Potential UPSIDES to DVC/RCI Relationship to the average DVC owner

bwvBound · Dec 3, 2008

Let's start of thread of potential upsides to the DVC owner ... I'll start with these:

DVC->RCI Point Conversion Rate. If the DVC Point to RCI Point conversion rate is sufficiently strong it will soften the impact of quality (like for like) exchanges. High quality exchanges, where available, will cost more points and standard quality exchanges, if permitted, will be seen as bargains!
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Discounted Last Minute Exchanges. Hopefully the agreement includes discounted exchanges booked w/in 45-days of travel.
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Broader set of "night by night" options. II's Short Stays, introduced this year, were a brand new direction for II. RCI has been developing their nightly stay program for a few years. Here's hoping the inventory is where you need it when you need it!

Your turn! Who will write up potential advantages to the average DVC owner? (Start a new thread, if you wish, for advantages to DVD/DVC

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Starr W. · Dec 3, 2008

Let DVC members have access to the Extra Vacations and Last Call features.

I have an RCI account with another timeshare and I came across a Last Call for Bonnet Creek 2br 12/26/08-1/2/09 for $249 for the week not night.

Seen some nice Easter 2010 Extra Vacations in the Caymans, 2br $900ish for the week. Morritt's new resort.

With like that resorts and prices like that available, why buy another timeshare?

ldo · Dec 3, 2008

I have both RCI and II accounts. RCI has much better avail. than II, mainly b/c most HHI in II is MArriott, and Marriott owners have 1st dibs on these.
There are quite a few very nice RCI resorts located at Hilton Head. If you can plan at 9-11 mths out, you can get HHI in the summer and have several different timeshares to choose from--no, they are not going to be right on the beach like Marriott Grand Ocean and Barony, but many are in the plantations, and other are a short walk, bike or shuttle bus ride.

icydog · Dec 3, 2008

RCI is a substandard exchange company that routinely rents out member weeks on their own sites for cash. There was just a class action suit that proved that. By renting out the weeks members have less access to the best weeks even though they deposited their weeks in good faith into the RCI pool. Also there aren't any resorts that meet DVC's caliber on the RCI website. You can fool yourself into to thinking this was a decision made on merit but I do not believe this is true. There is something foul afoot with this arrangement. DVC did not make this deal to make members happy.

jerseygal · Dec 3, 2008

I believe as a result of RCI there might be more owners "renting" points and just paying cash at the more sought after resorts which were on II....

Never thought I'd have to rent/transfer points..For years where I didn't want to have a DVC trip, I thought I might request a trade through II....

Quick search of RCI...Nothing really "sticks" out as some of the resorts did with II....

phyllisnnj · Dec 3, 2008

Another Potential Upside....

Increase rental activity from Interval International members who want to continue to stay onsite.

icydog · Dec 3, 2008

I sometimes rent my points out and I can tell you I have Never rented to an II member. Why would I? The Marriotts in the area are outstanding and within a very easy drive to WDW.. If I only owned a top class timeshare like Marriott, and not DVC, I would use that timeshare for my Orlando vacations.

But, I have rented my points out to RCI members who, because they had no comparable resort off-site to trade into (with the exception of the two Hiltons and Vistana Villages) they wanted to stay at DVC.

utahkennedys · Dec 3, 2008

icydog said:
RCI is a substandard exchange company that routinely rents out member weeks on their own sites for cash. There was just a class action suit that proved that. By renting out the weeks members have less access to the best weeks even though they deposited their weeks in good faith into the RCI pool. Also there aren't any resorts that meet DVC's caliber on the RCI website. You can fool yourself into to thinking this was a decision made on merit but I do not believe this is true. There is something foul afoot with this arrangement. DVC did not make this deal to make members happy.

This is why I think DVC is crazy for moving to RCI. II has the quality, high-end timeshares, so there is no way DVC can position this as "better for DVC members". How is it better that I can no longer trade into Marriotts, Westins and Hyatt??? RCI is notoriously bad, so I am stunned.

bwvBound · Dec 3, 2008

utahkennedys said:
... so there is no way DVC can position this as "better for DVC members". How is it better that I can no longer trade into Marriotts, Westins and Hyatt???

While we still must wait for the details -- there are some areas for improvement over our existing II relationship.

While both exchange companies offer discounted "last minute" exchanges, DVC members don't receive this benefit with the current II relationship. If the new RCI agreement offers "any resort, any size, any season" for the cost of a low-season studio when booked w/in 45 days of travel, I'd see that as an advantage over the current program.

If the new RCI agreement found a way to allow DVC members access to Bonus Vacations and Last Call, I'd see that as an upside as well.

Not every DVC member will demand a Marriott, Westin or Hyatt. Some will prefer proximity to a National Park entrance, houseboat option, all-inclusive or other selection criteria. While the switch is not beneficial to me, there is room for improvement over the current II relationship for many DVC owners. I hope the new agreement offers the best capabilities currently available and even introduces something new!

(Something 'new' I'd like to see from RCI: searching online w/out a deposit! Let's invent it for DVC and then extend it to every other timeshare group holding "Search First" privileges. :wizard:

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phyllisnnj · Dec 3, 2008

icydog said:
I sometimes rent my points out and I can tell you I have Never rented to an II member.

Experienced II members had no need to rent since they knew how to trade into DVC. :thumbsup2

Of course, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know.

Why would I? The Marriotts in the area are outstanding and within a very easy drive to WDW.. If I only owned a top class timeshare like Marriott, and not DVC, I would use that timeshare for my Orlando vacations.

I won't even go there :rolleyes:

...as an active TUG and TS4MS member you know better. :rolleyes1

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forums/240904-post23.html
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66688

RobDoc · Dec 3, 2008

icydog said:
RCI is a substandard exchange company that routinely rents out member weeks on their own sites for cash. There was just a class action suit that proved that. By renting out the weeks members have less access to the best weeks even though they deposited their weeks in good faith into the RCI pool. Also there aren't any resorts that meet DVC's caliber on the RCI website. You can fool yourself into to thinking this was a decision made on merit but I do not believe this is true. There is something foul afoot with this arrangement. DVC did not make this deal to make members happy.

Wow! I currently own 35 weeks at RCI resorts - and NONE of them are substandard. All are Gold Crown and Silver Crown resorts. I have always been able to get high quality exchanges using these resorts - and am writing this from one right now. I own 4 weeks at a resort with both RCI and II participation which is also on the DVC exchange list and exchanges VERY well thru RCI.

I look forward to the renewed relationship with RCI (it was the original World Passport Collection partner with DVC). It appears that some of those who are II members may feel left out, but I look forward to the opportunities available with this partnership. While I'm certain there are II/DVC members who are disappointed in the changes, there are even more RCI/DVC members who are very excited about the new opportunities available.

Are there some RCI resorts that are "substandard" compared to DVC? - IMO, there certainly are ... and, IMO there are also II resorts which are just as "substandard" compared to DVC. To label the largest exchange company in the world as "substandard" is a bit of a stretch with a strong bias from someone who is a member of a much smaller exchange company who has just lost it's association with DVC.

As a DVC member who has never chosen to use the World Passport Collection, I have no horse in this race - although I have exchanged thru RCI about 50 times over the past 15 years. It will be interesting to see how this "enhancement" plays out in the coming years.

Just as RCI was replaced by II back in 1996, II has now been replaced by RCI in 2009. How it will affect most DVC members is unknown at this point in time.

Stay Tuned!

CarolAnnC · Dec 3, 2008

Thanks for your input Doc! It is refreshing to hear from someone on the "other side" lol.

I have never traded into II so I don't have opinion either way. Perhaps one day I will try RCI, and if not, well it is always an option to try at least.

goldilocks_63 · Dec 3, 2008

What are some of the resorts in RCI?

Is there a website to see potential trades.

GOldi

bwvBound · Dec 3, 2008

goldilocks_63 said:
What are some of the resorts in RCI?

Is there a website to see potential trades.

GOldi

You can search RCI's directory online:

point your web browser to http://www.rci.com
Click on the [Resort Directory] tab
Pick from several search tools:
- Search by LIST
- Search by MAP
- Search by RESORT CODE
- Search by KEYWORD (at the bottom of the page, very useful!)

Resulting Directory Information will tell you resort name, rating, address, web link, seasons, local attractions, etc.

EDITED TO ADD: Keep in mind that not all resorts listed in the directory will be made available to DVC owners. I'm certain both DVC and RCI will narrow the list using quality filters.

gingermouse17 · Dec 3, 2008

bwvBound said:
You can search RCI's directory online:

point your web browser to http://www.rci.com

Click on the [Resort Directory] tab

Pick from several search tools:

Search by LIST

Search by MAP

Search by RESORT CODE

Search by KEYWORD (at the bottom of the page, very useful!)

Resulting Directory Information will tell you resort name, rating, address, web link, seasons, local attractions, etc.

EDITED TO ADD: Keep in mind that not all resorts listed in the directory will be made available to DVC owners. I'm certain both DVC and RCI will narrow the list using quality filters.

let's hope that it's based on filtering out bad quality. :goodvibes

tidefan · Dec 3, 2008

One upside for me (even though I do consider II to be superior because of the Marriotts) for the DVC/RCI relationship is that my other TS is the Diamond Resorts Royal Palm Beach Club in St Maarten, which is "kind of" dual with II/RCI. This resort was also on the II list in the back of the Vacation Planner, so it meets Disney's cutoff. It is a RCI Gold Crown resort.

The thing about Royal Palm is that deeded week owners (like myself) can only exchange through RCI whereas members of the Diamond "Club" trade out through II. Needless to say, since this was a sold out resort when Sunterra took it over even before Diamond, there isn't even much internal availability for "Club" members to get into Royal Palm because most of the units there are still deeded weeks (We have heard horror stories of former deeded owners who paid $3000 to join "the Club" only to not be able to get back into the resort one used to own, but that is for a different discussion). Anyway, the crux of this is that if a deeded week owner wants to go somewhere else, they don't deal with Diamond, instead they deposit with RCI. Club points, if traded out, are like DVC points in that Diamond controls the deposit to II. Therefore you almost never see Royal Palm in an II search. However, you can get it on RCI all of the time...

I am hoping that since I am in RCI weeks with Royal Palm, maybe now I could trade into DVC where I did not have that option before...

Pennyguy23 · Dec 3, 2008

Book marking

bwvBound · Dec 3, 2008

How about potential unit size upgrades? From my exchanging experiences, RCI is less picky than II about unit sizes. I've often traded my 1BR deposit into 2 and 3 BR units. If DVC owners were allowed to deposit the equivalent of a "1BR" yet pull larger sizes in the trade -- that would be a great feature!

icydog · Dec 4, 2008

bwvBound said:
How about potential unit size upgrades? From my exchanging experiences, RCI is less picky than II about unit sizes. I've often traded my 1BR deposit into 2 and 3 BR units. If DVC owners were allowed to deposit the equivalent of a "1BR" yet pull larger sizes in the trade -- that would be a great feature!

In fact, DVC members sometimes got upgraded with II. One bedrooms were upgraded to two bedroom villas when there was availability, and all without a point increase to cover the two bedroom. I wish I had the post to point to but someone recently posted here or on Tug that they had that happen at one of the Royals.

phyllisnnj · Dec 4, 2008

goldilocks_63 said:
What are some of the resorts in RCI?

First, I have to say that I've never used my Disney timeshare for exchanging and I've only used Interval International for trading with my other timeshare.

But all is not lost..... Here's a potential list of RCI resorts.
"Potential" meaning you will still need to research to see if these resorts meet your personal criteria. Everyone is different. Some folks just want a clean place to stay. Others prefer accommodations with upscale amenities (granite countertops, upgraded appliances, etc). While other it's all about location, location, location. Only you can decide if it meets your needs.

I'm not an RCI expert so I can't tell you the odds of getting a trade. Based on my very quick research, this is a sample list of the ones I would investigate further.
Resources for your search :surfweb:

- TUG Reviews, TUG Forums, Tripadvisor, Google

Just like picking a hotel/resort, I would spend time researching each potential timeshare so you won't be disappointed with your stay. I haven't stayed at the timeshares listed below and I haven't spent the time evaluating the pros and cons of each resort listed below.

I hope this sample list helps......Good Luck

Potential UPSIDES to DVC/RCI Relationship to the average DVC owner

DVC SSR & other timeshare

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DVC SSR & other timeshare

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