# [ 2018 ] RCI last minute availability



## bluehende (Jan 13, 2018)

This is my annual time to decide whether to join RCI.  I have no interest in exchanging.  I would join for the last minute deals.  Right now can some one tell me what the availability and price is for Massanutten?  For secondary thoughts what would FL look like for the next 45 days?

Thanks in advance
Wayne


----------



## tschwa2 (Jan 13, 2018)

There are always a ton of availability at Massanutten.  Typically you can get weeks 1-23 and 34-50 possibly with the exception of Easter week before and after, and maybe Thanksgiving in at least a 1 BR with full kitchen and often a 2 Br for $199-$350.  Summer 1Br units go for $300-$350 and it is harder to get 2 BR through last calls or during RCI sales.  

FL in the winter (even in Orlando) doesn't have too much inventory that just sits but if you check regularly and can book if you see something good there are decent weeks to be had especially if you would be ok in a studio or 1 BR and don't absolutely need a 2 BR or larger unit.


----------



## missyrcrews (Jan 13, 2018)

For Massanutten (all last calls...only searched 2BR...there are more smaller units as well):
Woodstone--28 2BR units for $319.  (Same price whether the partial kitchen or the full kitchen)
Summit---15 2 BR units for $319 (Same as above)
Mountainside--2 2BR (but sleeps 8) units $319
Eagle Trace--1 2BR that sleeps 8 $319
Shenandoah--2 BR (some sleep as many as 10)--$319

For Florida last calls, I see 3 1 BR units at VV at Parkway for $294.  There were loads of extra vacation weeks, though.  

I don't do a lot of exchanging, either...I have just one week that I always trade....but we DO use the extra vacation weeks pretty regularly.  Good luck as you decide where to go!


----------



## WinniWoman (Jan 14, 2018)

Just an aside- and we can't t do last minute vacations because of our jobs,  but because we own at an Innseasons resort (fixed week- not points- and we never exchange), VRI is always sending us last minute vacation offers via email, no membership fee to an exchange company required. In addition, people can use. Trip Beat (RCI Endless Vacations) or Sky Auction- sites like those without belonging to RCI.


----------



## bluehende (Jan 14, 2018)

mpumilia said:


> Just an aside- and we can't t do last minute vacations because of our jobs,  but because we own at an Innseasons resort (fixed week- not points- and we never exchange), VRI is always sending us last minute vacation offers via email, no membership fee to an exchange company required. In addition, people can use. Trip Beat (RCI Endless Vacations) or Sky Auction- sites like those without belonging to RCI.



I have used Skyauction a lot.  I always assumed that the RCI last minute inventory would be better than skyauction.  That is why I used Massanutten in my request.  Skyauction has some inventory there.  It is only Mountainside (which is not a problem with me)and is limited.  Skyauction has become more and more expensive over the years.  RIght now I could buy a certificate from them for about 270 if I buy 3, but it would only be good for a studio most places without a surcharge.


----------



## Eric B (Jan 14, 2018)

If you are a U.S. veteran or DOD employee, you could try the Armed Forces Vacation Club, which has availability similar to the last call RCI ones.  It's run by Wyndham and, I believe, was started by RCI to make resorts available to veterans.  In any case, that site gives you a fairly close read on what the last call RCI availability is.  Availability isn't as great as it is in RCI, but it's another option.  Standard membership is free and there's an upgraded premium membership that includes elements of RCI Platinum.  They have flat fee $349/week space available stays in the low season for resorts, otherwise the prices vary but might be comparable to going through RCI itself taking into account the RCI membership cost.

I'm not sure if there's a similar one for our Canadian neighbors or other allied folks, but it wouldn't surprise me too much.


----------



## youppi (Jan 15, 2018)

mpumilia said:


> Just an aside- and we can't t do last minute vacations because of our jobs,  but because we own at an Innseasons resort (fixed week- not points- and we never exchange), VRI is always sending us last minute vacation offers via email, no membership fee to an exchange company required. In addition, people can use. Trip Beat (RCI Endless Vacations) or Sky Auction- sites like those without belonging to RCI.


What's the difference between Trip Beat and EndLess Vacation Rentals (both come from RCI/Wyndham) ?
https://www.endlessvacationrentals.com/
https://www.tripbeat.com/


----------



## Eric B (Jan 15, 2018)

Being a curious sort, I looked at the "about us" pages for Trip Beat and Endless Vacations.  The one for Trip Beat includes eligibility requirements for membership, which is free; there aren't any eligibility requirements for Endless Vacations.  The eligibility requirements are:

*How can I become a TripBeat member?*

It’s simple. Just be a member of an organization or employee of a company that is affiliated with TripBeat. We partner with a wide and diverse variety of organizations, membership groups, employee benefit providers and more.​

This includes teachers, government and corporate employees, seniors, and auto club members.
Be referred by or a member of an organization or company that is affiliated with TripBeat.
Be affiliated with _Endless Vacation Rentals_® by being a former customer, email subscriber or previously registered your email with Endless Vacation Rentals.
I did a search on both for the same destination and saw that the resulting rental costs are different, with Trip Beat being lower than Endless Vacation Rentals for the same unit/week.  The 40% lower price was available for registering and becoming a member of Trip Beat; that probably exposes you to more marketing, etc.  I also compared the prices with the Armed Forces Vacation Club, which seems to use the same back office for finding availabilities; the prices there came in between the Endless Vacation price and the 40% reduced Trip Beat price, even for the lower price at afvclub for their premium membership.  Trip Beat and afvclub have last minute vacations (<21 days for Trip Beat; cost $309 for a 1 BR; $329 for a 2 BR; requires premium membership) and space available (not sure what the time frame is, but cost is $349 for a 2 BR).

The lowest price for the same unit/week was on RCI itself as an extra vacation.  These all seem to be inventory management tools for RCI/Wyndham to sell the same availability to different market segments.  If I were the OP, I would look at the costs of the different non-membership ones.  Looking at Massanutten, in RCI, Mountainside Villas and Woodstone are available for the next few weeks is $319 for a 2BR; in Endless Vacation Rentals it's $599 for Mountainside Villas; in Trip Beat Mountainside Villas is available for $399; in afvclub Mountainside Villas and Woodstone are available for $349.  RCI had a greater number of unit types available than the others, followed by afvclub, which matched the RCI availabilities pretty closely.


----------



## WinniWoman (Jan 15, 2018)

youppi said:


> What's the difference between Trip Beat and EndLess Vacation Rentals (both come from RCI/Wyndham) ?
> https://www.endlessvacationrentals.com/
> https://www.tripbeat.com/




It's the same- changed from Endless Vacations to Trip Beat I believe. I get emails from Trip Beat all the time and I never signed up for them or even realized it was Endless Vacations.

We don't belong to RCI so these are possibly good options for us in the future, though we could join RCI if we wanted to. We usually end up getting something that costs a small fortune through the resort itself or Home Away, or for a reasonable rate through renting from another owner, because we want a specific resort at a specific location and have to plan ahead.


----------



## Luv2travel2 (Jan 22, 2022)

Hey there!  I know that this is a very old thread, but I am also trying to get access to RCI Last call vacations.  My timeshare is no longer associated with RCI, and I miss Last Call.  Tripbeat no longer seems to be a functional website.   Does anyone know how I might be able to get access to/book RCI Last Call weeks?  I contacted RCI to see if I could pay to be a member but they said no since I don't have an RCI affiliated timeshare.  Thanks for any info.


----------



## kwelty (Jan 22, 2022)

This is from a 2019 thread:
https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/rci-question.289637/#post-2283340 
to which RNCollins replied.


If i do not own a timeshare yet can I buy into RCI just for the discounted weeks they have? 

Hi Jzman1p,

If you do not own a timeshare there are still some ways you can rent:

Condo Direct
https://www.condodirect.com/travel/welcome.home
-Available to anyone

Endless Vacation Rentals
https://www.endlessvacationrentals.com/
-Available to anyone

Armed Forces Vacation Club
https://www.afvclub.com/
Available to active, retired, civilian, or military, DoD, reserve or guard personnel.

Heroes Vacation Club
https://www.heroesvacationclub.com/
Available to First Responders, Police, EMT’s, Paramedics and Firemen/women

Basically all the inventory is about the same.


----------



## montygz (Jan 22, 2022)

kwelty said:


> This is from a 2019 thread:
> https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/rci-question.289637/#post-2283340
> to which RNCollins replied.
> 
> ...



The condo direct and AFV links are dead and the Endless Vacation link says it now longer offers units.


----------

