Trading into DVC through Interval

[Cruelladeville]

I looked on the website after reading this thread, and the OKW was gone! I have Easter week booked at Marriott, and had thought I would just rent it out, but I would rather stayon-property sometime, so I am going to give it a try, too!

 

[Dean]

I looked on the website after reading this thread, and the OKW was gone! I have Easter week booked at Marriott, and had thought I would just rent it out, but I would rather stayon-property sometime, so I am going to give it a try, too!

Units come and go on II's website. Keep looking, something may turn up.

 

[emerymt]

I looked on the website after reading this thread, and the OKW was gone! I have Easter week booked at Marriott, and had thought I would just rent it out, but I would rather stayon-property sometime, so I am going to give it a try, too!

If you can, put in an exchange request in advance with II. With the really popular properties, like Hawaii and DVC, this is the best thing to do, so you are first in line when a property comes up. So far, the only place we have not been able to get into is anyplace on Kauai (I've tried twice), even though I called a year in advance at 7am (sounds like trying to get into Cinderella's Castle for breakfast, huh)? They did refund the exchange fee, though.

The way we do it is deposit all of our points, call them up with our requests as early as possible(for us that is one year, for others it could be up to two years- they must get the Kauai exchanges ), and wait. But I understand some people don't have to reliquish their points to II until the exchange goes through, which is better. Find out which system you have and request the exchange as far in advance as possible. You have to call them to do this.

Remember, the only weeks that show up on the II website are ones that have already been offered to people with requests- like me !

 

[Dean]

If you can, put in an exchange request in advance with II. With the really popular properties, like Hawaii and DVC, this is the best thing to do, so you are first in line when a property comes up.

I would totally agree though I would point out that being first to request does not mean you're first in line. The last person added to the list might move to the head of the line based on trade power and/or internal trading preferences. But being early is far better than being late because it will put you ahead of many and gives you more opportunities as units are deposited.

For DVC you can request first without giving up your points and even have the chance to decline the exchange when it matches, unlike the rest of II. But there are far more negative for DVC members exchanging to all but the tip top resorts/weeks.

 

[emerymt]

Yes, one definitely has to be careful about what resorts you're booking into. DVC screens out the bad ones for its members but other resort systems might not. Fortunately, as Dean said, II does rate places internally for size and quality. I do know that they use fewer of my points because of this. Consequently, we have more points than we know what to do with, because we nearly always exchange for a 2Bdr when we own a 3BDR. We even give trips to charity & relatives. I'm glad we got into OKW so it will use up lots of those points!

This is where a place like TripAdvisor helps to get the real scoop on the accomodations.

 

[Dean]

Yes, one definitely has to be careful about what resorts you're booking into. DVC screens out the bad ones for its members but other resort systems might not. Fortunately, as Dean said, II does rate places internally for size and quality. I do know that they use fewer of my points because of this. Consequently, we have more points than we know what to do with, because we nearly always exchange for a 2Bdr when we own a 3BDR. We even give trips to charity & relatives. I'm glad we got into OKW so it will use up lots of those points!

This is where a place like TripAdvisor helps to get the real scoop on the accomodations.

Timeshare users group, Redweeks, Timesharing today are all better places to get info than tripadvisors. What points system do you own, you may have said but I missed it.

 

[emerymt]

The II guide is not very helpful, I must say!

 

[Dean]

The II guide is not very helpful, I must say!

Again, what points system do you own? I'm wondering the specifics of how it works. One of the things I really like about Redweeks is they allow you to search their review info for some systems by clicking a single link. I know they have a link for Marriott, Bluegreen, Hyatt, Fairfield, Island one and the royal resorts. I suspect they'll add others in the future. TUG is still the Gold standard though in my book.

As for II, RCI for that matter, it is not in their best interest to be totally honest with what you're getting. If they were, about a third of the resorts would be out of business and about a third to half of the owners at the others would be out of the game as well.

 

[emerymt]

My points situation is unusual, I hate to bore people with the details, but since you asked

I own property managed by Boyne Resorts. It is located at Big Sky Resort, MT. I get 4500 points per red week. Boyne requires I put in 2 red weeks from the summer and two shoulder green weeks which are spring and fall. Then I get to trade the points (9000 per year) in the II system. My place rents for around $400-$650 depending on the time of year, so I think it must have pretty good trading power. It is 3BDR. We have the use of it the other 48 weeks of the year, so you see, it's a very good deal. Exchanges are like a free vacation, except for the $130 exchange fee. We wouldn't go up there during the traded weeks anyway, and typically it's not rented then either but II needs summer weeks. I should also say it's 30 miles from Yellowstone, so maybe summer's not as low a season as I think!

Our upfront investment was quite a bit more than a timeshare, to say the least. A lot of these new resorts emphasize the ability to trade weeks because no one wants to plunk down that kind of money and feel tied to one place. Fortunately, the place has tripled in value because they put the first new U.S. ski resort in 25 years right next to my place. Pure luck for us

I never do internal trades within the Boyne system because, well, my family is into "steep and deep," and the other resorts are not as big or challenging. I put all my points with II and have been very pleased with how that's worked, but even taking two trips a year, we can't use up all the points. Not even close- though the 3BDR Marriott exchange I did a few years back was pretty close. Last year I took my sister's family and her inlaws to the KCR. One 2 BDR, two 1 BDR the week before Easter. We had a blast.

My main concern is that I hope people trade into Big Sky, or I am afraid my trading power will decrease. I think the resort is becoming better known, especially now that Moonlight Basin Ranch has opened. However, I don't think I have ever seen my particular weeks be used. I would know because I get a statement from Boyne every month. I would not be happy if we ended up with poor trading power because, as you may remember from another post, I have arthritis and can't ski or mountain bike anymore. Big Sky is an outdoor enthusiast's dream- but give me the beach, Disney, and Florida any day.

 

[Dean]

My points situation is unusual, I hate to bore people with the details, but since you asked

I own property managed by Boyne Resorts. It is located at Big Sky Resort, MT. I get 4500 points per red week. Boyne requires I put in 2 red weeks from the summer and two shoulder green weeks which are spring and fall. Then I get to trade the points (9000 per year) in the II system. My place rents for around $400-$650 depending on the time of year, so I think it must have pretty good trading power. It is 3BDR. We have the use of it the other 48 weeks of the year, so you see, it's a very good deal. Exchanges are like a free vacation, except for the $130 exchange fee. We wouldn't go up there during the traded weeks anyway, and typically it's not rented then either but II needs summer weeks. I should also say it's 30 miles from Yellowstone, so maybe summer's not as low a season as I think!

Our upfront investment was quite a bit more than a timeshare, to say the least. A lot of these new resorts emphasize the ability to trade weeks because no one wants to plunk down that kind of money and feel tied to one place. Fortunately, the place has tripled in value because they put the first new U.S. ski resort in 25 years right next to my place. Pure luck for us

I never do internal trades within the Boyne system because, well, my family is into "steep and deep," and the other resorts are not as big or challenging. I put all my points with II and have been very pleased with how that's worked, but even taking two trips a year, we can't use up all the points. Not even close- though the 3BDR Marriott exchange I did a few years back was pretty close. Last year I took my sister's family and her inlaws to the KCR. One 2 BDR, two 1 BDR the week before Easter. We had a blast.

My main concern is that I hope people trade into Big Sky, or I am afraid my trading power will decrease. I think the resort is becoming better known, especially now that Moonlight Basin Ranch has opened. However, I don't think I have ever seen my particular weeks be used. I would know because I get a statement from Boyne every month. I would not be happy if we ended up with poor trading power because, as you may remember from another post, I have arthritis and can't ski or mountain bike anymore. Big Sky is an outdoor enthusiast's dream- but give me the beach, Disney, and Florida any day.

That system sounds a little like the Wisconsin Dells undivided interest option where you can reserve one red, one white and one blue week. Bluegreen has an affiliated resort there called Lake Condo's at Big Sky. I don't know your resort but pulling from the other info I know, I suspect you have very good trade power due to being the only II resort in Big Sky but a lack of resort quality on a comparative basis. That should actually work to your favor for Kauai so I'd guess we're back to the time of year your looking for and if you're looking for a 2 BR, that would be the other issue. I doubt you have much to worry about from an II standpoint as long as there are only a handful of resorts in the area. If it gets like Branson, Daytona, Williamsburg or Orlando, then you might have some trouble.

 

[emerymt]

the part I don't like about them is they are not ski-in and ski out. Some of them are managed by Boyne, too.
I am very happy to hear what you have to say! Thanks so much.

I don't think they will be building any more units up on the mountain where we are. There isn't any space. It's all being turned into gazillion dollar homes and conservation easements.

They are building one more condominium hotel near the other two (Summit and Shoshone). I imagine it will be ultra-high end. They'll probably be able to exchange for a week on the International Space Station.