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We had a booking with Marriott ko olina for july 2020. Booked via Vacation Candy. They were unable to guarantee travel to Oahu or thaty the Marriott would be open in July. But Final payment for the trip was demanded in full 2 weeks ago. When no guarantees could be given that any monies would be refunded or bookings moved to same time next year, we did not pay the final balance. They threatened legal action and they cancelled my booking . I lost a substantial deposit. I will never use the Mariott again! Extortion!!

@lindam1424 we are in a dispute w VacationCandy Over a trip to Marriott’s Shadow Ridge. They are threatening legal action as well. They refuse to engage and just send emails stating their position. They are trying to keep money from both sides - renters and owners. I will not have them as party to any of my transactions.

As both an owner and renter I am not happy w Marriott’s response but these are difficult times and I am trying to be balanced however having to deal with interval and the restrictions there are appalling.

Hi...what are my options if my rental weeks do not rent?

As a Marriott owner in the Aruba Surf Club (multiple week) I am disappointed in Marriott. While they cancelled my 2 reservations in March, they tried to tell me they were doing me a favor by depositing the week into Interval, which they own. They gave me a reasonable time to use the weeks, BUT I can only book 120 days out, which means I will not be able to get into the Surf Club, as normal time for booking is 12 months. SAD

I am not happy with Marriott!!!! I complied with their policy of cancelling between 60-14 days out from arrival but what I got in return was a deposit of a "certificate" into Interval (which Marriott now owns). I am unable to book more than 120 days out and not to all resorts. I also have a week I deposited to Interval some time ago. When I look at that inventory, I can see the available units. When I look at the Interval certificate Marriott so kindly offered me, that same inventory does not show up. Only inventory Interval has in excess shows up( beds they need filled). I lost a penthouse ocean at Ko Olina on Oahu during spring break only to be offered much less in quality and only in places I do not want to go at times I cannot travel. Going to ski resorts in summer and beaches in winter are what Marriott wants me to accept for a spring break ocean penthouse in Hawaii for an additional charge. Not worth the maintenance fees!!

Sounds like your issue is with vacation candy, not Marriott.

I had the same issue as lindam1424 with Vacation Candy! They are a terrible business and I reported them to the BBB. No options for rescheduling and no offers to work with us. The only way to reach them now is through email. Had a trip booked to Ko Olina 8/8/20. Traveling with family including my 75 year old diabetic father-in-law. Second half of payment was due. VacationCandy says pay it or your trip will be cancelled and huge deposit lost. But if your trip time comes and all amenities at the resort are still closed, if Hawaii still has a 14 day quarantine for visitors, if Los Angeles still has a stay at home order in place, oh well. You lose twice as much now. We were willing to work with the owner and VacationCandy- they were not willing to work with us. Disgusted.

Westin is owned by Marriott and has that 120 day restriction too which makes it almost impossible to book this year. Really poor owner support.

If you got a certificate from Interval, then call Interval. They can work with you often if you explain the problem and you can escalate up the ladder to the "unhappy customer managers" so to speak and they are very helpful.

There are MANY places you can go that are fabulous. Malaga Spain is awesome and it will open up soon. Going there off season is actually better because no obnoxious germans or brits there drunk and making noise. And its a warm weather location.....Marriott has awesome resorts there. Trust me. Been there. Done that. Interval has computers that look at the date of deposit and the code for what you gave up in size and then requested travel dates. But their customer service agents can do a bit more sometimes. COVID is not Marriotts fault ....the resorts are inundated with TENS OF THOUSANDS of displaced owners and renters and vacation seekers. Tough task. If you owned that week.....and lost out I am sorry. I would have requested a new reservation with Marriott early in the crisis.....just to be safe.

And George...your options are what they always are. If they dont rent you can use them. Or call the resort developer now and reschedule them. Renting is always a matter of location, dates and pricing. Lower your price. In the old days before the internet and travelocity etc. renting them was easier....now those travel sites often get lower prices....and people who dont own there snap them up. If there are available units. VRBO is another option. Or TUG.

Pueblo Bonito, the owner of several resorts in Mexico, has been very accommodating. They are allowing reservations to be moved to later in 2020 or even to 2021 and they offered refunds on all-inclusive and other optional purchases. Through June 1 they are giving a 12% discount for paying 2021 maintenance fees early. They also kept all their employees on the payroll and paid most of them about 70% of their regular pay for March, April, and May despite being closed.

Marriott needs to provide clarity in their offerings. As a vacation club owner, we canceled our July trip and was told we were restricted now to a 120 day prior to arrival restriction. We were under the impression that we had until June 2020 to cancel with no restrictions as you mention in your Marriott Vacation Club section above. The advisor said the June date was for Marriott hotels. We missed it by one day and they were not willing to make an accommodation. Not very customer friendly in these unique pandemic times.

Also experienced the same situation with Vacation Candy! Terrible experience. We were booked at the Marriott Ko'Olina in July as well. No options to reschedule at a later date. Just emails asking for final payment and then they cancelled our reservation since we didn't pay the remaining balance. Duh! Like I'm going to fork over another few thousand dollars to a fraudulent company that does terrible business. Never again will I use Vacation Candy. I wouldn't be surprised if they change their name an operate as something else due to the outrage from customers. BEWARE OF VACATION CANDY or any other DBA they are associated with.