Hawaii Trade

[EuroBoy]

We would like to trade into a resort in Hawaii next year, but we have no idea where to trade. Does anyone have any input as to the best places to stay (and not to stay)? I have tried trading thru Disney to other places overseas, but have not had much luck. How are the chances in Hawaii?

 

[DVCLady]

Delete

 

[dianeschlicht]

When trading into a popular site like Hawaii, you need to put in for the exchange very far ahead and be non-specific.

 

[njzieglers]

we traded for 8 nites at the kapalua bay resort on maui.we had no problems getting in. it is just a terrific place. if you have any specific question about this resort, ask away.

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by njzieglers
we traded for 8 nites at the kapalua bay resort on maui.we had no problems getting in. it is just a terrific place. if you have any specific question about this resort, ask away.

A nice resort but at 400 or so points for 8 nights, likely not worth it for most people. Directly through II-DVC I'd list the following. For Maui, One Napili Way, Marriott, maybe Sands of Kahana and the Westing if it makes it to the list. For Kauia, the 2 Marriott's, Hanalei Bay and maybe Intrawest. For the Big Island, KCR would be it. For Oahu, nothing as there are none on the list. If the new Marriott gets added, that'd be a good choice for Oahu.

Now those are not the only options though. One could rent their points and rent units at other resorts. You could do direct exchanges or exchange with one of the samller exchange companies. Other resorts I'd consider for a direct Exchange would the the 2 Embassy's, Bay Club, Pahio at Shearwater, Whaler, Hilton HI Village and maybe Maui Lei. There are a number of others I'd consider for renting and for none even exchanges.

If you want guarantees and no hassles and don't care about the points cost, the CC options are great choices albeit expensive.

 

[stlrod]

I would also suggest posting an add on the tug website. Be very specific in the resort you want otherwise you'll get a lot of people trying to trade resorts of lesser quality.

 

[john23tc]

Dean, can you trade DVC through the smaller exchange companies? I thought you could only go through Disney member services which is through II.

 

[Dean]

Sure you can exchange DVC through any company that will allow it. DVC cannot legally prevent you from exchanging any way you want. There will be certain rules to follow, just like with guests or renting. Also, DVC may not confirm your information to the third party which might make them somewhat leary.

SFX has been bugging me for some time to deposit DVC with them. They assure me that it would be no problem. They will even give a bonus week which is almost as useful for SFX as a regular deposit though for most exchange companies, the bonus weeks are close to worthless for most people. The things to be aware of with smaller exchange companies is that they are smaller and have less total inventory. Frankly, I'd likely only do a request first using DVC as there is no guarantees and you wouldn't want to give them a week and not get anything in return. For SFX, you must actually join and pay a fee to do request first. Now if they have what you want sitting there, that is a different matter. Platinum interchange is another that does request first. Trading places tends to have a lot of HI as does SFX. While I like the people at Donita's, I don't like their exchange system.

Overall, what I'd do would depend on what I wanted, how flexible I was and how desperate I was. Since we just did HI exchanges to go this summer, I feel pretty comfortable with the choices at this point. Of course I have other options besides DVC to include Marriott and Aruba weeks. I explored several options but becaue I wanted to use Frequent Flier miles, I needed to have things mostly set by 330 days out. I ended up exchanging a 1 BR Aruba week for a 1 BR at the Embassy on Maui through SFX for a $99 exchange fee and then searched for a second week on Kauai using my second Aruba week, also through SFX. I ended up getting an exchange with another timeshare owner who got an exchange through RCI for the Embassy in Kauai. I would have been giving up a 1 BR for 6 days at OKW as a private "exchange" but he ended up offering me an out for cash which was to my advantage so I just sent him the money instead. I then went back to SFX since I had already deposited my second week with them and asked for either a 2 BR at the Embassy in Maui (giving them both weeks for one 2 BR) or a second 1 BR and that's what they did.

So we have two 1 BR units at the Embassy on Maui for $198 in exchange fees plus a 3 yr membership of $149. Then a 2 BR on Kauai for $900 rental plus an AC fee of around $60. Maint fees for Aruba are less than $400 each week so no way I could justify exchanging through II for say 196 points for each unit. I also had a search for HI using my Marriott trading week but cancelled than exchange and ended up getting a second unit for HH for 2001 at Monarch and invited more family to join us. We ended up with 2 top floor units side by side that had just been totally redone and we were pleased with the outcome.

I realize that I have a couple of other options that many DVC members don't unless they chose to broaden their timeshare horizons but there are other things besides going through II. The trouble with II is that many things come through at much less than a year, many times 2-6 months before travel. This may work for domestic trips but not where air fare is involved. Of course one can always hedge the bet by several means. Set up a cancellable rental for a condo or hotel. Do search first with DVC as well as other intities. Place direct exchange adds with TUG and other locations as appropriate.

If one realizes certain information, other alternatives start to develop. SFX gets a lot of the Embassy deposits so check with them for the Embassy. Trading places get a lof of the Schooner and Lawaii Beach club. Normally I wouldn't take either of these last 2 resorts as an exchange for DVC but if one is set on HI and needs to get air fare, the trade off's can be worth it. In case anyone noted I left of the Cliff's Club from my previous list, it was on purpose. Though I'd probably stay there under certain circumstances, I would not do any where near a direct unt to unit exchange for either. I don't think the Cliff's club measure up and at Lawaii Beach, exchangers consistently get the worst building even if they matched a better building.

Hopefully these ramblings will help. I'll shut up now.