Sky auction
Feb 12, 2011, 10:58 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: NY
Programs: AA EXP , SPG PLT, AMEX PLAT, HERTZ PC,
Posts: 70
Sky auction
Hi searched the threads and haven't seen a recent update on sky auctions.
I recently won a bid and contacted the customer service phone number but haven't heard back on my dates getting confirmed. Also asked for a second room for friends and they said it wouldn't be a problem just have to see if the dates work.
I guess my question is. How long does it usually take for sky auctions to confirm your reservations
Also does the property that you book see the price you paid? If so was wondering if they give you any crappy room because you paid a cheaper rate. I have read that some resorts do that. If it helps I will be staying at the grand fellas in Pierre Vallarta
I recently won a bid and contacted the customer service phone number but haven't heard back on my dates getting confirmed. Also asked for a second room for friends and they said it wouldn't be a problem just have to see if the dates work.
I guess my question is. How long does it usually take for sky auctions to confirm your reservations
Also does the property that you book see the price you paid? If so was wondering if they give you any crappy room because you paid a cheaper rate. I have read that some resorts do that. If it helps I will be staying at the grand fellas in Pierre Vallarta
Feb 12, 2011, 11:17 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2007
Programs: AGR, PC, HH no status as I stopped paying for travel
Posts: 1,454
no bargain
personally I find skyauction no bargain
usually you get a resort fee added in and maybe a processing fee and if I remember correctly even a cleaning fee occasionally.
Looking a some auctions for Puerto Vallarta (is that where you are headed?)
you have to add a minimum of $69.00 per night to your bid.
usually you get a resort fee added in and maybe a processing fee and if I remember correctly even a cleaning fee occasionally.
Looking a some auctions for Puerto Vallarta (is that where you are headed?)
you have to add a minimum of $69.00 per night to your bid.
Feb 12, 2011, 11:23 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: NY
Programs: AA EXP , SPG PLT, AMEX PLAT, HERTZ PC,
Posts: 70
personally I find skyauction no bargain
usually you get a resort fee added in and maybe a processing fee and if I remember correctly even a cleaning fee occasionally.
Looking a some auctions for Puerto Vallarta (is that where you are headed?)
you have to add a minimum of $69.00 per night to your bid.
usually you get a resort fee added in and maybe a processing fee and if I remember correctly even a cleaning fee occasionally.
Looking a some auctions for Puerto Vallarta (is that where you are headed?)
you have to add a minimum of $69.00 per night to your bid.
Well for this particular property it was $49 extra per person and night and a 1 time charge of $20 for sky auction fee total that up with my winning bid and it is less than half of the cheapest web site inbound for this particular property.
But I'm assuming you never used sky auction and maybe cant help me with my questions.
Feb 12, 2011, 1:34 pm
#4
Join Date: May 2004
Location: BNA
Programs: DL Platinum
Posts: 112
Shenfo11 - After your experience with SkyAuction, please advise if you recommend the service. I have bid (unsuccessfully) on several trips and would enjoy hearing your experience. Sounds like you got a good deal, even with all the extra fees. I am always careful to read the fine print since the fees can be more than the bid price.
Feb 12, 2011, 3:05 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 48
I have used them a few times for hotels. 4 night stay at Bogota, 2 night stay in summit, nj, one week in atlantic city.
I dont think they know the price you paid, bec they email you a voucher that has your information and it shows a complimentary stay from the main headquarters of the hotel. All my requests have been granted, You have to be flexible with your dates though. If you can only travel on certain days, maybe its not for you.
I dont think they know the price you paid, bec they email you a voucher that has your information and it shows a complimentary stay from the main headquarters of the hotel. All my requests have been granted, You have to be flexible with your dates though. If you can only travel on certain days, maybe its not for you.
Feb 12, 2011, 5:22 pm
#6
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: MRY/SFO/SJC
Programs: AS MVP, Hilton Diamond, IHG Gold
Posts: 7,784
Here's the forum you want: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onlin...-agencies-204/. Good luck.
Feb 12, 2011, 5:45 pm
#7
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: ORF
Programs: UA Silver, MR titanium
Posts: 2,020
I have used skyauction since 2002, they can be of great savings and I haven't had any problems with them, if i remember correctly, it takes about 7-10 to confirm hotels, and I have only used them for their hotels and timeshares.
Feb 17, 2011, 8:13 am
#10
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Posts: 24
Have you heard back from Skyauction yet?
I won an auction for the Grand Velas on Feb 4th. I immediately submitted my dates, and still haven't heard back yet.
Starting to get very nervous - we are leaving a week from Monday! If they don't confirm our dates, I will really have to scramble to find a different hotel.
Starting to get very nervous - we are leaving a week from Monday! If they don't confirm our dates, I will really have to scramble to find a different hotel.
May 22, 2011, 2:47 am
#11
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The road less traveled
Programs: UA Gold MM, AA EXP, Delta Platinum, Marriott Titanium, HHonors Diamond, Natl EE, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 5,118
I used them for our honeymoon. I bought a stay certificate valid at (most) hotels in the Small Luxury Hotels collection for $225/night. I ended up using it at a lodge in New Zealand, which was US$600/night, so a pretty good savings. We had to pay an additional $149 in resort fees per night. In all, it was still a 50%-off savings and a tremendous experience!
Like others here, I would use SkyAuction again for the right deal.
Like others here, I would use SkyAuction again for the right deal.
May 29, 2011, 9:42 pm
#13
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BDL
Programs: AA, DL, HA, WN, UA, B6, KX, Amtrak, HHonors Silver, SPG
Posts: 132
The OP hasn't answered yet, but I'll add my two cents from using SkyAuction.
Have used SkyAuction for 29 hotel or condo stays in the US and the Caribbean at substantial savings. On a tight travel budget, it lets me stay at nice places I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to stay at.
Generally, this is a six step process that usually takes a a minimum of two weeks(I wouldn't recommend this place for a last minute booking).
1. Bid and win if you're lucky (but don't overbid; a property usually will be re-listed).
2. You get a winning bid email and provide desired dates and payment method online within 72 hours of auction end.
3. You get an automated email that your request is being processed with the travel provider and SkyAuction will get back to you.
4. About a week later (usually on a Friday) you get an email either with a confirmation number or a request to change dates if dates not available. Yeah, I'm the wise guy that usually asks for Xmas week in the Caribbean or Hawaii...and sometimes gets it
5. After dates are confirmed and they issue a confirmation number, they charge your credit card.
6. A few days later they electronically issue a prepaid voucher you print off and present at check-in.
Is this place for real? Yeah, I've stayed at some real nice places like the Hay-Adams in Washington, DC, numerous fancy condo's in Kauai, 4 hotels in Bermuda, the Marriott Morning Star on St. Thomas, etc. for a fraction of the retail price.
But there's some big caveats here. This is a no-frills auction site where booking and customer service is done primarily over the internet...do your homework on whether a property is worth staying at and what a fair auction price is (including the usual $20 booking fee and a per night or week fixed tax/service charge), and have some flexibility on booking dates in case the exact dates you want aren't available. Occasionally they've even offered an alternate property when the one I wanted wasn't available (accepted this once and declined another time).
On the plus side this is a transparent auction site where you can see the exact property you are bidding on and a list of likely available dates. And if they can't honor your requested dates on a flexible date auction (not a fixed date auction where they immediately charge your credit card), then you can withdraw from the auction without penalty (has happened to me a few times).
Next booking with them was just completed(3 separate auctions). Late December, 2011 to mid-January, 2012 at The Alexander Hotel on Cayman Brac near the airport, followed by The Reef on the East End of Grand Cayman. With everything added in (taxes/service charge/booking fee) it came out to an average of $80/night. The identical rooms through Expedia are an average of $217/night the last time I checked. Still might use Expedia for the airfare(nice selection of flights and competitive prices), but in this case SkyAuction was clearly a better deal for my lodgings.
Have used SkyAuction for 29 hotel or condo stays in the US and the Caribbean at substantial savings. On a tight travel budget, it lets me stay at nice places I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford to stay at.
Generally, this is a six step process that usually takes a a minimum of two weeks(I wouldn't recommend this place for a last minute booking).
1. Bid and win if you're lucky (but don't overbid; a property usually will be re-listed).
2. You get a winning bid email and provide desired dates and payment method online within 72 hours of auction end.
3. You get an automated email that your request is being processed with the travel provider and SkyAuction will get back to you.
4. About a week later (usually on a Friday) you get an email either with a confirmation number or a request to change dates if dates not available. Yeah, I'm the wise guy that usually asks for Xmas week in the Caribbean or Hawaii...and sometimes gets it
5. After dates are confirmed and they issue a confirmation number, they charge your credit card.
6. A few days later they electronically issue a prepaid voucher you print off and present at check-in.
Is this place for real? Yeah, I've stayed at some real nice places like the Hay-Adams in Washington, DC, numerous fancy condo's in Kauai, 4 hotels in Bermuda, the Marriott Morning Star on St. Thomas, etc. for a fraction of the retail price.
But there's some big caveats here. This is a no-frills auction site where booking and customer service is done primarily over the internet...do your homework on whether a property is worth staying at and what a fair auction price is (including the usual $20 booking fee and a per night or week fixed tax/service charge), and have some flexibility on booking dates in case the exact dates you want aren't available. Occasionally they've even offered an alternate property when the one I wanted wasn't available (accepted this once and declined another time).
On the plus side this is a transparent auction site where you can see the exact property you are bidding on and a list of likely available dates. And if they can't honor your requested dates on a flexible date auction (not a fixed date auction where they immediately charge your credit card), then you can withdraw from the auction without penalty (has happened to me a few times).
Next booking with them was just completed(3 separate auctions). Late December, 2011 to mid-January, 2012 at The Alexander Hotel on Cayman Brac near the airport, followed by The Reef on the East End of Grand Cayman. With everything added in (taxes/service charge/booking fee) it came out to an average of $80/night. The identical rooms through Expedia are an average of $217/night the last time I checked. Still might use Expedia for the airfare(nice selection of flights and competitive prices), but in this case SkyAuction was clearly a better deal for my lodgings.
Jun 6, 2011, 3:12 pm
#14
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: The road less traveled
Programs: UA Gold MM, AA EXP, Delta Platinum, Marriott Titanium, HHonors Diamond, Natl EE, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 5,118
A word to the wise ... used the site to bid on some nice properties in Florence. The opportunity was to stay at one of four different luxury properties. When I won, I found out there was "no availability" (despite there being availability on the property websites) for the dates we wanted. Unfortunately, we couldn't be flexible. The only one available was probably the worst of the bunch.
Lesson learned: be extremely happy with ALL the options and/or have lots of date flexibility.
Lesson learned: be extremely happy with ALL the options and/or have lots of date flexibility.
Jun 14, 2011, 10:13 pm
#15
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: BDL
Programs: AA, DL, HA, WN, UA, B6, KX, Amtrak, HHonors Silver, SPG
Posts: 132
Agree with the date and property flexibility comment.
For my upcoming stay in the Cayman Islands I mentioned in a prior post, there was no availability for end of December through New Years at the Reef on Grand Cayman, so I wound up getting early January 2012 there instead. All dates were available on the Reef's website, but this isn't a true indication of SkyAuction availability. For Caribbean properties I've sometimes gotten specialty rate codes on the reservation voucher (condo association codes like RCI, Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association because of a special barter arrangement CHTA has with SkyAuction, or other various codes). I assume in some cases there is a small room block being auctioned off at a discount, so when it's gone...it's gone. I wound up using the Alexander Hotel on Cayman Brac through 2 other auctions for late December through my check-in date at the other hotel. Will be my first time on the Brac.
Is it worth going through the auction process on SkyAuction or similar travel auction websites? I think the answer depends on whether someone is willing to do some background research on the property they are thinking of bidding on, has enough time before travel for everything to be processed properly, and has flexibility on their travel dates. The reward for doing that is a vacation at a substantial discount from what would be paid through more traditional booking methods.
Just booked my flights through Travelocity on USAirways and Cayman Airways...weird thing on the booking is it was $90 cheaper on my first 2 USAirways flights to fly First Class just before Xmas rather than Coach(only refundable coach available but throwaway First Class could be had for less). All other flights will be Coach though (inter-island and return trip home) unless I get some cheapo last minute upgrade offer when I use online check-in
For my upcoming stay in the Cayman Islands I mentioned in a prior post, there was no availability for end of December through New Years at the Reef on Grand Cayman, so I wound up getting early January 2012 there instead. All dates were available on the Reef's website, but this isn't a true indication of SkyAuction availability. For Caribbean properties I've sometimes gotten specialty rate codes on the reservation voucher (condo association codes like RCI, Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association because of a special barter arrangement CHTA has with SkyAuction, or other various codes). I assume in some cases there is a small room block being auctioned off at a discount, so when it's gone...it's gone. I wound up using the Alexander Hotel on Cayman Brac through 2 other auctions for late December through my check-in date at the other hotel. Will be my first time on the Brac.
Is it worth going through the auction process on SkyAuction or similar travel auction websites? I think the answer depends on whether someone is willing to do some background research on the property they are thinking of bidding on, has enough time before travel for everything to be processed properly, and has flexibility on their travel dates. The reward for doing that is a vacation at a substantial discount from what would be paid through more traditional booking methods.
Just booked my flights through Travelocity on USAirways and Cayman Airways...weird thing on the booking is it was $90 cheaper on my first 2 USAirways flights to fly First Class just before Xmas rather than Coach(only refundable coach available but throwaway First Class could be had for less). All other flights will be Coach though (inter-island and return trip home) unless I get some cheapo last minute upgrade offer when I use online check-in