# II deposit first vs request first



## tcrny (Feb 20, 2011)

Hi, is there any benefit (better exchange) using the deposit first?  I do not want to visit my home resort in Orlando and will definitely exchange.  Just wondering if the deposit first gets better exchange options to choose from.  This will be my first time.  I've also posted today regarding cruising, which is what we'd like to do.  But it sounds like price of exchange may not be worth it from what I've read.  

For exchange, is it better to do by phone or will online give me the same options?  Thanks for your help so much.


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## tschwa2 (Feb 20, 2011)

If you know you want to exchange with II you might as well deposit.  If you know you aren't visiting your home resort but might give it to a different exchange company, try to rent, or wait to see if you are offered an AC, you may want to do a request first and wait.  I don't think not depositing initially hurts your ability to exchange and options in II but if you are doing your own searches you can't see beyond your check in day with resorts managed by other companies.   If you wait to long to deposit your trading power is reduced.


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## timeos2 (Feb 20, 2011)

tcrny said:


> Hi, is there any benefit (better exchange) using the deposit first?  I do not want to visit my home resort in Orlando and will definitely exchange.  Just wondering if the deposit first gets better exchange options to choose from.  This will be my first time.  I've also posted today regarding cruising, which is what we'd like to do.  But it sounds like price of exchange may not be worth it from what I've read.
> 
> For exchange, is it better to do by phone or will online give me the same options?  Thanks for your help so much.



Once you give up your week(s) to deposit first you are at their mercy. Request first makes them produce oir they don't get your week(s) OR your exchange fee. Figure it out - which one makes them more likely to come through with what you want? 

Far too often a place and hope deposit first ends badly with the depositor taking any old thing just to prevent loss of their deposited time. Don't fall for that. Always use request first with II for best chance of getting what you want.


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## chalee94 (Feb 20, 2011)

Hi, is there any benefit (better exchange) using the deposit first? 

one of the mods has said that deposit first requests have a slight priority, all other things being equal.  beats me.

when you deposit first, your trade value is fixed at that point.  if you request first, i believe the value of your offer declines over time.

in my limited experience, i've had success with deposit first.  but it depends somewhat on what you are offering and asking for, do you expect like-for-like?

i usually try to trade a summer week at a mid-level resort for a shoulder week (when school is in session) at a nicer resort.  you win some, you lose some.

orlando has a lot of timeshares.  marriotts and starwoods have a preference within II where they can trade with each other before others get a shot at that inventory.  those might be disadvantages in your case.

I do not want to visit my home resort in Orlando and will definitely exchange.  Just wondering if the deposit first gets better exchange options to choose from.  This will be my first time.  I've also posted today regarding cruising, which is what we'd like to do.  But it sounds like price of exchange may not be worth it from what I've read.  

trading for a cruise is a waste.

i would definitely try deposit first...but think in terms of like-for-like.  your deposit is good for a couple of years.  if your request for the first year proves too unrealistic/optimistic, then maybe look for something more realistic the next year.

the sightings board is visible to members of TUG and may be helpful in seeing what has been seen as available on II at different times of year.

For exchange, is it better to do by phone or will online give me the same options?

online is cheaper.  but i have heard that calling might help in some cases.  i don't know what to tell you...i just use online.


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## cpcat (Feb 20, 2011)

All else being equal, a deposit-first week always beats a request-first week for trading power.  In other words--if two comparable weeks are competing for the same exchange and one is deposit-first while the other is request-first the deposit-first gets first dibs.  

If you don't plan to use the week then deposit it and as early as possible to maximize your trading power.

On-line is cheaper and ongoing requests are probably the best way to see the most options but if you do it that way you better check your email often (at least daily) during the request.


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## Judy (Feb 21, 2011)

Here is the information that was posted on TUG by an II rep several years ago:  On any given day, deposit first and request first have the same trading power. On the day that you deposit your week, its trading power is fixed, while that of your "request first" week declines over time as it gets closer to its check-in date.  
Judging from the other posts in this thread, perhaps II has changed its policy since its Rep posted that information on TUG.  But, if so, there doesn't seem to be agreement on what II's new policy is.  If any of you have definitive information, please tell us its source.


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## cpcat (Feb 21, 2011)

From the 2011/12 II Terms and Conditions:

_11. II, therefore, in order to achieve its goal of providing the Member
with an exchange experience comparable to that which the Home
Resort provides, assigns a priority to each request based on the
following factors:
(a) The supply of and demand for, within the Exchange Program,
for the vacation week deposited (Deposit First) or being
offered in exchange (Request First) and for the Home Resort.
(b) The supply of and demand for, within the Exchange Program,
the vacation week and Member Resort being requested in
exchange.
(c) The quality, facilities, and overall experience offered by the
Home Resort as compared to the quality, facilities, and overall
experience of the Member Resort being requested in exchange.
This is based on evaluation forms received from exchange
guests to the Home Resort, resort inspections and evaluations,
and other information received by II regarding the Home
Resort.
(d) When the exchange request is received by II. The earlier of two
identical requests for the same vacation week with identical
relinquishment will receive priority.
*(e) The amount of time in advance of the first date of occupancy
at which the Home Resort vacation week is relinquished to II.*
(f) The unit type and private sleeping capacity being relinquished
as compared to the unit type and private sleeping capacity
being requested.
All of the above factors, with the exceptions of when the Home Resort
accommodations are relinquished, when a request is received and the
unit type and private sleeping capacity, are constantly changing and are
updated by II on an ongoing basis._

I added the bold type as it applies to this thread most directly.  Obviously, you must infer that _relinquishment_ doesn't occur with Request First until the time of exchange while it occurs at the time of deposit with Deposit First.


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## bobpark56 (Feb 21, 2011)

Judy said:


> On the day that you deposit your week, its trading power is fixed, while that of your "request first" week declines over time as it gets closer to its check-in date.



Perhaps your assumption that "request first" means one has an assigned check-in date is a bit out of date. 

We currently have 2 Westin Lagunamar request-first items in the II system, and neither has a check-in date associated with it. Assigned check-in dates do not happen (as I understand it) until II finds us a unit and then asks Westin to release a specific unit to fulfill our request. So it would seem that we are in the same position as those who deposit first...which has worked successfully for us with our Marriott units in past years.

Or, to put it another way, the Westin-II agreement seems to maximize/sustain the power of request-first actions.


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## cpcat (Feb 21, 2011)

At least according to II's request priority guidelines, a week deposited prior to your Request First would still technically have higher trading power (assuming everything else is comparable).  You don't relinquish your week until the time of exchange with Request First while with Deposit First the week is relinquished at the time of deposit.  The check-in date of your home resort week doesn't determine request priority (only your window of exchange opportunity).  The date of relinquishment of your week as well as the date of your request do, however.

Now, what practical difference that makes could vary from almost nothing to significant depending on a host of other factors---and would depend on how sophisticated/accurate (or unsophisticated/inaccurate) the whole process of prioritizing is at II.  

It certainly does make sense for II to reward early deposit of weeks though.


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## e.bram (Feb 21, 2011)

Not if they want to get ANOTHER(more income) deposit.


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## Judy (Feb 24, 2011)

bobpark56 said:


> Perhaps your assumption that "request first" means one has an assigned check-in date is a bit out of date.


 Yes, that was my assumption for the OP.  Perhaps it would be more accurate to say "resort specific" rather than "out of date".  My Worldmark works similar to your Westin, but many timeshare resorts still have assigned check-in dates.


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## frenchieinme (Feb 25, 2011)

timeos2 said:


> Once you give up your week(s) to deposit first you are at their mercy. Request first makes them produce oir they don't get your week(s) OR your exchange fee. Figure it out - which one makes them more likely to come through with what you want?
> 
> Far too often a place and hope deposit first ends badly with the depositor taking any old thing just to prevent loss of their deposited time. Don't fall for that. Always use request first with II for best chance of getting what you want.



If everybody would request first rather than deposit first, where would the inventory come from for one to get an exchange?  Wouldn't all inventory be lacking and nobody getting what is requested?    In a perfect world with loads of available inventory, requesting first would be the way to go.

I deposit as soon as I know I am not using or renting the unit and this has given me good exchanges.  Maybe I have been just plain lucky.  

frenchieinme


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## timeos2 (Feb 26, 2011)

frenchieinme said:


> If everybody would request first rather than deposit first, where would the inventory come from for one to get an exchange?  Wouldn't all inventory be lacking and nobody getting what is requested?    In a perfect world with loads of available inventory, requesting first would be the way to go.
> 
> I deposit as soon as I know I am not using or renting the unit and this has given me good exchanges.  Maybe I have been just plain lucky.
> 
> frenchieinme



I guess that would be the case or II would have to actually earn their fee and go find the needed weeks (as SFX does).  But far too many depositors take the risk of place & hope - and all too often get stuck with junk weeks just to avoid losing all use - so at least for now that's not a worry.  In any case you have to watch out for your own values and really can't worry if II gets the week or not unless they deliver value to you for your time.


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## cpcat (Feb 26, 2011)

The other advantage of depositing with II IMO is it allows you to search online and "see" resorts while making a decision.


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## tcrny (Feb 26, 2011)

Thanks everyone for your help.  This is our first timeshare (unfortunately bought direct from developer while on vacation ... all because of discount tickets to Universal Studios... ugh).  I know we're not alone and others have done this, expensive lesson learned.  But now we have it, and it gives us the incentive to take vacations, which is why we bought it to begin with.  We will not let it go to waste.  At least now I can do my homework to figure out the exchange, and all of you are so very helpful.  Since we are sure we will exchange (our week is 51 in Orlando).

Basically online is cheaper (vs. using II on the phone?).  I guess I just go on the website and deposit the week there.  I just want to be sure I understand how it works before I do this.  I do understand that I should deposit asap to get best trading power.  We do not have any specific place we want to go.  We haven't traveled much (except for few cruises) so there are a lot of places we want to see.  If I trade my week 51 now, would I be able to trade for something this July or is that impossible?  thanks again to all .... this board is a tremendous help.  Cathy


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## Judy (Feb 26, 2011)

tcrny said:


> we are sure we will exchange (our week is 51 in Orlando).


 Orlando doesn't have very strong trading power.  Be sure to put in an ongoing request with II rather than just searching online.  My Orlando week trades reasonably well, but only through ongoing searches.



> Basically online is cheaper (vs. using II on the phone?).


 Yes, for making exchanges, but not for depositing a week. 





> I guess I just go on the website and deposit the week there.


 It depends upon the resort you own.  Many can be deposited online but even if yours can be, call your resort to be sure there will be no delays to their confirming your deposit. For example, many resorts will require that you pay your maintenance fees for the upcoming year before they'll authorize a deposit.   





> We do not have any specific place we want to go.  We haven't traveled much (except for few cruises) so there are a lot of places we want to see.  If I trade my week 51 now, would I be able to trade for something this July or is that impossible?


  It's good that you're flexible because this July is a little close to get into highly demanded resorts/locations.  Put in an ongoing request for everything you'd be happy with.  The more choices you include, the better your chances.


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## cpcat (Feb 26, 2011)

I'm pretty sure you can do an ongoing request with a deposit and still play around with searching online simultaneously.  

Week 51 should be a pretty decent trader even if it's Orlando.  

Once you've picked a particular search to do, you can also look at the top right of the page and click on "all available" and it will show you all possible exchange sites for your week in a big list.  That's how most of the "sightings" for II are done here.

If you are flexible with your dates and locations and are peristent, you might just be pleasantly surprised at the result.  

It can be kinda fun too.


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## cpcat (Feb 26, 2011)

timeos2 said:


> Far too often a place and hope deposit first ends badly with the depositor taking any old thing just to prevent loss of their deposited time. Don't fall for that. Always use request first with II for best chance of getting what you want.



I think this scenario is extremely unlikely unless you are trying to do an extremely difficult exchange to begin with.  With Deposit first you obtain a much larger window for which to exchange your week---one year prior and two years after it.  Additionally, as the deposited week ages, its trading power should even increase somewhat as the total number of weeks deposited prior to it get progressively less and less.

With Request first, the window of exchange is one year prior to your week and then your done if you aren't successful. 

The main reason to Request First IMO is if you want to retain the option of staying at your home resort.


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## bobpark56 (Feb 27, 2011)

frenchieinme said:


> If everybody would request first rather than deposit first, where would the inventory come from for one to get an exchange?  Wouldn't all inventory be lacking and nobody getting what is requested? :



Well...no. What it would do is to introduce a lag. But in the long run, the ratio of total availabilities for all request-first to all deposit-first would approach 1.
  --bp


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## bobpark56 (Feb 27, 2011)

bobpark56 said:


> Well...no. What it would do is to introduce a lag. But in the long run, the ratio of total availabilities for all request-first to all deposit-first would approach 1.
> --bp



...assuming all available units get exchanged.

Some pump priming from deposits would seem to help sustain the process, though.
  --bp


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## cpcat (Feb 27, 2011)

I think it (if all exchanges were Request First) would also produce a scenario in which you could receive an exchange, accept it, but still get denied if the other party ultimately backed out.  

In fact, I'm a little surprised this doesn't happen on occasion even now unless only owner deposits, cancellations, and bulk deposits are actually being utilized.  II must have some sort of system built in to provide a fall-back else it would have to occur at least infrequently.


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## funtime (Feb 27, 2011)

I have had good Pull power with a July Orlando week in II and I have not traded Premier resorts.  I would urge you do use II and deposit first.  Also, II trades and deposits arrive later than RCI which often book a year or more out.  So yes, with deposit first and using the internet I think you can find a good trade.  However, I have noticed a real decline in online summer trades in the last 60 days so I would deposit and see what develops.  Time is a wasting.  Funtime


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## timeos2 (Feb 27, 2011)

*Best advice we have based on over 10 years of actual trades*



cpcat said:


> I think it (if all exchanges were Request First) would also produce a scenario in which you could receive an exchange, accept it, but still get denied if the other party ultimately backed out.
> 
> In fact, I'm a little surprised this doesn't happen on occasion even now unless only owner deposits, cancellations, and bulk deposits are actually being utilized.  II must have some sort of system built in to provide a fall-back else it would have to occur at least infrequently.



The chance of an owner canceling a deposit is the same for a request first or "place and hope" type. The rules discourage "un-deposits" but they do occur on occasion.  It actually may be less likely with Request First as you hold a confirmed reservation immediately meaning the depositor will be told the week is taken & thus cannot be returned.  With place and hope you are "provisional" for at least 24 hours and the week could be withdrawn (again, unlikely but it can/does happen). 

Overall the control you maintain on your side favors Request First. Our experience with both types of II trades as well as what value the exact same deposits get us with RCI or SFX says our order of preference would be: 

SFX (best quality of resorts, always prime times, lowest cost) but not all resorts/weeks accepted. 
RCI Points (use Points for Deposit for non-points resorts)
RCI Weeks (much greater amount of inventory vs II and inventory is the true name of the game)
II Corporate (free) Membership (this leverages the various priorities II offers corporate members that paying, individual members do not get)
II Request First. (If they don't have a reasonable trade you approve you keep your week)

Then finally II Place & hope. To be honest we'd never use this again as the results in over a decade of attempts  the results (using a highly rated resorts, prime time that traded well in all other cases above) yielded poor choices, smaller than deposited/request units, wrong dates & worse. We simply find Individual, paid membership using place & hope to be unacceptable.  We dropped our paid membership and do not miss it. We still have our free, corporate membership through DRI. That we do use and find it quite good at getting us desired trades (it is request first) and "change back" as it uses DRI Points not weeks for the trades. 

YMMV.


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## cpcat (Feb 27, 2011)

timeos2 said:


> YMMV.



It apparently does at least over the last 4 years with II.


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## funtime (Feb 27, 2011)

Each to their own.  I have used II for ten years and am happy with them and SURPRISE - NOT SO HAPPY WITH SFX.  It does depend on what resort you have, what resorts you like and where you want to go.  II has the Marriotts and Sheratons.  Best of luck.  Funtime


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## cpcat (Feb 27, 2011)

timeos2 said:


> The chance of an owner canceling a deposit is the same for a request first or "place and hope" type. The rules discourage "un-deposits" but they do occur on occasion.  It actually may be less likely with Request First as you hold a confirmed reservation immediately meaning the depositor will be told the week is taken & thus cannot be returned.  With place and hope you are "provisional" for at least 24 hours and the week could be withdrawn (again, unlikely but it can/does happen).



Once you deposit your week with II, it can't be "un-deposited".  

With Request First, you don't actually deposit your week until the time of exchange.

Maybe the rules have changed some over time, but this has been the case since I've been a member of II.


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## ETHall (Mar 1, 2011)

Basically online is cheaper (vs. using II on the phone?).  I guess I just go on the website and deposit the week there.  I just want to be sure I understand how it works before I do this.  I do understand that I should deposit asap to get best trading power.  We do not have any specific place we want to go.  We haven't traveled much (except for few cruises) so there are a lot of places we want to see.  If I trade my week 51 now, would I be able to trade for something this July or is that impossible?  thanks again to all .... this board is a tremendous help.  Cathy[/QUOTE]

Yes, just deposit online where it shows you your timehare.  Once you deposit, you have the trading power as of that day. No reason to wait.  I have been doing this for 18 years.  Good luck!  Don't use your exchange for cruises, you can get better prices by going to the cruise companies themselves.  They always have sales and specials. Once you decide where you want to go (timeshare resort), keep checking each day until you see what you want or put in a request.  If you allow enough time (a year for high season resorts), you will get what you want.


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## funtime (Mar 1, 2011)

Because you have waited a bit long, you may find one bedrooms rather than two bedrooms etc on line.  Time is against you so deposit now is my advice.


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## tcrny (Mar 1, 2011)

When I logged into II to deposit my week, my timeshare unit shows up but it asks me for a reservation number.  What is the reservation number?  Do I need to first contact my home resort to let them know I will be depositing to II?  I'm confused ... sorry for the questions.  I am very new to this and just trying to figure it all out ... it can be very confusing and overwhelming!  Thanks again.  Cathy


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## cpcat (Mar 2, 2011)

Yes, either that or on your owner website you may be able to access the res. number.


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