What exactly is II??

[labst60]

We are pretty new to the timeshare world, and I have seen some posts with references to "exhanging in II", etc... and I am not quite sure what that means?

We are joining DVC primarily for Disney vacations, so I didn't spend much time researching the trade options... is that what II is all about?? Just trading your week at DVC for another resort outside DVC??

I just checked out their website and I noticed that it seems like you need to have a separate membership with them.. what is the cost and benefits of that??

If someone could give me a quick tutorial or point me in the direction of a post that already has one, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!!!

 

[Dean]

Originally posted by labst60
We are pretty new to the timeshare world, and I have seen some posts with references to "exhanging in II", etc... and I am not quite sure what that means?

We are joining DVC primarily for Disney vacations, so I didn't spend much time researching the trade options... is that what II is all about?? Just trading your week at DVC for another resort outside DVC??

I just checked out their website and I noticed that it seems like you need to have a separate membership with them.. what is the cost and benefits of that??

If someone could give me a quick tutorial or point me in the direction of a post that already has one, I would really appreciate it!

Thanks!!!

II is Interval International. It's the timeshare trade company DVC uses where you trade a full week for another.

 

[slschmidt23]

II stands for Interval International. It is the company you can belong to to exchange timeshare weeks. It costs about $75/year to join. The way it works is say I bought a timeshare in California for week 20. If I didn't want to use this week I turn it over to II and request where I want to go instead and it can be a different week. I could request a Disney property. They call me with the availability and that's it. When you do a trade it costs a flat fee of $121.00. I belong to it and so far it has been great for me.

 

[rocketriter]

As a DVC member, you call Member Services with a few potential dates you'd like to travel (usually in 1-week increments), and a few potential resorts on the Disney/II exchange list where you'd accept a trade. Either immediately (rarely) or within a few weeks or months you get a call back from MS saying that they've found someone at one of your choices who's willing to trade for one of your dates. At that point you have 48 hours to either accept, or refuse and go back to looking for something else on your list.

It's quite a bit more hit-and-miss than reserving a room at a hotel (or at the DVC villas). Some of the most desirable resorts are difficult to trade into. Many of the resorts aren't quite the DVC quality level, although DVC checks them out every year and tries to select the best.

The use of points is also less than optimum. People who are willing to engineer a condo or timeshare rental themselves, who are willing to own 2 or more timeshares and cross-trade them, or who are willing to rent out DVC points and pay cash for other accommodations can often realize a somewhat better bang for the buck. On the other hand, there is comfort in working within the Disney system and letting MS do all the work for you, and in many cases the cost of the points you use up in your trade is significantly less than deluxe suite hotel accommodations.

Since it's a mixed bag--some advantages and some disadvantages--you'll find mixed opinions on whether trading DVC points for II accommodations is a good thing to do. Certainly your DVC points are worth the most when used for DVC lodgings.

For my family, the convenience of working through MS and the savings compared to the hotels we used to stay at is worth it. We plan to trade out for every 3rd or 4th trip and, as you can see on our trip counters below, we had no problem landing Hawaii accommodations for next spring break at 144 points for a week in a first-class 1-bedroom.

 

[FLYNZ4]

Since DVC is one of the most expensive resorts... and so many others are more affordable... it is rarely a good deal to trade your DVC week through II. However... most people who use non-DVC weeks to trade for DVC generally get a great deal.

Someone once described II as "trading shool lunches". If you go to school with an expensive succulent lobster meat sandwich (DVC)... and decide to trade for peanut butter sandwich (non-DVC)... both parties might be happy with the trade... but it is not a very good deal for the person who paid for the lobster sandwich.

In the case of II... they would be the broker who accepts your sandwich and places it on the table... Then they would allow you to pick a different sandwich from the table... and they would take a commission from you for the exchange.

/Jim