# New RCI Book



## branson is 10 (Jan 30, 2008)

The new RCI Book of resorts arrived yesterday.  More in the format of the II Books, I thought.  Looking through it I noticed that many gold crown resorts no longer had that symbol.  They went from Gold crown to regular. Same with some silver crown.  I wonder if that an error or if there are far less gold crowns.  One that I remember is Surrey/ Carriage Place in Branson Mo.  Any opinions?


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## Dori (Jan 30, 2008)

We are still waiting for ours.

Dori


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## Cathyb (Jan 30, 2008)

branson:  Are they still using Gold Crowns at all and what for RIDs now?  We live in San Diego area and no book yet


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## lprstn (Jan 30, 2008)

Maryland, no book yet.  But I have seen lots of changes of resort recognition online.  Quite dissappointing as we consider the high quality resorts that we bought to be good trades, now they have both been downgraded to silver crown or no rating at all..However the good part about that is you can now find hidden gems no matter what you trade as a lot of the high quality resorts still are great places to stay, whether they have a gold crown beside their name or not.


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## Carolinian (Jan 30, 2008)

On the OBX, the only t/s currently in sales, Barrier Island Station - Kitty Hawk, dropped from GC to SC.

On the other hand, several resorts moved up from standard to Hospitality, and two of those missed SC by the narrowest fraction in one category.


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## susieq (Jan 30, 2008)

lprstn said:


> .However the good part about that is you can now find hidden gems no matter what you trade as a lot of the high quality resorts still are great places to stay, whether they have a gold crown beside their name or not.



Got ours yesterday ~~ I did notice lots of changes in recognition.  

Sue


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## branson is 10 (Jan 30, 2008)

The resort ratings are gold crown and silver crown..Then there is a "Hospitality" award for resorts that are especially friendly and helpful to guests.  I noticed some resorts that had that in the last book no longer have that reward either.  I can't believe a gold crown resort would fall to a non-rating without at least being bumped to the silver crown first.  Maybe it's many misprints????  I also saw several "new" resorts with a letter in front of the number {A122} Phoenix/Scottsdale Condos.  The web address for this is www.condohotelvacations.com  Sounds like another rental property to me.


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## Icc5 (Jan 30, 2008)

*Gold Crown or  Keeping Business*

I go on several sites so I'm not sure if I read this a while ago here or on another site but this is what a few people have pointed out.
There are a few trading companies that claim to only trade Gold Crown so if RCI declares less Gold Crown then the other companies don't have them to trade and are limited in what they get.  
Bart


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## Jim McLaren (Jan 30, 2008)

Icc5 said:


> There are a few trading companies that claim to only trade Gold Crown so if RCI declares less Gold Crown then the other companies don't have them to trade and are limited in what they get.
> Bart


That's all true and maybe that is RCI's motivation but I can't imagine an exchange company like SFX is going to stop taking resorts just because RCI downgraded them.  They might have to come up with some other criteria but they're in this business to make money.  These deposits are a huge driving factor.  I'm just glad Cottages at Shipyard (which SFX takes) wasn't downgraded from SC.  I might be worried too.


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## sun starved Gayle (Jan 30, 2008)

We got ours today and I noticed that the Worldmark Seaside (Oregon) has no Gold Crown status.  Odd. I that ALL WM's were Gold Crown. But I have been wrong once or twice before. 

Gayle


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## Jan (Jan 30, 2008)

We got ours yesterday.  It was approx. 100 pages LESS that the last book!
How interesting is that!
                                       Jan


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## bogey21 (Jan 30, 2008)

As far as I am concerned they could stop printing the book.  I just look up the reviews on TUG and the Resorts on the RCI Website.

GEORGE


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## hofftkmn (Jan 31, 2008)

bogey21 said:


> As far as I am concerned they could stop printing the book.  I just look up the reviews on TUG and the Resorts on the RCI Website.
> 
> GEORGE




Exactly. The book is a waste. The only resorts I am interested in are the few I can trade into in the area/time I want to go. I can read reviews online for those. There is nothing in the book that is not online, but there is tons of info online that is not in the book.


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## abc31 (Jan 31, 2008)

I own at Wyndham Fairways of Palm Aire and it went from Gold Crown to no rating.  I just deposited into SFX a few weeks ago and they took it.  I wonder if they'll take it  next year.


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## Garnet (Jan 31, 2008)

I don't have the new book yet-but, all my resorts are the same on-line as they were previously.  Have they updated the website to reflect changes made to the book yet (or vis versa)?


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## grest (Jan 31, 2008)

Got ours today...makes me nostalgic for the directories we used to get years ago..
Connie


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## Cathyb (Feb 1, 2008)

Is the Oregon t/s Silver then?  Looks like it made it to Wash., but has any California Tuggers received theirs?  We haven't.


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## Cathyb (Feb 1, 2008)

Jan: Same size type, etc.?


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## JLB (Feb 1, 2008)

Ours arrived today.  No whining, no begging, it just arrived.

Since we were the last to get the last one, this one is here pretty quickly.

Much condensed, let's call it the Wish Bookette.

Yup, still politics with ratings.  Surrey's nothing now, as is Wastegate Branson Woods, a Gold Crown as former Grandvista Cedaridge.

Our resort is still in there.     If you think that's funny, our original resort (one of Wastegate's) is no longer there.    Now, that's really knocking a rating down.


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## marcmuff (Feb 2, 2008)

We got ours yesterday.  I was surprised to see that our Krystal Vallarta is a Gold Crown Resort again.  Our Tahoe Edgelake used to be Gold Crown but I guess they lost that.  Probably doesn't make much difference in exchanging anyway.


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## Kozman (Feb 2, 2008)

*GC and SC*

As an owner, I've become very insensitive to whether my resort is rated GC or SC.  By RCI not giving a GC or SC to a resort only puts pressure on the HOA to spend money on the resort to bring it up to 'RCI standards'.  Sometimes it requires an inordinate amount of upgrade with very little or no increase in trading power.


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## AKE (Feb 4, 2008)

I can't believe that some of the GC or SC resorts in Orlando are no longer rated and at the same time, a very basic TS that we stayed in last year (basically an old converted hotel)  is now a GC! There is definitely something that I must be missing here...


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## ginnylbs (Feb 5, 2008)

*No Book yet in Santa Clarita -California*

Like others mentioned above, I also research online.


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## grest (Feb 5, 2008)

"Much condensed, let's call it the Wish Bookette"..JLB

This made me laugh out loud!  Thanks for that
Connie


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## JLB (Feb 5, 2008)

I think I'll keep mine on the bathroom vanity, next to Reader's Digest and the Bass Pro catalog.   



grest said:


> "Much condensed, let's call it the Wish Bookette"..JLB
> 
> This made me laugh out loud!  Thanks for that
> Connie


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## lprstn (Feb 5, 2008)

Jan said:


> We got ours yesterday.  It was approx. 100 pages LESS that the last book!
> How interesting is that!
> Jan


I was afraid that some resorts were no longer in the RCI trading system, but when I went online to check Daytona Beach and Orlando, I could swear there were less resorts to choose from...  anyone else agree?


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## Cathyb (Feb 5, 2008)

Rarely get on RCI.com -- how do I call up to see the resort directory to see what is Five Star, etc?  TIA


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## regatta333 (Feb 6, 2008)

My book just arrived today.  It is not an improvement.  What's with all the symbols that now replace the text that used to tell you how far certain activities were?  Is this supposed to be more user friendly?


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## NTHC (Feb 6, 2008)

Received our "bookette" today....and that is exactly what it is.  Not user friendly at all in my opinion.

I also noticed that Bonnet Creek in Orlando is now not rated at all.....very weird as we stayed there several years ago and thought their condos where in the top 5 of condos we have ever stayed in.

Cindy


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## JLB (Feb 7, 2008)

Probably just a slip of tongue, but none of them will be 5-star.  From discussions elsewhere, it appears that *II *is dropping 5-star. 

It really is no big deal to go to rci.com.  You don't have to log on to access the resort directory.

http://www.rci.com/RCI/

Click on _Resort Directory_ at the top.

It gives you a choice of how to search.

As an example, I clicked on the dropdown menu and selected US/FL/SW.  You could also click on an area of the world, select by resort name, or select by resort ID.

Next is a list of 53 resorts (some of which are not really resorts), shown with the default setting, 25 per page.

The rated resorts have the symbol next to them, and from a quick glance I can see there have been demotions, and resorts that are not rated when they are very fine resorts.  But, the ratings are fairly accurate.



Cathyb said:


> Rarely get on RCI.com -- how do I call up to see the resort directory to see what is Five Star, etc?  TIA


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## JLB (Feb 7, 2008)

Assuming you did that, went to RCI.com and looked at the Resort Directory, it was easy, huh?


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## mdmbdumont (Feb 9, 2008)

*Got Mine 2/4/08 in NH*

I was doing a search and was surprised to see that many resorts to seem to have changed...and I did have an ah-ha moment when I noticed GC assigned to some motel-type conversions when other resorts had no rating.

So far we have always gotten to go where we wanted to go, when we needed to be there; regardless of the rating of the resort.

I need to go check mine now...they used to be GC and RID.


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## bigeyes1 (Feb 9, 2008)

Received my RCI book yesterday (2/8).  I don't like it at all.  Like someone has already mentioned, it's not user friendly.  Definitely not for people with vision disabilities, like me.     Too small and way too cluttered.


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## ausman (Feb 9, 2008)

*Got mine 2/2/08 in MA*

Was the Fairfield version. Seems earlier than ever before.

I too found the many symbols hard to follow and relegated the directory to the bottom of the pile.


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## tombo (Feb 9, 2008)

I think the RCI ratings are a double edged sword. The good part is that it makes resort mgt try hard to keep rooms and amenities upgraded or face the wrath of owners wondering why the resort they paid so much money for had lost it's rating.  If a resort was rated gold crown and simply remained gold crown forever, there would be no incentive to try and do upgrades and things RCI (and owners) want done. Also the guide would be of no help because it wouldn't accurately depict the resort's upkeep and upgrades through the years. 

Shearwater which has the best location in Kaui for views let their furnishings and facilities go down for years, but remained gold crown because of the unit size and location. Now they are silver crown in the new book. They can no longer rest on their past ratings and through a sense of Pride or through owner's complaints they might do what they should have been doing for years and upgrade the furnishings and inteiors of the units. RCI traders won't be suprised checking into a Gold Crown with worn out furniture anymore.

Tropic Sun Towers on the other hand was a hospitality resort for several years. Hurricanes damaged the resort in 2005 and the resort was totally redone with new furniture, new walls (sheetrock), new cabinets, etc. Now they are upgraded to siver crown reflecting a more accurate picture of the resort than if they had remained a hospitality resort.

I own at a resort which was gold crown and is now not rated at all. I will be telling mgt and the board that the lack of attention to our resort is unacceptable and that I expect them to return us to gold or silver crown status in the not too distant future. RCI has guidelines for what is required to be rated gold crown etc that is available to all resorts and my resort needs to do what it takes to return to the top 10% of RCI resorts and return to Gold Crown.


 I know that many of us have stayed in an unrated resort that we felt should be rated silver crown if not gold. We have all also stayed in Gold crown units that seemed to not qualify for hospitality rating. We will never all agree on the subjective ratings that go into the RCI system, but we are the ones who rate them with our surveys we respond to after returning from a trade. As for the objective RCI requirements they are in writing, and most of the mgrs at Gold Crown resorts can almost recite them to you because they are on top of the requirements constantly.


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## Ann-Marie (Feb 9, 2008)

Got mine on Thursday.  The symbols are way too many.  What a pain.  I do not like it at all.


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## riverdees05 (Feb 9, 2008)

Just got mine and in the process of looking at it tonight.


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## EAM (Feb 10, 2008)

*Icons instead of text*

The new directory has hard-to-discern icons instead of text listing the amenities available at the resort or in the area.  I don't like them.


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## lprstn (Feb 10, 2008)

*Got my new book!  Hate it! Very vague...*

I will be keeping my old book.  The book is smaller because there are very vague colored coded pictures to describe the properties.  Did they hire someone from interval who gave them this bright idea?


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## Hophop4 (Feb 13, 2008)

I just got my RCI Bookette today.  I see what you all mean.   Definately will keep my old books.


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## beejaybeeohio (Feb 13, 2008)

*Useless*

So few resorts are covered, particularly in Europe.  The symbols are frustrating compared to a listing of resort amenities.  39 pages of "who-knows-what because I don't plan on reading them" before you get to the actual resorts, ads for cruises interspersed throughout and the grand finale of 10+ pages of advertising and general nothingness.

We pay more in trading fees each year yet the product we receive from RCI seems to decrease in proportion to these fee increases.  What is Cendants stock symbol?


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## kayb95 (Feb 22, 2008)

One thing I noticed in the new RCI book is that there are areas, specifically outside of the US, where there are now very few listings - they've all been moved to the "Limited Availablilty" section.  Not very encouraging for getting an exchange to Europe.


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## kibear (Feb 29, 2008)

Hmm..I didn't get a bookette, yet.  I didn't get one last year at all!  I wonder if they'll credit me a refund of some of the exhorbitant membership or exchange fees?  Ha!


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## Carolinian (Feb 29, 2008)

The greatly reduced number of resorts listed in Europe is probably not by accident.  It is probably intended to discourgage people from attempting to trade into Europe, since RCI's availible exchange inventory there is only a shadow of what it used to be.  Now, if you want to RENT in Europe, on the other hand, RCI has a good bit of prime inventory that is suddenly availible, but just not for exchange.

I have two more RCI deposits to find exchanges with and then I am fiinished with them.  They are now a rental company more than an exchange company.


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## Elli (Mar 2, 2008)

We finally received our new RCI book today.

Elli


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## naudette (Mar 2, 2008)

I was amazed at how few Hawaiian and European resorts there were compared to in the past.


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## Carolinian (Mar 3, 2008)

njwhite said:


> I was amazed at how few Hawaiian and European resorts there were compared to in the past.



They are trying to reduce the expectations of exchangers, so that they can rent out the better inventory with less flack.


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## naudette (Mar 3, 2008)

After thinking about this, they can do away with the book as far as I'm concerned.  It's easier and faster to do it on-line where they also have reviews (such as they are).  Tug reviews and ratings is my first place to check when looking for a place to go.


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