# Need help trying to figure out RCI weeks program, HELP!!



## amccu18007 (Nov 4, 2017)

My parents have a week through RCI that they really have no idea how to use. They have asked me to try to figure this out for them as they are not computer savvy at all. I am a DVC owner so have some experience with timeshares but admittedly not much and especially not RCI. Can anyone help point me to some links that would help me break down how to best use these weeks for exchanges?  I know what they have is in the weeks RCI side not points. I read I think I can change weeks into points?  I think that they would be able to utilize this system as they are retired and can travel at off times. Any and all help would be appreciated! Thank you so much in advance!!


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## moonstone (Nov 4, 2017)

We have owned an RCI "Week" at a St Augustine Beach resort since the very early '80s. Ours is a floating week so we can book (with slight limitations) the week we want. First of all, don't let anybody talk them into changing their week into the Points system. They bought their week once already -why pay to "re-buy" it so it can be points. If they want points get a free, or real cheap, points package.

With an RCI Week they will be assigned a "TPU" (Trading Points Unit) number (in effect, a "weeks" point value) depending on what week they own, at which resort, for which week. Of course travelling at "off season" and to less demand locations/resorts will cost fewer TPU's. Once in a while RCI has an exchange sale on where they reduce the number of TPU's needed for certain resorts/destinations.

Once they have a "TPU" from depositing their week they, or you, can look in RCI to see what's available. Be aware that what is seen on the website is just "left-overs' from what wasn't already claimed by owners using an on-going search with RCI. If they have their heart set on a specific resort or week, an on-going search would be the best way to get that week.

We tend to use our week where we own to save on the exchange fees then use "Extra Vacations" or "Last Call" weeks to add onto it.

I hope this helps a little. Welcome to TUG! 


~Diane


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## amccu18007 (Nov 4, 2017)

moonstone said:


> We have owned an RCI "Week" at a St Augustine Beach resort since the very early '80s. Ours is a floating week so we can book (with slight limitations) the week we want. First of all, don't let anybody talk them into changing their week into the Points system. They bought their week once already -why pay to "re-buy" it so it can be points. If they want points get a free, or real cheap, points package.
> 
> With an RCI Week they will be assigned a "TPU" (Trading Points Unit) number (in effect, a "weeks" point value) depending on what week they own, at which resort, for which week. Of course travelling at "off season" and to less demand locations/resorts will cost fewer TPU's. Once in a while RCI has an exchange sale on where they reduce the number of TPU's needed for certain resorts/destinations.
> 
> ...



Yes, this helps!  Thank you! 

My parents bought this RCI timeshare many years ago and have always used it for extra trips to Orlando so it has paid for itself. I am not sure they have much trading points value but it has already paid for itself in their eyes. I am hoping that I can find a few new destinations for them to travel to. 
Thanks again for the information. I will continue to read, read and read some more and hopefully, I will figure this out. Is there an acronyms page on here? I am having trouble figuring out some of the posts on here....lol.


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Nov 4, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> My parents have a week through RCI ........ I am a DVC owner so have some experience with timeshares but admittedly not much and especially not RCI. Can anyone help point me to some links that would help me break down how to best use these weeks for exchanges?  I know what they have is in the weeks RCI side not points. I read I think I can change weeks into points?  I think that they would be able to utilize this system as they are retired and can travel .......MF



What Resort ?
How many TPU's ?
What is MF ?

Divide MF by TPU value = cost per TPU

Let's assume 20 TPU's for $700 = $ 35 per TPU

If an off season RCI sale is 10 TPU = $ 350 + RCI exchange fee ( $ 239)
net = about $ 600  for the week


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## DaveNV (Nov 4, 2017)

You'll have better luck learning if you log into their RCI account, so you can see things "live." They probably have an account, but there is a subscription cost.

Once logged in, you can check the details on what they own (by finding the resort name in their library.) If they have a fixed week or unit, you can then easily see the value of TPU's that RCI will give you by checking the Deposit Calculator. If the unit or week float, you can play the system a bit, by checking different weeks or unit types to see which gets you the most TPUs for a deposit.  The TPU values are lower, the closer you are to the checkin date at the resort.  They're higher for holiday weeks, and more desirable times.  Christmas or New Years weeks often get the highest TPU values of the year for an exchange.  If you're at least twelve months out, the full TPU value would be given for a deposit. 

To make an exchange, you need to actually deposit the week to receive the TPU credits in your account. And once you know the TPU value of the deposit, you can look to see what is in the RCI system that is directly available to exchange. If you have enough TPUs available, you make the exchange, pay the exchange fees, and it's a done deal.  If you don't have enough TPUs, you're pretty much out of luck, unless you want to make another deposit, and combine the TPUs together. (That's a whole different topic.)

If the resort you're seeking is not available at the time to exchange, (which is very likely - the available exchanges are the leftovers) you can do an Ongoing Search (OGS) to place yourself on a waitlist for when the week and resort you want becomes available.  If/when it is deposited by someone, it matches your OGS, and you have the option of accepting the exchange. There is no guarantee the request will ever come in, so you need to be pretty flexible on what you'll accept.

Once you decide whether RCI will work for you, explore other exchange companies. SFX, DAE, Platinum, and others are out there.  They may give you something better than RCI if you deposit the week with them instead.  They all work a bit differently, and they each have their own learning curve.  You do not have to deposit only with RCI - the alternate exchange companies are nice, each in their own way.

Hope this helps a bit.  Good luck!

Dave


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## amccu18007 (Nov 5, 2017)

DaveNW said:


> You'll have better luck learning if you log into their RCI account, so you can see things "live." They probably have an account, but there is a subscription cost.
> 
> Once logged in, you can check the details on what they own (by finding the resort name in their library.) If they have a fixed week or unit, you can then easily see the value of TPU's that RCI will give you by checking the Deposit Calculator. If the unit or week float, you can play the system a bit, by checking different weeks or unit types to see which gets you the most TPUs for a deposit.  The TPU values are lower, the closer you are to the checkin date at the resort.  They're higher for holiday weeks, and more desirable times.  Christmas or New Years weeks often get the highest TPU values of the year for an exchange.  If you're at least twelve months out, the full TPU value would be given for a deposit.
> 
> ...


Thank you! I am up and running on the RCI site! Looks like they are paid up with RCI for a few years so I will work on learning that system works first. I never realized that there were a few companies to deposit with! I have a few questions about finding resorts and how many points they would be per week. I can find resorts in the directory but not how many points that they would be. Is there a place that it tells you what each week would be? I would like to put in a few for an ongoing search. Also, if I put in for an ongoing search, what does auto confirm mean? Should I auto confirm? If I don't, will that unit be held for me for a small period of time? Thank you again for the basics, I appreciate all of the help


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## sue1947 (Nov 5, 2017)

It will really help if you tell us what your folks own; which resort and what size/season.  There are lots of variations in timeshares and how it works for one system may not apply in another.  

Sue


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Nov 5, 2017)

On going searches are a "later step " once you know how many TPU's they get for a deposit .
If as you said they can travel off season , you can also look at extra vacations and last calls - which are " cash deals " that do not require a deposit .

I would start by typing - Orlando - since you and they are familiar with it and start looking . 

I just did so / you will see :

Orlando - 82 properties
first one 
Hilton ...Tuscany RCI 6309 
19-38 TPU's
80 units available foe exchange ( 82 if you click last call & extra vac.)
April 2018 - Dec 2018

then click on the box that says - available units 

Play with it for a while & you will start to figure it out / then ask more questions


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## amccu18007 (Nov 5, 2017)

sue1947 said:


> It will really help if you tell us what your folks own; which resort and what size/season.  There are lots of variations in timeshares and how it works for one system may not apply in another.
> 
> Sue


From what I am understanding, they own a studio which has a floating week at The Ocean City Coconut Malorie . It looks like it has a TPU of 15-20? They bought this on a trip to the beach over 14 years ago and really have no idea what they have...lol.  I plan on calling the hotel tomorrow to find out exactly what it is. Honestly, I can not tell what they have from the RCI site. It says that they have 5 weeks to deposit but that doesn't seem correct. I don't even know what information to share other than that. Is that specific enough to help? I am truly sorry that I don't know more but I guess that you have to start somewhere...lol.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 5, 2017)

T-Dot-Traveller said:


> On going searches are a "later step " once you know how many TPU's they get for a deposit .
> If as you said they can travel off season , you can also look at extra vacations and last calls - which are " cash deals " that do not require a deposit .
> 
> I would start by typing - Orlando - since you and they are familiar with it and start looking .
> ...


Thank you so much. That is exactly where I have started


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Nov 5, 2017)

duplicate


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Nov 5, 2017)

I am guessing that a float week studio at 
RCI 5313- Ocean City Coconut Malorie-
will get you 15-20 TPU's

Have they stayed there or want to next year ?

Assuming they have not used 2017 - it will be at the low end 
If they pay 2018 and resort lets them reserve a specific July week and then deposit 
you will get more .( maybe more than 20 ) 

Some resorts with float weeks just deposit an "average " of what their weeks get in TPU's / while others let you reserve a specific week and deposit . If the later - the "early bird " gets the most TPU worms.The general goal is to get the most per MF dollar.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 5, 2017)

T-Dot-Traveller said:


> On the " account dashboard " - you should see -


I have this on my dashboard...
Weeks available to deposit - 5
Total TPU 17 
Upcoming vacations 1 ( they called and reserved a room in Hawaii for 2019 but did it over the phone so she has no idea of what was on there before)

She has no idea of how to use these weeks and has decided she doesn't want to learn and it is up to me to plan from now on as she is not tech savvy at all. They have no problem planning way far in advance and also can leave on short notice so I feel as though they should be able to get some use out of this. They have never stayed at their home resort as we live near the beach and have family there so they are using this strictly for exchanges.


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## ausman (Nov 5, 2017)

" Weeks available to deposit - 5 "

This doesn't jibe with owning only one timeshare and needs further research. Is it possible they own more than one timeshare. ? RCI can also get confused with this figure and the weeks are not able to be deposited at all.

But, I notice in your initial post you say " help me break down how to best use these weeks for exchanges ". You should list the owned resorts and week(s) involved for informed help.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 5, 2017)

basham said:


> " Weeks available to deposit - 5 "
> 
> This doesn't jibe with owning only one timeshare and needs further research. Is it possible they own more than one timeshare. ? RCI can also get confused with this figure and the weeks are not able to be deposited at all.
> 
> But, I notice in your initial post you say " help me break down how to best use these weeks for exchanges ". You should list the owned resorts and week(s) involved for informed help.


I think that it is only one week also. I will call the resort office tomorrow to verify but I am thinking that this is just a fluke of the system.


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## ausman (Nov 5, 2017)

Calling the resort office will only confirm what they own at that resort. RCI intimates they own at more than one resort.

It would be best if you could log into their RCI account, failing that, ask your parents what they own currently and if they have bought and sold timeshares in the past.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 5, 2017)

basham said:


> Calling the resort office will only confirm what they own at that resort. RCI intimates they own at more than one resort.
> 
> It would be best if you could log into their RCI account, failing that, ask your parents what they own currently and if they have bought and sold timeshares in the past.


I am logged in on their RCI account. RCI states that they have 5 weeks to deposit. I am just not sure where this 5 weeks is coming from.  My parents have really only used this timeshare for Orlando but are open to go anywhere. I just want to make sure how to use the system properly so that I can assist them in making arrangements. I guess I will add a call to RCI on my to do list after the resort.


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## Eric B (Nov 5, 2017)

When I sign in on the weeks side, of which I own 1/2 of a 4BR lock off at a different resort, it lists all the permutations of deposits for the next 3 years I could make with that type of unit (4BR, 2BR A, or 2BR B).  You can see the various permutations by going to the manage your deposits portion of the site.  Elsewhere it says I have 15 weeks available to deposit, 3 times as many as its telling OP. I'd say it's reflecting future year deposit potential for the one studio week, but it's definitely worth calling to verify.


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## sue1947 (Nov 5, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> From what I am understanding, they own a studio which has a floating week at The Ocean City Coconut Malorie . It looks like it has a TPU of 15-20? They bought this on a trip to the beach over 14 years ago and really have no idea what they have...lol.  I plan on calling the hotel tomorrow to find out exactly what it is. Honestly, I can not tell what they have from the RCI site. It says that they have 5 weeks to deposit but that doesn't seem correct. I don't even know what information to share other than that. Is that specific enough to help? I am truly sorry that I don't know more but I guess that you have to start somewhere...lol.



Next question:  have they used any of the weeks (i.e. have they stayed at Ocean City in the past couple of years) or do they always deposit each year's week and then trade it.  Some of those 5 weeks to deposit might be previous year's weeks that haven't been used.  

Call RCI and find out what is there; how many weeks have been deposited and when they expire.  

You're asking the right questions; keep at it and you'll be a pro in no time.

Sue


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## DaveNV (Nov 6, 2017)

I think RCI tracks what you own vs. what you deposited.  Every year you haven't deposited something adds to the list. So if they haven't deposited anything in two years, and if the next three years could be deposited, there are the five weeks. Then again, RCI may just be confused.  When I log into my own account it says I have three weeks available to deposit.  I own one timeshare. Go figure... 

Dave


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## amccu18007 (Nov 6, 2017)

I will let you guys know once I get ahold of everyone what we have. Thank you for all of the replies and help thus far. I am not feeling quite as lost!


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## amccu18007 (Nov 6, 2017)

Okay, RCI thinks that because they have a floating week that the system shows two weeks even though it is only one. They did deposit the 2017 week and still need to deposit 2018 and 2019. How far in advance should these be deposited? Now that I have the basic information, my next question is how to find resorts to exchange for? I understand that what shows when I type in a location is the "extra" and that most matches are found through OGS. My question is WHERE to find these resorts and then see how many points the typical exchange takes. Thanks!


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## silentg (Nov 6, 2017)

You can click on weeks available to deposit, should show you what is in the account. Also click on weeks already deposited and see what they have in there. There is also Vacation history that you can check.RCI also has tutorials and RCI TV to help you navigate thru the website. Another thing they have a instant chat that will pop up when you are searching. You can ask questions to a live rep and they will help you.
Good Luck!
Silentg


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## amccu18007 (Nov 6, 2017)

silentg said:


> You can click on weeks available to deposit, should show you what is in the account. Also click on weeks already deposited and see what they have in there. There is also Vacation history that you can check.RCI also has tutorials and RCI TV to help you navigate thru the website. Another thing they have a instant chat that will pop up when you are searching. You can ask questions to a live rep and they will help you.
> Good Luck!
> Silentg


Off to check out the tutorials and RCITV. Thanks!


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## T-Dot-Traveller (Nov 6, 2017)

To deposit 2018 & 2019 - will likely,require MF payment . 2018 is  likely due in Jan anyway 
For 2019 - find out from the resort if early payment and deposit gets more TPU' s than waiting to this time next year .

Note - If they get say 17 TPU's and want an exchange that requires more , you should be able to deposit early . You than have to pay RCI a fee to combine so that you have them in one " package " .
Right now (until,Nov 30 2017) RCI is offering a 2 year use window on combinations ( usually 12 months ) HOWEVER  if you combine a recent deposit you may be shortening the. use window since deposits are good for more than 2 years .

< I have a number of small " stub " TPU's and 2 other deposits that will expire in 2018 so for me this makes sense to pay to combine in Nov . " Stubs " ( my description ) are left overs from booked vacations . I had a deposit of 23 TPU and booked a vacation for 21 TPU = 2 left over . If you do not combine them - they expire ,BUT it is only worth doing if you have enough other TPU' s to combine . You can combine up to 10 for one fee payment > 

The 2 year window is based on when you book the exchange / not when the vacation occurs .


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## amccu18007 (Nov 6, 2017)

T-Dot-Traveller said:


> To deposit 2018 & 2019 - will likely,require MF payment . 2018 is  likely due in Jan anyway
> For 2019 - find out from the resort if early payment and deposit gets more TPU' s than waiting to this time next year .
> 
> Note - If they get say 17 TPU's and want an exchange that requires more , you should be able to deposit early . You than have to pay RCI a fee to combine so that you have them in one " package " .
> ...


I will call the resort tomorrow and ask. Thank you so much for all of your help.  I realize that you are having to explain things that most people already understand and I really appreciate you taking the time to do so.


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## DaveNV (Nov 6, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> I will call the resort tomorrow and ask. Thank you so much for all of your help.  I realize that you are having to explain things that most people already understand and I really appreciate you taking the time to do so.



But you see, that is what we do here. Tug is a site where people share information. You may not be the only one who learns from these kind of threads. There are something like 80,000 members of this site (it's amazing) and there are lots of unregistered visitors who browse through. So this helps everyone. Even old-time users will learn a new trick here and there by reading the forums. And as you may have figured out, there is a kind of game to timesharing - how to maximize the return for minimum investment. Its a lot of fun, and for those who play along, there are excellent vacations waiting around every corner.

Enjoy the ride!

Dave


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## HudsHut (Nov 6, 2017)

Hi amccu18007:
Welcome to TUG. I'm delighted that you found us. 
Since your parents do not want to go to Coconut Malorie, deposit the weeks as early as possible. Then combine before 11/30, so that you get 2 years to use them.

There is no surefire way for you to know how many TPU will be required for a given exchange, unless the resort/week you want is sitting in open inventory. A holiday week might cost 47 TPU, while the week after might be 29.
The Disney resorts can be very expensive (50 - 60). Manhattan Club in NYC is 58 - 60. The Hiltons on Oahu are mid 40s - mid- 50s. The Hiltons on the Big Island are in the 30s - low 40s. Southern California Coastal is in the 40s - 50s.

That is the difficulty of setting up an Ongoing Search when you have TPU - you may never get a match (for a particular resort) if the number of TPUs you have on deposit is less than what RCI has set for the resort/week. 
RCI often has sales where they cut the TPUs required for certain weeks. Pay attention to the emails they send out for these offers.

So keep asking, and where we have knowledge of a resort or area, we can let you know whether we think the TPUs is sufficient to set up a search.


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## missyrcrews (Nov 7, 2017)

You can use the "deposit calculator" on RCI to get a rough idea of how many TPU's might be needed.  You can find that on the page that lists the weeks you have available for deposit.  I say that it's a rough idea, because the TPU's that one gets for depositing a unit are not always the same for exchanging for that unit...but it will be close.  

It's a lot to take in.  But as others have said, there are benefits to figuring it out!  Keep asking questions...you're getting there!


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## amccu18007 (Nov 7, 2017)

Okay, my parents have an upcoming reservation for June of 2019 on the Big Island in Hawaii. They made the reservation from what was available not realizing that they really should have done an OGS. Is it too late to put a search in for that time frame? Can you put in a search before canceling the other or do you have to free up those points first and then hope something comes through? They would have 45 points to work with if they canceled this other reservation.


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## HudsHut (Nov 7, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> Okay, my parents have an upcoming reservation for June of 2019 on the Big Island in Hawaii. They made the reservation from what was available not realizing that they really should have done an OGS. Is it too late to put a search in for that time frame? Can you put in a search before canceling the other or do you have to free up those points first and then hope something comes through? They would have 45 points to work with if they canceled this other reservation.


The penalty for cancelling is they have to pay another exchange fee. Not worth $239 in most cases.

To answer an earlier question, you never want to auto-confirm. When you match an OGS, it comes back as a "hold" for approximately two days. After that you may confirm, or it will auto-release. Once you confirm, you still have 24 hours to cancel without penalty.


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## DaveNV (Nov 7, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> Okay, my parents have an upcoming reservation for June of 2019 on the Big Island in Hawaii. They made the reservation from what was available not realizing that they really should have done an OGS. Is it too late to put a search in for that time frame? Can you put in a search before canceling the other or do you have to free up those points first and then hope something comes through? They would have 45 points to work with if they canceled this other reservation.



If you don't mind, what resort did they reserve?  Depending on what they chose, it may or may not have been a bad thing.  While the open availability resorts tends to be the leftovers, every now and then a good deal shows up.  There are many nice resorts in Hawaii, not everything is 5-stars, of course, but the truly dissatisfying resorts are pretty rare.

The thing about Ongoing Searches is you never know if you'll get what you request.  That was why I said earlier that you have to be pretty flexible on what you'll accept.  A regional area over a range of dates is much more likely to get a match than one specific resort in a narrow calendar window.  I once wasted over a year waiting on an OGS to match for a resort in New York City.  I had combined deposits to make sure I had enough TPUs for it, and time clicked away.  Thirteen months later, with no results, I posted my frustration on Tug.  In reply I learned that that specific resort rarely gets deposited to RCI - owners who aren't using their time have no trouble renting out their week.  So I wasted all that time for a dead end. A Tugger then contacted me offline, and we arranged a private exchange.  I got them what they wanted, and they got me into the NYC resort.  It showed once again how awesome Tuggers are. 

Keep researching.  You've already learned a lot, and once over the general learning hump, it's not as difficult to grasp the concepts.  Mostly it's about finer details of how to make the system work for you.

Dave


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## HudsHut (Nov 7, 2017)

Most likely they matched Paniolo Greens, which has hundreds of units deposited each year, and low TPU requirements.
We had friends stay there this summer. The place is okay - not fancy - but be sure they request a renovated unit.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 7, 2017)

DaveNW said:


> If you don't mind, what resort did they reserve?  Depending on what they chose, it may or may not have been a bad thing.  While the open availability resorts tends to be the leftovers, every now and then a good deal shows up.  There are many nice resorts in Hawaii, not everything is 5-stars, of course, but the truly dissatisfying resorts are pretty rare.
> 
> The thing about Ongoing Searches is you never know if you'll get what you request.  That was why I said earlier that you have to be pretty flexible on what you'll accept.  A regional area over a range of dates is much more likely to get a match than one specific resort in a narrow calendar window.  I once wasted over a year waiting on an OGS to match for a resort in New York City.  I had combined deposits to make sure I had enough TPUs for it, and time clicked away.  Thirteen months later, with no results, I posted my frustration on Tug.  In reply I learned that that specific resort rarely gets deposited to RCI - owners who aren't using their time have no trouble renting out their week.  So I wasted all that time for a dead end. A Tugger then contacted me offline, and we arranged a private exchange.  I got them what they wanted, and they got me into the NYC resort.  It showed once again how awesome Tuggers are.
> 
> ...


It was Paniolo Greens. The plan is to visit The Big Island for a week and then spend a week in Aulani in Oahu.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 7, 2017)

hudshut said:


> Most likely they matched Paniolo Greens, which has hundreds of units deposited each year, and low TPU requirements.
> We had friends stay there this summer. The place is okay - not fancy - but be sure they request a renovated unit.


Yes, it was this resort. When making a request, do you call RCI or the resort itself? Thank you for the review.


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## HudsHut (Nov 7, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> Yes, it was this resort. When making a request, do you call RCI or the resort itself? Thank you for the review.


Contact the resort about 2 weeks before check-in. Our friends requested a lower-floor corner unit, and that's what they got, but I didn't think to tell them to ask for renovated. (I had read that the renovations were mostly done by last summer, so I thought all units had been renovated.) The lower floor units are single level (no stairs inside). The second floor units have the bedroom(s) on the 3rd floor, so one has to walk up/down stairs within the unit.

While we have not stayed at Paniolo Greens, (only saw it from the outside), we have stayed in the Waikoloa area and have thoroughly enjoyed many beaches in that area. We love the Big Island - there is so much to see and do.
We went to the observatory one night. Our friends said the last time they went (20+ years ago) there were maybe 5 people there. This past summer, there were well over 200 people there, and the lines for each of the telescopes were really long. This is due to the fact that the Saddle Road is now paved, so tourists have no hesitation any longer.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 7, 2017)

hudshut said:


> Contact the resort about 2 weeks before check-in. Our friends requested a lower-floor corner unit, and that's what they got, but I didn't think to tell them to ask for renovated. (I had read that the renovations were mostly done by last summer, so I thought all units had been renovated.) The lower floor units are single level (no stairs inside). The second floor units have the bedroom(s) on the 3rd floor, so one has to walk up/down stairs within the unit.


Thank you!


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## DaveNV (Nov 7, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> It was Paniolo Greens. The plan is to visit The Big Island for a week and then spend a week in Aulani in Oahu.



Paniolo Greens is a nice place to stay.  Not overly fancy, more like a nice apartment setting.  Spacious units, and in a rather quiet area. It sits up the hills a ways from the main highway, and can be a tad windy. There is a bit of a drive involved to get to the Big Island attractions, but then, just about everything on the Big Island is a bit of a drive. It is a VERY big island.  I recall seeing wild turkeys and peacocks wandering around the grounds. Unless your folks want wild and crazy nightlife, they will enjoy staying there. 

Dave


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## amccu18007 (Nov 7, 2017)

DaveNW said:


> Paniolo Greens is a nice place to stay.  Not overly fancy, more like a nice apartment setting.  Spacious units, and in a rather quiet area. It sits up the hills a ways from the main highway, and can be a tad windy. There is a bit of a drive involved to get to the Big Island attractions, but then, just about everything on the Big Island is a bit of a drive. It is a VERY big island.  I recall seeing wild turkeys and peacocks wandering around the grounds. Unless your folks want wild and crazy nightlife, they will enjoy staying there.
> 
> Dave


Nice apartment setting sounds fine. No wild, crazy nightlife is needed. Day trips around to different attractions is the plan right now.


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## silentg (Nov 8, 2017)

How many TPU s to get into Paniolo Green?


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## amccu18007 (Nov 8, 2017)

silentg said:


> How many TPU s to get into Paniolo Green?


It looks like it was 28. How does that compare to other resorts on the big island?


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## wackymother (Nov 8, 2017)

I hadn't read this thread before. Just wanted to say that we love Ocean City and if you can get summer weeks there, it's a very nice place to stay!


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## amccu18007 (Nov 8, 2017)

wackymother said:


> I hadn't read this thread before. Just wanted to say that we love Ocean City and if you can get summer weeks there, it's a very nice place to stay!


I do like Ocean City as well. However, we live fairly close and are there every other weekend or so as we have family and friends there. That is mainly the reason that they haven't used it. They  bought their property on a whim on a shopping trip. Went for a pair of jeans, came back with a timeshare...lol.


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## DaveNV (Nov 8, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> I do like Ocean City as well. However, we live fairly close and are there every other weekend or so as we have family and friends there. That is mainly the reason that they haven't used it. They  bought their property on a whim on a shopping trip. Went for a pair of jeans, came back with a timeshare...lol.



That happens to a lot of people. My brother bought a timeshare in Mexico on his honeymoon. They roped him and his wife into the sales pitch with a free bottle of tequila.

Dave


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## WinniWoman (Nov 9, 2017)

amccu18007 said:


> It was Paniolo Greens. The plan is to visit The Big Island for a week and then spend a week in Aulani in Oahu.



We stayed at Paniolo Greens years ago and we loved the location. In fact, we could see the smoking volcanic cones from our back deck. It is only like 15 minutes to Hapuna Beach- arguably one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We took a tour right from the resort= the tour picked us up there- to Mauna Keau for sunset and star gazing.

We traveled down to Volcanoes National Park as well. And the petrogyphs. And the Black sand beach on the southern end of the island. We did do a lot of driving.

The resort is small and has a small pool that we also used. It is located in the desert area near a big ranch (forget the name of it). It is also near a nice housing development. We were able to do food shopping nearby.

And we did visit some of the more popular resort areas and shopping, as well as Kona - which we didn't care for.


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## DaveNV (Nov 9, 2017)

mpumilia said:


> near a big ranch (forget the name of it).



Is that Parker Ranch?

Dave


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## WinniWoman (Nov 9, 2017)

DaveNW said:


> Is that Parker Ranch?
> 
> Dave



Yes- that's it! Thanks.


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## amccu18007 (Nov 9, 2017)

mpumilia said:


> We stayed at Paniolo Greens years ago and we loved the location. In fact, we could see the smoking volcanic cones from our back deck. It is only like 15 minutes to Hapuna Beach- arguably one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We took a tour right from the resort= the tour picked us up there- to Mauna Keau for sunset and star gazing.
> 
> We traveled down to Volcanoes National Park as well. And the petrogyphs. And the Black sand beach on the southern end of the island. We did do a lot of driving.
> 
> ...


Thank you! Sounds like there is quite a bit to do on the island. Should be a fun to plan trip


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## WinniWoman (Nov 10, 2017)

Here are links to to Mauna Kea tour companies. I can't remember which one we went on but they came right to Paniolo Greens to pick us up. They are expensive, but worth it imo. The most awesome experience I would say we have ever had. Pack a set of warm clothes- you will need it. They give you parkas with hoods and gloves. Yes- that's right. It's freezing up there!

https://www.viator.com/tours/Big-Is...Stars-Small-Group-Adventure-Tour/d669-2804MKS

https://maunakea.com/


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## bobby (Nov 11, 2017)

Auto confirm means they will get confirmed for any match. So if they requested two years in advance for a variety of places and dates, they may have made plans for the week confirmed. Otherwise, I think they call or email you. If your parents aren't into computers, have them use your email address.


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