Bonnet Creek - Utopia World?

[klk77]

I've booked Bonnet Creek through Utopia World (Paul Symington) the previous 2 summers. His service was excellent, and prices couldn't be beat. I've booked again for this summer, but I haven't heard from him in awhile, and haven't made any payments. I'm getting a little nervous.

Has anyone had any recent dealings with Paul?

 

[BigredNole]

I cannot vouch or warn for him. I did a quick search on TUG and there is no recent information about him or the company. The website he operates appears outdated and slow. That does not mean much either.

I am not sure when your vacation is, but you said this Summer. I would expect WBC to be solidly booked through the middle of August. I would be very skeptical at this point if you think your vacation will be ruined without being at WBC. I would make another last attempt at contact informing them if they don't respond that you need to seek other alternatives.

 

[klk77]

So nervous! He's been great the past 2 years. I just don't know why the delay this time around. I have to double check the last time I received an email from him, but it's been awhile. I know in the past his response time has often a bit long, but I think this is reaching worrying levels. I'm sure its unlikely that I'd be able to get another reservation at WBC now. I don't know what my next best choices will be. We're a party of 6 (2 adults, 2 seniors, and 2 8-year olds).

 

[TamaraQT]

Well the good news is you haven't made any payments so you haven't lost anything. Do you mind if I ask how much did you pay for a week at WBC?? What are your dates, I am sure we can find you a unit thru Redweek or TUG.

 

[BigredNole]

What are the dates you are going and what size accommodations? I can help with a quick check of what is out there.

 

[klk77]

I've booked August 18th to September 1st in a 3 bedroom presidential. The previous 2 summers, he's gotten us great spots. We've paid about $2400 the previous 2 years. I think this year's was going to be about 2770.

I'm hesistant to give up on it, but I'm getting anxious. I was just hoping that someone else maybe had dealings with him and could confirm if they've had any recent contact. I don't want to be without somewhere to stay!

 

[BigredNole]

That is a tough one. No one is going to have availability on that since they are all booked and rented out. Based on the points chart, that reservation is 637,000 points. Based on the rental rate of $7/1,000, that would cost $4,700. To get it under that price point, he has to do the cancel/rebook strategy that no longer exists with the Wyndham change. The minute he cancels the reservation, the system collects the unit and gives it to the first person with *Upgrade* active, then so on down the line. Eventually, a 1BR Dlx would be what shows up in inventory, not the 3BR Pres.

I don't want to alarm or scare you, but I would be extremely skeptical that you will get this reservation at $2,400-ish. That is why he offered you the refund to begin with. He is probably not responding because there is no way he will be able to deliver at that price. He'd be losing about $800 on the reservation. There are other places that are just as nice but a little bit farther away. Reunion is another Wyndham resort. All units are 3BR and they are gorgeous.

I recommend having contingency plans because this sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen.

 

[klk77]

I agree that the price seems crazy. I couldn't get any quotes close to that. I would also find it hard to believe, if not for the fact that I actually paid that for our previous trips. This year's quote was higher than before, as he'd noted. I found last year's emails, and our total for 14 nights, around the same time was $2370. We would have paid a similar price the 1st time. We paid that little, and received the confirmation emails from Wyndham before we went both years. Because things were so great both of the previous years (amazing prices, great room, always a fireworks view), I didn't hesitate to book with him again.

I don't know what's happened this year, but I can't imagine it is because he can no longer pull off the reservation due to quoted cost as we'd paid less before.

 

[BigredNole]

I am willing to be he use to do the book/cancel/rebook loophole. It is as simple as that. He books the 3BR Pres to take it out of inventory. Within 60-days of the date, he cancels the reservation, books a lower room (2BR Pres at 50% of the points) and gets the free upgrade to the 3BR Pres unit. In this scenario, it would cost him 270,000 points for the reservation. He is basically charging you ~$9/1,000 points.

The issue now is that this loophole closed as of middle of May. The minute you cancel that reservation, the automatic upgrade feature gives that unit to the first priority person with an upgrade. It never returns to inventory. He will never get the unit back. Now, he has to decide to take a loss and give it to you or just let you hang out to dry.

 

[got4boys]

The days of the inexpensive cancel and rebook rentals are gone, especially at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Wyndham was very smart in taking back deeds through their Ovation program and got rid of the loophole. This was mentioned a couple of months ago that this was going to happen.

Members who rent will be asking for at least the $7/1,000. Right now there is not a lot of Wyndham resale points in the market place. You may get a last minute at the end of the year if the reservations cannot be rented. Members can cancel the reservation 15 days before check in without penalty and find another reservation (if available) to book in the future. Wyndham is also enforcing restrictions to reservations and will cancel reservations if they are duplicate or overlapping. Some VIP members will book multiple reservations during prime times and rent them out.

 

[klk77]

Thought I should update that my upcoming trip reservation worked out. As suggested, it was the problems with the new Wyndham booking situation. All worked out well, as my reservation went through as planned.

Now, just looking forward to the trip....