Skyauction top choices

[SWofDisorder]

We are planning a trip for very early September. I am trying to look at skyauction. What would be your top 5 places for the $1 bid?

 

[jsmla]

Some of these aren't showing up as often as they did back in the day but my favorites are:
Wyndham Bonnet Creek
Sheraton Vistana
Sheraton Vistana Villages

These all have nice units and fabulous pools and grounds.



When the above aren't available at my price point:

Wyndham Cypress Palms
Pros
-nice units
-plenty of parking
-usually one of the lowest priced
Cons
-Kissimmee East Gate location (area is a bit run down)


Legacy Vacation Clubs Lake Buena Vista
Pros
-Lake Buena Vista location
Cons
-very ho-hum pool right on Palm Parkway
-least attractive units of the places on my list

 

[mckennarose]

We are planning a trip for very early September. I am trying to look at skyauction. What would be your top 5 places for the $1 bid?

Not $1, but there's a listing for Sheraton Vistana 1 bedroom unit for a starting (and probably only) bid of $375 for the week for September dates. They also have a buy-it-now price of $399.99

Keep in mind that a lot of resorts with $1 bids have high surcharges that can be several hundreds of dollars to cover the cost of renting a unit. And the surcharges can vary in price by date.

 

[SWofDisorder]

I am so careful with reading the fine print. The first week of September has a $299 surcharge and $20 fee. When doing the bid or buy it now, do I also have the admin fee or other charges?

 

[jsmla]

With Buy It Now you'll still have the $20 fee but not the $299. You do still need look for upcharge fees for certain dates or larger units.

 

[mckennarose]

Here's a good example of the bid vs buy it now prices and added surcharges. These are current listings on sky auction for Mystic Dunes.

Buy it now:
$325.00
Price is per room.

Hotels to choose from : (prices are per room)

Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 1 Bedroom Suite


Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 2 Bedroom Suite + $75


Surcharges

• Date Surcharge (12/21/2018-12/22/2018) for $100 per room
• Date Surcharge (10/12/2018-11/11/2018, 11/23/2018-11/25/2018) for $125 per room
• Date Surcharge (11/16/2018-11/18/2018) for $200 per room
• One Time Processing Fee: $20

They still have the $20 fee plus surcharges for certain dates.


Bidding:
Minimum bid: $1

Hotels to choose from : (prices are per room)

Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 1 Bedroom Suite


Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 2 Bedroom Suite + $75


Surcharges

• Date Surcharge (12/21/2018-12/22/2018) for $100 per room
• Date Surcharge (11/16/2018-11/18/2018) for $200 per room
• Date Surcharge (10/12/2018-11/11/2018, 11/23/2018-11/25/2018) for $125 per room
• Taxes/Service Charges: $299 additional per room
• One Time Processing Fee: $20

Here they have the same option to upgrade to a two bedroom unit for $75, same surcharges for certain dates and the $20 fee, but they add the $299 tax/service fee. Choosing the bid option will save you $25 over the buy it now price but you have to wait for the auction to close to see if you won.

 

[HopperFan]

Here's a good example of the bid vs buy it now prices and added surcharges. These are current listings on sky auction for Mystic Dunes.

Buy it now:
$325.00
Price is per room.

Hotels to choose from : (prices are per room)

Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 1 Bedroom Suite


Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 2 Bedroom Suite + $75


Surcharges

• Date Surcharge (12/21/2018-12/22/2018) for $100 per room
• Date Surcharge (10/12/2018-11/11/2018, 11/23/2018-11/25/2018) for $125 per room
• Date Surcharge (11/16/2018-11/18/2018) for $200 per room
• One Time Processing Fee: $20

They still have the $20 fee plus surcharges for certain dates.


Bidding:
Minimum bid: $1

Hotels to choose from : (prices are per room)

Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 1 Bedroom Suite


Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club - 2 Bedroom Suite + $75


Surcharges

• Date Surcharge (12/21/2018-12/22/2018) for $100 per room
• Date Surcharge (11/16/2018-11/18/2018) for $200 per room
• Date Surcharge (10/12/2018-11/11/2018, 11/23/2018-11/25/2018) for $125 per room
• Taxes/Service Charges: $299 additional per room
• One Time Processing Fee: $20

Here they have the same option to upgrade to a two bedroom unit for $75, same surcharges for certain dates and the $20 fee, but they add the $299 tax/service fee. Choosing the bid option will save you $26 over the buy it now price but you have to wait for the auction to close to see if you won.

^THIS

You do the math, you see what the break even point is, then you make yourself to stick to the bid and not get caught up in the winning. YEARS ago bid was the way to go as Buy It Now were a higher price point. The last few times I've just done Buy It Now so I didn't have to worry about it and had what I wanted for only a few dollars over winning the $1 bid.

 

[SWofDisorder]

Thanks for the guidance. I found the Sheraton Vistana Villages auction # 2987065. It says on the bottom check in is Friday, Sat or Sunday with my date of Aug 24th being a Friday. But then they have at the top, check in on the 25th. Which is correct? I do like the look of the resort.

 

[SWofDisorder]

^THIS

You do the math, you see what the break even point is, then you make yourself to stick to the bid and not get caught up in the winning. YEARS ago bid was the way to go as Buy It Now were a higher price point. The last few times I've just done Buy It Now so I didn't have to worry about it and had what I wanted for only a few dollars over winning the $1 bid.

I am going with the buy it now option and not going to worry about bids. But I don't understand the check in dates with the bottom being different from the top dates.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Thanks for the guidance. I found the Sheraton Vistana Villages auction # 2987065. It says on the bottom check in is Friday, Sat or Sunday with my date of Aug 24th being a Friday. But then they have at the top, check in on the 25th. Which is correct? I do like the look of the resort.

That auction would not work for you unless you want to make alternate arrangements for your first night. You need one with a check-in date of August 24th.

 

[SWofDisorder]

That auction would not work for you unless you want to make alternate arrangements for your first night. You need one with a check-in date of August 24th.

Thank you, I really didn't understand the site well enough.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Thank you, I really didn't understand the site well enough.

It's a bit tricky, but once you figure out how to use it and watch out for surcharges, you can get some pretty amazing deals.

 

[SWofDisorder]

Thank you so much, I think we have worked out how to make it work by arriving a few days early

 

[Penmac]

I am also reading through Sky Auction and trying to educate myself on how it works... I found a listing for Sheraton Vistana Resort. $450 minimum bid, with the following surcharges:

• Date Surcharge (9/7/2018-9/23/2018) for $75 per unit
• Date Surcharge (4/26/2019-5/5/2019) for $425 per unit
• Date Surcharge (11/23/2018-11/25/2018) for $525 per unit
• Date Surcharge (3/15/2019-3/24/2019) for $900 per unit
• Date Surcharge (2/1/2019-2/3/2019, 7/26/2019-7/28/2019) for $650 per unit
• Date Surcharge (4/19/2019-4/21/2019, 8/2/2019-8/4/2019) for $800 per unit
• Date Surcharge (1/25/2019-1/27/2019, 3/1/2019-3/3/2019) for $850 per unit
• Date Surcharge (11/30/2018-12/2/2018, 12/14/2018-12/16/2018, 2/8/2019-2/10/2019) for $600 per unit

I want to make sure I am understanding this. If a minimum bid of $450 was accepted, and you were staying the week of January 25th, 2019, would you pay $850 on top of the $450 bid, plus the $20 processing fee? And, if you waited it out and bid closer to the date, can we assume the price of these unit surcharges would possibly go down? I am trying to figure out what the benefits of doing these auctions are. I am guessing it's a bit of a game of weeding out the good deals from ones that aren't much better than booking directly off Tripadvisor or booking.com.

 

[mckennarose]

I am also reading through Sky Auction and trying to educate myself on how it works... I found a listing for Sheraton Vistana Resort. $450 minimum bid, with the following surcharges:

• Date Surcharge (9/7/2018-9/23/2018) for $75 per unit
• Date Surcharge (4/26/2019-5/5/2019) for $425 per unit
• Date Surcharge (11/23/2018-11/25/2018) for $525 per unit
• Date Surcharge (3/15/2019-3/24/2019) for $900 per unit
• Date Surcharge (2/1/2019-2/3/2019, 7/26/2019-7/28/2019) for $650 per unit
• Date Surcharge (4/19/2019-4/21/2019, 8/2/2019-8/4/2019) for $800 per unit
• Date Surcharge (1/25/2019-1/27/2019, 3/1/2019-3/3/2019) for $850 per unit
• Date Surcharge (11/30/2018-12/2/2018, 12/14/2018-12/16/2018, 2/8/2019-2/10/2019) for $600 per unit

I want to make sure I am understanding this. If a minimum bid of $450 was accepted, and you were staying the week of January 25th, 2019, would you pay $850 on top of the $450 bid, plus the $20 processing fee? And, if you waited it out and bid closer to the date, can we assume the price of these unit surcharges would possibly go down? I am trying to figure out what the benefits of doing these auctions are. I am guessing it's a bit of a game of weeding out the good deals from ones that aren't much better than booking directly off Tripadvisor or booking.com.

Yes, the surcharge is in addition to the winning bid fee. Plus the $20 processing fee and you should check to see if there are additional taxes/service fees as I pointed out a few posts up. They add those to lower priced auctions to get the price bidders pay closer to what they feel is acceptable to cover the cost. But you can still have the date surcharge on top of that as well.
My understanding is that surcharges go higher at peak travel times. I don't know if they go lower as you get closer to check in dates. I've not followed the auctions that closely.

 

[OSUZorba]

I am also reading through Sky Auction and trying to educate myself on how it works... I found a listing for Sheraton Vistana Resort. $450 minimum bid, with the following surcharges:

• Date Surcharge (9/7/2018-9/23/2018) for $75 per unit
• Date Surcharge (4/26/2019-5/5/2019) for $425 per unit
• Date Surcharge (11/23/2018-11/25/2018) for $525 per unit
• Date Surcharge (3/15/2019-3/24/2019) for $900 per unit
• Date Surcharge (2/1/2019-2/3/2019, 7/26/2019-7/28/2019) for $650 per unit
• Date Surcharge (4/19/2019-4/21/2019, 8/2/2019-8/4/2019) for $800 per unit
• Date Surcharge (1/25/2019-1/27/2019, 3/1/2019-3/3/2019) for $850 per unit
• Date Surcharge (11/30/2018-12/2/2018, 12/14/2018-12/16/2018, 2/8/2019-2/10/2019) for $600 per unit

I want to make sure I am understanding this. If a minimum bid of $450 was accepted, and you were staying the week of January 25th, 2019, would you pay $850 on top of the $450 bid, plus the $20 processing fee? And, if you waited it out and bid closer to the date, can we assume the price of these unit surcharges would possibly go down? I am trying to figure out what the benefits of doing these auctions are. I am guessing it's a bit of a game of weeding out the good deals from ones that aren't much better than booking directly off Tripadvisor or booking.com.

I've never noticed skyauction's prices changing based on timing. They can run out of availability, though.

 

[mckennarose]

I've never noticed skyauction's prices changing based on timing. They can run out of availability, though.

I have seen check in date change, which to me means that when they sell out one date, they remove it from the list. For the listing we bought they had one date we originally wanted which was a Saturday check in and we didn't buy it then. When I tried a few days later to get the same date, it was gone. We had to do a Friday check in, which was fine but not our first choice.

I just checked a Sheraton listing that I have been seeing over the past month and the price has not reduced. The earliest check in date for that listing is August 19, which is Sunday. So with a week away the price hasn't gone down at all.