# Timesharing On A Shoe-String



## Goofyhobbie (Apr 12, 2010)

Utilizing timeshare to the fullest when you retire produces the equivalent of a great second home.  

*What is the lowest cost you have come up with while exchanging multiple times to put together a long stay in Florida?*

Recently, the wife and I put together a six week (42 night) package for the Florida East Coast in beach front property for the period November  5 - December 19, 2010. (I like lots of space so we restricted the trades to two Bedroom units.)

7 Nights in a 2-BR Deluxe at DVC, Vero Beach, FL

14 Nights in a 2-BR Deluxe at Wyndham Ocean Walk, Daytona Beach, FL

21 Nights in a 2-BR Unit at Discovery Beach Resort, Cocoa Beach, FL 

The cost worked out to a little less than *$66.00 per night *and that is for fully furnished 2-BR, 2-Bath condos at Beach Front property.

That cost of $2,759.00 for six weeks included:

Cost to purchase deeded properties.  (See Note *)

Maintenance fees for the units traded.

Exchange fee costs for each trade.

Membership with exchange company.

* * Note:* One trade involved my "sacrificing" a 3-BR Blue Unit (part of Lock-out) at Duck, NC which the developer originally sold to us in 1988 for $15,858 including interest.  [To figure "sunk cost" we simply divided the actual out-of-pocket cost by 2 and amoritized it over 30 years resulting in a one week usage cost of: $688.  Again that cost includes $164 for the exchange (RCI rate at time of exchange), $260 allocation on maintenance fee cost for the 2009 Unit traded and -0- cost for membership fee since we are now Wyndham Points owners and do not have to pay RCI a direct membership fee.

All the other costs associated with the six remaining weeks involved use of *Wyndham Points *purchased in June, 2009. 

*Note:* The cost mentioned for the *Wyndham Points *incuded the *one time purchase cost *of the points (cash to seller, closing and transfer costs associated with purchase [$1,128]) as well as the 2009 maintenance fees actually paid to Wyndham for those 2009 points (We were responsible just for 5 months of the 2009 maintenance fees). 

From this day forward I have -0- sunk cost associated with the Wyndham points, so all trades in future years using Wyndham points will have -0- associated "sunk cost" to amortize.  

*GAWD!* Don't you just love this concept called TIMESHARING! :whoopie:


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## KevJan (Apr 12, 2010)

Sure hope when we're ready to retire in a few years we can do the same!


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 13, 2010)

Now that is some TERRIFIC timesharing!!!

Hope you enjoy your laid back and relaxing trip!

elaine


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## akp (Apr 13, 2010)

*Why did you divide your cost by 2?*

I love doing calculations like this myself -- it is more psychological than economic. I love knowing I'm staying 29 nights a year at a resort that other people are paying upwards of $300 a night at for smaller accommodations...that and hearing my 6 year old say "It is like we have a 2nd home there!"

I have no experience with stringing together long trips like yours as the kids are still young and in school, but I'm inspired 

I'm curious about your amortization.  Why did you divide by 2?  Is it because it is part of a lockoff so you're only depositing half of it into the exchange co?  

Thanks for posting. 

Anita


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## Goofyhobbie (Apr 13, 2010)

Anita,

You got it right. I divided by 2 because the "Sunk Cost" associated with the 4-BR Blue Week at Duck, NC originally was $15,858 and I only "sacrificed" one side of the Lock-Out to make the trade.

I used a 30 year amortitization because realistically that is how long I reasonably anticipate using the property before disposing of it in some way.

A $15,858 expenditure is easier to swallow when you divide it by 30 and then by 2. I have owned it for 21 years and figure that I will get at least 9 more years of use before giving it away. 

The original purchase was to get the use of a fully furnished four bedroom house on the Outer Banks Of NC one week a year with a considerable percentage of the usage coming at Thanksgiving. (Barrier Island Station acquired the house and designated it as the VIP unit because it sleeps 14 if the entire house is actually used.)  It was great to invite family up to the Outer Banks for Thanksgiving Week and now by breaking it into two parts it provides two great traders.  

Back in the day, when I was much younger, I saw the acquisition of a  timeshare as a low cost way to get outstanding accomodations each time I chose to go on vacation for a week at a time. 

Today, I use timesharing to substitue for a great SECOND HOME at Myrtle Beach, SC, Cocoa Beach, FL, Daytona Beach, FL and where ever else I want to go to get away for an extended period of time. 

Had I actually purchased a SECOND HOME outright at some ideal location, that is where I would have had to go all the time and the cost associated with the purchase and maintenance of a second home would have been a lot more.

This way, I get to change it up from year to year and go different places.


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 13, 2010)

*Curious about the east coast resort areas*

Hi Dave - My bonus daughter (currently in her last two months of law school at UVA) has gotten a job in Wilmington Delaware. The law firm she will be joining seems to be a good fit for her so we are speculating that she is likely to be permanent there. On top of that my son and daughter in law are looking to move to Florida or Virginia when they finish school. So it looks like we need to be looking at the east coast areas for future vacations. I am interested in your opinion about vacation spots:

Outer Banks

Hilton Head Island

Myrtle Beach 

We are nature and beach enthusiasts, a great tide pool so that we can watch "fishy business" a great scuba spot, sitting on a wide porch with a refreshing drink, body surfing (or just jumping up and down in the waves) - makes us happy. We do not have much need for, but we enjoy luxurious accomodations. We are looking at the Sheraton Broadway Plantation, Marriott or DVC on Hilton Head or even some of the Williamsburg timeshares. Have you stayed at any of these places? Do you have any observations?

I would greatly value your opinion based on your years of experience.

elaine


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## hjtug (Apr 13, 2010)

glypnirsgirl said:


> Hi Dave - I am interested in your opinion about vacation spots:
> 
> Outer Banks
> 
> ...



Hi,

I have been eavesdropping but will respond to you inquiry: 

We have stayed three times at timeshares in Hilton Head, with the most recent being at the oceanfront Marriott's Grand Ocean.  HH is great for nature since they have strong wildlife-friendly ordinances - discouraging lighting and signage and encouraging lush vegatation.  Our favorite photo is a huge alligator sunning itself near some golfers.  There are a couple of national wildlife refuges nearby.  DVC there is not oceanfront but a few of the Marriotts are.  There are great paved paths for bicycling and walking. There are many places to golf and play tennis.  Savannah, which we love to visit, is nearby.

We have never stayed in a timeshare on the Outer Banks but love the natural beauty there.

Myrtle Beach seems much more overtly commercialized than the other two.

To our taste the weather is better at Hilton Head than at the other two
during the late fall and early spring.  If you don't like hot and humid, then you might consider the weather to be better at the Outer Banks in summer.  Of course, all three are vulnerable to hurricanes in late summer and fall.


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## Goofyhobbie (Apr 13, 2010)

Elaine,

As an owner of RCI affilated resorts my experience is limited to what is in their directory. Over the years we have had over 200 exchanges with most being in the Southeast. Highly recommend that you carefully read the reviews provided by TUGGERS when considering any new experience. 

I have never had the pleasure of going to Hilton Head Island but will do so this Labor Day week. We will be staying at Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort in a 2 Bedroom Villa for a full week. When I travel, I try to get the best of the best and based on what I have heard DVC is among the best. 

While considering the Hilton Head area don't forget Edisto Island, SC. Wyndham has three resorts on the island. The shelling is outstanding. Their is a small island just off shore that you can access which has an abundance of shells available for those who enjoy just reaching down and scooping them up. The overall atmosphere at the resorts on Edisto Island are laid back and very relaxing. It is off the beaten track. Unfortunately we cannot enjoy the resorts there as much as we use to because my wife can't handle a lot of steps. That problem also exists for us in a lot of the timeshare units available on the Outer Banks.  But, if you are healthy and can easily climb a few steps the enjoyment of both the Outer Banks and Edisto Island, SC is well worth the effort.

As you will soon realize when considering the Outer Banks the availabile resorts are plentiful; but most of the properties are older than you may be use to, although most that I have experienced were well maintained. If you desire to be on the beach you must be very selective and for the most part willing to stay at an older resort. (Location, Location, Location) I have never personally expeienced Outer Banks Beach Club II in Kill Devil Hills, NC but it is probably the first resort I would choose if I were going to the Outer Banks this summer. My second choice would probably be The Golden Strand but not because of the accomodations.  We would be there for the elevator and easy access to the beach. 

Don't forget Atlantic Beach, NC. If I stayed there, I would probably go with Peppertree Atlantic Beach III because of the accomodations and elevator but note it is not on the beach. Speaking of Atlantic Beach, NC you can put together a nice vacation by staying at the various HOA's that use to be associated with Fairfield Harbor, New Bern, NC.  We own a 2 BR 2 & 1/2 bath condo at Sandcastle Cove, New Bern, NC where you can enjoy the golf, the harbor (one of the largest harbors on the east coast - The Yachts tied up there are magnificent.)  While there you can go horseback riding, enjoy the indoor or outdoor pools and just relax. But, you are an easy drive from the fishing and boating as well as sunbathing at Atlantic Beach, NC.  

Over the years we have stayed at Williamsburg (Wyndham Resorts at Kingsgate and Patriot's Place as well as at The Historic Powhatan Resort) and we enjoyed each vacation. The primary attraction for me is the history experience. I enjoy touring old Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown. If you have grandchildren with you they will definitely enjoy Busch Gardens. Each time we visited the accomodations exceeded our expectations.

Myrtle Beach, SC is the Mecca for sun worshiping on the East Coast. There you will find plenty to do in the evening and the restaurants available are fantastic. The easiest way to enjoy Myrtle Beach for us is our acquistion of Wyndham Points. 

Given the multitude of timeshare resorts in Myrtle Beach, it has always amazed me when folks try to book a few days or a week or more and cannot find reasonably priced accomodations in excellent properties. 

As a Wyndham owner, we can stay in relative luxury right on the beach and never have trouble getting what we want as long as we book during the Advanced Reservation Priority period.

Sheraton Broadway Plantation, South Beach Resort, Presidential Villas at Plantation Resort, and many other great resorts with outstanding accomodations are routinely available through RCI; but resorts like those which are *not* *on* *the beach *are not as desirable for that reason.


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 13, 2010)

*Thank you!*

I love this website for both the expertise and the friendliness of the TUGgers. Thank you both for responding.

I own DVC points and I have never used them outside of the WDW resorts. This past year we acquired both points and weeks in RCI --- and the resorts that we pull I am trying to familiarize myself with so I will be ready to STRIKE when the occasion arises. Based on both of your comments, it sounds like Hilton Head or OBX (it took me forever to figure out that acronym) would be more to our taste. Although we do Disney alot, it is an anomaly for what we normally enjoy. And we prefer the condo style Disney resorts Saratoga Springs and Old Key West over the hotel style. (excuse me, I will try to get back on track).

Both Hilton Head and OBX have beaches, are more natural, less commercial, than Myrtle Beach, it sounds like. I have read here on TUG about the traffic congestion of the "Strand" on Myrtle Beach. Any of those types of issues for HH or OBX? 

Now to go look on the RCI site and see if my traders can pull anything promising ....

:whoopie: 

elaine


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## ronandjoan (Apr 13, 2010)

*Time sharing full time*

We are now time sharing full time, since we sold our house 2years ago, and have not figured out our actual per night costs for a whole year, however, even the bonus weeks from SFX, which are such a great bargain for luxury oceanfront resorts are an added cash outlay, over and above our normal  maintenance fees.  We have decided now, to save money, that we need to mainly go where we already own.  That means, Telemark at Cable WI, our favorite timeshare (3 weeks, plus last minute owner bonis weeks for $199), Townhouses at St Augustine Beach and Tennis Club (5 weeks, our second favorite timeshare) and use Wyndham resorts as much as possible, since there are no internal exchange fees, especially if we can schedule last minute discounted units; and  try to use only  28K Wyndham deposits in RCI if at all possible, since the RCI exchange fee has gone up so much it has really made a cash flow difference now.  Platinum Interchange and DAE are also cheaper alternatives, although there are fewer resort choices with them.

Glad you mentioned Edisto Island (above) -Ocean Ridge is our FAVORITE Wyndham resort, although there are many others that we love!

Our original plan was to only timeshare 2 years and then settle down, but we can't decide where - we don't want to leave ANYWHERE!  we are happy almost EVERYWHERE.

Here is our BLOG that needs to be updated, yes!  It ends as of last Oct and since then we have spent many weeks at places, and are 3 weeks right now at Tropic Sun Towers in Ormond Beach.

http://ronandjoanjourney.blogspot.com/


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 13, 2010)

Hi Joan --- My husband and I had considered RVing full time but TSing full time sounds like a lot more fun. How many weeks do you own total to be able to do this full time? 

If I get any crazier with my ebay purchases, I may be able to do this sooner rather than later. I am trying to wait for places that I know that I will enjoy, but I am concerned that I will miss the BEST deals. It is amazing what I have been able to buy at less than $2000 (total, including transfer fees and maintenance). I originally started looking to buy only Hawaii and reading here realized that the maintenance fees would kill our budget once we retire, so MFs are my biggest consideration in making purchases. And having a DECENT place to stay.

How long have you been on your journey???

elaine


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 13, 2010)

*here is what I could pull*

Okay, here is what I could pull. There were so many resorts on Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach that I limited the search to just gold crowns. Not because I would only consider Gold Crowns, there were just so many that was an easy way to differentiate until I become more familiar.

Edisto Island

Wyndham Ocean Ridge
Wyndham Ocean Ridge II

OBX

Barrier Island Station - Duck
Barrier Island Station - Kitty Hawk
Barrier Island’s Ocean Pines Beach
Dunes South
Hatteras High
High Dunes Resort
Ocean Villas
Ocean Villas II
Outer Banks Beach Club I
Outer Banks Beach Club II
Sea Scape
The Golden Strand
The Windjammer

Hilton Head
Coral Reef Resort
Coral Sand Resort
Egret Point by Spinnaker
Island Club - Seawatch
Island Links Resort
Ocean Cove Club at Palmetto Dunes
Ocean Palms Resort at Port Royal
Players Club
Royal Dunes
Sea Crest Surf and Racquet Club
Sea Pines Plantation
Southwind II
The Village at Palmetto Dunes
Vacation Time of Hilton Head Island
Waterside by Spinnaker


Myrtle Beach
Carolina Grande
Holiday Inn Club Vacations South Beach
Plantation Resort Villas
Seaglass Tower
Sheraton Broadway Plantation
Wyndham Ocean Blvd.


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## Goofyhobbie (Apr 14, 2010)

Elaine,

As you may know, if you have read some of my past posts (starting about June 5 or 6, 2009) I made the plunge that you are talking about by purchasing 4 separate contracts for Myrtle Beach Wyndham Points.

Before I jumped into the purchase I did a lot of homework to get each step right.

Why Wyndham and why at Myrtle Beach? Well, that is another story that has already previously been posted. With a little research you can probably find those posts or get back to me and I will help you find them.

The final total came to 469,000 Wyndham Points which equates to about 16 full week exchanges with RCI if you were to deposit in 28K increments.

*Breaking it down:*

Purchase consummated August, 2009 (leaving 5 months of maintenance cost for the initial 469K)

Sunk or Purchase & Closing Cost: $1,702 (just a little over 1/3 cent per point)

Five months of 2009 Maintenance:     $992.55

Deposited the 469K with RCI in various increments and combined 14K from my 469K that I had available for 2010 to make the last 28K deposit.

To trade with RCI one would have to pony up $189 for each of the trades.

So Exchange Trade cost came to: $1,701 for the nine trades made.  

Using the figures above you can see that the cost for the 9 weeks of vacation (63 nights) came to just under $4,400 + roughly $74 for the 2010 maintenance fee on the 14K points taken from my 2010 allocation.

Dividing $4,474 by 63 nights equates to roughly $71 per night.

Given that I still have 469K less the 14K borrowed for 2010 usage and then 469K each year into the future my on-going cost is just my maintenance fees which in 2010 totaled out to $2,468.34. *I do not ever again have to be concerned about my intial cost. *  That fact will make it much easier to pull the trigger and get rid of any of the contracts some time in the distant future.

Using the $2,468 maintenance fee cost plus the anticipated cost of RCI trades ($189 x 16) which comes to a total of $3,024 one could conceivably get 16 weeks of quality living in Florida or elsewhere for roughly $5,500.00. 

[That could equate to 112 nights or about 3 months in a 2 BR fully furnished Condo on the beaches of Florida in WINTER and possibly other seasons of the year. Given the square footage of living space and the fact that the condos are fully furnished *$49.00 per night is NOT A BAD DEAL!!!!*


In some cases I was able to use 28 K deposits to get some great locations and in other cases I had to use 105K deposits because the RCI Vacation Counselor noticed that I had 105k deposits available and would only allow the higher deposit to get what I wanted; but overall I did well because I was able to use all of my 2009 points to get satisfactory trades. But, I would never use more than 105K because based on my experience a higher quanity of points will not get any better results.


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## hjtug (Apr 14, 2010)

glypnirsgirl said:


> Both Hilton Head and OBX have beaches, are more natural, less commercial, than Myrtle Beach, it sounds like. I have read here on TUG about the traffic congestion of the "Strand" on Myrtle Beach. Any of those types of issues for HH or OBX?



Hilton Head is certainly commercialized but, in our opinion, it is done much more tastefully than most other places.  We have never stayed there in the summer but we hear stories about heavy traffic.



glypnirsgirl said:


> Okay, here is what I could pull. There were so many resorts on Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach that I limited the search to just gold crowns. Not because I would only consider Gold Crowns, there were just so many that was an easy way to differentiate until I become more familiar...



We find the TUG reviews to be a great way to choose resorts and many feel that TUG ratings are more useful than gold crown ratings.  We own at Ocean Ridge.  We have never stayed there but were impressed when we toured it.  We trade through II.  We have stayed in HH at Island Links, which trades with RCI and II, and we liked it very much.  We also enjoyed Carolina Club which is a Spinnaker Resort near Egret Point.  We participated in activities with Egret Point guests and they seemed happy.  Good luck.


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## glypnirsgirl (Apr 14, 2010)

I agree that the TUG reviews are more helpful than Gold Crown designation. 

I frequently sit with two windows open while I window shop for timeshares - one is for Ebay and the other the TUG reviews. 

I am absolutely blown away by the deals that can be bought on Ebay for timeshares at the moment. I believe that it is a perfect storm for people that are in a position to purchase. I believe that some timeshare owners purchase and then do not ever learn how to use their timeshare and therefore it has no value to them. Then there are those unfortunate souls that can no longer afford their maintenance fees because of the economy. And the general aging of those people that first purchased the timeshares just getting to the age that they are no longer traveling. Between all of them, the market price has tanked. Bad for them, good for me.

elaine


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## DVB42 (Apr 14, 2010)

Goofyhobbie - WOW 200 exchanges is a lot. I like your attitude. I would bet that almost all 200 exchanges were positive. We have owned for 31 years now and currently have six timeshare units. We only had one week for a long time because of limited vacation time and other time demands. We are now trading around five weeks per year and enjoy it a lot. I am glad our children were able to travel with us while they were growing up. We have some great family memories due to our travels.

Good luck with retirement. I hope to exit the rat race at the office soon myself.


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## Goofyhobbie (Apr 14, 2010)

*Wow!*



> Over the years we have had over 200 exchanges with most being in the Southeast.



DVB42,

  I did say over 200.  What I should have said is our RCI Exchange Relation # is over 00200.    Although we have been timesharing since 1985 we did not get into more than 8 - 10  exchanges per year until the last few years. 

In the early years we probably did three to four exchanges a year because back in the day the best opportunity I had would have been related to five weeks vacation a year. 

I do recall providing some vacations for friends and family and also used some timeshares for business trips; but upon reconsideration 200 plus exchanges in the 25 years would have been pushing the envelope.

I guess some of those "Relation Numbers" were related to bonus weeks and or where RCI Guides were doing some looking around for me thinking that I would accept the exchange offer they were proposing.

The next 100 Exchanges will come faster because we are indeed exchanging a lot more as you can see above. I apologize for the slip up!


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## MuranoJo (Apr 14, 2010)

Dave,
What is a 'relation #?'  Don't think I've heard of that before, but maybe I missed it in my on & off visits.  Thx.


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## Goofyhobbie (Apr 16, 2010)

*RCI Relation Number*

Hi muranogo,

Every time a deposit is made into your RCI Account the RCI computer assigns a Relation Number to the deposit.

Take a look at your Exchange History the next time you log into RCI and you should see Relation Numbers going back a year or two.

I routinely keep track of my Relation Numbers because I do so many RCI Exchanges and it makes it easier for me to identify which Unit I am talking about when I talk to a Vacation Guide (VG).  When I mention a particular Relation Number the Guide knows exactly which deposit I am talking about.

As of right now, I have ten deposits in the RCI bank and I have 9 deposits that have confirmed exchanges against them.  

The next vacation coming up for us involves Relation # 00174; but there are at least 18 more numbers that have been applied against exchanges already or have been used within the last six months and five that have been deposited creating new Relation Numbers just within the last ten days.


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## Goofyhobbie (May 8, 2010)

*Update: Plans Are Complete For The Next 12 Months*

For those of you who have not yet retired save your nickels and dimes!

For those of you who have already retired maybe, our paths will cross sometime over the next 12 Months.


*Vacation Itinerary*

5/9/2010            (7 Nights) North Pier Ocean Villas, Carolina Beach, NC

7/24 – 8/3/2010  (11 Nights) Wyndham West Winds, North Myrtle Beach, SC

8/29/2010          (7 Nights) Wyndham, Edisto Island, SC

9/5/2010            (7 Nights) Disney Hilton Head, SC

11/5/2010          (7 Nights) Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, Vero Beach, FL

11/12/2010        (7 Nights) Wyndham Ocean Walk, Daytona Beach, FL

11/19/2010        (7 Nights) Wyndham Ocean Walk, Daytona Beach, FL

11/27/2010        (7 Nights) Discovery Beach Resort

12/4/2010         (7 Nights) Discovery Beach Resort

12/11/2010       (7 Nights) Discovery Beach Resort

12/19/2010        One Day Devoted to a 950 Drive Home

2/27/2011         (7 Nights) Vistana Beach Club

3/6/2011           (7 Nights) (Vistana Beach Club, Jensen Beach, FL

3/13/2010         (7 Nights) The Resort on Cocoa Beach, Cocoa Beach, FL

3/20/2011         (7 Nights) Vistana Beach Club, Jensen Beach, FL

3/27/2010         (7 Nights) Vistana Beach Club, Jensen Beach, FL

4/3/2010           (7 Nights) The Resort on Cocoa Beach, FL


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## YeongWoo (May 8, 2010)

Dave,

I'm at Wrightsville Beach today.  The weather is great but the water is too cold!  We've got family down here so I probably wouldn't stay at Carolina Beach but let me know how you like it.  Did you get the MB summer with an RCI exchange or did you use your points?


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## Goofyhobbie (May 11, 2010)

YeongWoo,

The Myrtle Beach Summer was obtained back during the first week of August, 2009 by using the ARP privilage at Myrtle Beach, SC.  At the time we wanted Westwinds because my DW prefers to just stroll out to the sand without going through crowds. That area is more laid back and a less crowded area of the Grand Strand. The beach is beautiful there that time of year.

We chose a Unit on the tenth (top) floor for the magnificent view and to avoid having anyone above our Unit. We also selected a Unit away from the bank of elevators and away from the corners for an excellent BEACH FRONT accomodation for relatively low point usage compared to Seawatch and/or Ocean Boulevard.  If we want access to amenities at Wyndham Ocean Blvd.
it is just up the road a few blocks.

Guess you could say we have the best of both worlds for view, quietness, and a very relaxing laid back vacation. We also made sure that we would be in the same Unit the entire stay for convenience.


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## Goofyhobbie (May 15, 2010)

YeongWoo,

Regarding Carolina Beach and our stay at North Pier Ocean Villas, I will be providing a review in the resort review section sometime this weekend. Hope you enjoyed your time with family at Wrightsville Beach.


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## Nola Jean (Jun 3, 2010)

Dave - what is the:
Advanced Reservation Priority period?
How do I access it?  I am a Wyndham Fairshare Plus VIP member.


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## Goofyhobbie (Jun 25, 2010)

*Advanced Reservation Priority*

Nola Jean,

Please accept my apology for missing your question back on June 3, 2010. I may have been seriously involved in writing the Ten Articles that are being posted in the TUG Advice section and entitled "Wyndham Points."



> Dave - what is the:
> 
> Advanced Reservation Priority period?
> 
> How do I access it? I am a Wyndham Fairshare Plus VIP member.



First allow me to clarify the name for your membership.  You are a Club Wyndham Plus VIP member.  Wyndham re-branded back in 2009. 

The Advanced Reservation Period is identified on page 333 of your Club Wyndham Plus Member's Directory 2009 - 2010. A link is provided here:

Club Wyndham Plus Member's Directory 2009 - 2010

What Wyndham refers to as the Advanced Reservation Priority (ARP) period is an important feature that is provided to Wyndham Owners when they acquire a Wyndham points contract. The resort designated in your contract as your "HOME RESORT" is the resort where you can take advantage of the ARP feature to get the benefit of three months advanced reservation priority.  

The feature has nothing to do with your VIP status or lack thereof if you had not achieved that status. 

Because, you as an owner (regardless of how you obtained your points), have your points tied to a particular resort or region you can make reservations at your "HOME RESORT" up to three months ahead of the general population of Wyndham owners who own at other Wyndham resorts.

The benefit is not available to you via Internet. In other words during the three month ARP period you cannot go to the Wyndham reservation website and book a reservation at your "Home Resort" during the three months that the feature is available prior to the desired check-in.

Using ARP you can confirm a UNIT reservation at your "home resort" for 3-, 4- or 7-nights, checking in or out on the resort's designated check-in day. (*Note:* Some resorts require a 7-Night stay.) For more specific information about ARP you can refer to the Wyndham Resort Directory at page 332. 

When making an ARP reservation it has to be done by phone no earlier than 8 A. M. EST exactly 13 months prior to the day that you desire to check-in.  

(When in doubt about when you can call and make a reservation, I recommend that you contact a Wyndham Vacation Counselor to find out the earliest date that you can actually call and book your check-in date).

The number to call is: *1-800-251-8736*


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