Exchange Newbie with Questions

[smith_4]

Hi all,
I am newbie at exchanging. We have used our home resort at Harbour Lake every year since we purchased it and for 2014 I have locked off for the very first time ever and deposited my two weeks with II. Our kids are getting older now and it is difficult to travel during the school year with the amount of homework so we are trying for 2014 to exchange out of our gold season into the summer season instead. I don't know if there are any tricks to exchanging and perhaps I already made a mistake by depositing my weeks into II already. I reserved our unit at Harbour Lake for Memorial day weekend in 2014 and locked off immediately and deposited both weeks with II. Since then I have been checking II every day and there is never any inventory available to exchange for during the weeks we are interested in traveling in the summer of 2014. We are looking to check in on June 13th, 2014, and also on August 9th, 2014. The last time I called II they told me it would be beneficial to do an exchange request which I went ahead and did for the June 13th travel date. So far no luck. I was wondering - is doing an exchange request the best way to ensure we are able to exchange for a Marriott resort in Orlando? Will II ever get more inventory for the Marriott timeshares in Orlando? Or did the new Marriott points system cause changes such that there are no longer many of us weeks owners available to exchange through II? Will I ever have any luck getting an exchange? I know it is a year away but we make all our travel reservations one year in advance and I am starting to worry that maybe II will never have the inventory for us to exchange for. Should I be worried? Anyone out there with experience trading through II for the summer season and any advice on how go to about getting the weeks that you want? And is an exchange request the best way to go about exchanging? Or is it better to check the II website and call them on a daily basis to see what inventory they have available?

Thanks in advance for any input/advice! It is very much appreciated!

 

[chalee94]

Since then I have been checking II every day and there is never any inventory available to exchange for during the weeks we are interested in traveling in the summer of 2014.

what you are looking at is only the leftovers after exchange requests have already matched.

The last time I called II they told me it would be beneficial to do an exchange request which I went ahead and did for the June 13th travel date. So far no luck. I was wondering - is doing an exchange request the best way to ensure we are able to exchange for a Marriott resort in Orlando?

some II resorts are tougher to get than others, but if you are looking for an orlando resort (and can be a little flexible on which resort), i think you'll get it, no problem. just wait it out...

(edited to add: i think i've heard they are getting tougher on studio trades but the 1BR should work...in my fallible opinion.)

 

[smith_4]

So it sounds like putting in the official exchange request is the way to go? Not calling II daily to see what is available. I will go ahead then and put in an exchange request for our trip for August as well and hope for the best. We will be happy in any Marriott. I'm putting most of the Marriott resort codes in our exchange request to make the chances for an exchange greater. Thanks for replying to my post!

 

[Bill4728]

Please note that although there is some inventory which can come online 13 months or more, most will not be seen till 12 months ahead. SO in June of 2013 you will not see much, if any, resorts with checkins in Aug 2014.

 

[tashamen]

I have locked off for the very first time ever and deposited my two weeks with II. Our kids are getting older now

We are looking to check in on June 13th, 2014, and also on August 9th, 2014.

As Bill has noted it's just a bit early to expect the inventory to be in II, but I don't doubt that you will get both of these weeks. You will get the internal Marriott preference for your deposited weeks.

However, since you can't request a larger unit than what you've deposited, you could end up with a studio in one case. Would that be large enough for you, especially since you have older kids? If not, you should only request those Orlando Marriotts that have 2BR or larger units, and not those with studios. (You can still check online to see if one of the other resorts shows up with a larger unit and snag it then.)

 

[Saintsfanfl]

As others have said, it is too early. For example June 8 check in has a 2BR at Sabal Palms and a 1BR at Lakeshore Reserve. Orlando is easy so the inventory will come and go. Although I think it is really rough to pigeon hole yourself to only a single check-in day.

I have to disagree with the suggestion that you need to put in a request. It is fine, but it limits your size up-trade potential. With over supply areas like Orlando up-trades are easy. Since you do have a specific check-in day desired what I would do is place the request while continuing to look online for instant inventory.

 

[smith_4]

Interestingly enough, the man I spoke with at II suggested that I only include those Marriott resorts in my exchange request which had the 2 bedroom units or larger. So for my studio exchange for June I requested Cypress Harbor, Royal Palms, Imperial Palms and Sabal Palms only in the hopes that I can exchange a studio for a two bedroom. My kids are ages 10 and 12 so the larger space would be great. However, I would give up the larger space to guarantee we get our two weeks of vacation in Florida as most of the time we are not in our room anyway - only to sleep at night. So really just getting an exchange for the specific weeks that we want is top priority. I hope II can come through with both exchanges for us. I've never done this before so kind of nervous about what will transpire. Fingers crossed!

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Interestingly enough, the man I spoke with at II suggested that I only include those Marriott resorts in my exchange request which had the 2 bedroom units or larger. So for my studio exchange for June I requested Cypress Harbor, Royal Palms, Imperial Palms and Sabal Palms only in the hopes that I can exchange a studio for a two bedroom. My kids are ages 10 and 12 so the larger space would be great. However, I would give up the larger space to guarantee we get our two weeks of vacation in Florida as most of the time we are not in our room anyway - only to sleep at night. So really just getting an exchange for the specific weeks that we want is top priority. I hope II can come through with both exchanges for us. I've never done this before so kind of nervous about what will transpire. Fingers crossed!

There is a big problem with this advice. A studio has very limited trading power this far out. Even if a 2BR is available to match to the queue, and even if you are at the top of the list, it may not match you to the 2BR if you lack the power. It may skip your request and hit the instant inventory where you will still be unable to see it. You will have no trouble at all getting a 2BR with your 1BR but you may have to settle on a 1BR uptrade with your Studio unless you can wait until much shorter notice.

You really need to be looking online as often as you can, especially at the 12 month mark. II has a strange system where inventory can hit the instant searches before it is matched to the request queue.

A good backup plan for a specific check-in day is booking a reservation hotel style that can be cancelled on very short notice. That way you can make all your vacation plans and if the exchange comes through you can cancel the reservation.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

You could also secure a 1BR exchange and then pay another exchange fee to retrade for a 2BR if and when availble.

 

[smith_4]

You are right. I called II and they said their system will match up a studio with a studio when looking at the exchanges available. The person I spoke to at II suggested that I check online daily or call them as well. Otherwise I may not quickly get an exchange for a studio to a 2 bedroom unit. Their system won't offer that to me unless there are no other equal trades available for it to make. So even if my request was put in early, someone else will get the unit if they are exchanging a 2 bedroom for a 2 bedroom. Sounds like the studio trade for a 1 or 2 bedroom unit will be the last option for the II system to exchange. I will be vigilant going forward - checking online and calling II daily - to help ensure I get a good trade. Hoping for the best....

 

[Saintsfanfl]

You are right. I called II and they said their system will match up a studio with a studio when looking at the exchanges available. The person I spoke to at II suggested that I check online daily or call them as well. Otherwise I may not quickly get an exchange for a studio to a 2 bedroom unit. Their system won't offer that to me unless there are no other equal trades available for it to make. So even if my request was put in early, someone else will get the unit if they are exchanging a 2 bedroom for a 2 bedroom. Sounds like the studio trade for a 1 or 2 bedroom unit will be the last option for the II system to exchange. I will be vigilant going forward - checking online and calling II daily - to help ensure I get a good trade. Hoping for the best....

That is correct, although this far out I think a 2BR would bypass you even if you are the only one in the queue. In either case, even if you have been on the list for 6 months, if someone enters the queue with a bigger unit, they will jump ahead of you in the line.

I personally wouldn't waste time calling II. I would just look at instant inventory available. It is Orlando so your chances are very good. You just may have to wait much closer to check-in in order to up-trade the Studio.

 

[NJMOM2]

My Harbour Lake Studio did not see instant exchanges into 2BR in Orlando last summer (12-13 months ahead of check in). I had to use the 1BR side to reserve Royal Palms for my daughter for this summer 2013. (Later changed it to Sabel Palms.) However, around February/March of this year the studio started seeing 2BR's throughout Orlando for summer of 2013.

Currently I see every week from Aug. 9 to the end of Aug. in some 2BR only Marriott resorts. I have been seeing them for awhile. I would not worry about getting your upgraded exchanges. It is still early and those weeks you want have not been deposited yet.

Last year when I locked off and deposited my 2013 studio and 1BR I immediately put in requests for Summer 2014 for HHI, Myrtle Beach and Crystal Shores. I really don't expect to get any of them but I should be pretty close to the front of the line for early requests if that counts for anything. At that time my request were 24 months ahead of the requested dates. I converted my 2014 weeks to Destination Club points to hopefully get a reservation at Myrtle Beach for summer 2014. If any of the request match I will either rent or bank my 2014 Destination Club points. I didn't know what I wanted to do with the deposits in II when I made them. I would rather have a request pending then the weeks sitting there doing nothing while waiting for me to make plans. I am always willing to go to a drive to beach location in the summer.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

My Harbour Lake Studio did not see instant exchanges into 2BR in Orlando last summer (12-13 months ahead of check in). I had to use the 1BR side to reserve Royal Palms for my daughter for this summer 2013. (Later changed it to Sabel Palms.) However, around February/March of this year the studio started seeing 2BR's throughout Orlando for summer of 2013.

Currently I see every week from Aug. 9 to the end of Aug. in some 2BR only Marriott resorts. I have been seeing them for awhile. I would not worry about getting your upgraded exchanges. It is still early and those weeks you want have not been deposited yet.

Last year when I locked off and deposited my 2013 studio and 1BR I immediately put in requests for Summer 2014 for HHI, Myrtle Beach and Crystal Shores. I really don't expect to get any of them but I should be pretty close to the front of the line for early requests if that counts for anything. At that time my request were 24 months ahead of the requested dates. I converted my 2014 weeks to Destination Club points to hopefully get a reservation at Myrtle Beach for summer 2014. If any of the request match I will either rent or bank my 2014 Destination Club points. I didn't know what I wanted to do with the deposits in II when I made them. I would rather have a request pending then the weeks sitting there doing nothing while waiting for me to make plans. I am always willing to go to a drive to beach location in the summer.

While it certainly does not hurt to try, the queue is not primarily based on how long you have been on the list. For your studio this would only factor in if you are competing against other studios. You can be on the list for 18 months but as soon as someone puts in a request with a larger size unit they will trump your priority in the queue. You will always be below any 2BR and 3BR requests. It can still happen but it is much more likely to occur close to check-in. It will definitely not happen with a Studio at 12-13 months out, especially at those locations.

 

[LUV2TRVL2HI]

Hi all,
I am newbie at exchanging. We have used our home resort at Harbour Lake every year since we purchased it and for 2014 I have locked off for the very first time ever and deposited my two weeks with II. Our kids are getting older now and it is difficult to travel during the school year with the amount of homework so we are trying for 2014 to exchange out of our gold season into the summer season instead. I don't know if there are any tricks to exchanging and perhaps I already made a mistake by depositing my weeks into II already. I reserved our unit at Harbour Lake for Memorial day weekend in 2014 and locked off immediately and deposited both weeks with II. Since then I have been checking II every day and there is never any inventory available to exchange for during the weeks we are interested in traveling in the summer of 2014. We are looking to check in on June 13th, 2014, and also on August 9th, 2014. The last time I called II they told me it would be beneficial to do an exchange request which I went ahead and did for the June 13th travel date. So far no luck. I was wondering - is doing an exchange request the best way to ensure we are able to exchange for a Marriott resort in Orlando? Will II ever get more inventory for the Marriott timeshares in Orlando? Or did the new Marriott points system cause changes such that there are no longer many of us weeks owners available to exchange through II? Will I ever have any luck getting an exchange? I know it is a year away but we make all our travel reservations one year in advance and I am starting to worry that maybe II will never have the inventory for us to exchange for. Should I be worried? Anyone out there with experience trading through II for the summer season and any advice on how go to about getting the weeks that you want? And is an exchange request the best way to go about exchanging? Or is it better to check the II website and call them on a daily basis to see what inventory they have available?

Thanks in advance for any input/advice! It is very much appreciated!

Last year we reserved BeachPlace Towers for Memorial Day week for this year (2013) and deposited our Studio with II right away. In November we were able to exchange the Studio for a 2-Bedroom villa at Royal Palms for June 15, 2013. So I would think your chances are pretty good for your exchange. You might want to keep checking on-line using the 1-Bedroom you also have on deposit , and if you see Royal Palms come up, call II and see if your Studio will pull it. That is what we did, and although the Studio wouldn't pull it on-line, II was able to do it over the phone.

 

[rpgriego]

There is a big problem with this advice. A studio has very limited trading power this far out. Even if a 2BR is available to match to the queue, and even if you are at the top of the list, it may not match you to the 2BR if you lack the power. It may skip your request and hit the instant inventory where you will still be unable to see it. You will have no trouble at all getting a 2BR with your 1BR but you may have to settle on a 1BR uptrade with your Studio unless you can wait until much shorter notice.

Every time I've submitted my studio for a dedicated two bedroom unit I've done it one year in advance with a three month exchange window. So far, each exchange has come through.

You really need to be looking online as often as you can, especially at the 12 month mark. II has a strange system where inventory can hit the instant searches before it is matched to the request queue.

GREAT advice. Submit an exchange request, call II while driving to work and/or from work and access online before going to bed.