Click for Discounts

Click for Savings

How to Book Space "A" Travel During Peak Season and at High Demand Destinations

In one word . . . flexibility!

Remember, Veterans Holidays is a "Space-A" style lodging program. You know how this works at military lodging facilities - active duty on orders gets priority over active duty leisure and retirees. At these privately owned resorts, this means that owners have priority. Once owner requirements are met, inventory is made available for Veterans Holidays use. Since owners use less frequently during off-season, long-range availability (90 to 360 days in advance of check-in) is in the off-season or in areas that may be over built (like the Canary Islands, Isla de Margarita, and parts of Mexico). But this doesn't mean that "Space-A" rentals are limited to off-season travel.

During peak seasons, inventory is held for owners until closer to check-in dates because 27 years of historic usage data demonstrates that is when many owners make their reservations. Based on usage patterns for specific resorts, additional inventory may be released for "Space-A" rentals beginning 90 days out. As a general rule, within 14 days of check-in, all unreserved units become available for Veterans Holidays use. As check-in dates approach, some owners may cancel their reservations, thus making a unit available at the last minute - sometimes only 3-4 days in advance of check-in.

High demand destinations (like Las Vegas, Florida Keys, New Orleans, England, France, and Hawaii) don't really have an "off" season. When there are months long waiting lists of owners, very little inventory will ever reach the "Space-A" pool. What does will always be less that 14 days in advance of check-in dates. Not a lot of planning time, but more than the 24 hours advance time for making Space-A reservations at most military lodging facilities.

If you can travel on short notice and are very flexible about your destination, you can visit some great locations, even during peak season. However, not everyone has the option to be this flexible. School and work schedules often limit your vacation planning options. If you need to vacation during peak season and need to make specific plans in advance, you may still be able to find a "Space-A" rental, but you need a back-up plan.

We all know how that works with Space-A travel. You have a 10 day leave and you catch a hop from Dover to Rhein Mein on day 1. You plan on catching a return hop on day 9, but get bumped by someone on orders. Your options: either get your leave extended or fork out the money for a commercial airline ticket, usually wiping out everything you saved by going Space-A to begin with. But, at least you don't wind up on the AWOL roster.

Back-up plans with the Veterans Holidays needn't be quite so drastic. If you need to vacation during peak season, follow these simple steps:

1. Check Veterans Holidays availability on the web site: It's a long shot, but you might get lucky.
2. Make a conventional hotel reservation.
3. Now that you have a guaranteed place to stay, make your travel arrangements.
4. Periodically check the web site for new availability in the area you want to visit, particularly within 60 days of travel.
5. Once you are within 10 days of travel, call the reservation center and request an availability check for the area you will be vacationing. Cancelled reservations usually get re-booked quickly and never appear on the web site. Again, a little luck is involved, but you might find an available unit to reserve at the last minute. If so, then you can cancel your hotel and enjoy a condominium vacation.

Privacy Policy    Terms of Use