# Vri-variety



## pkyorkbeach (Aug 10, 2010)

Being new to Timesharing I am curious how TUG members feel about VRI or VRIety, either to exchange a week at their home resort or to exhange for a different VRI resort????

Thank you for your thoughts and ideas...


Appreciate


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## theo (Aug 10, 2010)

*Good question...*



pkyorkbeach said:


> Being new to Timesharing I am curious how TUG members feel about VRI or VRIety, either to exchange a week at their home resort or to exhange for a different VRI resort????



VRI*ety is itself relatively new (just a very few years old now). This question has been raised before (...you can find old posts on the subject via a "search").

When last discussed here, I seem to recall that there was not yet much experience gained or shared regarding VRI*ety --- good, bad or indifferent. I was (still am) quite interested in the topic myself, since the majority of my owned weeks are at VRI managed facilities. I personally think that VRI is a highly competent management company with a very strong track record in facility management. The VRI*ety program, however, is still relatively unknown / untested. The previous threads all seemed to conclude with folks suggesting to one another "Why don't you try it and then let us know how it works out for you"?  
Maybe now there will be folks weighing in with experiences gained since those old discussions... 

As in any exchange system or program, *availabilty rules all*. Accordingly, I have to wonder (I have no statistics, just my own curiousity) how much prime availability would actually be "deposited" with VRI in the first place, since truly prime weeks / locations would seem (to me, anyhow) to likely be of much higher "value" (in a monetary sense) to their owners by being rented out when not used, instead of being deposited into a relatively small exchange pool of uncertain inventory. After all, VRI manages what? --- only about 125 resorts in the entire U.S. in the first place as I remember (and not all of them have signed on for VRI*ety either; it's a voluntary choice for each resort as to whether they even wish to participate in VRI*ety).


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## Honeydew (Aug 10, 2010)

theo said:


> As in any exchange system or program, *availabilty rules all*. Accordingly, I have to wonder (I have no statistics, just my own curiousity) how much prime availability would actually be "deposited" with VRI in the first place, since truly prime weeks / locations would seem (to me, anyhow) to likely be of much higher "value" (in a monetary sense) to their owners by being rented out when not used, instead of being deposited into a relatively small exchange pool of uncertain inventory.



I don't know much, but here is my two cents.  I own at a VRI managed resort too.  I have not used vri*ety yet, but check it periodically.  Matter of fact, I listed two sighting back on July 30, one was for a prime ski week.  I have also seem many Cape Cod summer weeks. (see sighting board from 4/09 too).

The things that I personally like about vri*ety is, there is no membership fee to join, you can see weeks available before you deposit, the exchange fees are cheaper, and my favorite is you can split the week into two get-a-ways of a 4 day and 3 day vacation.


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## flexible (Aug 10, 2010)

Honeydew said:


> I don't know much, but here is my two cents.  I own at a VRI managed resort too.  I have not used vri*ety yet, but check it periodically.  Matter of fact, I listed two sighting back on July 30, one was for a prime ski week.  I have also seem many Cape Cod summer weeks. (see sighting board from 4/09 too).
> 
> The things that I personally like about vri*ety is, there is no membership fee to join, you can see weeks available before you deposit, the exchange fees are cheaper, and my favorite is you can split the week into two get-a-ways of a 4 day and 3 day vacation.



I am unfamiliar with VRI but am very familiar with ICE/OVC. Do they run VRI or only the cruise option. When we pay ICE with our TS points for cruises I think ICE tries to rent or exchange those TS weeks. Is this how VRI gets inventory? Thanks

http://www.vrietyexchange.com/CruiseExchange.aspx
These VRI*ety Plus Membership ("Membership") Terms and Conditions of the International Cruise & Excursion Gallery, Inc. ("ICE"), also doing business as Our Vacation Center ("OVC")


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## theo (Aug 10, 2010)

*Another $0.02 worth...*



flexible said:


> I am unfamiliar with VRI but am very familiar with ICE/OVC. Do they run VRI or only the cruise option. When we pay ICE with our TS points for cruises I think ICE tries to rent or exchange those TS weeks. Is this how VRI gets inventory?



As far as I know, VRI primarily (...maybe even only, I don't claim to know) gets their inventory from owners at VRI managed resorts (those that participate in VRI*ety at all) depositing week(s) into the VRI*ety exchange program. I don't know if VRI*ety also gets access to any HOA owned weeks from participating resorts for their inventory.

The (virtually brand new) VRI*ety *Plus* program is a different animal, as it requires (to the best of my knowledge) quite a hefty membership fee for whatever "additional benefits" it might claim to have. 

Phone sales reps have been contacting VRI managed resort owners in recent months, peddling the new "VRI*ety Plus" program, but I sure didn't hear anything that made me want to reach for my checkbook.


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## theo (Aug 10, 2010)

*Pleasant surprise...*



Honeydew said:


> The things that I personally like about vri*ety is, there is no membership fee to join, you can see weeks available before you deposit, the exchange fees are cheaper, and my favorite is you can split the week into two get-a-ways of a 4 day and 3 day vacation.



I did not know about the option to split a deposited week into 2 getaways of shorter duration --- nice!  
I wonder if they allow that "split" use toward *any* week in the exchange inventory, or if "splitting" is available for just some, selected weeks in the inventory pool?


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## tschwa2 (Aug 10, 2010)

I think VRI might share an exchange engine (and possibly some inventory) with TPI.


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## theo (Aug 10, 2010)

tschwa2 said:


> I think VRI might share an exchange engine (and possibly some inventory) with TPI.



Interesting --- why would you think that? (I'm certainly not challenging or doubting you at all; I'm just curious as to why you might think this to be so).


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## tschwa2 (Aug 10, 2010)

From this thread What's going on??? from an old Ask Trading Places International Thread


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## theo (Aug 10, 2010)

*Thanks!*



tschwa2 said:


> From this thread What's going on??? from an old Ask Trading Places International Thread



Thanks for that link. Reading through those old posts was interesting and educational --- not to mention reassuring that VRI now supposedly no longer uses the RCI exchange "system" (a change which *has* to be for the better imho; I have very little use or regard for RCI).


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## gravityrules (Aug 13, 2010)

*VRI*ety worked well for me*

VRI*ety has access to more than just VRI managed properties.  We exchanged into Stormy Point Village (Branson, MO) through VRI*ety.  SPV inventory is made available through Trading Places.
As previously mentioned the user interface for the VRI*ety inventory search is identical to TPI's, but the inventory shown
is different (VRI*ety's inventory is more extensive in my limited number of searches).
I'm happy with VRI*ety and will likely use it again.


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## theduffster (Aug 30, 2010)

We've deposited our week with vri.  So far we haven't seen anything to exchange it for that interests us, but we don't mind.

I like the "hot deals" vri has.  We got a week in Cape Cod in early June, cost was only about $230 for a one-bedroom unit.


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