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Difficulty changing WDW Swan award reservation

Difficulty changing WDW Swan award reservation

 
Old Dec 3, 2017, 1:41 pm
  #1  
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Difficulty changing WDW Swan award reservation

Marriott Gold member here working with a SPG award reservation for the first time.

I currently have an award reservation booked at the WDW Swan for 12/27-1/1. I'd like to change the check-in date to 12/29, reducing the stay from 5 nights to 3 nights. The phone agent informed me that she cannot do this due to no availability 12/29-1/1.

This seems illogical to me unless SPG has to cancel and reissue the reservation. She said she'd have someone from the "booking availability" department email me within 48-72 hours. Is this as simple as HUACA, or should I await a response from that department? Any other suggestions on how to approach this, as I've never had this issue with Marriott.
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Old Dec 3, 2017, 2:02 pm
  #2  
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Is it possible that the hotel has a minimum stay length requirement over New Years?
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Old Dec 3, 2017, 2:06 pm
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Originally Posted by tonei
Is it possible that the hotel has a minimum stay length requirement over New Years?
I guess it's possible, but that would mean a 4-night minimum stay. I've heard of 3 night minimums, but never 4. The agent didn't mention a minimum, only that there was no availability for 12/29-1/1.
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Old Dec 3, 2017, 2:11 pm
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If Starwood's system is anything like Marriott's, changing a check-in date essentially means a new reservation is required. They can change a check-out date without creating a new reservation, but not the check-in date.

So if the hotel really is sold out for some of the nights, then someone at the hotel may be required to make a change to the check-in date (assuming the hotel staff is willing to make that kind of change.)
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Old Dec 3, 2017, 2:36 pm
  #5  
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Originally Posted by hhoope01
If Starwood's system is anything like Marriott's, changing a check-in date essentially means a new reservation is required. They can change a check-out date without creating a new reservation, but not the check-in date.

So if the hotel really is sold out for some of the nights, then someone at the hotel may be required to make a change to the check-in date (assuming the hotel staff is willing to make that kind of change.)
Got it. That makes sense. I wouldn't be surprised if they are fully sold out. The Dolphin already was, and I had to call to book the initial 5 night reservation. I'll keep the board posted on what response I get.
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Old Dec 3, 2017, 3:41 pm
  #6  
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Call the property directly. Don't get shifted to reservations because that is basically back to the central facility. Unless there is a minimum stay, this should be easily accomplished by overbooking you into the new reservation and then cancelling the existing booking once the new one confirms. All ought to happen while you wait.
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Old Dec 3, 2017, 7:29 pm
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Also note that the type of award is changing. You are currently on stay 4, get 5th night free, so works out to 48,000/5 = 9600 pts/night. For 3 nights, it will be 12,000 pts/night. (I realize this is high season and probably 16K/night, but you get the idea.)
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Old Dec 3, 2017, 7:33 pm
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Originally Posted by rflor
I guess it's possible, but that would mean a 4-night minimum stay. I've heard of 3 night minimums, but never 4.
I'm a former Revenue Manager. A 4-night minimum stay over would not be extraordinary when the New Year's Eve falls on a Sunday night. Most people would have a 3-day weekend in that scenario. Holding the room for someone who wants to stay an extra night isn't crazy. That's especially true at a high-demand leisure destination (Disney) where there are millions of people within driving distance that have kids off from school.

Holding the room is essentially what a minimum stay requirement does. Here, the hotel is betting that between today and the arrival date, at least one person is going to want to stay 4 or more nights. It's a pretty smart bet in this case.

I think it's worth noting that the only way you were able to make your reservation initially was due to the fact that the hotel had put a minimum-stay requirement on New Year's Eve. If they hadn't done that, I guarantee the hotel would have sold out that night with 1 or 2 nighters. So, you did initially benefit from the use of minimum-stay requirements.

Originally Posted by rflor
The agent didn't mention a minimum, only that there was no availability for 12/29-1/1.
Typically, reservations sales agents do not know if a rate or stay control is in place. They simply enter the dates and the software provides available rates and rooms, if any.

The process is opaque for two reasons. First, not everyone understands minimum-stay requirements. Explaining the concept to someone who has never thought about how hotels operate can be time consuming. That's not really a task that reservation sales agents need to do because it doesn't change the outcome of the call. (The chances that someone will suddenly decide to stay an extra night just to meet a minimum-stay requirement is slim.) It's easier to say there's no availability for the dates requested.

The second reasons minimum-stay requirements are not disclosed is strategic. You don't want to provide your revenue management strategy to your competitors. If your reservation sales agents tell everyone your rate and/or stay restrictions, that's what your doing. You don't want your chief competitor knowing you have a 4-night minimum stay if they only have a 3-night one.
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Old Dec 4, 2017, 6:30 am
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Originally Posted by margarita girl
Also note that the type of award is changing. You are currently on stay 4, get 5th night free, so works out to 48,000/5 = 9600 pts/night. For 3 nights, it will be 12,000 pts/night. (I realize this is high season and probably 16K/night, but you get the idea.)
The pricing for this stay was odd at 54,000 points. According to the T&Cs, I'm getting the 5th night free, but that means the average price per night works out to be 13,500 per night. I guess 2 nights are at 12,000 and 2 are at 15,000.

Originally Posted by writerguyfl
IThe process is opaque for two reasons. First, not everyone understands minimum-stay requirements. Explaining the concept to someone who has never thought about how hotels operate can be time consuming. That's not really a task that reservation sales agents need to do because it doesn't change the outcome of the call. (The chances that someone will suddenly decide to stay an extra night just to meet a minimum-stay requirement is slim.) It's easier to say there's no availability for the dates requested.

The second reasons minimum-stay requirements are not disclosed is strategic. You don't want to provide your revenue management strategy to your competitors. If your reservation sales agents tell everyone your rate and/or stay restrictions, that's what your doing. You don't want your chief competitor knowing you have a 4-night minimum stay if they only have a 3-night one.
Thanks for the insight. That all makes sense, and it's always good to understand what's going on behind the scenes. My surprise is partially due to how "opaque" this reservation has been as compared to what I'm used to on Marriott. I do not recall ever having to call in to make a reservation in the first place, or not be told of minimum-stay requirements up front on marriott.com. Then again, I've never tried to book a New Year's reservation at a WDW property on points before, either.

I'll give Starwood another 24 hours to email me, and if I don't hear from them, I'll call the hotel directly to see what's up.
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Old Dec 4, 2017, 2:55 pm
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Latest (and final) update. Starwood prompted me to call the hotel directly. I called them and spoke to an incredibly helpful agent. She said it would be no problem shortening the reservation. She had to cancel the original and rebook, so a short 3-way call with Starwood was necessary to "force" the point redeposit.

The point cost dropped from 54,000 to 40,500, which is what I would expect from losing the 5th night free.

Pro tip -- don't be afraid calling the Swan and Dolphin directly, as they have some of the friendliest, knowledgeable agents I've talked to in recent history.
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