OKW Ressie via II (interval international)

[Dean]

Those of you that have traded into DVC via II, can I ask what resorts you have deposited units from that have resulted in successful trades? Have you been able to trade into DVC at all times of the year?

Everything I own is 5* and everything I've used to trade in was 5* though I could trade non 5* resorts as part of the Bluegreen system. However, the quality of the resorts has varied from the lowest 5* up to mid 5*. I don't trade top notch places as I always want to be trading up, not down. IMO, DVC is not nearly as hard to trade into as some would like to think assuming you keep a couple of ideas in mind. 2 BR units are not very plentiful and there are a few times where units are not likely to show up. Some times of the year are far easier to trade into including Jan, Feb, May, Sept, Oct and early Dec; even then some of these times are likely easier than others. It's important to put in your request a full year or so out and to deposit with II at least 10 months prior to the week being deposited. Personally I've exchanged to every DVC resort except AKV which is not available through II to exchange to and HH though I've seen a lot of off season weeks there. I've had exchanges in Jan, Feb, March, April, May, June, July, Sept, and December but I have seen weeks all months of the year including Xmas, Easter, Thanksgiving and 4th of July.

Having said that, I've played with various deposits and resorts over the years and feel there is a definite difference in the chance of success if you are trying to get a larger unit and if the resort quality is questionable. I have had a number of fixed weeks of varying sizes and times of the year at a resort that is barely 5*. I also have a MX resort that works on points so I can try all types of unit sizes and times of the year. One thing to keep in mind is that the trade power on DVC's side is also not a constant. It varies with the number of weeks on deposit and thus what you can get today you may not be able to tomorrow. That's one of the reasons it's important to have an ongoing search. For example, next week we stay at the Westin on Maui in a 1 BR. I got the trade a full year out using a 5* but lower quality MB 1 BR. The likely reason I got the match was that Westin put a lot of units in all at one time. Had I not been searching when they did that I would likely not have gotten it.

 

[Brian Noble]

I use a summer Wisconsin Dells week--not 5*, but very high exchange demand. It usually generates an AC and sees pretty much every DVC sighting that's reported. It was very inexpesive to purchase, and has low fees. It is an excellent trader in II, modulo the various internal system preferences, and a few resorts (e.g. FSA) that filter for only 5* inbounds.

It also is a nice week for us to just use, as it is driveable, so I don't deposit it most years. If I never exchanged it again, that would be okay, as we enjoy the Dells.

In an ongoing search, it probably would not be at the front of the list. Getting a 2BR in high demand time is possible, but unlikely; you'd have to be a litte flexible.