As the official starting time approached, eyes across the world were glued on the "reservations" button, ready to pounce as soon as it came to life at 8 a.m. Feb. 1. The annual rush to secure a coveted hiking permit to Havasupai falls in the Grand Canyon in Arizona was on.

With one small click and a giant leap of faith, hopeful hikers-to-be waded through a glitchy process that the very lucky navigated successfully, nabbing reservations for the coming year.

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By 10 a.m., only a handful of spots remained, all of them in the least desirable winter months.

But even as thousands of permit seekers were left in the cold, things were already heating up in the Havasupai aftermarket.

Those who were on the outside looking in quickly realized that a reservation-transfer process, newly installed by the Havasupai Tribe this year, offered a second chance. And despite rules that expressly forbid the buying and selling of reservations, dozens of offers to do just that popped up on Facebook, Reddit and other sites.

Such is the gold-rush fever of the annual campsite release, where losers may outnumber winners by as much as 50 to one, based on some estimates.

Permits sell out in a flash

As Havasupai Day approached, more than 10,000 people joined the most popular Facebook group dedicated to the destination.

Less than an hour after the online sale went live, the Facebook group was inundated with comments from people who had been unable to get through. With no other way to make reservations — for the first time, they were not being taken over the phone — many posted purchase offers.

Most were looking for spots in spring and summer, peak season at the dramatic turquoise waters at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Others were hoping to trade spots in November and next February for more desirable dates.

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Permit-seekers even took advantage of a Facebook plea asking people to stop calling for reservations, as the flood of calls was hampering service at the tiny tourist office in Supai village. The comments and replies filled with offers to buy, sell or trade permits.

That afternoon, a Facebook page was created to facilitate aftermarket transactions, a black market operating in the light of day.

None of it surprised Brian Volk. With strong ties to the Havasupai Tribe — his wife is a former employee — Volk has established himself as a trustworthy liaison between the tribe and the public. He’s been behind the most reputable posts in the Facebook group when it comes to the latest information.

“In the past, there has always been an informal market for permits,” Volk said via Facebook Messenger. “With the growth of social media and sites like Reddit, etc., it's just become more visual that people are reselling permits.”

Hidden transactions?

This year, the tribe instituted a process to let permit holders transfer their reservations directly to another party. The transfer is overseen by tribal officials, who refund the payment to those transferring the reservations (minus a 10 percent fee) and bill those who receive the permits.

However, it’s not known if the person receiving the permits paid the “seller” above face value via a private transaction. For example:

A seller posted a Craigslist ad seeking $1,200 for two permits with a face value of $700.

On Reddit, a person expressed a willingness to pay extra for permits via Paypal. Another Reddit user was “down to pay someone via venmo or paypal today, hit me up!”

Someone looking for three permits said in a Craigslist ad, “Willing to compensate beyond face value.”

It’s more typical for resellers to offer individual slots on their reservation than to transfer the entire permit. The tribe requires one name on a permit, which can be for up to 12 people. People who got through may have requested a permit for more people than in their party in hopes of selling those extra slots.

For example, Volk said, if he had an extra space on his permit, “I can find someone to go with me and charge them more. Yes, it is more than discouraged. ... You can be banned for life if caught.”

The tribe created its online-transfer system to eliminate, or at the very least reduce, reselling permits for a profit. Stopping the practice, however, may be impossible because of the many ways buyers and sellers can find one another.

“Is reselling above face value going on?” Volk said. “It was ... and we have caught people this year trying, buying as many as possible and then acting as a guide or tour company.”

Using the permit-transfer process

The transfer process has added a new wrinkle to Elyse Laurance’s day.

Like innumerable others, the Newport Beach, California, resident failed to land a Havasupai permit on release day. She was repeatedly knocked off the site, and only dates in February 2020 remained by the time she was finally able to get through. She passed.

Since then, Laurance has repeatedly checked the official website’s list of transfers and cancellations. Whenever a permit holder gives up a reservation, it lands there, available for immediate purchase.

“I check the reservation transfers website as much as possible, probably between 20-30 times a day,” Laurance said via Facebook Messenger. “Still no luck! There are plenty of reservations available for people who want to go in February, but again I’m trying to go in a little warmer month.”

Two weeks after reservations were released, the transfer/cancellations page showed 167 available reservations for 430 permits, all but a handful for dates this or next February.

The tribe warns that anyone caught selling permits can have their entire reservation revoked.

No permits were available April through November 2019.

After posting her desire for a camping permit on the Havasupai Reservations Transfers Facebook page, which is not affiliated with the tribe, she was contacted by a woman offering to sell a permit for $200 more than face value.

Laurance declined.

“I wouldn’t take a chance on that,” she said. “I would only go through the transfer link.” She added she’d be happy to reimburse anyone the 10 percent transfer fee using private channels.

The tribe warns that anyone caught selling permits can have their entire reservation revoked, if not be banned for life. And the reservation must be claimed by the permit holder upon reaching Supai village. If the photo ID at check-in does not match the name on the list, it's a long hike back for each member of the party.

'Harder to get than Coachella tickets'

Laurance said she will continue to check daily for reservations available for warmer months, but she does not hold out much hope.

“I feel like these reservations are harder to get than Coachella tickets,” she said, name-dropping one of the most popular music festivals in the country.

Travis Champ found himself with the opposite problem — reservations he couldn’t use.

After more than 2½ hours of trying to get through on Feb. 1, all that was left were days in early March. Given just 90 seconds to make his selection or lose the date, he selected March 2-5.

Only then did he find out his wife had a conflict.

He posted those dates on the same Havasupai Reservations Facebook page used by Laurance and others, offering to trade the permits for a later date. After a week, he had zero offers.

If he can't find a taker, Champ said, he’ll have to cancel, losing the 10 percent cancellation fee ($70 for his permit).

“There are so many things about this process that need to be fixed,” Champ said. “Also, $700 to go on a hike! That is crazy.”

Thousands would disagree. Volk, the tribe’s unofficial liaison, said the reservations team estimates that in 2018 roughly 100,000 people tried to get permits via phone and online.

That number may be even higher this year, as the online-only process eliminated the much slower option of reserving by phone.

And social media is only making the Havasu falls hike more popular than ever. Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat have more than 100,000 photos of the remote spot, making it likely that nabbing reservations next Feb. 1 will be even more difficult.

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