Owning at more than 1 resort - is it complicated?

[DizGirl20]

Hi All - I was curious for those of you who own at more than one resort...

• How difficult is it to keep track of the points?
• Do you wish you just had more points at 1 resort instead of 2 (or more)?
• Have you ever had this happen: you book Resort A @ 11 months. You want to use more points to stay at Resort A using Resort B points but because you have to wait until the 7 month mark you get closed out? (hope this makes sense)

Thanks Everyone!

 

[ToddyLu]

I think you have to have all the points available when you make you ressie at 11 months. I had to bank 48 points into this year to be able to reserve two studios in Dec when I called in Jan. I am sorry I can't help you with the multiple resort question. DH think I am crazy for wanted to stay anywhere but AKV.

 

[Disneydonnam]

We own at BLT,BCV and BWV. The first yr with the two contacts was confusing at first but after the first couple of reservations it became easy. When we added on at BLT it didn't make it complicated. We all have a different favorite resort and owning at the different resorts let us book at the 11 month window.

 

[Checkers]

We own at 2 resorts (OKW,BWVs) and have had no problems. My only suggestion would be to get the same Use Year. It makes the recording-keeping much easier. We have never banked points, we are always borrowing!

 

[Dean]

We've owned as many as 3 resorts and 4 Use Years at one time. It takes some organization but about the same amount as balancing a check book.

 

[mikron]

We own 7 memberships at two resorts, OKW & SSR. We bought 4-150 point memberships at SSR and 1-300 point. Two at OKW, 310 & 200. We have 3 UY's and that is what is sometimes complicated. If you own all the memberships in your name you can transfer from any to any to combine the points. That makes things easer, you do have work with the UY when transfering.

 

[cvjw]

We own at 3 resorts, VWL, BCV, and OKW and haven't had any problems yet with reservations. I will book split stays at the 11 month window, and then change around at 7 months, or bank one year's worth of points and use 2 years of points at one resort for a full week's stay in a 2 bedroom. All 3 of these contracts have the same use year. We are trying to buy another contract at BWV with a different use year. I am sure a different resort and use year will be more complex.

 

[disneynutz]

We've owned as many as 3 resorts and 4 Use Years at one time. It takes some organization but about the same amount as balancing a check book.

4 use years

Bill

 

[DenLo]

We have two home resorts and maybe because we are new at this whole process, it seems a little more complicated than we thought it would. I believe the complications popped up when we decided to use combined points from our two resorts and book at the 7 month mark for a family gathering in 2011. Along with covering all bases at the 11 month mark just in case we can't get the ressies we want at 7 months. Then we had to do the whole thing with DSIL points. Whew! Maybe by time we actually can book everything in 2011 it will all seem like a piece of cake.

 

[Dean]

4 use years

Bill

It's not that bad, we're down to 2 at this time, one in each UY. However there are significant advantages of multiple use years if you travel multiple times per year and/or far different times of the year.

 

[disneynutz]

It's not that bad, we're down to 2 at this time, one in each UY. However there are significant advantages of multiple use years if you travel multiple times per year and/or far different times of the year.

We started with a April UY because we didn't know any better. Now most of our contracts are October. Works well for us because we don't do heat and humidity. Nov - April, are our favorite.

Bill

 

[acder12]

We own 4 contracts at 3 resorts (OKW, SSR & Vero Beach) and it really is not that complicated to manage. We end up trying use points at certain resorts and saving points at others depending on what time of year we intend to travel. In other words, if we want to go to Vero at a busy time of year, then I want to make sure I have points available for an 11 month advanced reservation. When I am making a shorter reservation (inside 7 months), I use what ever points I don't think I will need for something else.

As for your question about wishing you had more points at a different resort, definitely! I have asked (and DVC declined) to trade my points from one resort to another. I was told I would have to sell the points outright and then buy the new points and pay closing costs, etc.. For my family, we really enjoy Hilton Head and would consider trading our Vero points only because Vero is much farther away. We love Vero, we just find it more difficult to get to. We have found that week day reservations in the summer time at Hilton Head are a challenge because we have to wait until the 7 month mark since this is not a home resort for us.

 

[Sandisw]

We had two home resorts when I bought in last year, BLT and VWL. My VWL contract was small and when I started to plan, I realized that I didn't have enough points in either contract to book the entire 6 nights at 11 months without borrowing points, something I preferred not to do.

So, I sold VWL two months after purchasing and re-bought those points at BLT. Now, everything is one place and it was nice being able to book everything at BLT at 11 months. We did trade 3 nights out at 7 months to BCV, so are doing a split stay. But, had it not happened, that would have been fine since we love BLT and its location to MK, our favorite part.

However, if you travel at different times and want to be able to stay different places for those trips, owning at 2 home resorts are a great way to accomplish this and use the 11 month window.

 

[cg1200]

I'm a recent dual contract owner. We own 150 points at BWV and added a 160 point contract at BLT. Our intention is to bank alternate years at each hotel giving us the full 300 points every other year. We typically won't need all 300 points so I might need to rent them out. We'll see. I could see it getting a little hairy now and then but I'm sure with enough practice it will get easier.

It was important to use to have the right # of points AND the 11 month window at our two favorite resorts. We thought about just adding on another 100 point contract at BWV instead of buying new points at BLT. But in the end we loved BLT and wanted to stay there too.

 

[Starr W.]

I'm a dual resort owner(SSR/VB), it's not hard because 9 out of 10 times I'm booking at the 11 month window. They are the same UY.

I have 2 contracts in another point system that have different UY, not hard to keep track of and the website has a nice display on what points are available when.

 

[cogero]

not finding it hard at all. we own at AKV and BLT and it is just a matterof organization

 

[n2mm]

I find being organized helps the whole process, but you have to stay on top of your point balances. I own 3 resorts (BWV, SSR, BLT) and have only 1 UY (April). Having the one use year really helps me keep it all straight since they all are released on the same day and all get banked on the same day. Since my biggest contract is SSR, I tend to use those points for 7 month windows. One big thing you have to remember is when you make a reservation you need to tell the CM which contract points you are using. If I'm making a 7 month ressie at BWV, the CM generally wants to go straight for the BWV points, but I always use my SSR points for the 7 month ressies. I use my BWV and BLT points always at the 11 month window to get into harder reservations and reserving standard rooms. That is why I bought into these 2 resorts.

 

[nfceagles]

I've always wondered about this too and I'm still not quite sure I understand.

When you want to book a trip at resort A using your combined points, do you just book at 11 momths with Resort A points and then hope at 7 months you can extend the reservation with yout Resort B points? You can't use Resort B points early can you? Can you transfer points from one resort to the other and then use them all at 11 months? Does that require a transfer fee?

 

[disneynutz]

I've always wondered about this too and I'm still not quite sure I understand.

When you want to book a trip at resort A using your combined points, do you just book at 11 momths with Resort A points and then hope at 7 months you can extend the reservation with yout Resort B points? You can't use Resort B points early can you? Can you transfer points from one resort to the other and then use them all at 11 months? Does that require a transfer fee?

Resorts will always retain their home resort status even if transfered.

You could get a reservation at a home resort at 11 months and hope to add to it at 7 months but that could be tough.

We own at 5 resorts and have enough points at each to book our entire stay at 11 months.

My feelings are that we have payed a pretty penny for our memberships and I am going to do what ever I need to do to make sure that we can stay where we want, when we want.

Bill

 

[DizGirl20]

My feelings are that we have payed a pretty penny for our memberships and I am going to do what ever I need to do to make sure that we can stay where we want, when we want.

Bill

My thoughts exactly. I think when we visit again in May I am going to do a DVC BLITZ and try to visit all the resorts so I can determine where contract #2 should be!