# How to set up RCI ongoing search?



## brookberry (Dec 11, 2014)

My understanding of ongoing search is that it will keep searching using my criteria and let me know once it finds something?

So I went into RCI portal and click on the Ongoing Search from the pull-down menu, entered my destination, check-in date range, 4 people, 1 bedroom, and clicked on Continue. Next page, it displays my Search Criteria with four buttons:

New Search, Modify Search, View Search Result, and View Recommendations. But none of these are to set up the ongoing search for me. 

What did I miss? Thanks for any help!


----------



## alwysonvac (Dec 11, 2014)

How to setup an Ongoing Search

Once you get to the RCI website, 
- Go to the upper right hand corner and hovering over RCI Exchange Reservations. 
- It will give you a dropdown list. Select Ongoing Search.
- It will bring up a form to complete. Go down to the section called Resort Id Selections.
- Fill out the Check-in Data Range and the Resort IDs. You can request multiple Resort IDs separated by commas.
- Go down to the section called Accommodations and fill out this section.
- Once you've completed both sections hit the continue button
- And continue to complete the remaining screens.

Once you've setup your Ongoing Search, you can see it by going to the upper right hand corner and hovering over "Home".
- It will give you a dropdown list. Select My Vacation Plans.
- Select the tab called Ongoing Search to view or modify your request.


----------



## Beacon888 (Dec 11, 2014)

How far out in advance should you make an ongoing request to get a better chance of a match? 8 months to a year?


----------



## alwysonvac (Dec 12, 2014)

You can place an ongoing search request up to two years advance.
Your request will be placed in a queue. So the earlier you make your request, the higher you'll be in the queue. High demand resorts and high demand locations especially during peak travel season are going to have long queues.



Here's some additional information about exchanging.

*For RCI Weeks inventory* 
o	Weeks can be booked as early as two years in advance and as late as two (2) days prior to check-in (however actual week availability varies by resort).
o	It's best to place an ongoing search request as early as possible to get in the queue. What’s normally seen online are the leftovers after all ongoing requests have been satisfied.

*For RCI Points inventory*
o	Weeks and/or nights can be available as early as 10 months in advance and as late as the day of check-in (however actual availability varies by resort).
o	RCI Points does not support ongoing search requests. It requires a manual search.  Based on the resort, availability can change constantly.
o	To increase your odds of getting your desired travel dates it is best to start searching online as soon as the 10 month window begins to increase your odds of getting your desired travel dates (especially for peak travel dates)


HOW IT WORKS:
In order to get a great trade with any timeshare exchange company you need to understand how it works. Some folks start their request too late and/or have unrealistic expectations that anytime they want to travel a week will be available. Once you understand how exchanging works, you'll be better prepared.

It is important to understand that exchangers only have access to what is deposited and not all weeks are deposited. The number of deposits by each resort varies. You will have no idea how many weeks are actually deposited in RCI (for example it could be 1, 10, 30, 60 or 100s), what time of year they make deposits, which weeks do they deposit (Winter, Spring, Fall or Summer week) and where are you in the exchange queue (there could be several folks already ahead of you requesting the same location with equal trading power).

Some destinations will be harder to exchange into than others. It depends on supply and demand. There will be lots of competition for high demand resorts/location during the peak travel seasons. There will be lots of exchange competition at destinations were most folks want to visit (beach areas in the summer, major city, ski resorts during ski season, national park areas, etc). One should expect high owner occupancy during this time which generally means less exchange deposits (NOTE: Some timeshares owners would rather rent their high demand week than deposit it with an exchange company). 

With exchange requests, it's best to be as flexible as possible on your requested unit size (there is more competition for larger unit sizes) and travel dates (like any time in 2015/2016) and even then you may not snag a week at your requested resort. 

With RCI, it's wise to always research the properties that are listed in the RCI Directory to make sure it meets your vacation needs in terms of location, quality, amenities, etc. Depending on the RCI choices, you may decide to visit this location via some other means (hotel/resort stay, etc).

You can sometimes find reviews on RCI, Tripadvisor, Yelp, various travel related sites and from other fellow TUG members by searching the forums or by accessing the TUG Resort Database.

Keep in mind that RCI trading is not cheap. In addition to your annual maintenance fee, you'll have to pay an RCI exchange fee (currently $209 for a one week stay) and sometimes a resort/housekeeping fee. These fees will continue to rise.
For example, currently a Disney World trade it's an additional $304 dollars ($209 RCI fee + $95 Disney Resort Fee).


----------



## brookberry (Dec 12, 2014)

alwysonvac said:


> How to setup an Ongoing Search
> 
> Once you get to the RCI website,
> - Go to the upper right hand corner and hovering over RCI Exchange Reservations.
> ...


That's exactly what I did! But after the first screen where I fill out the Region Selections and then Accommodations, clicked Continue button, the next page simply list the criteria with four additional buttons, but none is to continue further. I don't know what to do next ...


----------



## alwysonvac (Dec 12, 2014)

brookberry said:


> That's exactly what I did! But after the first screen where I fill out the Region Selections and then Accommodations, clicked Continue button, the next page simply list the criteria with four additional buttons, but none is to continue further. I don't know what to do next ...




Not exactly. 

You're filling out the "Region Selections" instead of "Resort Id Selections"
I just tried a regional search and received the same 4 options. You'll have to call HGVC if you want to use that option because as you said it doesn't work.

Honestly, I never use the regional search option. I would never leave it up to RCI to give me any resort that becomes available. All RCI resorts are not the same quality. I select the resorts I want to go to.


----------



## brookberry (Dec 12, 2014)

Oh I see, thank you so much alwysonvac! Appreciate it


----------



## philemer (Dec 15, 2014)

alwysonvac said:


> Honestly, I never use the regional search option. I would never leave it up to RCI to give me any resort that becomes available. All RCI resorts are not the same quality. I select the resorts I want to go to.



But, you can see all results available by picking an area, dates & unit size and then reject the ones you don't want until you find one you DO want.


----------



## bellesgirl (Dec 16, 2014)

brookberry said:


> My understanding of ongoing search is that it will keep searching using my criteria and let me know once it finds something?
> 
> So I went into RCI portal and click on the Ongoing Search from the pull-down menu, entered my destination, check-in date range, 4 people, 1 bedroom, and clicked on Continue. Next page, it displays my Search Criteria with four buttons:
> 
> ...



These are the options you get when there are matches to your search criteria.  I there are matches, RCI will not allow you to set up the OGS.  As mentioned, it is better to specify the actual resorts you want.


----------

