new DVC direct trade board

[KANSAS]

I would like for the wonderful people that have created www.disboards.com to please consider this.

how about a forum, in which Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt,Starwood,etc
Properties, could directly reach DVC owners, for direct trade of their Timeshare weeks, for DVC trades at our resorts.

Thank you for considering my request

 

[kweaver]

I think this is an awesome idea!

 

[CarolMN]

Even though I do not rent my points (not enough), I might use a forum that facilitates direct trades. It sounds like a great idea.

However, I think Pete is already doing many of us a tremendous favor by having the Rent/Trade Forum available free of charge. I think this is kind of a lot to ask especially since there don't seem to be very many "sponsor" avatars next to the frequent users of that service.

If Pete does decide to offer something like a "Direct Trade" Forum, maybe it should only be accessible to board sponsors.

These boards are a wonderful resource and I am grateful that they remain free of charge to the users. When I consider the amount of time I spend on them, the sponsorship amount is really very little.

OK. Off the soapbox. Done with this unsolicited testamonial.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

there don't seem to be very many "sponsor" avatars next to the frequent users of that service

While I am not a frequent user of that service (once every other year), I would like to say that some of us (me in particular) are sponsors of this site but don't have the little sponsor avatar. I have written to numerous people (including Pete himself) about it and never heard anything back about why. But I do have my coffee cup. Maybe I should just post a picture of it next to my name. So my point is not to believe what you don't see entirely. I know at least one other person who is in the same boat as me.

HBC

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by Happy Birthday Cat
While I am not a frequent user of that service (once every other year), I would like to say that some of us (me in particular) are sponsors of this site but don't have the little sponsor avatar. I have written to numerous people (including Pete himself) about it and never heard anything back about why. But I do have my coffee cup. Maybe I should just post a picture of it next to my name. So my point is not to believe what you don't see entirely. I know at least one other person who is in the same boat as me.

HBC

I don't doubt you for a second and obviously you have no reason to feel guilty. Sorry that you never got your avatar. (I never got my coffee cup, LOL). However, I think the vast majority of those without the avatar are not sponsors. They know who they are.

I apologize if my post offended you in any way. It was not iintended to do anything other than remind people of what a great resource we have in the DIS and to suggest that those who benefit from it (especially financially) have a moral obligation to support it. But that's JMHO. I don't expect everyone to agree.

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Carol,

I wasn't offended. I was probably getting my avatar frustration off my chest. I agree with you on all of your points as a matter of fact. I hope you get your coffee cup some day but I will probably get my avatar sooner.

Back to the original post, couldn't those people who want to do a direct trade use the already existing rent/trade board? I don't see a need for a new one.

HBC

 

[JudyS]

Well, I see both pros and cons to this idea.

The benefit is, we wouldn't have direct trade offers cluttering up the rent/trade board.

The drawback is, such a board might easily get overlooked. If people didn't get in the habit of looking there, the board would be pretty useless.

Regardless of what boards these offers are on, I think most DVC owners are going to ignore direct trade offers as long as owners of other timeshares ask for 1 week of DVC in exchange for their one week elsewhere. If DVC owners are willing to part with a full week, they can simply go through II, which gives a much wider range or resorts, protection against being scammed, etc. In general, DVC weeks are so expensive, and can be rented out for so much, that it's not worth trading them 1-for-1 to another resort, regardless of whether it's through II or a direct trade.

I think that for a direct trade to be viable, the owner of the non-DVC week needs to assess what that week is worth as a rental from a private party. This can be done pretty easily by checking out www.redweek.com or www.myresortnetwork.com Once the owner figures out the cash value of the week, she/he should divide that value by the going rate for DVC points (say, $10.) This would give a fair value of DVC points to ask for in exchange for the week elsewhere. In most cases, the result will be 70-120 DVC points in exchange for a 2 bedroom non-DVC timeshare, not the 270+ DVC points that a 2 bedroom costs for a week.

By the way, I currently just own at a non-DVC resort. (I'm trying to buy resale at the DVC.) So, I'm not trying to give non-DVC owners a hard time; I'm one myself!

If non-DVC owners are willing to be realistic about the value of their trades, then a direct trade board could be very valuable to both DVC membes and non-DVC members. There so seem to be many DVC owners who would like to stay elsewhere once in a while, but are put off by the high points cost of a trade through II. The challenge is getting non-DVC owners to accept that a DVC week is more valuable than the weeks that they own.

And yes, I know there are exceptions to the rule that DVC weeks are worth more than weeks at other resorts, but these are rare!

 

[Richyams]

Of course!!!

I have seen posts on that board from people wanting to trade a Hawaii timeshare for DVC points, a Euopean, Swiss or Swede ski lodge and I believe I remember seeing a Carribean timeshare also.

I think its allowed and already being done....maybe a little advertising or a mention in the FAQ or something....maybe even tweeking the name of the board, but I don't think a seperate board is warranted.

 

[JudyS]

Originally posted by CarolMN
It [my post] was not iintended to do anything other than remind people of what a great resource we have in the DIS and to suggest that those who benefit from it (especially financially) have a moral obligation to support it. But that's JMHO. I don't expect everyone to agree.

Ok, some quick calculations show me that I have been averaging only 3 posts a month on the DIS boards since I joined them in their current form. But, a lot of those posts have been made recently, so I feel guilty now and will go donate! We'll see if my avatar shows up!

I think the idea of donating wasn't really on my radar because I did most of my DIS posting ages ago, back before there even were sponsorship opportunities. I think most of my posting was back in the days before Pete moved to Florida -- anyone remember when that was?

By the way, I am also a TUG (Timeshare Users' Group) member and people there are quite free about reminding others to donate. I think that's fine. One difference may be that some TUG features are available only to paying members. So, on TUG, it is very easy to tell people to go pay so that they can access the other features.

Here, with all the features for free, it feels awkward to remind others to donate. This actually is an argument in favor of having at least a few features available only to paying members, so that no one will feel like they are moralizing if they tell others to donate.