What's up with Skyauction?

[swilshire]

Maria,

While the resale value of the older Vistana sections has slipped to about half what I paid ten years ago, that is pretty consistent with other Orlando properties. Oversupply is the problem, as mentioned above.

Vistana probably isn't seeing a dime of the cheap rentals. They probably come from RCI, which means members probably deposited their weeks. Vistana bulk banks, which means they give RCI less desirable weeks and save the more desirable ones for their owners. Good for owner/users, bad for exchangers.

Vistana seems to maintain a pretty good reputation for an ancient resort. Wasn't it one of the first in Orlando? Yet my kids would rather stay there than at the brand new Wyndham Palms or the huge Orange Lake. I haven't watched much lately, but last year the Vistana weeks on Skyauction were always selling for more than most of the other resorts.

We stayed once at the Vistana on Jensen Beach and really enjoyed it. The beach is pretty narrow there, so we could leave our sliding glass door open at night and it was like sleeping on the beach. We don't really like the east coast of Florida much, but I would go back to Vistana.

Things change in any industry and if a particular timeshare isn't working for you, it might be better to sell it and move on. You won't get what you paid for it probably, but factor the difference into all those great vacations you've had through the years and it won't feel too bad.

One other suggestion. I'm not sure about the Beach Club, but the Orlando Vistana resort can be converted to RCI Points for a bargain price. That's what we did with ours three years ago and even bought an additional week to convert at the same time. Using those points I've booked two weeks in Hawaii for this summer and two weeks in the United Kingdom for next year, along with a couple of other places. It might be another option for you.

Good luck,

Sheila

 

[MiaSRN62]

While the resale value of the older Vistana sections has slipped to about half what I paid ten years ago,

Sheila,
What section do you own in ? I'm in the Fountains as you know. I saw resales going for that section for way less than half ($3 and $4K in many instances) what I paid for it in recent years. And then my ability to rent my weeks out and make AT LEAST the maintenance fees is more and more difficult. I got only $300 for my summer week in 2004. Value has plummeted and partly because I feel people know they can get this resort for so little to rent on various websites.

I'm not sure about the Beach Club, but the Orlando Vistana resort can be converted to RCI Points for a bargain price.

I know the Beach Club can convert as well, but I don't recall it being a bargain price ? I tried to get on to the owners site this morning to see the conversion but it's down for maintenance right now. I'll have to check later because it's been quite some time since I checked. What do you pay for this option may I ask ?

I am totally aware of oversupply in the Orlando area----resales way down, ability to rent weeks difficult etc. I've seen this steadily and progressively get worse over the years since '94 when I bought. I just don't feel sites like skyauction are helping matters any. I can't help but feel the same way littlestar, doubletrouble and spiceycat feel about some of these particular timeshares that allow their weeks to go for way too little on RCI and care so little about the value of their owners.

Vistana probably isn't seeing a dime of the cheap rentals. They probably come from RCI

Well, then this probably conflicts with what MossMan stated : <<<<Ultimately Vistana and every other resort out there will do exactly that which brings in the most money. Offering rooms for cheap isn’t what these guys want to do, but it brings in far more money than having these same suites go un-rented at a higher price. >>>>>>>

Even if this is stemming from RCI, then Vistana needs to jump on them and tell them to remove the low-bottom prices (I wouldn't mind them being on skyauction, it's just those really low prices that are not right imo). Looks like Marriott did. Obviously there is a reason for this and that is to protect the resale value and reputation of a top-notch resort.

Sure, you can say Vistana is "ancient". It was one of the first built in 1980. But they have consistantly added & maintained over the years. The Cascades section was just completed within the past 2 years. But some Marriott's are older as well, and they seem to hold their ground alot better. I think it's the way they market/sell themselves. Vistana used to be better before Sheraton took over. That's when I became aware of how hard-ball their sales team operates, jello shots in the lobby (?), feel more like a number there than an owner anymore. You mentioned about moving on and selling.......couldn't agree more and this has been on my mind for about 2 years now. The skyauction (and similar) sites is definitely factoring into my decision. Heck, I can stay at Vistana for $200/week through skyauction or rent for low prices as well, then why am I paying $800 this year for maintenance fees ? My loan has been paid off for about 3 years now so I no longer have those payments. Sure I enjoyed our 10 years of vacations there and I mentioned that in a previous post. It's just a shame Vistana is not high-end or responsible enough, as a Gold Crown resort should be, and try not to please it's owners a little more and make them not want to sell.

Things change in any industry and if a particular timeshare isn't working for you, it might be better to sell it and move on. You won't get what you paid for it probably

Again, well aware of this. I don't mind the positive changes. It's great some owners can take advantage of star points and star options at Vistana and recently II was added as an exchange company. But renting out prime weeks for $200 and $300 is not a move in the right direction. If RCI is responsible for that, then Vistana can change that if they choose to.

I appreciate your comments, just don't completely agree with some of them Sheila. I will have to check into the RCI points option (thanks)----not sure if this would work for me and I'm definitely not buying any more time with Vistana. I don't see a bright future with them.

 

[swilshire]

Maria,

I own in the Fountains. We generally use our week, so I've never tried to rent it. I did try to rent my week 52 at Wyndham Palms last year and didn't get an offer before I chickened out and deposited it with II.

I paid $5000 + closing in 1996 for my Fountains week, and have seen resales going for about half of that. If I could get $4000, I might be tempted to sell myself.

When I converted to RCI Points three years ago, it cost $499 which included my first year's membership fee and gave me 20,000 bonus points. RCI still has similar deals. They do the conversion for Vistana directly rather than using the high-priced outside brokers.

Keep in mind that the biggest issue for many of us is being able to get prime time. In 2004, we were going to be in Orlando for Spring break and at Christmas. I booked my floating Vistana for the Spring week, but continued to look for an exchange or cheap rental for the same time, because I would switch my Vistana reservation to Christmas if I found something else. Nothing! I was thrilled to be a Vistana owner where I could get the only week the kids were out of school with no effort. Ditto at Christmas time other years.

If you can travel at other than peak times, owning Orlando doesn't make economic sense. It's borderline anyway with maintenance fees so high, but that helps keep the resort as nice as we agree it is.

I doubt Vistana really cares if you sell your unit or even what you sell it for. As long as there is an owner to pay the maintenance fees, they are fine with whoever it may be. And there will probably always be buyers, even though the prices may go down.

Sheila

 

[MiaSRN62]

I paid $5000 + closing in 1996, and have seen resales going for about half of that. If I could get $4000, I might be tempted to sell myself.

You got a much better deal than we did when we first bought. I do see the resales going for $2K and $3 and I paid $9.5K in '94. So this is MUCH less than half of what I initially paid for it. Just thrilled I didn't pay the $15K-$17K they were trying to get me to buy.

I just checked my maintenance fees this year and they are (I stand corrected from a previous post), $900 this year ! I most certainly cannot afford the $499 to convert-----has the price gone down any ? I was just on the owners site and I cannot seem to find what my Beach Club week converts to in starpoints. I searched all over. It explains what starpoints are and that there is a $99 fee and what I can redeem my star points for etc. But nowhere does it say what week 4 prime floating week at the Beach Club converts to. Without this information, I don't know if it's worth it to convert. My guess is, no. But I emailed Member Services for help in finding out what my week converts to.

I agree, I've never had a problem securing a Vistana Orlando week during even the busiest times. But I have DVC as well, so I can always use them if a problem arises. My concern is more the increase in maintenance fees (don't these resorts have hurricane insurance ?).....why pass on such a huge increase to the owner ? Be glad you're not deeded at the Beach Club. I just see as owners, that I invest so much into this resort and hate to see prime weeks going for under $400. Doesn't seem fair.

If you can travel at other than peak times, owning Orlando doesn't make economic sense.

Well, I guess in hindsight, we shouldn't have bought Vistana (but technically I don't own in Orlando.....I own the Beach Club). But our premise was to visit Orlando every year because the majority of my relatives live within a 90 min drive from WDW. We figured our yearly vacation could be used to visit the parks plus visit with relatives and owning a timeshare central to all of this made sense for us at the time. But now, I see how the resort is slipping in resale value and rental value so I think we'd like to dump it. If anything, just to get rid of the high maintenance fees which I could never recoup (not even half of it !) via renting it because of sites like skyauction.

I doubt Vistana really cares if you sell your unit or even what you sell it for. As long as there is an owner to pay the maintenance fees, they are fine with whoever it may be.

Oh yeah.....it's quite obvious Vistana doesn't give a hoot. I have no doubts about that. I'd love to sell and buy more DVC points.

 

[MiaSRN62]

Just spoke with Sheraton ownership......
You had me curious Sheila, so I called the 800# instead of waiting for an email reply.
It would cost a one-time fee of $599 to join "Vistana PLUS" which you must be a member of in order to use star points. Once you've paid this one time fee, you pay $99 to convert your week to star points. You can only convert every other year and each time it will cost $99 after the initial $599. I found out my week 5 floating prime at the Beach Club converts to 28,000 points.

The customer service rep did explain to me that the resorts in the star points reservation system are strictly hotel rooms-----not timeshare units. We need 2 bedrooms because of our family size of 5. So, I don't think the star points conversion would benefit me either financially (That $599 fee is steep on top of $900 maintenance fees for the next 3 years) or logistics-wise because all they offer are hotel rooms. I wouldn't be able to fit my 3 kids (and they like to bring friends from time to time). Say we opted for a trip to Hawaii, I'd need 2 rooms min. I'm guessing you don't get a kitchen either with these starpoint hotels ? I went to the spg.com site to see what my 28,000 points would get me in, say, Hawaii. The hotels are rated from cat 1 (lowest) to cat 6 (most posh resorts). All I could get with my starpoint conversion is 4 nights in a cat 3 Honalulu hotel called Sheraton Princess Kaiulani:
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/prefe...l.html?propertyID=380&neverShowCheckAvail=yes
I don't know, but only 4 nights in a basic (cat 3) hotel room in Hawaii (this is one of the destinations we are very interested in), in exchange for $599 (plus $99 exchange fee) and 7 nights in my 2 bedroom villa at Vistana, don't seem like a bargain to me ? Am I just not getting this program ? Maybe your weeks convert to alot more points so it makes it worth it for you Shelia ?

Thanks for the suggestion though.....I was hoping for anything to make my Vistana timeshare seem more worth it to me. At the very least, you made me do some research on my ownership options even if they don't seem to pan out for us. I'm glad you're enjoying your ownership there.

 

[zaja]

Whoa....this thread has taken a 180 in content....

It doesn’t matter what any of these companies do. The end result is going to be the same. Right now there is a glut of suite accommodations in the Orlando area. Except for a few weeks each year, supply far outstrips demand for these units. Ultimately that is what is causing these incredible deals. Skyauction didn’t create this situation, they are just taking advantage of it.


That’s the way the market works. Ultimately Vistana and every other resort out there will do exactly that which brings in the most money. Offering rooms for cheap isn’t what these guys want to do, but it brings in far more money than having these same suites go un-rented at a higher price.



I know its hard to accept, but the last thing you want as an owner is for these companies to stop considering the bottom line. The best way to protect your investment is to make sure these resorts generate as much revenue as possible. This revenue is what will ensure your units are faithfully maintained and updated. A futile attempt to buck current market conditions (by charging more than they can get) will not work and will result in less revenue for the resort. And that will impact how well your units are looked after. Which in turn will affect the future value of your investments.

While I can understand that as an owner you may feel deceived, (I'm sure I would feel that way), there are these deals to be had. I know will be one to use skyauction.

 

[MiaSRN62]

While I can understand that as an owner you may feel deceived, (I'm sure I would feel that way), there are these deals are to be had. I know will be one to use skyauction.

And this is great for you Zaja (honestly). Glad you can scoop up some deals. But to go back to your OP......I think the majority of the replies have shed some light on the initial inquiry of :

zaja states : You used to get some incredible deals with skyauction. Now there's just nothing much to chose from. Most of what I saw was last minute travel for January. (Looking at Orlando area - 2 bedroom.) Does anyone know what's going on?

I think alot of what has been discussed here pertains to why the deals may be getting less and more difficult to find on skyauction. Some companies are perhaps pulling their RCI inventory from these websites because of owner complaint or rather the desire to maintain their resort's high reputation. It's all a guess, but makes some rational sense when you look at it. Maybe with Vistana, more and more guests are using the starpoint options intead of directly exchanging into the RCI exchange program ? I know as recently as this past summer, there were alot of people getting very good deals (under $400/week) for Vistana prime summer weeks. Perhaps things are changing due to owner complaint or resorts pulling out of these website auctions ? Maybe it's just a temporary dry spell on skyauction ? I suppose time will tell with sites like skyauction. Best of luck grabbing travel deals Zaja.

 

[swilshire]

Maria,

You misunderstood one part of my posts. I am not a STARpoints member. I am an RCI Points member. This allows you to trade your week for other resorts.

Sheila

 

[MiaSRN62]

Thanks Shelia.....I did misunderstand that. I guess you need to be an active member with RCI for that one. I'd like to ask more questions about that, but don't believe it pertains to the topic of this thread. So if you don't mind, maybe I'll PM you about this ?
The OP is looking for reasons why skyauction isn't offering as many deals as they did in the past and I can't think of anything else besides what I mentioned in all my above posts (as well as the others that posted). I believe spiceycat posted another link : condodirect.com and maybe Zaja can find some deals there.

 

[zaja]

And this is great for you Zaja (honestly). Glad you can scoop up some deals. But to go back to your OP......I think the majority of the replies have shed some light on the initial inquiry of :

I think alot of what has been discussed here pertains to why the deals may be getting less and more difficult to find on skyauction. Some companies are perhaps pulling their RCI inventory from these websites because of owner complaint or rather the desire to maintain their resort's high reputation. It's all a guess, but makes some rational sense when you look at it. Maybe with Vistana, more and more guests are using the starpoint options intead of directly exchanging into the RCI exchange program ? I know as recently as this past summer, there were alot of people getting very good deals (under $400/week) for Vistana prime summer weeks. Perhaps things are changing due to owner complaint or resorts pulling out of these website auctions ? Maybe it's just a temporary dry spell on skyauction ? I suppose time will tell with sites like skyauction. Best of luck grabbing travel deals Zaja.

After having read through all of these threads, I have to agree that things will probably pick up on skyauction in the coming months. I know we've never had any problems finding something available before.

 

[zaja]

I believe spiceycat posted another link : condodirect.com

I did check out this site and didn't see anything comparable {price-wise} to skyauction. Considering as our trip is pretty far out yet, I think I'll hold out for skyauction. Thanks anyway.

 

[Local_Girl]

Zaja,

We've used Skyauction and another website (non-bid, for military) with excess timeshare inventory a couple of times, beginning in 2002. There were lots of great deals in '02, low prices and in some better Orlando timeshares, like HGVC (Hilton) and Orange Lake. In '03, there were fewer good deals. I believe that those great deals came about because of the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks and the resulting drop in tourism. As tourism continues to rebound to a pre-9/11 state (or better, I don't know the numbers), there will be fewer and fewer deals to be had, IMHO. There are still some good ones that pop up for slower months, like Jan., May, Sept. and Nov. I agree with other posters that you should plan to book a cancelable back up, but you could still plan to check on Skyauction at the end of '06 for a deal in Jan.'07. Good luck to you!

 

[zaja]

Zaja,

We've used Skyauction and another website (non-bid, for military) with excess timeshare inventory a couple of times, beginning in 2002. There were lots of great deals in '02, low prices and in some better Orlando timeshares, like HGVC (Hilton) and Orange Lake. In '03, there were fewer good deals. I believe that those great deals came about because of the tragedy of the 9/11 attacks and the resulting drop in tourism. As tourism continues to rebound to a pre-9/11 state (or better, I don't know the numbers), there will be fewer and fewer deals to be had, IMHO. There are still some good ones that pop up for slower months, like Jan., May, Sept. and Nov. I agree with other posters that you should plan to book a cancelable back up, but you could still plan to check on Skyauction at the end of '06 for a deal in Jan.'07. Good luck to you!

I'll have a chance to watch skyauction this year to (hopefully) get an idea of what to expect next Jan. If all else fails I'll definitely book something that's refundable (for a solid place to stay) and then check skyauction in Dec. '06 or Jan. '07 for a 2 bedroom. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Local_Girl]

Hey Zaja, one more thing. I didn't see this mentioned so if you haven't already, be sure to check the Ready, Set, Go auctions on Skyauction. There are some deals to be had there as well.