i am a new owner

[basl99]

of a sheraton vistana resort week
i believe week 3
can i trade this for other weeks?

 

[DeniseM]

If you bought on the resale market [you can book weeks in the season you own, but not other resorts]. (But you can trade with exchange companies like RCI or Interval International.)

If you bought directly from the resort - yes.

 

[basl99]

i bought reslae - can i exchange the week in the same resort ?

 

[VacationForever]

i bought reslae - can i exchange the week in the same resort ?

Which phase? Some phases float which means you can book a different week without going to an exchange company and it is free. If your phase is a fixed week only, then you need to use an external exchange company and incur an exchange fee.

 

[basl99]

just checked with vistana - I can exchange for any week in the year
now how can i refit a week and what would be the costs?

 

[VacationForever]

just checked with vistana - I can exchange for any week in the year
now how can i refit a week and what would be the costs?

Retro/requal a SVR is not an optimum strategy. You want to look for something like true platimum SDO with low MF and where retro will yield 148K SOs. Retro is expensive as you need to fork out at least $20K to buy a new developer week in order to bring a resale week into the system with full privileges.

 

[basl99]

Ty for the advice - can you explain that more to me? you are losing me in your abbreviations and terminology

 

[DeniseM]

Requalifying means that you would get Staroptions, which you don't have now, because you bought resale.

To requalify your week, you would have to buy another week at full price from the developer for at least $20,000 - which is a terrible deal.

If you want Staroptions, just buy another week on the resale market that already has Staroptions.

There are 5 resorts that you can buy on the resale market that have Staroptions:

* Harborside at Atlantis
* Vistana Villages (Bella and Key West phases only) - CHEAPEST (ranging from free to a couple thousand)
* Westin St. John (Virgin Grand - Hillside only)
* Westin Ka'anapali & Westin Ka'anapali-North
* Westin Kierland Villas

You need at least 81,000 Staroptions to trade for 1 bedrooms at the top resorts, and 148,100 Staroptions to trade for 2 bedrooms at the top resorts.

*Friendly request - if you have more questions on this topic, please post them here rather than starting a new thread.

 

[basl99]

that's great advice - is 81,000 star options = 1 week or how are star options calculated?

 

[DeniseM]

1 week in a 1 bedroom. That is the cost at the top resorts.

 

[Helios]

If you are serious about the retro, the new min amount is not simply $20,000. There are ways to lower this or spend much more than $20k. Talking to Vistana direct sales is the best (an authoritative) way to get the details based on your specific needs and goals.

 

[r1lee]

that's great advice - is 81,000 star options = 1 week or how are star options calculated?

Staroptions chart.
http://www.tug2.net/advice/svn_valuechart.pdf

Why not just trade your week in rci or II.

 

[basl99]

good point - i like ii and rci but often find that i cannot find what i want when want it
is there a trick to that?

 

[DeniseM]

Yes - the trick is putting in an ongoing search 12 or more months in advance. Those requests are filled first, so what you see online is the "leftovers" after they fill the ongoing search requests. So the best stuff never goes online.

However, if you are looking for high season at the top Vistana resorts, you aren't likely to find them in II or RCI, because Vistana controls what is deposited.

 

[basl99]

and what constitutes high season?

 

[DeniseM]

It depends on where you are going. July is high season in Hawaii and low season in Scottsdale.

 

[basl99]

makes sense - always visited Hawaii in the winter

 

[DeniseM]

Hawaii has 2 high seasons: Feb/March (Snowbirds) and mid-June - early Aug. (families out of school.)

 

[r1lee]

and what constitutes high season?

Look on the star option chart. You will see what's high season. Same room that uses more star options.

 

[dioxide45]

of a sheraton vistana resort week
i believe week 3
can i trade this for other weeks?

So you knew enough to buy resale, but is seems that you didn't do enough research to fully understand what it was that you were buying? You really should have been here asking these questions before buying.

You appear to have bought a week at Vistana Resort in Orlando, which is what we often refer to here as a voluntary resort. The other option is mandatory. The difference is that mandatory weeks have their StarOptions transfer on resale and you can use the StarOptions for in network trades in the Vistana Signature Network. Mandatory weeks in many cases, at least for higher seasons, still retain resale value. Voluntary resorts, do not have their StarOptions transfer. This is why you can often find them for free or sellers offering free usage or bonuses to get people to take them.

It sounds like your SVR week floats during the entire season, so that is good when you are using your week in Orlando at your resort, However as with voluntary resorts if you want to go to other Vistana properties, especially the popular ones in prime seasons, you need to be very flexible and willing to exchange through II or RCI. Most Vistana deposits get put in to II, at least for the newer properties. RCI is only affiliated with a small number of Vistana properties.

 

[DeniseM]

Look on the star option chart. You will see what's high season. Same room that uses more star options.

This doesn't always apply - for instance, the Hawaii resorts require the same number of Staroptions all year round, and even though HRA requires fewer Staroptions during the summer, summer is a very popular season.

 

[taterhed]

Uh, Barry, if you are using your full name as your 'user name,' I might consider changing it to something a little less identifying. Just a thought.

 

[basl99]

So you knew enough to buy resale, but is seems that you didn't do enough research to fully understand what it was that you were buying? You really should have been here asking these questions before buying.

i did a fair bit of research and it was free so i am just finding out more to use it more effectively
thats why i belong to tug to tug - to educate myself

You appear to have bought a week at Vistana Resort in Orlando, which is what we often refer to here as a voluntary resort. The other option is mandatory. The difference is that mandatory weeks have their StarOptions transfer on resale and you can use the StarOptions for in network trades in the Vistana Signature Network. Mandatory weeks in many cases, at least for higher seasons, still retain resale value. Voluntary resorts, do not have their StarOptions transfer. This is why you can often find them for free or sellers offering free usage or bonuses to get people to take them.

even if i never transfer it - vista is a great resort and disney world and orlando are great

It sounds like your SVR week floats during the entire season, so that is good when you are using your week in Orlando at your resort, However as with voluntary resorts if you want to go to other Vistana properties, especially the popular ones in prime seasons, you need to be very flexible and willing to exchange through II or RCI. Most Vistana deposits get put in to II, at least for the newer properties. RCI is only affiliated with a small number of Vistana properties.

i will keep that in mind - ty for the advice

 

[basl99]

Uh, Barry, if you are using your full name as your 'user name,' I might consider changing it to something a little less identifying. Just a thought.

rob - how do you change this?

 

[dioxide45]

rob - how do you change this?

I think you can use the "Contact Us" link in the bottom right corner of the page.