# 3 years + of points:  Need some info on Shell Vacation Club, Kauai Beachboy



## Denise L (Jan 9, 2007)

Hello,

A good friend of mine owns 7500 or so annual points at this resort on Kauai, a 2 bedroom oceanfront villa.  Is this a popular and high demand resort? Does anyone know anything about rental potential here?  The reviews are quite favorable, but I see very few rentals out there (0 on redweek, 2 on myresortnetwork, 0 on TUG). Anyone have any success with rentals there?

The reason I am asking is because she has about two years worth of points to bank or use this year, and another 7500 or so coming later this year.  She probably can't use all of these points so I told her that I would try and figure out what she could do with them. She also has a bunch of points banked with RCI. Right now she is feeling pretty frustrated and anxious about the timeshare and I volunteered to try and help her.  The rep who sold them the points told them that they could go to Fiji, so the put in a search long ago (more than a year out) and nothing has come up. The rep probably didn't tell them that it would be near impossible to get a match in Fiji. I don't know anything about timeshares in Fiji, so I have no idea  !

I'd like for her and her husband (who bought developer) to be happy with their purchase and try and use it. So far, I know very little about SVC and there isn't a lot on the boards either  . If anyone can help me help her, I would really appreciate it!

They want to go to Maui, Fiji and Grand Cayman, Atlantis and eventually Australia.  Both are scuba divers (she was just certified in 2006), and so dive locations are appealing to them right now, before they have kids.

Any chance that she could get an exchange into Morritt's Grand?

I was thinking that if SVC allowed renting out your home resort, they might be able to generate some income to cover MFs + maybe a small vacation, at least until they figure out what they are doing with all the points. Would Christmas or New Years, Thanksgiving, Spring Break and Presidents' Week be good times to rent, or the summer weeks?

She is going to authorize me to speak with a SVC rep tomorrow, but I really feel like I know nothing now, so any advice would be really great. I am a total SVC newbie!

Best use of 13000 SVC points?
Best use of 7000 points banked with RCI?
Best use of 7500 points coming later this year?

Thanks for any help  !


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## KevinRS (Jan 10, 2007)

*Buy the Visa Cards from Shell*

You can use the points to buy a credit card I believe they call it SVC PlaydecK, and you buy a card for dining or hotels, but is just a credit card that can be used like a normal credit card anywhere, it is a pretty good deal. 

A $500 card will cost 3500 points.  It gets you a big chunk of your maintenance fees back and you don't have to worry about renting....

We've used the cards twice with no problem.  You just have to use them all within 30 or 60 days or something like that...


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## Denise L (Jan 11, 2007)

KevinRS said:


> You can use the points to buy a credit card I believe they call it SVC PlaydecK, and you buy a card for dining or hotels, but is just a credit card that can be used like a normal credit card anywhere, it is a pretty good deal.
> 
> A $500 card will cost 3500 points.  It gets you a big chunk of your maintenance fees back and you don't have to worry about renting....
> 
> We've used the cards twice with no problem.  You just have to use them all within 30 or 60 days or something like that...



Thanks, Kevin. I'll see if she knows about the cards. I think she is really hoping to get some good exchanges and try and use the weeks, or at least cover all her MFs. The cards sound like a good alternative to letting the points expire! Thanks!


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## aliikai2 (Jan 11, 2007)

*If she can book spring weeks in AZ*

She should have no problem renting them.
 The OF units at the Beach boy are great. 
They should get $1099 per week and Shell has no problem if they reserve and rent them. 
Get a summer 2 bedroom, and maybe she could get $1599.

They can also use the points for SF, Kona, or any of the Shell resorts.

I am unsure of how they deposit time with RCI, with SFX they would reserve a great week and then deposit it.

They should be able to pull most anything as the resorts have great power ( with a great week of course. 

fwiw, Greg


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## Denise L (Jan 11, 2007)

aliikai2 said:


> She should have no problem renting them.
> The OF units at the Beach boy are great.
> They should get $1099 per week and Shell has no problem if they reserve and rent them.
> Get a summer 2 bedroom, and maybe she could get $1599.



Greg, thanks for the advice  . Are summer Kauai weeks the best out there? Is Christmas week too rainy?  A summer 2 bedroom on Maui can get over $3K...any reason why Kauai rents for less? Just wondering, as I have never rented there and a 2 bedroom for $1100-1600 seems like a deal, and oceanfront too!


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## aliikai2 (Jan 12, 2007)

*Your Westin or Marriott resorts on Maui may*

get $2500-3k, but most of our 2 bedroom non holiday weeks around the islands rent for $999-1199.

Kauai's demand is far lower than Maui's, or the Big Island, but the quality of the Beach Boy should allow them a decent return.

If these were yours or mine, I would spend the time to get holiday weeks on the beach or spring training weeks in AZ. for rentals.

For trading, I would think that spring AZ weeks would work great, and cost less points than the OF Beach Boy.


jmho, Greg


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## Denise L (Jan 12, 2007)

Greg,

Thanks for the great advice. I'll hopefully be able to figure out the SVC system and help my friend book some high demand weeks. Then I'll either help her rent them or exchange them. I really want them to enjoy timesharing, but they didn't realize it would require so much advance planning!

Would you say that Christmas and New Years is easier to rent on Kauai than Summer, Spring Break, or Presidents' Week?


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## Bill4728 (Jan 13, 2007)

Or reserve at Whistler during ski season. Can't go wrong with renting Whistler.


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## rbrougham (Jan 13, 2007)

I own SVC and your friends can exchange for any RCI resort through the Shell customer service number.  Shell converts it's points on a multiple into RCI.  I don't recall the conversion rate, but I thought it was fair.

I was at Beachboy in October and agree about it's being a desirable resort.


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## Denise L (Jan 13, 2007)

Thanks for the advice about Whistler. I have to check out the SVC resort there online.

My friend currently has 7000 points banked with RCI. I don't know if she wants to bank anymore, but it certainly is an option. Thanks!


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## freedom53 (Jan 14, 2007)

Denise....I am a SVC member and own at a couple of Shell resorts in Canada. As your friend is an SVC member, get her set up on the owner's section of the Shell web site. She can then see the points required for all Shell resorts. Also, membership in Shell also includes membership with RCI. So on phoning 1 800 SHELL10, Shell vacation guides can help with any resort availability in RCI, SFX, and Resortime. With the points available, I am sure they can snag some great vacation time.

By the way, I stayed at the Kauai Beachboy in 2004. I is a great resort worthy of it's Gold Crown status. The one site restaurant was very good. However, beach is not really swimable there, a lot of rocks.

The credit card suggestion is a good one vs losing the points.


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## Denise L (Jan 14, 2007)

freedom53,

Thanks for your encouragement. I think it will work out well for them if they can plan ahead and figure out where they want to go. I think their steep learning curve in using their points is having to decide a year ahead (or two in RCI's case) where they might want to vacation.  

My friend is still supposed to authorize me access to their account, and then I can call that 800 number and make some reservations or requests!


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