iamfrugal

Several months ago ,I purchased certificates for weeks of accomodations online for $195/week.It is virtually impossible to find availability to redeem these.I did speak to the CEO and he assured me that a refund/extention of the expiration date would be given.After months of trying to ACTUALLY have this done ,I was given a refund minus the service charges and the value of coupons which were sold as a package.Despite endless emails to protest,I have not received full credit.I see the very same certs are being advertised on the site for $229.I only purchase weeks by auction/buy it now from now on.I am on a rather long vacation(4 months) so I was extremely flexible as to trying to find availability.I found the underling who finally gave me my partial credit lacking in professionalism as well.Tardy responses etc.Beware.

xcalx

Just to add a positive response to this post


I have purchased 7 of these 7 night certs over the past 12 months and have used them in Orlando in April May November Pompano November Puerto Vallarta January. I think it depends when you want to use them but to say " It is virtually impossible to find availability to redeem these" seems unfair on the seller



",I was given a refund minus the service charges and the value of coupons which were sold as a package"

Do you mean these 7 night Certs came as part of a package that included $$ restaurant coupons

And you feel you should be refunded more than you paid??

regards

Cal

iamfrugal

While you may have found availability,I am a long term traveler i.e. 4 months of accomodations needed.South Florida in the past has had ample availability.In chatting with others, I have learned availability had literally dried up for the winter.In this economy we wondered where was the inventory going?And when I was on property,the front desk personnel verified there was availability just not to us .Strange?So to expect a refund for the cost seems reasonable.Not for MORE ,just for exactly what I paid.I did use Skyauction while I was away however only the "buy it now".I have spent a considerable amount of money over the last 5 years with Skyauction and on hotels,car rentals ,etc.So to expect some customer service,I felt was warranted indeed.Just keeping it real.

Tenerife

Hi again, Iamfrugal!

As you know we have made a lot of use of the skyauction certificates and have been, for the most part, very satisfied. We have found that the availability for time-share weeks with the certs -- without paying additional charges for "upgraded properties" -- has begun drying up. Perhaps too many certs sold??

We have also found that, in Florida, you will almost always find availability ONLY in the Orlando/Kissimmee area, where there are so many half-empty properties. If you are looking for resorts in the Ft. Lauderdale, Pompano, Naples, etc. areas -- you will not have much luck and, especially so, if you are looking for multiple weeks in a row.

xcalx

Anyone can check availability before purchasing these vouchers, checking before purchase would avoid future gripes about no availability as properties are clearly there to see or not ! if not dont buy a voucher.

http://www.resortcerts.com/main.taf?p=3

I agree that availability for certain areas is booked up quicker, you need to be on the ball to get the larger units/popular areas, checking daily, well in advance or last miniute Eg. My son has silver lakes silver points orlando (gold crown resort) 24 april for 2 weeks in 1 bed unit $219 per week(old price),when they were put up for availability all april and may dates for 1 bed units were gone within 2days then only studios were available at the basic cost and the 1 beds were available on upgrade. this is the second year my son has had these units at this property.

As you say just keeping it real

regards

cal

iamfrugal

Yes,I too have had an ...let's call it an experience at the Silver Lakes in Orlando.Many of the so called Crown resorts were available but I prefer a higher quality of property.And we checked more than daily.Alot of the older properties were available but we've been spoiled and have had places such as Mizner in Weston.Silver Lakes cannot hold a candle to it.Also be aware that checking inventory does not guarantee it will be available 2 minutes later.We chose a property and by the time we entered our credit card it was gone?I called the office and they verified that updates aren't always done quickly.Once again,it is buyer beware and I would NOT recommend these to those who are not experienced with using Skyauction as you may be quite dissappointed.

hammie

you may also want to check out ebay as there are numerous stores that re-sell time share weeks, but do your homework before buying. I did this twice and the certificates were issued by the time share exchange company, Interval International and RCI.

Skyauction charges a $315 fees for taxes, processing and service charges, add this to the cost of a bargain certificate and its over $500 for the week and not such a great deal, IMO.

iamfrugal

I have done the ebay thing but nothing really interested me.NOt a good enough deal for me either.Between PL,Hotwire and Sktauction we averaged about 50$/night for the 4 months.This is reasonable for us.We may rent a condo next winter just to see what that would be like.Thanks

xcalx

hi
I will check out ebay^ yes its a shame that the taxes have gone up from $195 + $20 SC to the $315 . Still you can still get the vouchers in the auction for $1 + taxes so $316 in total or buy it now for $269 inc taxes so still not a bad deal. also if you provide skyauctions with referrals(email addresses) you can deduct $5 for each one upto $50 per booking so for a little effort these vouchers can be got for $219-$265.

Regards

Cal

iamfrugal

I'd like to hear from those who have stayed in a timeshare resort in PVR mexico using the cert.s bought for $195-319.Any favorites?And how about the all-inclsives?Are they worth the $69/person/day charges?

hammie

staying in the Poconos in the Spring or Fall for $316 is no bargain

I just checked on a certificate for the Bahamas which must be used by June 10, 2010. The $2 current bid excludes:

$315 booking fee
$350 resort fee ($25 per person x 7 days x 2 ppl)
$150 surcharge fee

if you want to use the beach, its a 2 mile walk or you can buy a weekly pass to the Atlantis (next door) for $75 per person. This $2 certificate will end up costing you close to $1000 for the week, so do your homework.

xcalx

These are the timeshare resort details +costs of our January post cruise stay. using vouchers before the $100 taxes hike.

Restaurant - $50.00 worth of certificate
Crab Catcher Restaurant & Seaside Grill $50 Certificate - Expires 9/1/2010 (more info)
Resort Week Certicate - 1 item
Resort Week Certificate (Expires July 31, 2010) (more info)
Auction Price
$1 1 $1
Taxes/Service Charge
$195 1 $195
One Time Processing Fee
$20 1 $20
Coupon Redemption: HXX-XXXXXX-X Referafreind Promo
-$50 1 -$50
Payment: Visa xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-$166 1 -$166
Balance Due $0

Bought 2 of these vouchers on seperate auctions and used them for 2 weeks Jan 17-30 (peak season)at the raintree regina vacation club Puerto Vallarta (not all inclusive) Directly on the beach, really nice resort ( shares grounds with the westin) Checked in 1 day late due to flight times and we were checked into a rooftop suite with extra large balcony and outdoor hot tub overlooking the marina.

As the auctions included $50 X 2 restuarant vouchers we enjoyed a couple of rather nice
Filet mignons and a bottle of wine at a cost of $15.

So all in all for a total of $332 We were more than happy with these vouchers for 2 weeks stay and a good meal.

Regards

Cal

xcalx

Agreed, but theres also an auction with a voucher buy it now for $269 including taxes and fees where a 2 bed apt at a number of good locations in tenerife High season can be booked. I can assure you this is a bargain, I own in tenerife.
Use the referafreind promo to lower the cost to $219.

Regards

Cal

hammie

very well done, a tip of the hat to you! ^

I would love to hear about other Skyauction success stories, maybe there's a thread for these already?

FSU

I can vouch for the Grand Velas in Mexico. An incredible all inclusive going for a great price on Skyauction.