Interval International Time Shares

[swilshire]

I've learned most of what I know about timesharing on the TUG board. It will help you maximize your ownership, but you may never be able to trade into your narrow timeframe on HHI. Why not search for another fun trade between your home and HHI for the second week? Though it's pretty late to get anything good for this July. Maybe you can start planning now for next year.

And since you're on the Disboards and probably love Disney, the info above that you can always trade into Orlando is very true for future reference.

Sheila

 

[swilshire]

I just called and added any of the Marriott Resorts to my list. I need to check with my husband to see if he would be willing to trade down and pay the extra fee.

Leaving the Marriott system does not necessarily mean a "trade down". There are many, many nice resorts that are not Marriotts. The higher exchange fee is a small price to pay to get a high demand week in a popular area.

Sheila

 

[mdsoccermom]

Maybe I will call again and beg.

Beg for what? If there is no availability, there is no availability.

We are Platinum Marriott owners. I put in a request for HHI - all Marriotts - ages ago for this summer and nothing was coming up. We could have looked for other resorts, but decided to go to Orlando instead. Flexibility is key. With a timeshare, you can never bank on going to one very particular destination during one very particular week.

We use our timeshare extensively, but are able to because we keep our options open. Like someone else said, if you have to leave the Marriott system, you are not necessarily trading down at all.

 

[fabfive]

The fee for leaving the Marriott system is only $50.00. Are they any resorts we should stay away from in HHI if we leave the Marriott system. Sorry for using the term trade down but that was the phrase the lady on the phone used.

Thanks Sheila, we do plan on using our week in Disney. Our daughters will be marching in the parade in Disney next year and we plan on going to watch. Also, it will be the first time in a long time that we get to go by ourselves because they will be with school. We can't believe we are almost empty nesters.

 

[swilshire]

The fee for leaving the Marriott system is only $50.00. Are they any resorts we should stay away from in HHI if we leave the Marriott system.

I don't know the answer because I've only stayed in two HHI timeshare resorts and liked them both, but the $15 I pay every year for my TUG membership is worth it to me for the timeshare reviews alone.

You can find reviews other places, like TripAdvisor, but you often find people with an ax to grind or that aren't accustomed to the kinds of resorts we get as timeshares. I have hated places with good TripAdvisor reviews and loved others with bad ones. With the TUG reviews, while there will still be differing opinions, I can usually get an idea of whether I would be likely to enjoy the resort.

By the way, my favorite Marriott timeshare is the Custom House in Boston, but you probably couldn't get into there in July either. It's pretty readily available at some times of the year.

Sheila

 

[fabfive]

By the way, my favorite Marriott timeshare is the Custom House in Boston, but you probably couldn't get into there in July either. It's pretty readily available at some times of the year.

Sheila

Thanks for the Boston tip. I have never been there so that would be a good place for me and DH to go. I also want to take my DDs to NYC to go shopping some time. Any recommendations there?

 

[swilshire]

I also want to take my DDs to NYC to go shopping some time. Any recommendations there?

Sorry. Never been to NYC.

There are a couple of timeshares there, but I think the are RCI only, not II.

Sheila

 

[chicagoshannon]

can you just keep an eye on it online? We haven't had a problem trading yet (although we own in Vegas and set our own week and so far have only traded for Orlando). We always do everything online.

 

[ccgirl]

If you want a certain week timeshare requires planning. I usually plan my vacations a year out.

As far as trading power....

Is your week considered a 'red' week? Orlando is red all year long.

When did you deposit your week? Depositing early maximizes your trading power. If you only deposited your unit 120 in advance that would decrease your trading power.

Are you looking at just Marriott resorts?

I assume you have an Interval International membership? Go on their website and do a search for all of Orlando and see what comes up.

I would not limit myself to just Marriott properties. There are many great properties that are not a Marriott.

Trading down means trading for a unit that is smaller than yours or trading for a unit that is not rated as well as yours.

My resort is a 2 BR gold crown resort. So, if I were to trade for anything smaller than a 2BR or a unit that was not a gold crown that would be a trade down. It has nothing to do with who owns the property.

Don't worry, you will get the hang of it!

 

[fabfive]

We are trying to get into Hilton Head Island. Actually I did put my request in back in July/August of 2010 for July 2011. Went I did my request, I was given some unclear (on my part) information. We were told that there is a geographic rule in HHI so we could only pick Marriott properties. But when I called yesterday, I was told there were others to choose from. So I changed my request to put in for any Marriott properties not just 4 or 5. Now I am in the wondering if I should pay the extra $50.00 and open our request to any????? I am going to look at the website mentioned above to learn more.

 

[ccgirl]

We are trying to get into Hilton Head Island. Actually I did put my request in back in July/August of 2010 for July 2011. Went I did my request, I was given some unclear (on my part) information. We were told that there is a geographic rule in HHI so we could only pick Marriott properties. But when I called yesterday, I was told there were others to choose from. So I changed my request to put in for any Marriott properties not just 4 or 5. Now I am in the wondering if I should pay the extra $50.00 and open our request to any????? I am going to look at the website mentioned above to learn more.

Sorry. I misunderstood. I thought you owned at HHI and were trying to trade for Orlando. When you deposited your week with II, how far out did you do it? Did you deposit it in July 2010 as well?

Why would you have to pay $50 more to look at other resorts?

If I am reading your entry, you are trying to get a week at the resort you own; correct? Did you call the resort you own rather than trying to trade thru Interval?

I just looked on Interval's website and there are a total of 28 properties in HHI that are in the resort directory.

Since you own in September, you may not have enough trade power to get a summer week.

For example, if you look at the Demand Index your week is a demand of 9 out of 20. The summer weeks, however, are a 20.

That doesn't mean you can't trade for a summer week, it is just very unlikely.

 

[fabfive]

It is our 2009 week. My dear mother in law had deposited that week prior to her sudden death. She passed in February 2010 so it was before then. It is the 2009 week that we are trading. They told me yesterday that I paid the exchange fee of $109 for the Marriott properties and that if I opened it up to all properties it would be $159.00. I would have to pay the difference.

I have not called the resort we own in. I didn't realize you could do that. We own in Harbour Pointe. At this point, we don't care where we stay (within reason, of course). When the miscommunication happened, we requested Marriott Grand Ocean, Monarch, Barony and Surfwatch. We thought that was all we could request. As of yesterday and with the help of our friend here on Disboards, I found out that I could request all Marriott resorts. Now I am wondering if I should open it up to the non-Marriott resorts as well?

I believe next year we will be looking in Orlando. It will probably be in April. I e-mailed the band director to find our the exact dates so we can request a trade. We stayed a few years ago on a friend's condo at the Marriott Grand (I think that was the name of it). They gave us 3 one bedroom (studios) for the one we traded. It was great because we brought two other families with us.

 

[ccgirl]

It is our 2009 week. My dear mother in law had deposited that week prior to her sudden death. She passed in February 2010 so it was before then. It is the 2009 week that we are trading. They told me yesterday that I paid the exchange fee of $109 for the Marriott properties and that if I opened it up to all properties it would be $159.00. I would have to pay the difference.

I have not called the resort we own in. I didn't realize you could do that. We own in Harbour Pointe. At this point, we don't care where we stay (within reason, of course). When the miscommunication happened, we requested Marriott Grand Ocean, Monarch, Barony and Surfwatch. We thought that was all we could request. As of yesterday and with the help of our friend here on Disboards, I found out that I could request all Marriott resorts. Now I am wondering if I should open it up to the non-Marriott resorts as well?

I believe next year we will be looking in Orlando. It will probably be in April. I e-mailed the band director to find our the exact dates so we can request a trade. We stayed a few years ago on a friend's condo at the Marriott Grand (I think that was the name of it). They gave us 3 one bedroom (studios) for the one we traded. It was great because we brought two other families with us.

Okay...now I get it.

Okay....we only do the $159 trades. I guess if the $50 won't break you I would open it up to all to get a better chance. However, you may want to look at rental opportunites as well. The TUG website has a rental area. Unfortunately, you just may not have enough trading power. Orlando, however, is much easier to trade into. They are just saturated with timeshares. We traded for the Marriott Harbour Lakes in Orlando and it was awesome!

As far as calling the resort....you can't do it this time since the week is already banked with II. The next time you don't want to use your week (and would rather a different week) don't deposit it with II. Call the resort directly and see if they can do something for you. Again, because you own a week that is not in the highest demand you may not be able to get a summer week (the highest demand).

Sorry for the loss of your MiL.

 

[fabfive]

Before I call and spend the money, if I open it up to all the II properties, is there any to stay away from?

 

[fabfive]

Just an update, we got confirmed for the 2nd week of July at Marriotts Harbour Pointe. YAY. We now get to stay for two weeks.