearly $20,000,000/year – beyond those “management fees”) in “membership fees” to:

1. They will do anything to make a buck, even forcing us to listen to ads while we try to make reservations for our units; and,

2. They would rather waste our time than improve their booking systems. We are paying them literally millions of dollars each year to basically serve as the booking agent for our units, and the best system they offer forces us to call in on Sundays at 6 AM to find out there is no availability.

But, they do have very nice resorts, and I'm happy doing Spring Break in Scottsdale . . . ..

FYI,
-nodge

Considering you have a property in the top 5 (IMO), have you considered trying to do a direct exchange with an owner of the resorts you are seeking?

nodge-

I feel your pain and agree with everything you said. FWIW, my first year after buying Kierland, we got St. John about six months out. The next year we got Atlantis about four months out.

I realize that I was ridiculously lucky and I certainly don't expect lightening to strike 3 times (!), but there's no harm to keep trying. And when it's not 8 months to the date, you don't have to wake up first thing in the morning.

Everyone is right that these are difficult trades, but people's plans change and sometimes you can get lucky. And like you, it's great to know that we can always go back to Kierland!

Spring Break is a tough, tough, tough week to exchange...period.

Are you planning to call back any other days to see if anything opens up? Anyone have luck with being on a wait list or just keep calling and getting a room?

It is really hard to get where you do NOT own anywhere at that time. I called Disney today to see if I can get in the Beach Club Villas during president's week (2-BR). Nothing available, we do have our home resort booked though. My only point is this is not a Starwood only issue.

In a way I am looking forward to not being tied to the school calendar, and in a way not (I will miss them).

Negma said:

It is really hard to get where you do NOT own anywhere at that time. I called Disney today to see if I can get in the Beach Club Villas during president's week (2-BR). Nothing available, we do have our home resort booked though. My only point is this is not a Starwood only issue.

In a way I am looking forward to not being tied to the school calendar, and in a way not (I will miss them).

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LOL...not us! We only have three more years and no more competing for those summer, spring break and other scholl holiday weeks!!

tomandrobin said:

LOL...not us! We only have three more years and no more competing for those summer, spring break and other scholl holiday weeks!!

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LOL...not us! We have a 2 year old and a 4 year old and we have already decided that we will be taking them out of school (if they even goto school) often. I will be surprised if our kids don't miss at least 5-6 weeks per year. We prefer to travel when there are less crowds and competition for activities.

The last thing that I want is for our kids is to goto school, get good grades, get into college, and then get a job! It is my opinion that not allowing our kids to miss school is more harmful to them; perfect attendance is overrated! Socially, we still have the option as parents as to what our children participate in.

I am not saying that educating our children is not important to us but I could care less what their grades are or how much school time they miss. I care how they use logic and reason to make decisions in doing what is right while striving for success. The life lessons that come with traveling (learning other cultures, ways of life, how to adapt, etc.) are very valuable. This also gives us a parents more of a choice and time to ensure what our children are taught. Addionally, they will learn to adapt to missing and making up certain events and cirriculum.

Eveyone has to make their own decisions for their kids. I want for mine to be intelligent, well adjusted, and successful. It is my belief that school is only a small part of educating my children.

Westin5Star,

I couldn't agree with you more. We took our daughter out of school one week every winter for our annual family ski trip. We would also take her out of school for a few days attached to weekends for travel. She also missed the first week of school one year to go on a trip to Hawaii. The only teacher who gave us a really hard time and made us feel like irresponsible adults when approached for assignments, to be completed while on vacation, was her tenth grade math teacher. Our 36 year old daughter is a CPA! :hysterical: Pam

Three more years for us and not because of the kids - it's because my wife is a teacher! I would have had an easier time convincer her to take the kids out of school than getting her to take time off.

Last year the school changed Presidents Week from one week off to two days off. We were already reserved in Cabo and I convinced her to do it. We had a great time but she laid down the law - 3 more years!

My oldest grandchild is 2 and we have three on the way. I'll probably have a few good years of travelling with the kids and grandkids before I have to worry about convincing my kids to take their kids out of school!

But when you're brining the family along, the difference between prime-time and slow-time flights is enormous.

Our state will take you to court for allowing truancy and the kids will not be given credit for their classes, if kids miss more than 10% of days school is in attendence. This works out to about 16 days. If they miss more than 3 days in a 4 week span, a warning letter is sent out and they will need a doctor's note for any further absences. My daughter had both the flu and a bladder infection last year and I received these nasty letters twice even though I had doctor's excuses for these illnesses. I don't take my children to the doctor for every little fever or cold. My daughter can have anywhere from 4-7 hrs of homework(highschool) everynight so she doesn't stay home without a very good reason as her workload would only be doubled. She was carrying over a 4.0 GPA with 4 APs and two honor courses (this is not a child in danger of flunking). I have eight more years of this with my youngest. Sorry, I felt the need to vent!!!!!!

Westin5Star said:

LOL...not us! We have a 2 year old and a 4 year old and we have already decided that we will be taking them out of school (if they even goto school) often. I will be surprised if our kids don't miss at least 5-6 weeks per year. We prefer to travel when there are less crowds and competition for activities.

The last thing that I want is for our kids is to goto school, get good grades, get into college, and then get a job! It is my opinion that not allowing our kids to miss school is more harmful to them; perfect attendance is overrated! Socially, we still have the option as parents as to what our children participate in.

I am not saying that educating our children is not important to us but I could care less what their grades are or how much school time they miss. I care how they use logic and reason to make decisions in doing what is right while striving for success. The life lessons that come with traveling (learning other cultures, ways of life, how to adapt, etc.) are very valuable. This also gives us a parents more of a choice and time to ensure what our children are taught. Addionally, they will learn to adapt to missing and making up certain events and cirriculum.

Eveyone has to make their own decisions for their kids. I want for mine to be intelligent, well adjusted, and successful. It is my belief that school is only a small part of educating my children.

Click to expand...

The wife and I take 2 or 3 trips a year without the kids, during the school year. We take the kids on 1 or 2 "mini" trips during the school year, missing 2 or 3 days at a time. But we take our longer vacations with the kids during the summer months, except Christmas thru New Year Day trips.

nell said:

Our state will take you to court for allowing truancy and the kids will not be given credit for their classes, if kids miss more than 10% of days school is in attendence. This works out to about 16 days. If they miss more than 3 days in a 4 week span, a warning letter is sent out and they will need a doctor's note for any further absences. My daughter had both the flu and a bladder infection last year and I received these nasty letters twice even though I had doctor's excuses for these illnesses. I don't take my children to the doctor for every little fever or cold. My daughter can have anywhere from 4-7 hrs of homework(highschool) everynight so she doesn't stay home without a very good reason as her workload would only be doubled. She was carrying over a 4.0 GPA with 4 APs and two honor courses (this is not a child in danger of flunking). I have eight more years of this with my youngest. Sorry, I felt the need to vent!!!!!!

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I agree with your venting!!! You have every right. They are your / our kids, not the gov'ts. This is only one of many problems with public education (I have met many great administrators and teachers so this is not meant to bash them). Our gov't was established to protect us; not live our lives for us. That they ever came to be involved in our finances (taxation of our income), education, transportation, etc. would turn our forefathers over in their graves. Sorry to get political with this whole thing but I HATE socialism; it is evil!

BTW, Tom and Robin seem to have created a pretty good strategy as long as you can find people you trust to watch your kids!

Friends of ours also couldn't get spring break week at Harborside, so they opted to take a 2 br for early March and pull the kids out of school. It was a 2 br that only sleeps 6, not 8.

Westin5Star said:

I agree with your venting!!! You have every right. They are your / our kids, not the gov'ts. This is only one of many problems with public education (I have met many great administrators and teachers so this is not meant to bash them). Our gov't was established to protect us; not live our lives for us. That they ever came to be involved in our finances (taxation of our income), education, transportation, etc. would turn our forefathers over in their graves. Sorry to get political with this whole thing but I HATE socialism; it is evil!

BTW, Tom and Robin seem to have created a pretty good strategy as long as you can find people you trust to watch your kids!

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Extended family....Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents and such!

since we bought out timeshare at harborside week 21 our youngest has missed that week of school every year. we picked it because it was perfect for the rest of us, college was over, tax season was over and it is before my camp starts ,so the teachers hated us for all those years, but it is OVER, he graduated and we are SOOOO happy.

i agree that missing a week or 2 a year in the whole picture is small, but when they get involve with the extra outside classes, chorus, band, shows, sports then there is a commitment that the kids don't like to miss. they are letting the group down. so we always worked around that schedule as much as possible.

tomandrobin said:

Spring Break is a tough, tough, tough week to exchange...period.

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FWIW, all of the Sheraton timeshares (SDO, SMV, PGA, SBP, VV, VR) and Westin Mission Hills had tons of availability for arrival over the weekend of March 22, 2008. I was just being picky.

WKV only had small one bedrooms available, so that is some indication that WKV is running 5th (behind the unavailable "Big 3+” properties) in the Spring Break popularity competition.

If we were willing to arrive on the weekend of March 8, 2008, every resort in the SVN system, except Westin St. John of course, was available. Airfare is also about 40% cheaper if we travel then . . .. Hmmm. It’s nice to have options.

I just wanted to share my experience to help counter all of those SVN salespersons' pitches telling folks to buy in a place they have no intention of ever going because they can easily use their StarOptions to trade into the sold-out SVN resorts that they really want. Sometimes, it just isn't that easy.

BTW, if anyone wants to hear about how they can earn up to three nights of free lodging in a Starwood Hotel thanks to the 10,000 bonus starpoints they'll receive simply by obtaining a Starwood American Express credit card, let me know. I'm pretty sure I can recite the ad verbatim.

-nodge

nodge said:

I just wanted to share my experience to help counter all of those SVN salespersons' pitches telling folks to buy in a place they have no intention of ever going because they can easily use their StarOptions to trade into the sold-out SVN resorts that they really want. Sometimes, it just isn't that easy.
-nodge

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Nodge, You are so right! Every friend I have spoken to after purchasing an SVN resort has stated the same thing.

When we were staying in Scottsdale we took a tour and the first picture the salesman showed us was an eight foot wall hanging of the Westin St. John resort. I can't remember the exact words but it implied that we could be vacationing at this luxurious resort next year. Since he did not know we were WSJ owners, I told him we already own a week at the WSJ and it was not easy to trade into. He acted totally surprised!

nodge said:

FWIW, all of the Sheraton timeshares (SDO, SMV, PGA, SBP, VV, VR) and Westin Mission Hills had tons of availability for arrival over the weekend of March 22, 2008. I was just being picky.

WKV only had small one bedrooms available, so that is some indication that WKV is running 5th (behind the unavailable "Big 3+” properties) in the Spring Break popularity competition.

If we were willing to arrive on the weekend of March 8, 2008, every resort in the SVN system, except Westin St. John of course, was available. Airfare is also about 40% cheaper if we travel then . . .. Hmmm. It’s nice to have options.

I just wanted to share my experience to help counter all of those SVN salespersons' pitches telling folks to buy in a place they have no intention of ever going because they can easily use their StarOptions to trade into the sold-out SVN resorts that they really want. Sometimes, it just isn't that easy.

BTW, if anyone wants to hear about how they can earn up to three nights of free lodging in a Starwood Hotel thanks to the 10,000 bonus starpoints they'll receive simply by obtaining a Starwood American Express credit card, let me know. I'm pretty sure I can recite the ad verbatim.

-nodge

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there is a better offer from AMEX 10000sp plus an additional 15000sp if you rack up $15000 in 6 months.so that would come to 40000 plus in 6 months, not bad!!!!!

pointsjunkie said:

there is a better offer from AMEX 10000sp plus an additional 15000sp if you rack up $15000 in 6 months.so that would come to 40000 plus in 6 months, not bad!!!!!

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Why am I not surprised that the AMEX ad that plays over and over when you are placed on hold at 6 AM to try to make a reservation isn't even the most current offer . . . ..

Is anybody home at SVO Management Inc? Hello!?! Hello!?! Did you all fall in a well on your way to your latest team building boondoggle in Nova Scotia? Please consider actually managing something soon. We miss you.

I know, I know it's tough to get back in the saddle after an all expense paid corporate boondoggle, so us Tuggers will help you out with a few slow pitches first:

1. Even if you feel compelled to force us to listen to ads when waiting on the phone to book our villas, those ads can at least be current;

2. You probably want to update your published "friendship rewards" rules to actually include properties where you are selling units; and,

3. You probably should figure out if you've cancelled the elite upgrade benefit or not, and if you indeed have, you should make sure that your reservation confirmation letters don't include a discussion of how the upgrades will be distributed to elite members.

After you get settled in a little, we can talk about tougher issues like:

1. What's the deal with that whole voluntary/mandatory thing?;
2. Do you have a legal and/or ethical (in light of the promise that you made to join ARDA) right to cancel the elite upgrade benefit the way you did?; and,
3. When will you bring SVN up to this century's standards by allowing on-line Villa availability tracking and booking?

You have entire departments aimed at "leveraging" your relationship with us owners. If I were you, I'd spend at least equal time firming up that relationship or you'll eventually have nothing for your "leveraging" department to "leverage."

-nodge

Hold the phone for next March travel plans . . . . I just got this “exciting opportunity” from SVN . . . ..


>>> Starwood Vacation Ownership <starwoodvacationownership@svo.starwoodvo.com> 7/26/2007 3:02 PM >>>
From the Nile to Napa Valley - Travel the World in Extraordinary Style

***************************************************************************

Dear [Nodge],

Starwood Vacation Network and Admiral Travel Gallery have partnered together to offer
you another extraordinary travel opportunity.

Experience the excitement of South Africa by land and air with an extravagant package
tailored to discerning travelers such as yourself. Starwood Vacation NetworkSM is
pleased to present Escorted South Africa: The Garden Route, Cape Town, The Winelands
and Safari at Singita, March 17–April 25, 2008. And you may use your Starwood Preferred
Guest® Starpoints® to secure this unique adventure.

This extraordinary excursion begins with panoramic views of the Garden Route in South Africa
as you arrive at Pezula, South Africa’s premier luxury resort. Named the number one hotel
in the world by Travel + Leisure magazine, Pezula features an award winning spa and gym,
sublime dining on property and an award-winning championship golf course.

Next, you’ll travel to Cape Town and stroll the vineyards of the famous Stellenbosch wine region,
replete with private tastings and a sumptuous dinner in the cellar with superbly-paired South
African wines. Afterwards, you’ll embark on a custom safari experience at Singita. There, you
will experience dramatic landscapes and wildlife encounters on early morning and late afternoon
game drives, where you are likely to view buffalo, lions, leopards, rhinoceroses and elephants
roaming freely in their natural environment.

Starting at $6,950 per person, this superb experience is available on a first-reserved,
first-served basis.

In the coming year, more extraordinary opportunities will be made available to you, such
as a private Serengeti safari in Tanzania’s Grumeti Reserves, August 22–30, 2008.




Let’s see, we're a family of four so at $6,950/person, were talking $27,800 for this trip to South Africa!!!! No mention of my 3000 starpoint bonus for being a 3 star elite member, so I think I’ll pass.

Sure your Hyatts and Hiltons all have real-time on-line booking and responsive top management that doesn't enjoy hiding the ball, but do either of those timeshare companies offer "exciting opportunities" like this?

-nodge

I think we'll stick to those Safari rides at the Animal Kingdom Park in WDW.

Wait. Surely Starwood Vacation Ownership was at least able to negotiate a great deal on our behalf, and then pass that savings on to us. I'll bet that if we went directly to Admiral Travel's Web Site, the same trip would cost far, far more than that bargain $6950/person price quoted by SVO . . ..

-nodge

nodge said:

Wait. Surely Starwood Vacation Ownership was at least able to negotiate a great deal on our behalf, and then pass that savings on to us. I'll bet that if we went directly to Admiral Travel's Web Site, the same trip would cost far, far more than that bargain $6950/person price quoted by SVO . . ..

-nodge

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nodge-

You are amazing. I think you should change your handle to Rockford (as in private eye Jim Rockford for our young readers ).

Westin5Star said:

LOL...not us! We have a 2 year old and a 4 year old and we have already decided that we will be taking them out of school (if they even goto school) often. I will be surprised if our kids don't miss at least 5-6 weeks per year.

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You should really get more info. about this decision. In our school district, if you took your kids out of school for 20 days of vacation, they would be automatically dropped from school. I can't imagine a high school student enrolled in college prep classes who could miss 5-6 weeks of school and still pass their classes. Could you miss 5-6 weeks of chemistry or Trig and pass the class? Most people couldn't.

There is a lot more involved in taking kids out of school than the parent's civil liberties, and many kids do not want to miss that many weeks of social life, sports, activities, and friends, anyway. I know they are just 2 and 4 now, but things will be a lot different when they are 14 and 16...and believe me, they will have definite opinions about it!

nodge said:

Wait. Surely Starwood Vacation Ownership was at least able to negotiate a great deal on our behalf, and then pass that savings on to us. I'll bet that if we went directly to Admiral Travel's Web Site, the same trip would cost far, far more than that bargain $6950/person price quoted by SVO . . ..

-nodge

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Hey, if this was RCI, they'd want you to give them your week and pay an exchange fee for the privilege of booking a tour at full price! :hysterical: