Hi ! My family of 6 just got back tonight from our WDW vacation. This was our second trip. I had been planning it for over 1 year. After much research we had a 2 bedroom booked at vistana village for one week thru Hotel Kingdom. I had confirmed this reservation twice, the last tme being two days before we arrived. My family finally got to VV around 8:00 pm only to be told they were overbooked and could not give us a room for the entire week. We were very disappointed!!! My seven year old dd started crying at the registration desk. We were not the only people dissappointed. They had 15 reservations they did not honor that night. There were quite a few upset people in the lobby. It was very frustrating that while they would not give us a villa they were checking in other people. I was told if they overbook they honor the timeshare exchange clients and the timeshare owners first. Those people getting reservations from Hotel Kingdom and other discount hotel wholesalers are the first given "walking papers" Anyway, they had arranged for us to stay at an inferior resort. I refused. Luckily, the Dolphin had 2 connecting rooms they gave us at nurse's rate. Steve at the Dolphin was so nice and took pity on my family he upgraded us to club level at no cost. So all ended well. We loved the Dolphin!!! I hope this overbooking problems does'nt happen to anyone else.
caution/ vistana villages overbooking
- Thread starter Rolo
- Start date
Lisa P.
Peaceful, Worshipful, Joyful
- Joined
- Aug 27, 1999
That's a shame about the resort overbooking. It seems to be a pretty common practice at some hotels and resorts. There have been guests at Disney's Yacht & Beach Club Resorts who were bumped after long-held reservations, just because the hotel was overbooked with convention business.
Would you mind sharing the name of the resort that SVV tried to send you to? BTW, I agree with you... the Dolphin's a very nice place!!!
Would you mind sharing the name of the resort that SVV tried to send you to? BTW, I agree with you... the Dolphin's a very nice place!!!
Rolo - I am so sorry and shocked to hear this - I can imagine how dissappointing and angry you were (Your poor DD!)
When you booked with hotelkingdom, did you receive your email confirmation? How far in advance did you book the reservation?
I'm a little nervous now but I called the hotel directly just now and reconfirmed my ressie and hope this doesn't happen.
Can you give us any more info??
When you booked with hotelkingdom, did you receive your email confirmation? How far in advance did you book the reservation?
I'm a little nervous now but I called the hotel directly just now and reconfirmed my ressie and hope this doesn't happen.
Can you give us any more info??
Lorix2 I did have an e-mail confirmation from hotelkingdom. I also had just confirmed with them two days before we left by phone. I made the reservation early January.
Lisa P. The resort they wanted to put us in was The Blue Tree Resort. They are apparently connected with them in some way. I never actually went there, so I'm not saying it was awful or anything but it did not have a jucuzzi tub in the room and they said it was older.
It also bothered me after so much planning and pouring over details on many hotels, such as distance to parks, pools, slides at pools, schuttle service, etc, that they would just put me somewhere of their choice. If I could'nt get into Vistana Villages as I had planned I wanted the hotel to be of my choice.
Lisa P. The resort they wanted to put us in was The Blue Tree Resort. They are apparently connected with them in some way. I never actually went there, so I'm not saying it was awful or anything but it did not have a jucuzzi tub in the room and they said it was older.
It also bothered me after so much planning and pouring over details on many hotels, such as distance to parks, pools, slides at pools, schuttle service, etc, that they would just put me somewhere of their choice. If I could'nt get into Vistana Villages as I had planned I wanted the hotel to be of my choice.
baileybrad
and Casey, too!
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2000
Did you try and contact HK and get any relief from them? Just wondering what their reaction is to their confirmed clients being turned away.
Hi all -
Rolo's experience really has me worried. I contacted the V.V. directly and reconfirmed my ressie and asked them about this. They stated that at that time, (2/23) they had a huge group stay longer than expected and could not make them checkout by law, knowing others were waiting for the rooms. Is this for real? The woman (did not get her name) at the front desk said that is very rare that would happen as they are a huge resort and they accommodate guests to their satisfaction elsewhere if need be - but would not turn anyone away for the whole length of their stay, maybe a night or two until the room was available.
I then contacted HK and talked to them about it and asked what I'd do if I get there and this happens to me and they said to call them immediately and they would straighten it out. (I think they close at 8 PM)
As for V.V. being sold out on certain dates thru HK, is because HK is only allotted so many blocks of rooms at a discounted rate, so that's why you will see "sold out' on certain dates.
I inquired about the first 2 nights we'll be there because on HK's website it says sold out for only those 2 nights. (4/19 & 4/20) but I asked her to check if the resort is sold out and she said there was still availability those nights and that week. Am I being told the truth? Would they overbook anyway?
My DH wants me to cancel the ressie, but I refuse to on the chance it may or may not happen. All I can do is reconfirm and stand firm if a problem should arise. I can't let one bad experience out of 10 or more here on the boards make me move my family before I know that I have to...does that make sense?
I am happy to hear that Rolo's situation turned out for the better though.
Rolo's experience really has me worried. I contacted the V.V. directly and reconfirmed my ressie and asked them about this. They stated that at that time, (2/23) they had a huge group stay longer than expected and could not make them checkout by law, knowing others were waiting for the rooms. Is this for real? The woman (did not get her name) at the front desk said that is very rare that would happen as they are a huge resort and they accommodate guests to their satisfaction elsewhere if need be - but would not turn anyone away for the whole length of their stay, maybe a night or two until the room was available.
I then contacted HK and talked to them about it and asked what I'd do if I get there and this happens to me and they said to call them immediately and they would straighten it out. (I think they close at 8 PM)
As for V.V. being sold out on certain dates thru HK, is because HK is only allotted so many blocks of rooms at a discounted rate, so that's why you will see "sold out' on certain dates.
I inquired about the first 2 nights we'll be there because on HK's website it says sold out for only those 2 nights. (4/19 & 4/20) but I asked her to check if the resort is sold out and she said there was still availability those nights and that week. Am I being told the truth? Would they overbook anyway?
My DH wants me to cancel the ressie, but I refuse to on the chance it may or may not happen. All I can do is reconfirm and stand firm if a problem should arise. I can't let one bad experience out of 10 or more here on the boards make me move my family before I know that I have to...does that make sense?
I am happy to hear that Rolo's situation turned out for the better though.
p.s. I mean't to say they'd accommodate guests somewhere else only to their satisfaction. Sometimes it might be for a night only or two until the room is available. I still think that's unacceptable when you've already deposited and planned your vacation. (the edit function would not work quickly)
I used to work at a Marriott hotel and it was common practice to overbook the hotel to 115% (or more) occupancy. The last people to check in that night who were not a member rewards card carrier were walked to a nearby hotel. They always made a point of bringing them back the next night and paying for the night walked, though. Our standard reply was that a large party unexpectedly stayed over longer and we could not legally ask them to leave. That is BS, though. They just book it that way figuring there would be no shows. Giving a credit card or confirming your reservation won't prevent this. The best thing you can do is check in as early as you can. Every hotel does this so I would not change a reservation because of this. You might want to research a backup to be walked to if you plan on checking in late. Sorry that happened to you.
baileybrad
and Casey, too!
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2000
Lorix2,
When you said that HK would accomodate to "their" satisfaction, whose satisfaction were you referring to--the customer who had a confirmed reservation but no room, to HK's satisfaction, or to whatever the overbooked resort decided. That is my biggest concern, The Blue Tree Resort is not comparable to the VV in any form or fashion. That is what bothered me the most in this incident. I understand that, unfortunately, overbooking does happen but the BTR is not a satisfactory alternative. The other thing that I believe is wrong in this case is that as long the resort fills the room on a first come basis, then that is fair. A confirmed reservation should be honored by who presents it first. If a resort is concerned about their timeshare customers then don't release so many rooms to brokers or at some point call up the brokers and reclaim some of the "unsold" rooms if the resort is filling faster than expected thru ts guests or people booking directly with the resort. Lorix2, I would not cancel based on this, hopefully, isolated case at VV.
It does not lessen the sadness that I feel for the confirmed customers turned away but hopefully VV is already being more careful in filling their resort in the future.
When you said that HK would accomodate to "their" satisfaction, whose satisfaction were you referring to--the customer who had a confirmed reservation but no room, to HK's satisfaction, or to whatever the overbooked resort decided. That is my biggest concern, The Blue Tree Resort is not comparable to the VV in any form or fashion. That is what bothered me the most in this incident. I understand that, unfortunately, overbooking does happen but the BTR is not a satisfactory alternative. The other thing that I believe is wrong in this case is that as long the resort fills the room on a first come basis, then that is fair. A confirmed reservation should be honored by who presents it first. If a resort is concerned about their timeshare customers then don't release so many rooms to brokers or at some point call up the brokers and reclaim some of the "unsold" rooms if the resort is filling faster than expected thru ts guests or people booking directly with the resort. Lorix2, I would not cancel based on this, hopefully, isolated case at VV.
It does not lessen the sadness that I feel for the confirmed customers turned away but hopefully VV is already being more careful in filling their resort in the future.
zaxmom - thank you for posting - not encouraging though - geesh! I wish I never saw this thread - it's stressing me...I knew I was being b.s.'d.
baileybrad - sorry...i was writing fast earlier. What I meant was that V.V. would make sure you/the customer that's told it's overbooked, would have to be happy where they were going, not ever turned away without comparable accommodations. I would also contact HK immediately if it were me and go from there. I have no knowledge of the BTR at all - I wouldn't know about anything other than the V.V. and HIFS.
I am not cancelling, but we've decided to leave a day earlier/many hours earlier than planned since we're driving from NH and will be able to be in Florida in the morning now and not 3:00ish and let the front desk know that we are there and waiting (realizing check-in is not until 4:00).
I feel sadness as well for anyone experiencing that too, especially the children.
baileybrad - sorry...i was writing fast earlier. What I meant was that V.V. would make sure you/the customer that's told it's overbooked, would have to be happy where they were going, not ever turned away without comparable accommodations. I would also contact HK immediately if it were me and go from there. I have no knowledge of the BTR at all - I wouldn't know about anything other than the V.V. and HIFS.
I am not cancelling, but we've decided to leave a day earlier/many hours earlier than planned since we're driving from NH and will be able to be in Florida in the morning now and not 3:00ish and let the front desk know that we are there and waiting (realizing check-in is not until 4:00).
I feel sadness as well for anyone experiencing that too, especially the children.
Lisa P.
Peaceful, Worshipful, Joyful
- Joined
- Aug 27, 1999
Blue Tree for VV... that's disturbing! 
baileybrad, the thing with giving timeshare owners and exchangers their rooms ahead of renters has to do with ownership. Someone else actually owns the real estate for that interval (not the resort). So whether they (or the exchanger that the owner gave their rights to, via an exchange company) arrive to occupy it on time, late or never, the resort does not have the option to assign those rooms to a renter.
The problem may be that the resort is still over booking their inventory based on 100% rental inventory, when in fact, the resort has sold out a certain percentage of it. They may have underestimated sales. So rather than a typical (based on the earlier post above) 115% booking of the resort, it could be something more like 150% of available rental inventory. Hopefully, the management will recognize their overbooking problem and assign fewer rooms to be booked by wholesalers or via other rental arrangements.
Rolo, it's really a shame this happened to your family, starting your trip off so badly. Glad it had a happier ending. And thanks for the heads-up to others!
baileybrad, the thing with giving timeshare owners and exchangers their rooms ahead of renters has to do with ownership. Someone else actually owns the real estate for that interval (not the resort). So whether they (or the exchanger that the owner gave their rights to, via an exchange company) arrive to occupy it on time, late or never, the resort does not have the option to assign those rooms to a renter.
The problem may be that the resort is still over booking their inventory based on 100% rental inventory, when in fact, the resort has sold out a certain percentage of it. They may have underestimated sales. So rather than a typical (based on the earlier post above) 115% booking of the resort, it could be something more like 150% of available rental inventory. Hopefully, the management will recognize their overbooking problem and assign fewer rooms to be booked by wholesalers or via other rental arrangements.
Rolo, it's really a shame this happened to your family, starting your trip off so badly. Glad it had a happier ending. And thanks for the heads-up to others!
Baileybrad and Lorix2-- Despite the initial disappointment and anger of our ressie not being honored at VV, I would keep your reservation (if you got it at a good rate) and just be prepared. Be prepared to stand up to for yourselves and as Zaxmom suggested have several places you would find exceptable and insist they walk you there. My family has not traveled alot. I was totally caught off guard when I arrived at VV and this happened to us. I think I would have handled it better if I would have been prepared. I also happen to have the name and phone number of VV's front office manager if you want it.
Baileybrad- I did contact HK the day after check in. They could not get me into VV either as they said VV was overbooked the entire week. HK said VV had walked 15 reservations the same night we were walked. They were only able to reassure me my money would be refunded.
Baileybrad- I did contact HK the day after check in. They could not get me into VV either as they said VV was overbooked the entire week. HK said VV had walked 15 reservations the same night we were walked. They were only able to reassure me my money would be refunded.
sandyneck
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 12, 2001
Lorix2, I also thought that the resort would not actually be sold out, just the Hotelkingdom allocated rooms so I checked the official Sheraton website and they also have them as sold out, and that is the website that charges in the 200's for a 2 bedroom, so I am sure if they had rooms they would be glad to sell you one! I am not telling you this to add to your worry, but just so you are armed with all the facts. One other thing, if I was a timeshare owner and had plunked down 20,000 on a unit you can be sure I would not be happy to be told the hotel was letting someone else use my unit because they got their before me. I know it is frustrating to us "renters" but you have to look at both sides. The VV has never been sold out like this before and they obviously are overwhelmed. With all the complaints coming in I am hoping this will not be the case when my family arrives in 6 days! I am praying that all of us involved will have no problems!!
Thanks Sandyneck - your so cool! 
You know I was thinking that maybe we are all to blame for them selling out LOL! These boards are a double edge sword I guess, boy must this website be growing and growing.
I'm armed and ready now thanks to you
You know I was thinking that maybe we are all to blame for them selling out LOL! These boards are a double edge sword I guess, boy must this website be growing and growing.
I'm armed and ready now thanks to you
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