Finally, a Starwood owner, but now what?

[ThreeLittleBirds]

The name transfer took place today, and we are now owners of a 2 bed/2 bath lockoff at SDO.

My question: Now what do we need to do?

I do not have an II account, but will be setting one up today. I am really really hoping to be able to snag the KAA studio for 1/1/12 arrival that is still in Starwood preference.

Do these show up through II or through Mystarcentral. And, if it is the latter, where do you see these?

Lots of questions, and I appreciate all of the help from here.

 

[DeniseM]

The name transfer took place today, and we are now owners of a 2 bed/2 bath lockoff at SDO.

My question: Now what do we need to do?

Is it recorded with Starwood, or just the county?

Here is a walk through for depositing with II - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=672349&postcount=2

Do these show up through II or through Mystarcentral. And, if it is the latter, where do you see these?

These are Interval International exchanges, so MSC isn't involved - II and Starwood are completely separate entities - you make the trades through the II website, or by calling, but they charge $20 more if you call. Once Starwood "designates your week for exchange" i.e. deposits it for you, they aren't involved in the trade - that's where II takes over.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

recorded with starwood. I do have a MSC account now w/ all of the correct info.

 

[DeniseM]

recorded with starwood. I do have a MSC account now w/ all of the correct info.

OK - if you have a copy of the deed in hand, you are ready to set up your II Acct. Once you can access it online (so you know it's set up and you have an II Acct. number) you can call Starwood and "designate your TS for exchange." See the walk through for all the details.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

Thank you so much.

More of the waiting game. Just a few days, but I'm impatient...

My sister has been giving me weeks for the past two years, and we have successfully gotten what we wanted, but relatively last minute. Now I can finally book on my own, and with the starwood preference.

 

[vacationtime1]

Interval usually has 2 for 1 deals or other promotions for starting or extending memberships. The retail price is (I believe) $89/year. Ask nicely and I bet the nice person taking your call will give you two years of membership for that price.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

Thank you. I did ask if there were any savings codes I could use, and the 2 year for $89 was applied.

 

[DeniseM]

Thank you. I did ask if there were any savings codes I could use, and the 2 year for $89 was applied.

Did you use one of the codes from the walk-through? Which one?

Just to clarify, because this confuses some people, once your Acct is set up - you have to call Starwood and "designate your TS for exchange." It's a separate step.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

Yes, I do know it is a separate step, but what I don't know is if I have to call or can I do that online?

Still waiting for my II account to be set up. I was told it can take up to 2 days.

As for the II code, I'm not sure which one was used. I just asked the rep at the beginning of the conversation if there were any specials that could be applied, and he told me he would apply a code which would give me 2 years for $89. He did not mention which code was used.

 

[DeniseM]

Yes, I do know it is a separate step, but what I don't know is if I have to call or can I do that online?

You can call, or do it online at MSC.com - I prefer to use MSC, because they automatically send you a detailed confirmation of the deposit.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

I have another question:

II told me it would take up to 2 days for my account to be active (i.e., ready to deposit and trade).

Starwood is telling me it will take 30-45 days. That's a HUGE difference.

Anyone have experience with a brand new II account, and how long it takes Starwood to verify the information for them?

 

[DeniseM]

Mine took 3 days - I don't know why Starwood would say that.

You called II to set up the Acct., not Starwood - correct?

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

Yes, I called and set it up with II. I have an account number with them, and they told me 2 days.

Two people at Starwood have now told me it will be 30-45 days because the legal documents have to be matched up. I don't understand that. We are in the starwood system. How hard is it to to verify that our names and unit number match up with what we told II?

I'm gonna go with what II says and keep checking today and tomorrow online.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

Wooo Hooo!!!

Just got my email from II saying my account was ready.

I had already submitted a deposit of the one side of my 2 Bed, and I was able to book the KAA studio for 1/1/12 arrival!

My question, though...

I only deposited one side of my 2 bed, gave me the option of choosing a 2 bedroom, and 2 different one bedrooms. I didn't know which to choose, so I used the first 1 bedroom listed. The confirmation says "pending", so I hope this goes through!

Thank you for all of your help with this. I'm sure I will have more questions soon.

 

[YYJMSP]

I only deposited one side of my 2 bed, gave me the option of choosing a 2 bedroom, and 2 different one bedrooms. I didn't know which to choose, so I used the first 1 bedroom listed. The confirmation says "pending", so I hope this goes through!

If it says "K", it's the larger side. If it says "LK", it's the smaller side.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

I don't see the K or LK, but I do see A and B designations. I believe that I figured out A is the larger and B is the smaller.

I wanted to thank you all for answering my questions.

I have owned an SDO for approximately 72 hours and already have 2 weeks booked at WKOR for this January, and a 2-bedroom booked at Lagunamar for spring break next March. (p.s., I used the small one bedroom for the 2 bedroom).

I'm so used to booking things at the last minute, this 7 1/2 month wait is going to kill me!

 

[pkyorkbeach]

Enjoy....

 

[sui]

I only deposited one side of my 2 bed, gave me the option of choosing a 2 bedroom, and 2 different one bedrooms.

How were you able to book 2 1-bed with a 1br, did you book through the phone or online? That's what I preferred, but I didn't see any option for that online.

 

[DeniseM]

How were you able to book 2 1-bed with a 1br, did you book through the phone or online? That's what I preferred, but I didn't see any option for that online.

When you search online, don't select the number of adults and children - just leave it unselected. If there are any 2 bdms. available that you have the trading power for, they will come up automatically when you search online and you can reserve online. If you call, they will charge you $20 more.

Did you note the tip in the walk-through that instant online exchanges go through easier if you have an on-going request in place already?

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

When you search online, don't select the number of adults and children - just leave it unselected. If there are any 2 bdms. available that you have the trading power for, they will come up automatically when you search online and you can reserve online. If you call, they will charge you $20 more.

Did you note the tip in the walk-through that instant online exchanges go through easier if you have an on-going request in place already?

Denise (and others) -- I did have an ongoing request in place, thanks to your advice. My other options did not pull up the 2 bedroom, but the ongoing request one did. I placed a request for WSJ and WKOR for week 52.

 

[DeniseM]

Denise (and others) -- I did have an ongoing request in place, thanks to your advice. My other options did not pull up the 2 bedroom, but the ongoing request one did. I placed a request for WSJ and WKOR for week 52.

For some reason that works better - not sure is that's a glitch or a planned part of the program.

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

How were you able to book 2 1-bed with a 1br, did you book through the phone or online? That's what I preferred, but I didn't see any option for that online.

Aside from using the ongoing request deposit I had, it very well could have been timing. Yesterday I was able to pull up some 1bedrooms at KAN for January, and within 2 minutes, they were gone, then back again about 10 minutes later.

I did an instant exchange online, and at the time, Lagunamar had 1 and 2 bedrooms for the spring break week we needed. Neither are there anymore.

 

[Ken555]

For some reason that works better - not sure is that's a glitch or a planned part of the program.

That is really interesting. Thanks for posting this, I didn't know it. I hope it also works for other resorts...I put in my first ever request a few months ago for a ski week next season (not for a Starwood resort) and am waiting to hear from II.

 

[sui]

When you search online, don't select the number of adults and children - just leave it unselected. If there are any 2 bdms. available that you have the trading power for, they will come up automatically when you search online and you can reserve online. If you call, they will charge you $20 more.

Did you note the tip in the walk-through that instant online exchanges go through easier if you have an on-going request in place already?

I could see 2-br with instant exchange, but how do I get two of the 1-br units with the deposit of one 1-br unit? I mean, when you search for instant exchange, and you see 1-br units, does it tell you somewhere that you could reserve two of the units, or you need to exchange into that 1-br first, and then it asks you whether you'd like to get one more unit with the same deposit?

Yes, I looked at the on-going request trick, just to confirm, I should choose check in dates between 12/31/2011 and 12/31/2011 for KAN, right?

 

[ThreeLittleBirds]

I could see 2-br with instant exchange, but how do I get two of the 1-br units with the deposit of one 1-br unit? I mean, when you search for instant exchange, and you see 1-br units, does it tell you somewhere that you could reserve two of the units, or you need to exchange into that 1-br first, and then it asks you whether you'd like to get one more unit with the same deposit?

Yes, I looked at the on-going request trick, just to confirm, I should choose check in dates between 12/31/2011 and 12/31/2011 for KAN, right?

I'm a bit confused...but...

You can use a 1 bedroom to do an instant exchange into a 2bedroom, but you cannot use just one bedroom and get 2 separate 1 bedrooms. You would have to separately exchange each 1 bedroom.

I don't know that there is any way online to know if two separate one bedrooms are available for the same week. Another issue is that there is no guarantee that the two separate one bedrooms will be near each other at the resort.

The 2 bedrooms at Lagunamar are lockoffs, so a 1 bedroom on one side, and a studio on the other. If this is what you prefer, you can get this with just one trade, but you have to wait for a 2 bedroom to show up (or put in an ongoing request for this specifically).

My sister owns several non-starwood properties. For the past 2 years, she has given us some of her weeks to trade to WKOR. We have had ongoing requests, and they were never filled. Every week we got was from her seeing it and doing an instant exchange. In other words, the ongoing request is great in theory, but has never worked for us.

As for using an ongoing request to maximize what you see, it is best to put in for something that is very unlikely to be filled. That is why I chose week 52 at WKOR and WSJ. If, in the very unlikely event, they were filled, I would have been thrilled!