CCIE_Flyer

Good luck with that. Similar experience with the Maria Christina and not even my Ambassador could do anything to help. And mind you, they will sell you anything from a garden queen to a rooftop terrace for hard cash. My understanding is that they didn't try to make any excuses, but rather leaned on the "standard room" unavailability thing because their probably two twin closet rooms are booked out. It's just insult to injury that you are teased into believing a room is available only to be denied, and that likely is just yet another IT fail with a very low priority for resolution.

Mister Nice

dblue

I really don't think it is a blackout situation, but maybe it is.

Anyway, I was finally able to book the Prince de Galles in May after it hadn't shown up on points for the last few days. Might be worth checking again (and then again over the next few days).

CCIE_Flyer

Given that my ambassador contacted the Maria Cristina and they told him to go away with his silly request, it seems unlikely the situation will improve/my frustration will be rewarded.

bhrubin

CCIE_Flyer

Does it seem likely that if a hotel can be booked as an award during off-peak times during 2019 but not when the weather's nice at a given locale, they've already completed that process? Or at least completed it as much as they intend to while Cat 7 60k-point nights are still a thing?

I hope that you're correct that there're no stealth blackouts being waged, but thus far it looks as though some properties are indeed gaming the system and likely intend to continue doing so until their rooms are no longer being made available at fewer points than they're satisfied with. Bear in mind that a rep at the Maria Cristina told my ambassador directly that they were invoking the standard room availability clause to prevent my booking in spite of the fact that during my desired dates they were selling 14 different room categories, beginning with a garden queen - and that they would make no exception simply because it was an ambassador making the inquiry. Apparently somewhere in their inventory they must have a garden twin or two, and once those are booked the hotel is essentially blacked out - at least during the summer months when rates range from $500/night for a garden queen and quickly rise to well over $1k/night as the room quality increases.

smurov

So has there been any updates/progress/success/etc from anyone recently? I'm still having this issue for the hotel/dates I need. If it was an IT thing, it should most likely have been addressed by now (hopefully).

RedElmo

CCIE_Flyer

You can call or even have your Ambassador try to pull some strings. Got me nowhere with the Maria Cristina.

Lurkers indicate some kind of change/improvement in the offing starting this coming week, but they were understandably light on specifics.

JumboJet

Seems like the website is acting like a surly and snarky customer service person.
"Sorry no rooms for any amount of points. NEXT!!"

RedElmo

Sam P. Goodman

Opposite result here for a hotel in Saigon. I actually already have the reservation...just trying to shorten it.

bubu-SNA

Any update on this issue? Trying to book a stay and getting the dreaded... "We’re sorry. This property is not taking redemption bookings at this time. You can either book a cash reservation or search for another property."

northernstar84

Le meridien Saigon is one of the Hotels with that problem

Sam P. Goodman

I've been trying to book there for the past few weeks. Call to customer service last week couldn't resolve it, but it looks like something has changed as I was able to book online last night.

Added bonus...looks like they have added an extra person fee for kids on new bookings. Didn't exist when I initially booked pre-Aug 18 and I just shortened my existing reservation so the fee didn't appear to get added to my reservation. Seems to be a trend...saw this on many Thailand hotels (and even NYC hotels) during recent searches.