A family member about a year ago passed away and left us a time share in Hilton Head Island.
which HHI resort? and for what week?
We have 1 week deposited and deposted the 2010 week. We put in a request for the first or second week of July about 7 months ago. We have not heard anything yet. I have called several time and I always get the same answer. NOTHING IS AVAILABLE. This is getting very frustrating. We only have a short window for vacation.
We already have rented a friend's condo for one of the weeks and need the time share for the second week. Our friend is flexible. I need advise on how to get a unit. Are their any "tricks" I need to know?
one of the "tricks" of timesharing is flexibility. if there's only one week that will work for you, that makes it tougher (since a lot of other people may be asking for the same week.)
if you don't have flexibility in when to go, there are a couple of things to consider:
1) you need to plan far ahead - when you deposit your week, request as far out as possible (a year or so usually).
2) are you trying to trade like-for-like? if you own a winter week in HHI, you simply aren't going to have much trading power since most people don't want to go to HHI in the winter (or the kids are in school). if you are constantly asking for a lot more than you are offering, you may find timesharing frustrating.
it is sometimes possible to trade a 1BR for a 3BR...or a mediocre resort for a great one...but usually something else has to give (you are offering a summer week and looking for a shoulder week during the school year...or you are booking something that becomes available a few weeks out.)
3) is brand priority working for you or against you? if you are trying to request a marriott (or starwood) resort in II, any marriott villas that become available for trade will first be held for marriott owners for a period of time. so getting a marriott with an unbranded timeshare during a peak time will be tough. if you are trading a marriott for a marriott, or starwood for starwood, you improve your chances. (but a winter HHI marriott week will still lose to a summer marriott week if both want the same marriott trade.)
4) can you at least be flexible on location? if you want to trade into hilton head in july...or harborside at atlantis at most times, you will find that the owners there of those periods often just rent their weeks rather than deposit them. so you're not going to find them for trade no matter how much you are offering in return. someone else has to trade out for you to trade in.
generally most experienced timesharers would caution you not to buy or accept a timeshare week that you wouldn't be able to use yourself on a regular basis. the trading game comes and goes...trading power and opportunities can vary widely over time. you should definitely evaluate whether there are ways to take advantage of your timeshare that you can use (orlando is overbuilt, for example, so trading there is usually easier if you can at least be flexible on which resort) or whether you just need to unload it soon to avoid paying fees on something that won't work for your situation. you should also check out TUG as that is a great place to learn about timesharing...but don't expect the impossible...