How do I pay for an auction?

[mary-j]

Thanks everyone for answering my query so quickly. So payment upfront is the answer. I wondered if there were many people from the UK who have bought their holidays from L.L.? It is something I have never done before. I usually book all my holidays through a Travel Agent, but the prices you get for some of the holidays on L.L. are excellent and some of the hotels and resorts are absolutely breathtaking. I think I might have been pursuaded to bid for one soon. As I said previously there are so many resorts/hotels on the L.L. site, that I cannot decide which to bid for!! It would be good to hear from anyone in the UK who has bought through Luxury link. Thanks.

[mary-j]

Hi, the reason I have been asking if anybody from the UK has bidded in an auction and won, was because I wondered how it would work for us paying from a UK credit card. Would L.L. inform us as to how much in GB Pounds the auction will cost us or would we need to wait and see how much had been deducted from our cards? Thanks

[lhbrown]

Hi jguffy, I guess the package goes back into the next auction pool. Although, I am sure, LL would hold you to your bid. That would be a good question for a LL monitor to answer. However, there are quite a few auction packages that no one bids on at any given time. I guess these LL auctions are a way for the hotels to fill their rooms during off season and gain exposure to a certain clientelle. Unfortunately, many properties drop out after a while. We have been to a number of just wonderful places that are just no longer on the LL auction list. I keep them in my Favorite Properties in My Account and faithfully watch if they are coming on the auction again. I keep hoping...

[jguffey]

Aloha, llbrown.



I do the same thing. I forgot one of the most spectacular places (we did it twice) was the BigEZ Lodge in Montana. I'm a beach/island person but the package was too good to resist and we went for two yearsfor my husband's birthday. It hasn't been on the list for a long time now. One of our favorites is the Ana Mandara Resort and Spa....and now it seems the package is for the Evason Hideaway .... outside of Nha Trang. We 'fell into' the Hideaway last year because of a travel agent booking....and I bid on a package as soon as I saw it when we returned home. We'll go back to the Hideaway (via a luxury link package) in December 2007. The Banyan Tree / Maldives was spectacular and no longer up for bids. I have so many favorites...but keep looking for an affordable south African trip....we lived there for four years and haven't returned since 1985. I long to go back!



Stay well and be good to yourself.

jguffey

[lhbrown]

Hi mary-j, Since we discovered LL a few years ago, we think this is the best thing going. Since you are from the UK you have quite a few lovely LL properties in the UK; check them out. And there is all of Europe located right on your door steps. You really have a wide variety of choices without crossing the "pond". We have used LL properties in England like Cliveden, and some London Hotels, in Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Germany and all have been outstanding and the prices are extraordinarily reasonable for what you get and the level of luxury involved. If you are coming to the US or the Carribean, you might have a little bit more planning to do to combine your air with the packages. Because some of the packages are only 3 or 4 days long, you might want to try to auction 2 of them to make your trip worthwhile. However, do check with the hotel if they can accommodate you for 6 or 8 days in a row, or you can pick different places and travel between them, but you loose a lot of time that way. Always contact the hotel and let them know what you are trying to do to make sure you are not running into obstacles.
Good Luck

[lhbrown]

Hi mary-j, LL will debit your credit card in dollars. Your credit card bank will make the conversion into British Pounds. You probably have a pretty good idea of what the exchange rate is. Say the LL package is $1000 plus $20 Fee,with the exchange rate being about $2 to the Pound, you would be paying about 500 British Pounds plus 10 Pounds for the LL fee. I am using a rough exchange rate, but you can check out the actual rate that day down to the last digit on the web. You can also access your credit card on the web and find out exactly how much has been debited. We run into this all the time when I bid for something on E-bay that is debited in Euros. It's no big deal. Just make sure you have a rough idea what the price will be to avoid real surprises. Good Luck

[jguffey]

For the most part, airfare is not included but I try to look for packages where meals are included...beyond the normal daily breakfast buffet. That brings the prices down and you're still in the midst of luxury. I also did the Urban Hotel in Madrid. Not my favorite....thought it was 'ultra urban/modern'...hence the name...but the package was good and so were the meals.

[mary-j]

thanks Lhbrown, Yes I agree there are some lovely hotels in the UK, but I usually like yo go further afield for our holiday and the weather is not that brilliant here and as the weather is one of the thingsI look for in a holiday, I think that is probably the main reason we always chose to go abroad. I think that is why I love dubai so much. you have guaranteed sunshine and some of the mostluxurious hotels in the world. Thanks also for the info on paying for the auctions. I suppose it would be beneficial to keep an eye on the exchange rate betwen the dollar and the UK Pound and try to bid when the rate is favourable. Actually, now the rate is quite good!

[bonniejoy03]

Me too!! I want to pay asap so I don't lose the opportunity!Its alot of fun with the bidding but sometimes alittle stressful!!!

[mary-j]

Can anyone tell me if it has to be a credit card to pay for the auctions? I normally try to keep my credit card for smaller purchases and would prefer not to use it for large amounts. Would it be possible to pay for the auction using my Debit Card? Thanks.