# Plse Help-Need 1 week vacation in OR, WA or CA (1wk betwn 6/28-7/28)



## sb_sparky

I am so frustrated and have been unable to find any place to stay with our timeshare.  I have been looking for months and months, starting last year actually.

We are in southern CA and will be driving with our kids.  We do not want to go to the desert (or Lake Tahoe/Palm Springs/San Diego).  We can stay in a 1BR but prefer 2BR so everyone sleeps better.

We need to travel for 1 week between June 28 and last dates could be July 28th.

We are hoping to find something in Oregon or Washington.  If there is anything in Northern California that would be interesting too.

I have never posted for a rental and am not sure how this works.

Thanks 

[_Poster advises plans have changed and now will now have to limit to just CA._ - mg]


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## silentg

sb_sparky said:


> I am so frustrated and have been unable to find any place to stay with our timeshare.  I have been looking for months and months, starting last year actually.
> 
> We are in southern CA and will be driving with our kids.  We do not want to go to the desert (or Lake Tahoe/Palm Springs/San Diego).  We can stay in a 1BR but prefer 2BR so everyone sleeps better.
> 
> We need to travel for 1 week between June 28 and last dates could be July 28th.
> 
> We are hoping to find something in Utah or Colorado or maybe Oregon or Washington.  If there is anything in Northern California that would be interesting too.
> 
> I have never posted for a rental and am not sure how this works.
> 
> Thanks



Join Tug, then check the rentals you may find what you want. Best $15.00 you can spend!
Silentg


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## ronandjoan

This is one of the hardest areas to get a week in especially during the summer.  I see that in the Wyndham system there is a week at Grand Desert but assuming you say you do not  want to go there.

Yes, I saw a week on the Oregon coast in the Marketplace - $2,100 for a week -  too high a price for us.

But will be difficult to find a nice place for the $100 limit on this thread.

How many children do you have traveling and what are their ages.

I would suggest airbnbn.com 
Joan


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## Passepartout

The geographic area specified is heavily booked during the summers.  Maybe starting now, they can score an exchange for next summer.  There just are not a lot of timeshares where they want to go, and this request is last minute.

Good Luck!

Jim

P.S. to 'understand how all this works',  you've been registered with TUG for 7 years. The information on renting, exchanging, and all things timeshare are here, and free. It just takes either looking over the pertinent forums, or using the search function, or just asking. Timeshare works, but there is a little learning curve. Here's lesson #1: to stay somewhere other than in a resort you own at, start early. Up to a year, but at least 6 months for best selection- longer during school holidays.

You're welcome


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## ronandjoan

sb_sparky said:


> I am so frustrated and have been unable to find any place to stay with our timeshare.  I have been looking for months and months, starting last year actually.
> 
> We are in southern CA and will be driving with our kids.  We do not want to go to the desert (or Lake Tahoe/Palm Springs/San Diego).  We can stay in a 1BR but prefer 2BR so everyone sleeps better.
> 
> We need to travel for 1 week between June 28 and last dates could be July 28th.
> 
> We are hoping to find something in Utah or Colorado or maybe Oregon or Washington.  If there is anything in Northern California that would be interesting too.
> 
> I have never posted for a rental and am not sure how this works.
> 
> Thanks



We did not know what you mean "a place to stay with our timeshare."  Are you expecting to exchange it now?  If you want to use it, you will need to deposit it into an exchange company and it needs to be usually at least 60 days from the time of your own timeshare dates.  There are many exchange companies to use, 

When you post here to rent, it means you will be paying cash for a vacation stay, just like renting from anywhere - here, you would be  renting a timeshare stay with an owner who can get your timeframe.  That may  not happen for this summer - so you might consider actually renting from other vacation sites.


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## HudsHut

Were you trying to book another Wyndham within the Club Wyndham system, or were you trying to exchange via RCI?

If you need reserving another Wyndham, please post details in the Wyndham thread.
If you need help with RCI, please let us know where/when you're trying to trade in the Exchange thread.

Many experienced owners here will do their best to help you.


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## sb_sparky

silentg said:


> Join Tug, then check the rentals you may find what you want. Best $15.00 you can spend!
> Silentg



Thank you so much for this suggestion!  I had no idea there was a membership.  I have glanced on this site over the years occasionally but never saw that there was more with an additional fee.  Hopefully this will help us figure out how to best use our timeshares and make them work out for our family.  

Being on the west coast with kids (7 and 10) we cannot really afford to fly and need to drive.  With the timeshares we have Diamond and Wyndham (every odd year) I am hardly ever able to find anything new even looking 9+ months out.  I have actually had an interval search going for 9 months too, I did change locations a few times but never found anything!  We go to Lake Tahoe every year and usually Palm Springs as well as Arizona but are really wanting to branch out into a new area.  

Thank you everyone!


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## sb_sparky

ronandjoan said:


> We did not know what you mean "a place to stay with our timeshare."  Are you expecting to exchange it now?  If you want to use it, you will need to deposit it into an exchange company and it needs to be usually at least 60 days from the time of your own timeshare dates.  There are many exchange companies to use,
> 
> When you post here to rent, it means you will be paying cash for a vacation stay, just like renting from anywhere - here, you would be  renting a timeshare stay with an owner who can get your timeframe.  That may  not happen for this summer - so you might consider actually renting from other vacation sites.



We mostly have Diamond points and have to pay a couple thousand a year in Maintenance Fees.  That really limits us to having any extra vacation money.  I have tried all year to find an available Diamond timeshare since we have paid our fees but we still have no where to stay!

Do you guys know what we can do from here?  I did post on here seeing that I would have to pay out of pocket, I wasn't sure how much though, our budget is very small since I have not been able to successfully rent any weeks of ours on craigslist.  I used to be able to do that each year to help with the MFs but no one is interested any more.  Does anyone have a suggestion?  I would be more than happy to rent out weeks at our timeshare and then we would rent from someone else.  This is completely new to us though, we do not know what we are doing.  Also, someone mentioned depositing in an exchange company, we have not done that and are not sure how that works either.

When I look at Diamonds website most of what has been available are Great Wolf Lodges which I know look amazing but they are about 4 years worth of our points for 1 wk!  We bought 1 week 2BR oceanfront timeshare in Kauai which we thought would always have really high trade value, we were told that would always trade everywhere.  I don't know what is going on lately but it seems like the points are getting devalued.  The same is true for a San Francisco property, it would take years to stay one week there.  Has anyone else experienced this?


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## sb_sparky

Passepartout said:


> The geographic area specified is heavily booked during the summers.  Maybe starting now, they can score an exchange for next summer.  There just are not a lot of timeshares where they want to go, and this request is last minute.
> 
> Good Luck!
> 
> Jim
> 
> P.S. to 'understand how all this works',  you've been registered with TUG for 7 years. The information on renting, exchanging, and all things timeshare are here, and free. It just takes either looking over the pertinent forums, or using the search function, or just asking. Timeshare works, but there is a little learning curve. Here's lesson #1: to stay somewhere other than in a resort you own at, start early. Up to a year, but at least 6 months for best selection- longer during school holidays.
> 
> You're welcome



Thank you, I had no idea there was a membership and just signed up.  I actually have been looking for most of this year.  Unfortunately we are on the west coast and were trying to find a new resort to try out.  I waited too long hoping something would open up and now even the ones we always go to are gone. 

I have learned to really really plan ahead though for next year 
Thank you


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## Passepartout

sb_sparky said:


> Thank you so much for this suggestion!  I had no idea there was a membership.  I have glanced on this site over the years occasionally but never saw that there was more with an additional fee.  Hopefully this will help us figure out how to best use our timeshares and make them work out for our family.
> 
> Thank you everyone!



Wait, wait! Before you send the $15, stop. TUG membership is great, but it won't create availability someplace where there is none. The primary feature of membership is access to reviews of resorts by other TUGgers. No magic wand.

It might in fact not help you secure an exchange vacation this year someplace within driving distance. What you need at this late date is a cancellation by someone unable to use a week. Well. Good Luck. It might happen, but realistically, not likely.

Jim


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## sb_sparky

Passepartout said:


> Wait, wait! Before you send the $15, stop. TUG membership is great, but it won't create availability someplace where there is none. The primary feature of membership is access to reviews of resorts by other TUGgers. No magic wand.
> 
> It might in fact not help you secure an exchange vacation this year someplace within driving distance. What you need at this late date is a cancellation by someone unable to use a week. Well. Good Luck. It might happen, but realistically, not likely.
> 
> Jim



Oops, I already paid for the membership, oh well.  Our kids are now out of school wanting to go on vacation somewhere so I am getting a little desperate and will try anything.  Thank you for your advice, I guess I am hoping for a miracle ha ha.  

Thanks


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## HighAltitudeDude

hi... I assume you have enough points to exchange? are you registered in Interval International or RCI? If yes, why don't you review a list of resorts you are interested in and create a topic in sightings board with checkin dates, minimum size of the unit and resort codes/names? Others and I search pretty frequently for availability and will alert you if something from your list comes up and we can put it on hold... If you put your cell phone number, we can text you...


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## sb_sparky

thelight said:


> hi... I assume you have enough points to exchange? are you registered in Interval International or RCI? If yes, why don't you review a list of resorts you are interested in and create a topic in sightings board with checkin dates, minimum size of the unit and resort codes/names? Others and I search pretty frequently for availability and will alert you if something from your list comes up and we can put it on hold... If you put your cell phone number, we can text you...



Hi, 
That is really nice of you!

I couldn't figure out where to add my post.  I found the distressed/sightings board but that didn't seem like the area to put what I was looking for?  Is it?

Here is our situation:

We have more than enough Diamond points which can be used with Interval International.  We used almost all of our Wyndham points, we just have a certificate with RCI right now but it is for very limited inventory.

We need at least a 1BR but prefer a 2BR  

We could probably check in as early as June 28th.  Our ideal dates would be checking in on July 6 (but could be a week earlier).  We are a little flexible but need to be home in CA only on July 16th.  The earlier the better because my husband is a firefighter and it is fire season.  We could check in July 18th or possibly later but should be home by the end of July.  It is really hard for him to travel the later in the month.

We are fairly open to almost any resorts at this point as long as they have good ratings/clean.  My kids would love a good pool or beach (which I know is unlikely at this point).  Preferably in an area that has interesting things to explore, we do like being outdoors.  Ideally the kids really would like to see a National Park if at all possible on the drive, but again we are open to anything. 

We are interested in the following States:  (it just needs to be driving distance from CA)
-Northern CA
-Oregon
-Washington
-Utah
-Colorado

Thank you so much!


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## Passepartout

Go to Trading Places Int'l. www.tradingplaces.com/ They have some inventory- mostly in Utah for the dates you want. (I think) you can use your II points to exchange there, or simply pay cash. They have 'Hot Deals' that rent for $294 to $662 (2 bedroom) for a week. Nice, clean places, but I don't think I'd exchange Hawaii for it. There is no cost to join TPI.

Jim


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## PrairieGirl

Now that you are a member you could also try to do a direct exchange with another TUG member.  You will find out how to do that under "Marketplace" on the red banner and the button "For Exchange" on the next page.


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## ronandjoan

HI again
  You say you have been on the TUG site occasionally - this is a site you need to come to very often! People here are so nice and helpful!

I knew nothing when we first bought and I read and read and read here...

Look up all the helpful articles, and the exchange companies are also listed  (Each one has different procedures) and several are free to join and have lower exchange rates than RCI or II.   

Just keep reading here -- also look at older postings for more information.  

Best of luck


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## sb_sparky

Passepartout said:


> Go to Trading Places Int'l. www.tradingplaces.com/ They have some inventory- mostly in Utah for the dates you want. (I think) you can use your II points to exchange there, or simply pay cash. They have 'Hot Deals' that rent for $294 to $662 (2 bedroom) for a week. Nice, clean places, but I don't think I'd exchange Hawaii for it. There is no cost to join TPI.
> 
> Jim



Okay thank you I will look into that!


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## sb_sparky

PrairieGirl said:


> Now that you are a member you could also try to do a direct exchange with another TUG member.  You will find out how to do that under "Marketplace" on the red banner and the button "For Exchange" on the next page.



This is very interesting and would be perfect to trade!  I would absolutely love to use my points since we have paid so much in MFs and not used any of our points this year. 

I did look at that section but I have a question, how do I choose what to list?  I can reserve most weeks that are currently available on the Diamond site (with the exception of the insanely high point value properties like Great Wolf Lodge etc).  There are many weeks available spread all of the US.  (just not where we need). I do know that there is tons of availability all over Arizona like Sedona, Scottsdale etc.  How do I choose what location and date to list since I have no idea what people are looking for.

Thanks


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## sb_sparky

ronandjoan said:


> HI again
> You say you have been on the TUG site occasionally - this is a site you need to come to very often! People here are so nice and helpful!
> 
> I knew nothing when we first bought and I read and read and read here...
> 
> Look up all the helpful articles, and the exchange companies are also listed  (Each one has different procedures) and several are free to join and have lower exchange rates than RCI or II.
> 
> Just keep reading here -- also look at older postings for more information.
> 
> Best of luck



Yes to be honest I have only checked out this site about once a year when our maintenance fees are coming due.  We constantly question whether we should let our timeshare go since it is harder every year to find a place to stay, this year finding nothing the entire year.  We pay the $2k plus several years paying an extra $5k (I think it was around this my husband pays the bills) for Poipus water intrusion project ugh.  We wonder if we should use that money towards locations of our choice.  We paid $35k for it though so I just feel like we cannot throw that money away.  Every year I have tried to read if timeshares ever sell but I know they loose their value (not what we were told when purchasing).  We really want to keep our week but do feel very limited in the areas on the west coast that diamond offers, we do the same vacations every year.  We do love staying in timeshares and want to make it work. 

 I do feel encouraged with all of the help you all have been giving us, thank you!!


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## sue1947

Have you seen this thread?  http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242583
Good access to Yosemite and fits your criteria.

While you are looking for this year, you should also be setting up your ongoing searches for next summer.  You are looking for the highest demand time and competing with lots and lots of others for less inventory, i.e. when more owners are likely to want to use their week rather than rent/deposit it.  As a result, you need to cast a wide net on location as well as be early, ideally more than a year out, but now is better than later.  

If trading within Diamond hasn't worked for you, do an ongoing search in Interval.  You want to be at the head of the line when things are deposited so set this up as soon as possible.  Ongoing searches get the first deposits and July weeks frequently never hit the online inventory.  

Sue


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## sb_sparky

sue1947 said:


> Have you seen this thread?  http://tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=242583
> Good access to Yosemite and fits your criteria.
> 
> While you are looking for this year, you should also be setting up your ongoing searches for next summer.  You are looking for the highest demand time and competing with lots and lots of others for less inventory, i.e. when more owners are likely to want to use their week rather than rent/deposit it.  As a result, you need to cast a wide net on location as well as be early, ideally more than a year out, but now is better than later.
> 
> If trading within Diamond hasn't worked for you, do an ongoing search in Interval.  You want to be at the head of the line when things are deposited so set this up as soon as possible.  Ongoing searches get the first deposits and July weeks frequently never hit the online inventory.
> 
> Sue



Thank you for the good advice, I will try that for next year for sure!

Thanks for showing me this post, I stayed up late last night and actually did eventually find this.  I have talked to her and are discussing this with my husband and it might work out!  Thank you


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## ronandjoan

thelight said:


> hi... If you put your cell phone number, we can text you...



It's pretty well accepted that it is not the best to put a phone number or email on the public posting.  Perhaps " thelight" could PM you to get your text #


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## jhoug

If you have Wyndham and enough points there are some Park City nights available end of June /first week of July


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## VacationForever

PrairieGirl said:


> Now that you are a member you could also try to do a direct exchange with another TUG member.  You will find out how to do that under "Marketplace" on the red banner and the button "For Exchange" on the next page.



I doubt direct exchange works for most people.  It may work for the highly sophisticated timeshare owners where they book the most desirable resort/week that they own and then put it out there for exchange with other owners.  We are talking about 2 owners having exactly what they like in order to make exchanging with each other work.  Exchange companies have WAAAY more options for exchanging and do not require 2 people to want to swap exactly what they own.  In OP's case, the poster is still learning how to use what they own.


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## ronandjoan

Did you find something?


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## sb_sparky

ronandjoan said:


> Did you find something?



Actually no we unfortunately had to pass on our first idea.  My husband is a firefighter and as been gone for 3 weeks and he is still on the fire.  

We decided we are going to drive up to OR or WA area when he gets back. 
If anyone has anything available please let me know.

Thanks


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## ronandjoan

We applaud your husband's work...he's one we need to day, "Thank you for your service" too!  Thanks for hanging out...

When you do have an opportunity to go you could probably get something last minute from airbnb places.  Timeshares will probably not be available...

All the best


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## sb_sparky

Thank you so much!!



ronandjoan said:


> We applaud your husband's work...he's one we need to day, "Thank you for your service" too!  Thanks for hanging out...
> 
> When you do have an opportunity to go you could probably get something last minute from airbnb places.  Timeshares will probably not be available...
> 
> All the best


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## lorenmd

check 7th mountain resort in bend.  it is a wyndham resort.  bend is just about my perfect vacation spot and certainly tons of fun stuff for your kids too. there is also eagle crest there but it's out of town in redmond but still pretty close


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## sb_sparky

lorenmd said:


> check 7th mountain resort in bend.  it is a wyndham resort.  bend is just about my perfect vacation spot and certainly tons of fun stuff for your kids too. there is also eagle crest there but it's out of town in redmond but still pretty close




That looks so nice, our plans have changed and unfortunately we have to stay in CA it looks like
Thanks though!


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## JudyS

I also commend your husband for his important and dangerous service as a firefighter!

Timeshares work best if one can plan well in advance. This is especially true if one has school-age children and can only travel during school vacations. Furthermore, timeshares are hard to get in California -- the population of California is huge and there just aren't that many timeshares there.

I honestly don't think your timeshares are going to work well for you in the long run. Trying to "get something" for the 35k you spent may mean throwing good money after bad. I think you should consider selling your timeshares, or at least the DRI one. (I don't own DRI, so I don't know what it might be worth.) 

If you do decide to continue timesharing, summer weeks at ski resorts might work for you for 2017 and later. Nice swimming pools, hiking, zip lines, etc. II often has a lot of summary availability in the mountains of Utah and Colorado. Also, they have a program that lets you cancel and rebook, if you pay an extra fee (about $54) at the time you first exchange. So, that gives a lot more flexibility than with RCI. 

You mentioned owning at Point at Poipu. So, another option might be to rent your ownership there. I suggest checking advertised prices here and on www.redweek.com, and assuming the low end of the ads will be the going rate. Hawaii weeks rent best during times school is out of session - Christmas/New Year is best, followed by spring break and summer.


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