If it's not a high demand time, it may not be of reasonable value to exchange. Plus what many think are high and low times aren't for certain areas. What weeks and resorts are you looking at?bpmorley said:
bpmorley said:
I'd agree in general. The II success rate was actually about 91% though that's misleading in that it appears to be accepted vs expired requests. It was less than 70% for BVTC. Thus ANY exchange that was accepted goes in the successful column and any exchange that was canceled even if it was unsuccessful in the members eyes, would not get counted either way. And it also does not account for all those calls where members called to see what was available and nothing was but they didn't put in an ongoing request. Purely as a guess, I'd figure far less than 50% of II ongoing requests were completed with a tier one or A list resort and for the ones I'd consider worthy of exchanging DVC during higher demand times, I'd figure 5-10% success rate to be extremely optimistic.beachblanket said:Based on what I see on these boards, many members don't follow these rules when they first try requesting a trade, subsequently end up disappointed and never try again. But there is a minority universe of members who don't make that mistake, and they're (per the latest DVC report on trading made at the last annual meeting) the 86% of trade requests that were successful in 2005.
so you're either calling me stupid or ignorantbeachblanket said:Can't say I agree with this. Trading can be a productive use of a DVC membership, IF:
- you focus on the small universe of high quality II properties that are close to DVC quality (mostly, but not soley Marriots in the Caribbean and Hawaii).
- you avoid requesting trades for holiday and high seasons (availability even when an owner within II drops dramatically then). This means forget about Christmas in Aruba or February in Hawaii. However, late Spring, Summer and early to mid Fall are possible.
- You call MS with a long, prioritized list of dates and properties (at least five, preferably more). The more flexibility you give them, the more likely they are to find something you'll like.
- Don't insist on large space. A request for a two bedroom is much less likely to be successful than one for a one bedroom.
Based on what I see on these boards, many members don't follow these rules when they first try requesting a trade, subsequently end up disappointed and never try again. But there is a minority universe of members who don't make that mistake, and they're (per the latest DVC report on trading made at the last annual meeting) the 86% of trade requests that were successful in 2005.
I think reasonable value of exchange is like beauty in the eye of the beholder. You may not want to go to the same places I do and vice versa. I took a look at the resorts themselves for availability. It looks like the places I want always have openings in November(what I'm looking for). Maybe it's just for their hotel part not timeshare, but that should be some kind of indication. I also checked out the prices. I looked where the prices skyrocket and avoid those months also. I'm not looking to rip the system off, I just want to go somewhere else besides WDW and if I don't use the points they'll just go to waste.Dean said:
Certainly if you're going to lose the points, that's a different matter. However, there are other options besides trading them for things that don't measure up from a value standpoint. Would you consider something a reasonable value if it cost 144 points to exchange but you could easily rent for $5-700 outside DVC. Sounds like you would and I wouldn't but as long as you understand that's where you stand, good enough. Others looking at the same thing as you simply need to realize there are other options and if one is looking to buy in, that maybe you should buy less points and skip the exchange route altogether. And that in many cases, one can buy another timeshare and trade in to those November options for a fraction of the cost of using DVC even including all the other costs and risk involved.bpmorley said:
Simply pointing out the options available. I assume we're still looking at II exchanges, if so, I assume you were looking at the host website for prices. Just because you didn't see them for those prices doesn't mean they weren't available and that is essentially my point. If you know how to approach it, you can frequently find many of the options MUCH cheaper. But you'd have to post the specifics to know more detail and narrow the scope of options and costs. I can't think of many options in II worth $2900 for a week in a 2 BR for Nov,even for DVC it's cutting it close. Jan is peak season for the warmer climates but even for ski areas, one can get in much cheaper than $3400 for Jan after the holiday weekend.bpmorley said:
I own DVC, but I haven't used my DVC points to get an exchange through II. I feel that generally, DVC points are too valuable to use for II trades; most of the resorts available through II don't seem a valuable enough trade for the DVC points required.doctor tongue said:
There are quite a few that are going for that price. But basically if I were to get one of these places, isn't a great use of points? especially if I have no intention on going to Disney this year. The top amount of points for a 1bdr is 160 pts. Then I would only be wasting 90 at the end of the year. This whole point may be moot if there is no availability however.Dean said:
You seem unwilling to post what you are looking at so we can indeed see if it's high demand or not. I was trying to help you and others, hopefully I've helped others. Since you seem to be set on what you already know or think you know about exchanges and renting other timeshares, I hope it works out.bpmorley said:
I put in a search for over 30 resorts. Take your pick, Key West, Carribean, mexico, South America, California, Hawaii, etc... Too many resorts to name.Dean said:
Dean said:
Now we're getting somewhere. If you don't understand, lets get you to where you do so you can do this right next time and have a much better chance of success getting the right trade at that. You're welcome to ask questions directly if you'd feel more comfortable. I have reviewed what's online from II though I did not cross reference it to the DVC II list other than in my head. You had mentioned Nov, then Jan. I see many choices along your lines for November but few 2 BR units. All should be fairly easy if you plan at least a full year out and let the request ride at least until 4-6 months prior. HI will be tough but for the Big Island and Kauai, it shouldn't be too difficult. Maui will be difficult but if you include all resorts, it's likely doable as well. The one issue otherwise is that almost all of these will have mostly studio and 1 BR other than MX. South America is the one I don't know about. For all on your list, Jan will be much more difficult and falls in the high demand for all the year around warm areas and IMO, will fall into prime time. Again, I can't speak to SA but I do see time for Brazil and Bolivia for Nov and Jan. I see far less for Jan other than SA though.bpmorley said:
