Tell me about Sky Auction

[casjen]

I was persuing the site and saw that I could bid for a $100 certificate for a 7 night stay. If I get the certificate, is it really only $100 for a week stay?

It says I have to book by 8/31 for travel until 8/31/12.

Thanks for any input!

 

[lovesmurfs]

I was persuing the site and saw that I could bid for a $100 certificate for a 7 night stay. If I get the certificate, is it really only $100 for a week stay?

It says I have to book by 8/31 for travel until 8/31/12.

Thanks for any input!

I've never been on the site, but just visited. Be careful. There was an offer that I was looking at -- $169 minimum bid for a 7-night stay in a 2-bedroom suite. Sounds great! But then the "fine print" says there's an additional $295 in taxes and fees, plus a $20 processing fee.

So even if we win the bid at $169, the total cost is $484, or around $69 per night. Not as great as it originally seemed.

 

[HeatherC]

Yes..they always add taxes and fees on. But they are listed on the auction so no surprises after you win. Can still find great deals. We have won many auctions for weekly rentals where the bid will be like $5 and the taxes and fees are $295. Still...$300 for aweek in multi bedroom condos are a great deal.

You just have to be careful.

The cruises they have never seem to be a good deal to me, but hotels and condos have been great.

 

[Local_Girl]

Without knowing exactly which auction you are looking at, it's hard to say what the terms are. If you are looking at a Home and Away auction, it may be for both a resort certificate and an additional $100 travel cert that can be used toward future auctions on Skyauction. In an auction I just saw, you would pay an additional $249 for the taxes/fees for the resort, plus an administration fee (used to be $20, not sure what it is now), in addition to whatever your bid amount is. There are a variety of offers from travel certs to bonus rewards cash, but I've never bid on those.

We did a "Buy It Now" last year (I think it was a Home & Away auction) for a 1 bdrm. condo at Silver Lake, which is right next to Disney property and paid $249 + $20, so $269 total for a week. We had a GREAT stay!

HeatherC is right, you can get some terrific deals, but you have to read very carefully.

 

[DisneyScraps]

I have used it a few times. Read all the fine print, they tell you everything you need to know before you settle on a resort, go to a different web site like Trip Advisor and read up on the resort. I avoided one that was under major renovation.

One time the hotel didn't have available dates for my stay even though it was within the allowable period, Sky Auction credited me the next day,

I plan to use them for a 2 week resort stay this summer.

Lisa

 

[mom4graceandlogan]

Thank you for posting this question. I have been racking my brain trying to remember that site name. Is it like hotwire or priceline for condos, but it looks like you know the resort? This may be the only way we take a vacation this year. I love a good deal. Even with the tax fees still sounds pretty good. If anyone has any experience with it, please keep posting.

 

[TamaraQT]

To the OP, thanks for posting. I have been watching some deals and wanted to know about it. To all of those that have responded so far, I appreciate you sharing your info. I hope even more people come and talk about their experience. I am a timeshare owner and have friends who want to go with us this year. My timeshare resort shows up on skyauction alot and I was going to try them out. Thanks again for sharing.

 

[DawnM]

We use SkyAuction.com ALL THE TIME! That is the only way we have travelled for the past 4 years or so.

Sign up with SkyAuction to get on their mailing list. They often have what they call "blowout deals" where you can pre-purchase weeks in advance. They do have an expiration date (usually have to book within 6 months but can travel up to 18 months out.)

We have pre-purchased weeks at $250 for a week (all taxes and fees included) and we have pre-purchased as low as $149/wk, all fees included.

We LOVE SkyAuction.com.

It WILL NOT work during heavy travel seasons. It is definitely an off-season travel discount. You will also not get new buildings. We end up with the 1980s two bedroom condos, but we don't mind at all. Most do not have high speed internet in the condos, but will have a business center to use.

Before you book, research TripAdvisor.com for reviews. We have now stayed at the following through SkyAuction in Orlando and here is MY opinion:

Celebrity Resort (just ok, not our first choice)
Westgate (DO NOT stay here if you can help it!)
Orbit One (liked it, quiet, offers $5 Liki Tiki water park passes)
Florida Vacation Villas (we like it here as long as we ask for the units with a washer/dryer) They also just added wifi in the units! ;-)
Vacation Village (no longer part of SkyAuction but we were able to use it before.)

Dawn

 

[rvchat]

http://www.skyauction.com/item/98791


so, for example, on the above auction it's now at $20 and the tax on it is $295. so it's a wyndham 2BR for 295 plus 20 if I win?

and what are dates?

 

[casjen]

that auction is for 2/5 - 2/12. So if you could travel last minute then that's a good deal.

 

[Friendly Frog]

Read EVERYTHING carefully and you will be OK. Remember, if you cancel you normally do not get any type of refund.

I think almost all auctions have a tax type fee. Most week long stays are something like 249.00 + 20.00.

Some will have a bid price per NIGHT. Often these will have a 32.00 per night fee.

Watch your available stay dates carefully. On the per night stays watch for blackout dates or dates that have increased fees.

Some auctions, especially those with airfare included, are per person for a family of four...so that is actually 4 times the price you bid. I believe that you must pay for at least 4 people on these and it is normally two adults and two children. (I have never bid on one of these so double check for yourself.)

Pretty much forget busy times of the year for availability, or expect lesser accommodations.

The very best deals are normally last minute deals for travel "next week" dates. These deals can be unbelievable! If you can drive on short notice you can get some fantastic deals and offers from resorts that I only see appear when the stay date is very near. Of course if you have to book airfare at the last moment the increased airfare cost can wipe out or exceed any sky auction savings.

The have airfare only auctions too, but I can normally do better myself when I have checked.

If you are gutsy and you will be traveling in off season you could book airfare way in advance and wait till about two or three weeks before travel to find a skyauction room, but I am not a big enough risk taker to do that. Don't even think of doing that if you want to go during normal vacation times when schools are out.

The timeshares are usually not the most popular ones in the area (duh) and the rooms you get can be the less popular rooms... think pre-refurb room or less desirable location within the resort. Still I have gotten some nice rooms. (but don't count on it and you will be happier with what you get.)

10 years ago fewer people seemed to know about it and the choices/deals seemed a little better. ( So I don't go around telling everyone I know. ) I also suspect some timeshares dropped out because the salesmen were being told " why should I buy into your timeshare when I can rent from skyauction so much cheaper?" So if you decide to do a timeshare tour somewhere someday, don't say that!

Interestingly enough, I have found some really good deals going on during September when Disney is doing free dinning. If you are going at that time and you don't want free dinning or to stay on site, this is a great time to pick up a good Orlando area timeshare.

One last thought. I have never seen it posted on the auction site, but I had a resort person tell me once that some resorts only allow you to travel on the S.A. certificate to their resort once every X number of years. If you are thinking about returning to the same resort the following year, you might want to ask the resort if they have this limitation.
EDIT: the limit on returning may be really be an issue, see the post below this one.
Good luck.

 

[DawnM]

REally? I have never heard this or had a problem with it. Hmmmm.....I wonder if I could find out more info somewhere.

I know for Florida Vacation Villas, which we have used primarily since finding it, we have gone 3 times in one year without ANY problems. Same with Orbit One when we used them, we went more than once.

I would be interested to know which resorts won't let you back in a 12 month period.

Dawn

One last thought. I have never seen it posted on the auction site, but I had a resort person tell me once that some resorts only allow you to travel on the S.A. certificate to their resort once every X number of years. If you are thinking about returning to the same resort the following year, you might want to ask the resort if they have this limitation.

Good luck.

 

[Friendly Frog]

REally? I have never heard this or had a problem with it. Hmmmm.....I wonder if I could find out more info somewhere.

I know for Florida Vacation Villas, which we have used primarily since finding it, we have gone 3 times in one year without ANY problems. Same with Orbit One when we used them, we went more than once.

I would be interested to know which resorts won't let you back in a 12 month period.

Dawn

Maybe it was just the guy at the resort saying that in order to get us to buy into the timeshare!?

Probably nothing, but I would hate not to mention it and then have someone have a problem with it. Do you think I should just remove that info?

We have stayed at Florida Vacation Villias and even Orange Lake, back in the day.

 

[loveysbydesign]

REally? I have never heard this or had a problem with it. Hmmmm.....I wonder if I could find out more info somewhere.

I know for Florida Vacation Villas, which we have used primarily since finding it, we have gone 3 times in one year without ANY problems. Same with Orbit One when we used them, we went more than once.

I would be interested to know which resorts won't let you back in a 12 month period.

Dawn

I got an email offering FVV for $199 a week plus $20 fee for certain dates...is that considered a good deal?

 

[Helene]

Some will have a bid price per NIGHT. Often these will have a 32.00 per night fee.


I found an auction for "per night" at the Hilton in Anaheim for our upcoming travel dates in July. I need 3 nights, but under quantity, I can only request "1". If the bid is accepted, can I book 3 nights afterwards?? It says:

Hilton Anaheim in Disneyland Area, Anaheim, California - Sleeps up to 4 Guest per room - Bid Per Room Per Night and Choose Your Length of Stay!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've never used Skyauction before and I don't want to end up with only 1 night accomodations.

TIA for any insights you can offer

 

[BonnieA]

I have used skyauction for at least 7 years now. The deals used to be a lot better but they are still good enough for me. You have to read the fine print to make sure of what you are paying. I've gotten some great timeshare resorts in the past.