Drum roll please.... Bluegreen Online Reservations!

BocaBum99 · #1 (**permalink**) 06-24-2009, 02:11 PM

After 4 years of waiting and countless hours of compiling and submitting owner requests, Bluegreen is about to give us online reservations. Last night's update was all about upgrading the servers and preparing the site for a new set of capabilities that will allow owners to book reservations online. We should be able to test it within a week, but as soon as tomorrow!

I have seen the screen shots and the features have been described to me in some detail. We will soon have the feature that is number 1 on most of our wish lists. I am very excited. You should be, too.

Why this thread? It's because Bluegreen is soft launching the online reservations feature and we are the guinea pigs who will provide feedback to fix bugs and improve the service. Bluegreen will be watching this thread and will take action based on our input.

Please recognize that not all of the features will work perfectly on day one. It will probably be about 30-60 days before it is battle tested with our bookings. It may come in and out of service as it becomes stable. Today, cancellation requests will not be possible online. That will be added sometime this summer. Once that is in place, Bluegreen will do a full launch of the service and you will have helped make it better.

Post your comments here. Please try to keep it on point so that it is useful for Bluegreen.

Enjoy,

Jim

vintner · #2 (**permalink**) 06-24-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BocaBum99

Why this thread? It's because Bluegreen is soft launching the online reservations feature and we are the guinea pigs who will provide feedback to fix bugs and improve the service. Bluegreen will be watching this thread and will take action based on our input.
Enjoy,

Jim

Okay, so how can we help? I can't book anything now, vacation time-not points issue, but would love to do beta testing and give my opinion.

BocaBum99 · #3 (**permalink**) 06-24-2009, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vintner

Okay, so how can we help? I can't book anything now, vacation time-not points issue, but would love to do beta testing and give my opinion.

You can do searches and check out the features. There are several pretty cool features in it. Comment on what you see. What you like and what you don't.

You will still be subject to the cancellation and change rules. There are supposed to be counters that enforces the limits. We'll have to check out how they have implemented them.

Also, feel free to ask questions if you can't figure it out. We can get answers pretty quickly if just from another owner.

The default points usage will be the first expiring points. For those of you who manage your points usage by account, you will need to watch your online account for which points were usage after each reservation. Unfortunately, if you want to use points from a specific account, you will need to call it in. At least we will be able to check availability. That is huge.

VA_Traveller · #4 (**permalink**) 06-24-2009, 10:33 PM

I don't see the feature on the site yet?

mb727 · #5 (**permalink**) 06-25-2009, 03:29 AM

Will we be able to see what units are available at a particular resort and then request a specific unit for our reservation? Or, will we just have to take what ever unit is assigned to us?

whand · #6 (**permalink**) 06-25-2009, 07:30 AM

I can't wait. This will make Bluegreen even better than it has been. Now I will never get off their site.

Wendell

BocaBum99 · #7 (**permalink**) 06-25-2009, 11:34 AM

I just received an updated to the target launch date. It looks like Bluegreen will push out the online reservation feature on Monday for potential use next Tuesday.

Just bear in mind that these things are like shuttle launches. With hundreds of thousands of potential users, everything has to be just right for the "good to go."

BocaBum99 · #8 (**permalink**) 06-25-2009, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mb727

Will we be able to see what units are available at a particular resort and then request a specific unit for our reservation? Or, will we just have to take what ever unit is assigned to us?

You'll be able to pick unit type (eg. 1br, 2br, studio), but not unit number. It's best to wait until the feature is rolled out next week and check it out for yourself.

BoardGirl · #9 (**permalink**) 06-25-2009, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BocaBum99

Just bear in mind that these things are like shuttle launches. With hundreds of thousands of potential users, everything has to be just right for the "good to go."

This is true with Bluegreen and most companies that care about their customers.

This is NOT true with RCI!!

VA_Traveller · #10 (**permalink**) 06-25-2009, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BocaBum99

I just received an updated to the target launch date. It looks like Bluegreen will push out the online reservation feature on Monday for potential use next Tuesday.

Just bear in mind that these things are like shuttle launches. With hundreds of thousands of potential users, everything has to be just right for the "good to go."

After the "view reservations" intro, I wonder if the site developers understand the concept of "load testing"