skyauction certs. ---Jan and Feb

[jctwizzer]

Approximately when will Skyauction typically make resorts available in January
and/or February for those persons holding their certificates??
Thanks!

 

[Brian Noble]

Things tend to happen over there closer to the last minute---which in RCI terms is about 45 days or less. I would not expect to see many of the better reosrts or larger units in Febraury, except maybe the very first week. January will be a better bet.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

The last cert I had & used, I did not get anything until a week before my cert was to expire & believe me, I was sweating that one out. I ended up in a one bedroom.. didn't have a choice of where in Orlando either, the only one they had for my time frame which is why I will never buy from them again.. and I had been purchasing certs from them for at least the last 6-7 years! this just happened this past April...

 

[jctwizzer]

In the last year and a half have used certs at Orbit One...twice;
Polynesian Isles; and Grand Beach--across from Vistana; looks like
I may have to adjust my thinking some!!!!!

 

[muffyn]

I had purchased one in july of 2008 when there wre plenty .,plenty of resorts listed. I had wanted to use it for jan/feb of this year.
by november they had changed their listings where most of them you now had to pay extra to get the good places.
by jan I was running out of time & there were virtually no properties for *free* & I was stuck paying an extra $59. for a studio!!!!
I called the number they give you & they told me that skyauction is the bottom of the barrel for getting resorts & in January they are waiting for all the timeshare owners to bank their places, so they don't usually know till the middle of feb what will be available.
good luck

 

[Brian Noble]

As a reminder: buying one of these certificates with a fairly specific set of dates in mind is always very risky. These work much better for folks that are extremely flexible about when they can go, and can make plans at the last minute.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

As a reminder: buying one of these certificates with a fairly specific set of dates in mind is always very risky. These work much better for folks that are extremely flexible about when they can go, and can make plans at the last minute.

As long as you can go "off season" any date, it should be somewhat safe. My problem was, when I purchased, they had all sorts of resorts, for no extra fee, all times of the year. I purchased 3 certs.. then they started with their black out time frames, extra fees... that placed me in my bind & therefore I will not buy again. They did not grandfather me in at what I purchased but had me go by their new terms. When I purchased it was booked without activation by getawayweeks.com You were able to go online and see what was open for you to get, then that even changed. For a while they did not list anything online, then only listed the resort, but not the size of the date, then they added the dated but not the size. Now they do list all again but I do think it is rci that you have to search thru & to really check it, you have to activate your cert... once activated, you must use it..you are stuck. I lucked out, they gave me a refund last summer on one that I did not activate, I used one last year in June & used the last one in April of this year (exp date was end of April). I think you are much better off just purchasing weeks from redweek.com or another site where owners rent out or a travel site that rents out condo's.. that way you know what you are getting at that time..and no playing with your dates & "extra hidden fees" they seem tack on... SkyAuction has changed for the worse over the years...

 

[Brian Noble]

Well, that's the thing. Renting from an owner is more certain, but more expensive. The skyauction certs are great when they work out, but you are entirely subject to what happens with availability and demand, and that's hard to predict.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Correct, in one aspect. At times SA can be just as expensive, if you have to add a fee to get a unit in addtion to what you already paid out for the cert..that add's up.. or worse yet, if it expires before you find availabilty for the dates that you were able to go .. then you just wasted your money! OUCH... What ever you pay for your cert, plus the $295 tax & service fee.. that isn't too far off from an owner.. you are talking some cases it can be in the $500 range... for a one bedroom in a place that isn't worth it.

I am staying at Bonnet Creek (2 bedroom) Aug 9th-16th thru an owner for $700...the entire week! You would not even get Bonnet Creek on SA... never mind for $700... When people get Vistana on SA, they are paying thru the nose..

yes, there still can be deals found on SA, but you have to be very flexible on where you stay, when you travel & don't mind what size unit you end up in. I cannot do that. My kids are grown, my youngest is going to be a senior in high school. My middle one is in her 3rd year of college. I work for the school district & we cannot just leave for a week during school just to get that $300 1 bedroom.. it just is not worth it for us anymore.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Prime example of not worth it....$minimum for this would be $770 and this is low season for this resort.. I live here & know this for a fact... not worth it..



7 Nights in a 2 Bedroom Suite at Tropical Sands Resort in Fort Myers Beach, Florida!
Minimum Bid
The Minimum Bid is the price at which you must bid
in order to be the highest bidder. $475

Check-In Dates Available for a 7 Night Stay:
July 18, 25, 2009
August 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 2009
September 12, 19, 26, 2009

Tax and Service Charges of $295 Per Unit Per Week Are Additional

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Here is an example of the additional fees to the $195 tax & service fee for just a cert auction.. not to mention what you would be paying for the win on the cert... if I were to pick this resort for Aug.. Like I said, I am paying less thru an owner for Bonnet Creek.. So people do need to be careful with SA. It isn't always a good deal...

Check your dates very carefully before doing your bidding. Be sure you can travel off peak If you cannot, as you can see, it is not a bargin by any means. You could rent out this place thru many online hotel travel site for less than what this auction is (not to mention this one comes up on Priceline & Hotwire).


Cypress Pointe Grande Villas Resort
Multiple Unit Availability from 8/21/2009 to 8/28/2009

Check-in Date Price Max Guests # of Nights Size / Kitchen

8/22/2009 $650.99 4 7 1 Bdrm / Full

8/28/2009 $850.49 6 7 2 Bdrm / Full


A 2 bedroom comes to at least $1045 + what ever the cost of the cert is.. I just looked up this resort and you can get these dates in a 2 bedroom thru Travelocity with all taxes included for $976.04... and here is Expedia...Total room cost: $947.01 Expedia Special Rate That is nearly $100 less!!!
so watch your good deals...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope I was allowed to post where the other deals came from.. if not I am sorry, please delete them..

 

[MikeyA50]

In 2006 we stayed 28 days in a two bedroom unit at the Diamond Polynesian Isles Resort in Kissimmee. $37.21 a night, taxes included through SkyAuction

In 2007 we stayed at Orbit One Resort for 7 nights, the price for a 2 bedroom unit, $30.00 a night and 2 weeks at Wyndham Cypress Palms, again in a two bedroom unit, price per night, tax included $30.00. All of these through SkyAuction. We also received $300 in restaurant certificates at the Salt Island restaurant in Orlando through the dining & Entertainment specials.

This year we are staying one week at Wyndham Sea Gardens, right on the beach in Pompano Beach in a studio unit, full kitchen, washer/drier. Price $216 for the week or $30.85 a night, Skyauction and we are returning to our favourite Orlando resort , Wyndham Cypress Palms in a 2 bedroom unit for two weeks. Price per night, $30.85, Skyauction.

Plus with the dining & Entertainment specials, we have $300 in restaurant certificates at Ran-Getsu of Tokyo in Orlando.

I usually book months in avance, you have to check almost daily for your dates and the type of accommadation you require, this year they became available sometimes in March.

P.S The restaurant certificates in the dining & Entertainment specials are now $50 per week down from the $100 per week they had a few months ago, but it free and better than nothing.

Overall very good experience up to now, I don't buy or bid unless they have what I'm looking for listed as available.

 

[Brian Noble]

Be sure you can travel off peak

And don't forget that off peak for timeshare lodging is not necessarily the same as off peak for Disney parks. For example, all of February is high-demand time everywhere in Florida because of the snowbirds, but only President's Week is busy in the parks.

We're on the same page, I think. Often, people vent here about "not being able to get their week" with SkyAuction. It's really important to remember that, at some level, Skyauction is a bit of a gamble unless you are bidding on something that you know has availability right then. The certficates, in particular, are dodgy.

 

[4Seasons]

Here is an example of the additional fees to the $195 tax & service fee for just a cert auction.. not to mention what you would be paying for the win on the cert... if I were to pick this resort for Aug.. Like I said, I am paying less thru an owner for Bonnet Creek.. So people do need to be careful with SA. It isn't always a good deal...

Check your dates very carefully before doing your bidding. Be sure you can travel off peak If you cannot, as you can see, it is not a bargin by any means. You could rent out this place thru many online hotel travel site for less than what this auction is (not to mention this one comes up on Priceline & Hotwire).


Cypress Pointe Grande Villas Resort
Multiple Unit Availability from 8/21/2009 to 8/28/2009

Check-in Date Price Max Guests # of Nights Size / Kitchen

8/22/2009 $650.99 4 7 1 Bdrm / Full

8/28/2009 $850.49 6 7 2 Bdrm / Full


A 2 bedroom comes to at least $1045 + what ever the cost of the cert is.. I just looked up this resort and you can get these dates in a 2 bedroom thru Travelocity with all taxes included for $976.04... and here is Expedia...Total room cost: $947.01 Expedia Special Rate That is nearly $100 less!!!
so watch your good deals...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I hope I was allowed to post where the other deals came from.. if not I am sorry, please delete them..

Are you kidding me? Cypress Pointe is a nice property but not worth anywhere near that much for a week. We can get it for that date for just over $560 a week for a 2 bedroom.

To be fair, Skyauction is at the mercy of RCI for their condo inventory. RCI made some major changes last year which affected everyone, travelers and industry professionals alike. I used to do alot more business with RCI but I've found it tough lately because of how they've raised prices on the exact same inventory that is still harder to move.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

And don't forget that off peak for timeshare lodging is not necessarily the same as off peak for Disney parks. For example, all of February is high-demand time everywhere in Florida because of the snowbirds, but only President's Week is busy in the parks.

We're on the same page, I think. Often, people vent here about "not being able to get their week" with SkyAuction. It's really important to remember that, at some level, Skyauction is a bit of a gamble unless you are bidding on something that you know has availability right then. The certficates, in particular, are dodgy.

yep, we are on the same page! Bottom line, there are deals but you have to do your homework & be flexible. I cannot do that anymore do to my time frame for travel. So therefore I will not purchase from them anymore.. I just didn't want anyone not to realize that there are many things they have to consider...

yep yep yep.. same page here

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Are you kidding me? Cypress Pointe is a nice property but not worth anywhere near that much for a week. We can get it for that date for just over $560 a week for a 2 bedroom.

To be fair, Skyauction is at the mercy of RCI for their condo inventory. RCI made some major changes last year which affected everyone, travelers and industry professionals alike. I used to do alot more business with RCI but I've found it tough lately because of how they've raised prices on the exact same inventory that is still harder to move.

No I am not kidding, do a search on SA's link they have.. that is where I got all that info from.... That was my reason for posting that. There are many things one has to watch out for with SA... there are deals to be found & then there are not... depending on ones time frame... It's like going to the Dollar Store thinking everything is a Dollar until you get to the check out only to find out the name is Dollar Store but doesn't mean everything is (a $1) cheap & a great deal to purchase... if that makes sense to you...