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Floating Week vs. Floating Week (not a typo)

jlwquilter

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Just want to be sure I understand, as floating weeks are a little "scary" to me as a newbie.

I buy a floating week at Resort A and pay $500 (thank you TUG!), and Joe Schmoe buys a floating week also at Resort A and pays $5,000 (AHA!). Same Red Week 1-52 designation, same unit configuration.

We both want the same week - it's simply a matter of who calls first and gets it, right?

I have a few follow up questions but would like to take it in baby steps so I am sure I understand fully as I progress up the learning curve :) THANKS!
 

Dave M

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You have it correct.

The only exception would be if you buy at a resort that gives some type of preferential treatment, such as the Marriott preference given to those who own more than one week and want to reserve two or more consecutive or concurrent weeks. Those people can call a month earlier than those who own a single week.
 

jlwquilter

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Great! Next Question then..

Thanks! I happen to not be talking about such a system as the Marriott - but I did read that thread so I understand the general drift of how that system is being worked to full advantage by multi-week owners. I am talking about regular, non-branded resorts.

Now, to tweak the situation (but not get bizarre). I bought a 1 bd/1 bth floater and Joe bought 2 bed/2bth floater. We want the same week. If I call first, and a 1/1 is available, I get it. If I call first and only a 2/2 is available, what generally happens? Do I get it if I pay an upgrade fee or something like that? Or am I told "no" and have to pick a week that has a 1/1 available? Or is each resort so different in handling this type of thing that a general answer is not applicable? What happens to Joe when he calls and only a 1/1 is available for the week he wants? Or does that not happen because I was told to take a hike?
 

CMF

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You can only reserve what you own.

Trade ups MAY occur only after you deposited and exchange your week. This is a common sense answer on my part, but I would be very surprised if I'm wrong.

Charles
 

Dave M

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I think Charles' answer is correct. At most resorts you can reserve only what you own. Thus, if you own a 1BR, you can reserve only a 1BR. If there isn't one available for the week you want when you call, you'll have to pick a different week. Similarly, most resorts won't let Joe reserve a 1BR if he owns a 2BR, unless he owns a 2BR lockout unit.
 

hunkyleebo

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I was pleasantly surprised when I called to reserve my 1/1 and was given a 2/2 because I was paying my MF so early!

I've always wondered what happens to the 52nd owner to make a reservation? Are they told which week is left? Is this a game of musical chairs?
 

Dave M

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hunkyleebo said:
I've always wondered what happens to the 52nd owner to make a reservation?
Normally it's not a problem. As difficult to believe as it might seem, an inordinately high percentage of timeshare owners don't do anything with their weeks. Thus, the last person who actually calls to reserve will usually find a number of weeks still available.

It does occasionally happen that a floating week owner gets shut out. Some have complained here of it happening when calling late in the year or late in their designated "season". Assume a resort with one unit and 52 owners. Also assume that reservations can be made a year in advance. Assume that 26 owners have already reserved all of the 26 weeks in the second half of 2007. As one of the remaining 26 owners, if I don't call to reserve a week until sometime in July, there won't be any weeks available for me. The remaining weeks in 2007 - from that July date forward - were reserved long ago.
 

jlwquilter

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Like for Like

I have also read some of the threads on the like for like, but they mostly referred to exchanging thru RCI, II or whatever.

So...it's pretty much the same when you don't exchange and are just calling the resort directly to reserve your floating week in the "normal" way? Like for Like? It makes sense - which is whay I feel compelled to ask! "Makes sense" and "that's the way it really is" are often 2 completely different things in this world!

If you call late and all the weeks you want are taken or only bigger units are still available for those weeks and, for whatever reason, you can't get into the bigger unit, then can you generally bank your week with the resort? {Again, I am not talking about using exchange comapanies at all.} Or it is it a "you snoozed so you lose" situation and you effectively lost that week forever?
 

Dave M

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Most resorts have a rule that you can only reserve what you own. That rule is there for a very good reason. If a resort routinely allowed you to reserve "up" to a bigger unit, why would anyone buying from the developer (someone has to do it!) consider buying the larger more expensive unit?

Also, since every week is deeded in most timeshares, you have ownership in a 1BR or 2BR week. Imagine the outcry if 2BR owners tried to make reservations and were told, "Sorry, we gave the rest of the 2BR weeks for this year (or for that week) to some 1BR owners!"

Thus, if you buy a week at a resort that has multiple-sized units, you should develop a mindset that the size you buy is what you'll get. Period. It doesn't hurt to ask when reserving or when checking in during low season, but it will be a rare situation when you can upgrade.

As for banking a week with an exchange company, you can only bank what the resort has. Thus, if (in my earlier example) all of the weeks for the second half of 2007 have been reserved when you call in July, the resort won't have any weeks to bank for you. Remember that when you deposit a week with an exchange company, someone else will occupy that week at your resort. So if the remaining 2007 weeks have all been reserved by others, you will just be out of luck for 2007. The one exception is that some resorts do bulk week space banking under which they deposit a number of weeks with an exchange company in advance and assign one of those weeks to you when you indicate you want to deposit a week.

Bottom line: With a floating week resort, make your tentative plans at least a year in advance and make your reservation as soon as reservations open for the week you want. By doing that, you'll have numerous options available if the week you want has already been completely reserved by others. And if you later want to change your plans, you can ask the resort to change your reservation (possibly for a nominal fee) if the new week you want is available.

Some people suggest that floating weeks won’t work for them because they can’t make plans that far in advance. Hah! If you own a fixed week, you are making plans years in advance by buying that fixed week! If needed, there are always options for changing the date of a floating week reservation – change the reservation date, exchange with an exchange company, rent the week and use the proceeds to rent the week you now want, etc.
 

jlwquilter

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Got it!

Thank you everyone! It really helps to have things spelled out so I can feel much more comfotable even thinking about buying a float week.... and I am thinking about it now :)

Just one more basic question: so if either Week 13 or 14 or 15 would be good for me, I am best calling at Week 13 and nabbing that if I can as if I wait and call at Week 15, I MAY get a choice of any/all of the weeks BUT if I get closed out of ALL the weeks for some reason, I am really up the creek without the proverbial paddle. Right?

So the "rule" is to call at the earliest week that I am happy with and then call again and again as the weeks that are good for me "open" until I get one. That way I can always try to change it later on as plans firm up but at least I have something that should work for me. Right?
 

sfwilshire

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I often reserve down with one of my weeks, so I guess someone else gets the opportunity to reserve up. I own a special type of unit that only has Friday check-in. I usually reserve Thanksgiving week and assume that renters or exchangers were prefer a Sunday check-in for that week, so I give up my premium type unit and reserve a regular one to get the check-in date I want.

Sheila
 

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Just one more basic question: so if either Week 13 or 14 or 15 would be good for me, I am best calling at Week 13 and nabbing that if I can as if I wait and call at Week 15, I MAY get a choice of any/all of the weeks BUT if I get closed out of ALL the weeks for some reason, I am really up the creek without the proverbial paddle. Right?

So the "rule" is to call at the earliest week that I am happy with and then call again and again as the weeks that are good for me "open" until I get one. That way I can always try to change it later on as plans firm up but at least I have something that should work for me. Right?

I think this strategy depends upon the resort. For example, with one of my Hawaii weeks, I can reserve a week up to 2 years in advance. Sometimes I remember to call exactly 2 years prior to my preferred check-in date and sometimes I forget and call several weeks to a month or two later. Usually I can still get the week I want, but not necessarily the unit I want.

Also, my resort charges a fee for every change in a reservation. So your strategy of reserving week 13 first, then calling later for week 15 may result in you having to pay extra fees. If that strategy eases your mind, then the extra fee may be worth it. Of course your resort may not charge a fee at all for changes.

Hope this helps.
 

Mimi

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Evelyn, We also own at Kona Coast and always reserve 2 years ahead. Just out of curiosity, what units do you prefer? For years, we were requesting 3rd floor units with cathedral ceilings overlooking the golf course. My DH moaned and groaned hauling those suitcases up 3 flights with no elevators. (I help, of course, carrying the lighter ones.) Now that we're in retirement mode, the first floor units in Building 24, with ocean views are more desirable to us. We have 24-102 reserved for this summer. We just bought another KCR (2br this time) on eBay, that we can't use this summer because our reservations were already set. We love our vacations in Hawaii! This is the first year we will not be in paradise for the July 4th holiday. We made plans to take our adult children and grandkids in August, just before they have to go back to school. And, for jlwquilter, we own fixed weeks in Florida, floating spring weeks in Vegas, and floating summer weeks in Hawaii. The flexibility of floating weeks has been good for us, we have never had a problem getting the weeks we wanted. :hi:
 
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Lee B

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Just to round things out on floating weeks, I own a floating week in Unit 4 of Mountain Retreat. That means I compete against the 50 other owners of that unit or, more correctly, the 25 owners of Unit 4 in my season. Most resorts just let you reserve a week and they pick a unit, maybe asking you for a preference. Mathematically there's no difference.
 

jlwquilter

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Not so scared anymore

Thanks everyone! I now am much more comfortabel with the idea of floating weeks and how they generally work. I can see clearly now how they fit into the personal strategy I am formulating. Naturally I will talk more with a specific resort on their procedures when I get that far. But having a general oveview really helps as when they do tell me something, I have a framework in which to put that info. I also know better what questions I should ask.
 
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