How likely are you to exchange your DVC points for a timeshare in Orlando??

[DVCajun]

I just read a trip report by a lady who had just purchased an Orlando timeshare. She said that what clinched it for her was that they could exchange it for "the Disney ones." If she's talking about DVC, I think she's in for a long wait!! What "can" happen and what "will" happen are two different things! I wonder if she stopped to ask herself why someone who already had a place to stay at Disney would exchange for a timeshare in Orlando? Makes me wonder why she just didn't go ahead and buy some points. I don't envy her the first time she optimistically trys to trade for DVC.

Glad I'm a member!!

 

[lodgelady]

It makes me angry that some sales person led her to believe that she could really trade in from Orlando to WDW. I'm sure she couldn't even trade in for Vero or HHI, 'cause who would want to swap ? This is an example of why timeshares have gotten such a bad name!!


oooh look, I just became a Dis veteran

 

[Geubux]

We had friends try to trade into dvc a year and a half ago from their timeshare in Colorado. We even tried for one of the slowest periods and the best they could do was one near disney. Anyone who thinks they are going to trade into disney is misguided. Is there anyone here who has traded into dvc?

 

[Wislodgers]

When we toured Westgate a few weeks ago(terrible experience on another thread)two of the places the salesman showed us we could trade to were BWV and OKW. We already own at DVC and didn't say anything about the ability to trade there. What a joke. He said that a Westgate owner could trade through II. We really laughed later and wondered the same thing, if anyone has ever actually been able to trade into Disney!!!!!

 

[Jenn]

It was my understanding that we (DVC owners) couldn't trade through Interval for any property within a certain mile radius of Orlando, and I assumed that was Interval policy to prevent that very thing from happening. Otherwise, everyone would buy at a crappy place and trade into the 4 star place down the street.

 

[Wislodgers]

For how bad the presentation was with Westgate nothing would surprise me about them misleading people. I am not sure if Westgate could even actually try to trade into Disney, but the salesman sure made it sound like it could be done!!

 

[HeatherPage]

When we bought into DVC last year, the only time we knew we could go was Christmas, but at the point we were assigned our membership number (by May) there was no availability at any of the WDW DVC's. I had posted for suggestions on these boards even considering trying to trade out to an outside Disney timeshare but was told that II does not have or trade to any time shares in the same area as the DVC (be it WDW, HH, VB, etc...) I did have a nice person offer me a week of their 2 bedroom off property for an exchange of even a studio of DVC at another time. I briefly thought it over but then decided to stay at the Polynesian...a lot more points but still on property (and I love the Poly anyway). However from here on out I just know to plan ahead and will most likely be able to get my home resort at BW. Hey Audrey check your PM's from earlier this week!

 

[jx3smom]

In Atlantic City (the Flagship I think), they actually indicate that they are part of Disney and Marriot and it is easy to exchange into! This was told to a friend of mine who lives here in Ocean City and was thinking of doing it for that purpose. I told her WRONG! They are not the same company and you have a slim to no chance of exchanging into Disney or Marriot for that matter.

 

[lawgs]

/me smiled when i saw that comment.....since the availability is not that "huge" as far as i know


there was a time when you bought a timeshare in orlando ....they told you ....you could not trade into Orlando.....but that is by the way side now since there is a glut of timeshare in Orlando.....


we own at orange lake too but use that for exchange.....although we have done internal exchanges into orange lake with no problem....we now see you can get into other timeshares such as vistana using rci

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

My Interval book clearly states cities with limitations...and Orlando is one of them. If you already own in Orlando you can only trade into the corporation that owns your property.

I'm shocked Westgate would tell someone they could trade into Disney! That isn't anything so delecate as misleading people it's a blatant lie. I'm also surprised because you would think the person who was told that would then start wondering what the prices are at Disney.

On the other hand I was told one small lie when I bought Westgate years back...that a limo was available to pick me up at the airport! Other than that the salesguy was pretty reasonable.

 

[stlrod]

Be careful of knocking all other timeshares in Orlando. I am a very proud Marriott owner. I chose it over DVC many years years ago for various reasons (one of which was not price since they were about equal.) Having said that, that person was definitely mislead. An owner of any property in Orlando cannot trade through II to another property unless that property is owned by the same company. It's for the protection of all of us who own at the better properties.

 

[stlrod]

And I have traded in to Disney Hilton Head.

 

[Joe T.]

We too are Marriott owners. When we bought MVCI it was with the intention of trading in to DVC to add to our stays. I can't honestly say that the Marriott rep said we could, but we were still very disappointed when we tried and was referred the very small print in the II manual listing that exception. We use Grande Vista for trading and Reward Points, so it has worked well for us. We generally use Reward Points to stay a few days at Marriott Imperial Palms before moving to DVC. The Imperial Palms is an all 3-bedroom resort across I4 from the EPCOT road. It is nice, but very small. There is no access for the person using the sofa bed to the master bathroom. and there was one bathroom between the ioher two bedrooms. Contrast that to the Grand Villas at OKW - a full-size bathroom for each bedroom and a small bathroom for the sofa bed user. Without measuring, I would estimate that the Marriott facility would fit in the first floor of the Grand Villas. This was our first stay in a GV, and had not seen one since our tour in 1994. Wow, were we blown away!! The best three bedroom facility that we have ever seen.

 

[Werner Weiss]

At the top of this thread, DVCajun wrote:

I wonder if she stopped to ask herself why someone who already had a place to stay at Disney would exchange for timeshare in Orlando?

Allow me to clear up a misconception that some people have about trading through Interval International (II). Some people think that what II does is to arrange two-way trades -- in other words, if there's a DVC owner who wants to go to Marriott's Newport Coast Villas, then II would complete the trade by finding a Newport Coast owner who wants to stay at a DVC resort.

But that's not how II works. Let's suppose that a DVC owner wants to stay at Newport Coast Villas. Perhaps there's a Newport Coast owner who recently gave up a week to II in order to trade to a resort in Maui. The owner in Maui gave up a week to stay in Spain. The owner in Spain gave up a week to stay in Boston. And so on. Meanwhile, once the DVC owner is confirmed for Newport Coast, DVC deposits a comparable week at a DVC resort -- let's say it's at OKW -- with II. And now some very lucky timeshare owner gets the OKW week. And that owner may have deposited a week in Aruba!

There are undoubtedly hundreds of requests to II for exchanges into DVC for each one that's fulfilled. Most of those timeshare owners will end up at other Orlando timeshares -- which isn't too bad because there are a lot of great timeshare resorts in Orlando.

 

[john23tc]

It is very difficult to trade into DVC but it has been done. Once in a while a person will use their DVC points to trade to a different location and will use the lowest points that they can. Sometimes they end up using Old Key West points and they do end up in the II system for other timeshare owners, who with very strong traders are able to pull a week. This doesn't happen too much though and I have never heard of BWV or WLV being available for a trade through II.

 

[Dean]

Werner took the words right out of my mouth on that explanation. The regional blocks are instituted by the destination resort, i.e. DVC, in this situation. The person will not be able to trade Orlando for DVC through II, period. As for people getting an exchange, there are a few. Most are HH off season (way off) and OKW Adventure and Dream. Rarely a summer OKW will show up. II gets about 2 VB deposits per year. Before they changed the rules that MS used the lowest points instead of the home resort, an occasional BW unit would show up. DVC does not deposit units into II just to generate bussiness.

Westgate is notorious for their sales tactics. They are worse than Toyota dealerships with all of the tactics. They have gone so far as telling people they couldn't get their kids out of the Day Care they use while parents are on tour and physically threatening someone that was trying to leave after the time had long expired but before the salesman was finished. They do have very good resorts, but some are much better than others. The only resort I can think of that's worse is Royal Sunset in Cancun but I'm sure there are many others that are just as bad, Spinaker in HH comes pretty close I'm told.

 

[Joe T.]

It matters not where they actual trades go. II rules state that a trade cannot be made by an Orlando area owner to another Orlando timeshare within the II network - period. It only can be done within the same corporate timeshare properties. For example, I can trade my Marriott Grande Vista time for a week at any other Marriott property, but not to Disney, Hilton, or any other II participating Orlando area timeshare. I could trade Marriott for Disney HH or VB - based on availability.

 

[DVCajun]

This trading information is very interesting. If I'm understanding it correctly, DVCers have a very strong trading advantage in these networks. So, if we wanted a week in Hawaii (or anywhere-- just an example) wouldn't we be better off going that route than using our points to rent a place there?

 

[Werner Weiss]

If I'm understanding it correctly, DVCers have a very strong trading advantage in these networks. So, if we wanted a week in Hawaii (or anywhere-- just an example) wouldn't we be better off going that route than using our points to rent a place there?

As has been noted often on this board, a stay at DVC resort (such as BWV) gives you more value for your points than a stay at a Disney Collection WDW resort (such as the Polynesian). In the same way, your DVC points go much further if you do an II exchange than if you use your points to rent Concierge Collection accomodations.

When you do an II exchange, you get a full week. And, as with a DVC resort stay, your unit is clean when you check in, but you don't get daily housekeeping (with rare exceptions). Your unit is normally a resort condo, not just a hotel room (unless you exchange into a studio, which is similar to a hotel room).

On the other hand, there are good resons to use the Concierge Collection occasionally -- especially if you have some points you need to use. DVC members enjoy staying at some of the finests hotels on the planet, with the full service that such hotels provide. By using points, you're using money that you've already spent anyway, rather than spending $400 per night or whatever the hotel charges.

Yes, DVC has "a very strong trading advantage" compared to run-of-the-mill timeshares. But that still doesn't mean that DVC members are always at the front of the line when trading into the world's best timeshares. For example, Marriott Vacation Club (MVCI) owners have a priority at MVCI resorts. Whenever an MVCI resort week is deposited into II, owners at MVCI resorts enjoy a 21-day period of exclusive access to that week. The week is only made available to other II members (including DVC members) if no MVCI owner has grabbed the week during that that 21-day period. For a resort such as Marriott's Maui Ocean Club where it's likely that the demand by MVCI owners way exceeds the supply, it's unlikely that a DVC member will successfully get a week, even though it's on DVC's list.