Exchanging San Clemente Inn

[VegasBella]

I have a week booked in June at SCI (San Clemente Inn) that would fetch me 26 TPU in RCI. If I can change the reservation to July or August it will get me 31 TPU in RCI.

I am thinking of trying out II. When I look at the Travel Demand Index for SCI it marks the weeks 23-33 as highest demand. Does that mean week 25 would fetch the same exchange value in II as week 30?

Follow up question, what can I expect to be able to get with II if I do go ahead and deposit with them?

 

[scootr5]

II is not as transparent as RCI, so it's hard to give a definite answer to any of your questions. The TDI is just generic for the area, not tied to a specific resort. Also, SCI appears to be a "standard" resort rather than "Select" or "Premier".

I would guess it will be similar to trades with my CMV week in II. You might catch a higher tier resort in a shoulder or off season, or if there is a large bulk bank.

 

[SmithOp]

With the recent changes at II to charge for upgrades it has been reported that studio deposits are seeing more inventory.

You might be shut out of some of the Marriott and Westin deposits still under preference but I think you would see all of them in flexchange (within 60 days). Depending on your travel patterns, if you can go in flex you should see plenty.

Certain overbuilt areas like Orlando and Mexico should be easy trades also.


Sent from my iPad Mini 4 using Tapatalk

 

[klpca]

RCI/Interval are very different in valuing properties. Interval gives more weight to the size of the unit. Also, Interval has a quality filter. So you may or may not see all of the available inventory. It won't be the end of the world to deposit it and give it a try, but I would set your expectation bar on the lower side. Also, remember that Interval just added an upgrade fee to go up a size. And if I remember correctly, you aren't currently a member of Interval? If not, then you will also have to pay the membership fee. I think that having an Interval account for just one week is kind of expensive. Do any of your other weeks trade in Interval? With multiple weeks, it starts to be a lot more reasonable.

If I were you, I'd try to get the higher summer week in RCI and keep it there because you can always combine the leftover bits somewhere down the line and turn it into another week.

One more thought, try Trading Places. Their inventory seems pretty good. I'm looking into making some exchanges with them.

And my follow on when I spoke to a really good agent at Interval about depositing a specific week, he told me that the difference between weeks close to each other in a particular season were negligible. Over the years, I have tested this and I think that it's true. When I search with the highest TDI week and then search again using a different week I almost always see the exact same inventory. Sometimes there will be a week or two missing from the lower value week, but I can see his point. It's a very small difference. YMMV obviously, because it could be specific to my resort.

 

[b2bailey]

I deposited a high demand, grade B Honolulu week with Interval and I've been very disappointed with quality filter applied.

 

[VegasBella]

The TDI is just generic for the area, not tied to a specific resort.

Oh right, I seem to remember that from somewhere else. Makes sense.

You might be shut out of some of the Marriott and Westin deposits still under preference but I think you would see all of them in flexchange (within 60 days). Depending on your travel patterns, if you can go in flex you should see plenty.

I can do quite a bit of last minute travel so maybe that would work. So to get the best value what I would do is deposit and then just check for what's available in the next 60 days?

Do any of your other weeks trade in Interval? With multiple weeks, it starts to be a lot more reasonable.

Yes, my Riviera week trades in II. But that's an EYO ownership. And so far I haven't been keep to trade it. I usually like using it.

If I were you, I'd try to get the higher summer week in RCI and keep it there because you can always combine the leftover bits somewhere down the line and turn it into another week.

I was thinking about giving up my RCI membership and trying II for a bit. That was my plan all along: to get each membership for a year or so and try exchanging and booking extra trips to see which if either makes sense to stay with longer term. If I go with RCI this year I have to keep that membership longer.

One more thought, try Trading Places. Their inventory seems pretty good. I'm looking into making some exchanges with them.

I will look into it.

when I spoke to a really good agent at Interval about depositing a specific week, he told me that the difference between weeks close to each other in a particular season were negligible. Over the years, I have tested this and I think that it's true.

OK that's good to know. I haven't been successful at getting a July week yet this year and I'm getting more frustrated. It's partly my fault but it's also just high demand. I'm annoyed enough at this point, however, that I kind of just want to keep what I have reserved and exchange it already (or just use it) than continue trying to get the reservation I really want.

 

[JudyS]

VegasBella, a fax is the easiest way to get a summer week at San Clemente Inn. I just used a fax to get July 23, 2017. Got it on the first try. However, they have some weird rule about when you have to send the fax -- I think if you fax them at 12:01 am Friday, July 29 2016 you can request August 6, 2017. But don't quote me on that; give them a call and check.

I use an email-to-fax service called faxpipe. Faxpipe probably has a free trial available. So as long as you have a scanner, you are all set.

If you don't have access to a scanner, a letter might work. Again, call San Clemente Inn and verify to check the rules.

As for Trading Places, they used to give priority to VRI-to-VRI trades, but I'm not sure that's true anymore. Trading Places doesn't use trading power, so I think giving them a summer SoCal week is a waste. For that matter, II doesn't rely heavily on trade power, so I think giving II a moderate-quality one-bedroom worth 30-or-so RCI TPUs is a waste. I think trying to book August, and giving the week to RCI, is the best exchanging option.

 

[Rene McDaniel]

I have a week booked in June at SCI (San Clemente Inn) that would fetch me 26 TPU in RCI. If I can change the reservation to July or August it will get me 31 TPU in RCI.

Follow up question, what can I expect to be able to get with II if I do go ahead and deposit with them?

After trading my dual-affiliated Nob Hill Inn, San Francisco week (1-bedroom, usually a July week) with RCI for many years --- I decided to give I.I. a try because I was interested in the Marriotts and some of the higher quality resorts. San Francisco resorts were what we used to call a "tiger trader" within RCI because San Francisco was an extremely difficult trade.

I gotta tell you ahead of time--- the QUALITY filter in Interval is a DEAL KILLER! For the 2 years I had that deposit in Interval, I was never able to pull anything decent. No last minute Marriotts, none of the good stuff posted in sightings, nada, nil, zip. The "Quality Filter" was never lifted, even if the resort check-in was literally just a few days away. That deposit just sat there rotting away in I.I., and I was extremely frustrated because my San Francisco week had a $1100 maintenance fee. After much prodding from I.I., they finally acknowledged that the problem with my deposit was that it had a "limited kitchen" (no oven). Interval is much more "like for like" than RCI, which gives big trade power boosts for location and demand.

After my 2 years were almost up I finally succeeded in getting a trade, but not a higher quality resort than what I could already have found in RCI. My take away was that non-big-name California resorts trade best in RCI, because of RCI's focus on "demand & location" rather than resort quality. Higher quality resort chains such as Marriott, Starwood, etc. have preference treatment in Interval that make them better traders in I.I. even though some of their resorts are dual-affiliated.

Bottom-line: I ended up getting rid of my high-maintenance-fee San Francisco week and purchased a 2-bedroom EOY Marriott lock-off in Palm Desert. I split the 2-bedroom and get 2 trades out of the Marriott week in II, fabulous resort choices, Accomodation Certificates (AC's) for free weeks, and I can now see all the great II Sightings posted on TUG. In short, I am one very happy camper even though we now belong to 2 exchange companies. I get great trades from RCI for my 2 SoCal no-name beach weeks, and I get my high-quality trades and very nice prices on Getaway weeks from Interval. The best of both worlds. Works well since sometimes it is RCI is the one offering cheap $199 Extra Vacations, and other times--- the RCI stuff is sky-high and it is Interval that is offering off-season $249 Getaway weeks.

So, you might want to ask someone who owns San Clemente Inn (with your unit size and configuration) about their trading experiences with Interval. If I recall correctly, San Clemente Inn used to have a slider separating the 1-bedroom from the living room area, rather than the traditional bedroom door. I don't know if this is still the case, or not. But that is the sort of thing that you could potentially take a big hit for in the Interval quality filter. Interval places more importance on things like sleep "privacy". You take a big quality hit in Interval if there is not a solid bedroom door, or if someone has to go through another person's sleeping area to get to the bathroom. Both Nob Hill Inn and San Clemente Inn were VRI-managed resorts, so it is quite possible that you would experience very similar "like-for-like" quality restrictions that will affect your ability to trade into the nicer resorts on Interval.

Just my two cents worth.
---- Rene

 

[presley]

Sounds like you won't get anything good in Interval. If you are sure you don't want to use your week, you could always call GPX and let them know you own a GPR and ask if they will take your San Clemente deposit. I suspect they will, as they hardly ever have summer weeks in their inventory. They do a straight across trade. If you deposit a one bedroom, you get a one bedroom. You can pay more to upgrade the size, but there are no quality filters or season filters. You could deposit a completely junk week and get a holiday week in Hawaii as long as they have it in their inventory.

 

[VegasBella]

VegasBella, a fax is the easiest way to get a summer week at San Clemente Inn. I just used a fax to get July 23, 2017. Got it on the first try. However, they have some weird rule about when you have to send the fax -- I think if you fax them at 12:01 am Friday, July 29 2016 you can request August 6, 2017. But don't quote me on that; give them a call and check.

OMG thank you so much!

I had been assuming scheduling online using the new system would be the fastest and easiest. This makes perfect sense. In many ways I feel like San Clemente Inn is just odd. This is yet another perfect example. Who uses a fax anymore?

I can do it using an online service or I can do it from my husband's office. This will work. Thank you so much.

the QUALITY filter in Interval is a DEAL KILLER! For the 2 years I had that deposit in Interval, I was never able to pull anything decent. No last minute Marriotts, none of the good stuff posted in sightings, nada, nil, zip. The "Quality Filter" was never lifted, even if the resort check-in was literally just a few days away. That deposit just sat there rotting away in I.I., and I was extremely frustrated

Good to know. I think youre right that I won't get many good options with II.

If I recall correctly, San Clemente Inn used to have a slider separating the 1-bedroom from the living room area, rather than the traditional bedroom door. I don't know if this is still the case, or not. But that is the sort of thing that you could potentially take a big hit for in the Interval quality filter.

My unit is a 1 bedroom that sleeps 6. There is a slider thing but it separates the living room (sofa bed) from the dining room (two twin murphy beds). The main bedroom is totally separate with real wall and door.

More commonly, a unit that sleeps 6 would be a 2 bedroom so I understand why mine might trade more like a smaller 1 bedroom than other units that sleep 6 but it sounds like my unit would actually end up trading like a studio in II.

If you are sure you don't want to use your week, you could always call GPX and let them know you own a GPR and ask if they will take your San Clemente deposit. I suspect they will, as they hardly ever have summer weeks in their inventory. They do a straight across trade. If you deposit a one bedroom, you get a one bedroom. You can pay more to upgrade the size, but there are no quality filters or season filters.

I might just try that. I have to think about this now. Thanks for suggesting!

 

[VegasBella]

UPDATE: I got a better week!

The reservation worker on the phone told me that online booking really does have the advantage I thought it did. This is because owners online can do it more quickly than the 4 staffers on duty at the time of booking can sort through faxes and handle phone calls. I do think, however that faxing is likely the less difficult method since you never have to be up and trying to book at 6am. And those can get booked more quickly than phone calls since phone calls take more time to get the appropriate info. (I called because I wanted to see if my fax had done the trick and if it hadn't I wanted to book by phone - I ended up booking it by phone.)

All that said, after reading through the Marriott threads about renters changing reservations I have to say that VRI only asked for my account number today and in the past. They never verified that I was the owner. Seems to me this is a security problem. But that's probably for another thread.

Anyway, I got week 31 now and that has higher TPU in RCI than week 25 had. I'm going to deposit it to RCI now. Maybe next year I'll get a reservation that I actually want to use.

 

[VegasBella]

UPDATE: I got a better week!

UPDATE #2: Ugh, they canceled that reservation behind my back. They sent me an email that same day when they canceled it but it wasn't clear to me that they had canceled THAT reservation. I thought the 'canceled reservation' notice applied to the previous reservation I had booked online.

I think it was probably just a mistake. But I'm not going to even bother trying to talk to them about it. By now there's likely nothing they can do. They're obviously too incompetent to be trusted. I'm so frustrated with San Clemente Inn and VRI. Grrr.

I have had MULTIPLE problems trying to deal with them via fax or phone. FROM NOW ON I'M STICKING TO BOOKING ONLINE OR IN PERSON.

I just deposited it into RCI and got 25 TPU instead of 31

It's funny. Their most recent newsletter encouraged owners who often exchanged to 'come back and visit us to see all the upgrades'. But what does it matter if the pool is new or the lobby has been redone if they keep all those bizarre policies (like the Sunday lobby lottery to get an ocean-view room) and continue to make reservation errors? It's just not worth it. I'm going to sell or give away this ownership eventually. I'm so annoyed.

 

[Karen G]

Who uses a fax anymore?

I can do it using an online service or I can do it from my husband's office.

Once when I needed to scan a document to send to someone and the scanner on my all-in-one printer didn't work, I took a picture of the document with my cellphone. I sent the picture to myself, saved it, and then emailed it to the person who needed it. Worked great!

 

[buzglyd]

Interesting thread. I've wondered what my Gaslamp plaza would do in II but the mini kitchen will kill it.

It pulls major TPUs in RCI but so far I've been using Benjamin Franklin exchange as long as Comic Con is in San Diego.