Help With Overlapping Auction Dates

[LL_Travelfan]

I won a Mystery Auction for Spain and our travel dates fell outside the hotel's dates. I called the hotel concierge in Spain, and they graciously accepted to let us use the dates we needed.
I have another Mystery Auction in Sicily, where the hotel accepted to hold the dates for us for a full year. We bought another package for the same hotel through LL and now are combining the two packages next year in June. Some hotels are very flexible. Perhaps it depends on the location - Caribbean hotels might be tougher to change dates due to the short high season and the high volume of business during that time.
I have found, that talking to the hotel management that deals with Luxury Link (not just any hotel concierge/reservations clerk, but the person who handles and deals with LL at the hotel), has given me the exceptions I needed every time so far.

[lorrainec]

I called LL Concierge and was told that the auctions cannot be modified at all. This means I can't buy two nights from each auction period or extend one auction by two days (+/-). What they can do is modify the Buy Now option which will allow me to purchase two nights from each date range. You have to call LL directly and have them assist you with a purchase of this nature.

If I were to purchase 2 nights from each Buy Now period, the total would be more expensive than 4 nights at the higher auction amount. Sadly, I will have to pass on buying anything for now.

[lorrainec]

I won a Mystery Auction for Spain and our travel dates fell outside the hotel's dates. I called the hotel concierge in Spain, and they graciously accepted to let us use the dates we needed.
I have another Mystery Auction in Sicily, where the hotel accepted to hold the dates for us for a full year. We bought another package for the same hotel through LL and now are combining the two packages next year in June. Some hotels are very flexible. Perhaps it depends on the location - Caribbean hotels might be tougher to change dates due to the short high season and the high volume of business during that time.
I have found, that talking to the hotel management that deals with Luxury Link (not just any hotel concierge/reservations clerk, but the person who handles and deals with LL at the hotel), has given me the exceptions I needed every time so far.

Thank you, LL_Travelfan. Your experience has inspired me to discuss my situation with the hotel to see if anything else can be done (I figure I have nothing to lose at this stage ).

[kyshel]

Lorainec--I hope it works! Many hotels have been flexible when asked, as LLTF mentioned.
We are staying in Bali at Royal Pita Maha in a few days. They graciously allowed us to reschedule a stay from last Nov--twice!! I had a medical issue and rebooked May following. I had a "relapse" and rather than cancel (expiry was Aug 2012) I could rebook for Nov. Such customer service is always rewarded with praise. With internet travel that can be priceless.Please report back to us (hopefully with good news).

[lorrainec]

Thanks so much, kyshel. I am quite impressed by the wonderful customer service you received from the Royal Pita Mahain in Bali. I hope your stay at this lovely hotel is just as great and look forward to hearing about it when you return.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation in beautiful Bali.

[omegaet]

lorrainec, nice to have you in the community. Over the years, we have found it necessary to request date changes with several properties and we always just deal with them directly.

We had used the Skype number for one of the Luxury Link properties we recently booked in Portugal. It was nice to be able to speak with them since we needed to change some dates to conform to our travel schedule. During the conversation we were able to make the change (they confirmed by email later), plus we learned about a special event that would be taking place during the time of our visit.

It seems like most of the properties here on Luxury Link are several cuts above average and making adjustments (with in reason) is part of their service.

[lorrainec]

Thank you for sharing your experience with me, omegaet. I'm really glad that I joined the LL forum and asked some questions before I decided to purchase anything. Seeking feedback & advice from the LL veterans in the community has helped a great deal--I now have a much clearer idea of what my options are and how I want to proceed.

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I like to combine 2 or more auctions for one of my yearly trips and I always deal with the properties to make sure I can do the packages in the same date range before I actually bid - once the hotel tells me they have openings for the date ranges i am looking at, then I bid away and have never had a problem extending or combining packages.

[LL_Travelfan]

I have done it both ways, however I usually check with the hotel if there is availability before bidding, especially when I am combining packages. The last time, I had Jason make the reservations for me and it worked just as well.;

[lorrainec]

I like to combine 2 or more auctions for one of my yearly trips and I always deal with the properties to make sure I can do the packages in the same date range before I actually bid - once the hotel tells me they have openings for the date ranges i am looking at, then I bid away and have never had a problem extending or combining packages.

If you were in my shoes would you contact the hotel and ask them if it is possible to "extend" the last two nights of the auction into the next date range (even though those last two nights are technically more expensive)? Thanks for your help!