virtual looby feature just been announced on the MIQ website today sept 1st 2021

[nedmi]

HI all a new feature has been added to the existing MIQ booking system at 2:45 NZ time on sept 1st. MIQ states that the online system has been updated and it involves new feature of setting pre-leased times and dates so people can log into a virtual- lobby Que that gives people a better chance to get bookings due to only a certain amount of people are allowed in before the lobby fills up. Go to www.miq.govt.nz scroll down look for virtual lobby, have a read not sure if the bot will work through the change

[cummins070]

Seems like this will render this script useless if they are changing the system entirely? I'm wondering how far in advance they will make "the time and date public when room releases are happening". For example, if they let everyone know 1-2 days in advance for example, then every man his dog will be on the site at that time.

Also will be interesting to see if you have to be logged in to join the virtual lobby. If not, then in theory if you had multiple devices on different VPNs (e.g different IP addresses), then I'm assuming that's the only possible edge you would have over others?

This whole process is so frustrating >_<

[willeikhan]

https://www.miq.govt.nz/about/news/pause-on-releasing-and-re-releasing-rooms/

When the pause ends – ‘virtual’ lobby
When the pause on vouchers is lifted, we will be piloting a system of making the time and date public when room releases are happening and we’ll be introducing a ‘virtual lobby’.

The lobby means that people who enter the site within a specified window of time all have an equal chance of getting through to try to secure a room. Entrance to the site will be randomised, removing the need to be the fastest.

This change will make booking more transparent and will create a more level playing field for people trying to access the booking site. 

Although this new feature will improve user experience, it is not a silver bullet - it will not fix the issue of supply and demand. Unfortunately, in periods of high demand, a lot of people will miss out on securing a room.

There will still only be a limited number of rooms available during the room release, which means that given the current demand for rooms there will still be people who miss out. There is not an unlimited number of MIQ rooms, and there’s a good reason for that – there is a global pandemic at the moment, and we need to keep New Zealand safe. We understand people want to enter MIQ on a date of their choosing, but we have to ensure arrivals in New Zealand occur in a safe, managed way.

Once all rooms have been taken, the lobby will be closed and anyone in the queue will be informed that they have unfortunately missed out this time. We will continue to announce room releases so people will know when to come back.