Maui Fires - "open a booking discussion"?

Annie, this is their phone number 1-866-971-1737 Best, Lynda

Dear fellow frustrated Redweek renters, here is an “update” phone text number to the Resorts(Marriott, Westin). 1-407-358-3745 If you text your name , booking number, dates, etc and ask for a confirmation of reservation, you will receive regular text updates. Our most recent(from Sat) stated that “reservations would be canceled through 8/20 AND all rental reservations would be cancelled through 9/3” Wishing you all the best, Lynda

UPDATE: While power has been restored, the resort does not have telephone and internet service. The Hawaii governor's office discourages nonessential travel to the island of Maui through August 31. Our immediate priority is to our associates and in assisting the local community. We are also working to assist owners and guests who were been impacted by the recent disaster. In an effort to assist in our current efforts, we respectfully request that you refrain from contacting the resort, our associates, or the reservation center for questions regarding future reservations at this time. All of our resorts are currently closed and all reservations through August 20th have been canceled. All rental reservations through September 3rd will be cancelled. For assistance with rebooking reservations, owners can contact Owner Services and all others should contact their original booking source.

We too are requesting to cancel our reservation December 5-12th. We received the same response as others and find this unacceptable with the tragedy that has struck Maui. They do not want or need tourists using their resources. With all the airlines, hotels and car rental agencies waiving fees and canceling I would think Redweek would do the same. I’ve used and recommended your company many times but will no longer do so if not resolved.

I too have a week planned and paid for in October. Redweeks response was follow “cancellations policy” which means I lose my money. That’s not ok. They need to do better in a situation like this.

Totally agree. Maui needs all the lodging resources at a time like this. They need to do the right thing. If this continues I will no longer be using them in the future

I'm in the same boat. We have a reservation at the Marriott Ocean Club from August 27 - September 3. I just got off the phone with customer service (thank you Lynda for providing the phone number) and was told that they just received word 5 minutes ago that Marriott is canceling all reservations until August 31st (for now). She said the reservations team will work through contacting everyone and issuing refunds who have reservations before Aug. 31. Hoping this helps others!

As an owner, I can tell you that Marriott is not letting owners move their weeks due to the disaster. They have no inventory left this year and each rental corresponds to a usage year, in this case, 2023.

Westin has updated the message on their site and it no longer references cancellations. only that housekeeping is impacted. Are they really not going to refund our money? It would be disrespectful to vacation on Maui right now. Even in 3 weeks, which we planned for. Hawaiian Airlines is refunding or rescheduling for reservations through September 15th. Please do the right thing Marriott and @RedWeek.

I have rented thru Redweek my week at Marriott's Maui Ocean Club for 9/9/23 thru 9/16/23. The Redweek rental # is R1023221 Marriott has sent an e-mail to the owners saying that visitors to Maui are not being well received at this time for several reasons many being obvious. Many in Lahaina have lost their homes and many in this unspeakable tragedy have also have lost loved ones. The last thing they want or need are visitors intruding during this most difficult of times. Another major reason is that according to the Hawaii Dept of Heath the air in and around Lahaina is unsafe and may contain toxic and cancer causing chemicals including asbestos and lead. As a result I am counting on Redweek and Marriott to do the right thing and reimbiurse to the fullest extent all those who have booked in Maui for the next several weeks/months. If there ever was a time when profit should be pushed aside, this is it. Doing the right thing for the residents of Maui and for those who had booked to visit is what needs to be done.

Grant

I need to cancel my week 9/9 - 9/16 at the Westin Kanapali Club. I already wrote to Red Week and they also gave me the generic answer and referred me to the owner. Wrote to the owner and so far I have not heard from them. It is clear that we can not travel there in a few weeks, even the hotel can’t provide the same amenities as before, understand! What I do not understand why it is taking long to cancel and return our money!

Do I need to dispute with my credit card?

Redweek has been handling this situation so poorly. I was due to travel to Maui 9/16-9/23 and Redweek just keeps sending me the same generic message you are all getting. I called customer service and they said I had to contact the owner personally to have him cancel. The owner is refusing to cancel. Has anyone here gotten any assistance from Redweek? So angry and frustrated

No, the same answer that you got! Our week is from 9/9 - 9/16! Red week staff referred me to the owner, the owner is silent! We need an answer soon. We are not going to Maui for sure but we want the good money we paid for the week. Refunding our money will be the right thing to do.

We rented a unit at the maui ocean club from an owner beginning Sept 2 and were wondering what steps we should take to receive a refund for that unit as it is inadvisable to go to Maui right now. Will you advise us that the booking is formally cancelled at some point?

We would like to open a booking discussion for cancelation and refund for our stay at the Marriott's Maui Ocean Club-Lahaina and Napili Towers from September 9, 2023- September 16, 2023. Confirmation Number : 96593848 Please advise if we need to take any further action, Thank you, Greg Waller

WE stayed at the Marriott timeshare for one week during the fire week of 8/6-8/13. we had no power for 6 days. No hot water, no AC, very little cell service, no pools open, no resturants open, and no food provided to us from the hotel for 2 days. Is the Marriott providing any refund at all? Do we have any recourse at all? This is our first time using and booking thru Redweek. Thank you, Annette B.

Dear Redweek,

I had a booking that was directly impacted by the fire. No one has reached out to me directly, as indicated in your communication. I have had email communication with the resort directly. They have said they WILL NOT prorate, adjust, or compensate owners who had their reservations interrupted by this tragedy. As an owner, this is very disappointing. Redweek's contract obligates me to refund the renter, while the resort is not making me whole, leaving me holding the bag.

We booked through VacationHomesOnly which was on RedWeek. We assumed they were authorized by RedWeek to be on their site. Need to cancel our reservation for Sept.22-29 at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort. Can't get a response from VCO. Has anyone received a letter of refund? Thanks, Geri

geris34 wrote:

We booked through VacationHomesOnly which was on RedWeek. We assumed they were authorized by RedWeek to be on their site. Need to cancel our reservation for Sept.22-29 at the Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort. Can't get a response from VCO. Has anyone received a letter of refund? Thanks, Geri

Fyi, any individual (and / or any commercial entity) that joins RedWeek as a paid member can place a rental ad. No one actually gets “authorized” by RedWeek to use the site --- people (or businesses) only need to purchase a RedWeek membership and then pay for any sale or rental listings that they want to post on the RedWeek site. The cancellation / refund terms and conditions within your rental contract, *IF* the contract was executed directly with "VacationHomesOnly" with no other RedWeek involvement, is strictly a matter between you and VacationHomesOnly. Good luck.

Red Week Confirmation #83966095 Arrival September 23 Departure September 30

Although the reservation contained a cancellation clause that prohibited a refund if the consumer requests a cancellation, the same consumer is allowed the reasonable expectation that the product they purchase meets the full description as conveyed. Furthermore the safety, comfort and welfare once assured to the consumer should not be of significant decline.

In the case of the Kaanapali Ocean Beach Resort reservation and the West Maui fire, it is well known that the infrastructure serving the area has been severely effected. Ongoing problems continue to be reported with intermittent power outages, cell phone coverage, internet service, clean water and public transportation services. Toxic air from the fire, and substandard ocean water quality from fire debris, and chemicals related to the fire fighting. All of which has affected the Kaanapali area.

The resort’s own website “strongly suggests non-essential travel” and posts an extensive list of their closed amenities. Red Week and individual timeshare owners that refuse to refund the consumers money is egregious.

Traveling to a war zone is not what I purchased. I think that the Consumer Protection Agency would agree with me and is a class action lawsuit in the making!