II 2025 update - all bad news

[Danlop88]

Careful with the correlation to the FB group, it would only take a summer intern or analytics bot to spot over performing traders in II's data. The fact that other resorts and brands got trimmed too indicates there's a bit more too it than blaming one individual. Same as it's not likely to be Scoops fault that Hyatt got trimmed from an exceptional to a good trader.

I just got into TS last year , so don’t have much history. Don’t even know which FB as there are multiple, was just saying in general. From what I understood, A TS becomes popular due to social media, all of sudden multiple people are trading that TS, this raises a red flag for Interval. If the TS never became popular, changes mostly wouldn’t have occurred.

 

[billymach4]

I don't have this email from II. I wonder if it was just sent out to the folks that bought into the upgrade platinum dealio?

 

[SherBear801]

What is an OL studio?

Oceans Landing Resort. I haven’t been, but I’ve heard it described as being similar to a Motel 6 many times. The appeal is the low maintenance fees and owners use it as a trader in Interval.

 

[billymach4]

Oceans Landing Resort. I haven’t been, but I’ve heard it described as being similar to a Motel 6 many times. The appeal is the low maintenance fees and owners use it as a trader in Interval.

Yeah But. What I don't like about this type of Trader is that it's not like 2 BR that you can lock out. Also it's not a Marriott. No Marriott Priority.

 

[SherBear801]

Yeah But. What I don't like about this type of Trader is that it's not like 2 BR that you can lock out. Also it's not a Marriott. No Marriott Priority.

Exactly! Also, it’s not something I would ever consider exchanging my Marriott weeks for.

 

[dioxide45]

I didn’t see anything about this from
Interval personally, but tested it today and Travelhacker was correct. MVC to MVC trades are now $199 through Interval.

historically, the Marriott to Marriott (and Vistana to Vistana) exchanges fees reflected a $40 discount over the regular II exchange fees. However, over the last few years as II raised the regular exchange fee they didn't increase the Marriott to Marriott or Vistana to Vistana exchange fee. It seems now that they've just brought it back in line where it was historically. At a $40 discount.

 

[Kapolei]

I just got into TS last year , so don’t have much history. Don’t even know which FB as there are multiple, was just saying in general. From what I understood, A TS becomes popular due to social media, all of sudden multiple people are trading that TS, this raises a red flag for Interval. If the TS never became popular, changes mostly wouldn’t have occurred.

The idea was holding TS’s with very low maintenance fees that still accessed II high end properties during the 60 day time period before the start date. If someone dumped their property last minute into II it would show up in II for everyone. There is nothing unethical with sharing this info. But when you mass market the info in social media and charge people, you are not a cool cat in my opinion. And ultimately you are a part of killing the deal. And the scuttlebutt is that there are the people that started renting these trades. They could be worth several thousand during the post COVID rebound. For most of us here, TS deals are for our own use. We would never sell a trade. This is a hobby not a business.

 

[dioxide45]

The idea was holding TS’s with very low maintenance fees that still accessed II high end properties during the 60 day time period before the start date. If someone dumped their property last minute into II it would show up in II for everyone. There is nothing unethical with sharing this info. But when you mass market the info in social media and charge people, you are not a cool cat in my opinion. And ultimately you are a part of killing the deal. And there are the people that started selling these units. I don’t know who this is, but that is the concern. For most of us here, TS deals are for our own use. We would never sell a trade. This is a hobby not a business.

I understand the person promoting them also bought a lot of OL from someone and was reselling them for a few thousand each. I don't know what the buy/sell spread was. That was as of a few years ago.

 

[dioxide45]

I just got into TS last year , so don’t have much history. Don’t even know which FB as there are multiple, was just saying in general. From what I understood, A TS becomes popular due to social media, all of sudden multiple people are trading that TS, this raises a red flag for Interval. If the TS never became popular, changes mostly wouldn’t have occurred.

The same thing happens here on TUG too. People talk things up then they may get squashed. I think this may have been what happened with the big II adjustments last year. Over time more and more people catch on to the tricks. There are some tricks that people refuse to share because at some point the loophole will get closed.

Inventory has never been open to everyone during flexchange, the trading power requirements were just relaxed a bit.
@Danlop88 There was a major adjustment to trading power for deposit for a number of resorts/brands, if I recall right Feb/Mar 2023. The brands impacted were Hyatt, Welk, Diamond and a number of independents, some of which we know about, one is a resort on Coco Beach, which had become notorious for being a very good trader. It seems to still trade decently, but not quite as well as it used to and not for the major Hawaii resorts like it used to during Flexchange. Given that the first answer in II's FAQs is on Comparable exchange, its no surprise that resorts that consistently out perform their deposit get clipped. 2 x unit size upgrades, location upgrade and quality rating upgrade is good while it lasted.
View attachment 111413

That big adjustment was in Janaury 2024.

 

[Kapolei]

I think OL studio is still an asset and not a liability. But just barely.

 

[Kapolei]

The Welk resort and a couple of top tier Vegas properties show up. Just have to pay that upgrade fee now because the 60 day window will soon be dead. And you normally can’t book a flight for a reasonable price with less than 30 days. But it might help me seeing Hawai’i properties again.

 

[Hindsite]

I just got into TS last year , so don’t have much history. Don’t even know which FB as there are multiple, was just saying in general. From what I understood, A TS becomes popular due to social media, all of sudden multiple people are trading that TS, this raises a red flag for Interval. If the TS never became popular, changes mostly wouldn’t have occurred.

Yes in general II are clear that supply and demand is a factor in trading power on both the deposit and the exchange side, they monitor and adapt it without any of us being told. That is also why there was more Maui inventory available for a good long time after the fires. People chose not to go, so there was more supply, less demand and so more availability that there was previously. There will have ben some exceptional value exchanges for that time. The same thing happens in FL and the Caribbean as resort areas recover from Hurricane damage, its not just an issue relating to social media trending.

Its absolutely right that II balance supply with demand and that they adjust overperforming resorts, otherwise the people with high quality resorts will stop depositing. That doesn't mean that great value exchanges aren't still available. As you see from the replies from Kapolei there are still excellent exchanges to be had with a studio from an unrated resort, just not as good as it used to be.

What a lot of people miss out on is the underperforming resorts, those that have an II rating that really doesn't do them justice. Lots of people can't be bothered to look into what facilities resorts have and they just stick to Elite rated ones. If you can take the time to do the research and understand what features of resorts really matter to you, you can find some exceptional value via II. I'll give you my free tip, the Morritts Grand Cayman Studios actually have full kitchens even when II say they don't, and you can get them via Accom Certs in Dec. I've told II their info is wrong so its their call on whether to update it......

 

[GrayFal]

If you can take the time to do the research and understand what features of resorts really matter to you, you can find some exceptional value via II. I'll give you my free tip, the Morritts Tortuga Club Grand Cayman Studios actually have full kitchens even when II say they don't, and you can get them via Accom Certs in Dec. I've told II their info is wrong so it’s their call on whether to update it......

The really good news Is as of April , there were 3 renovations complete & they will be renovating one studio per month (x6) - they were in rough shape.

 

[Sugarcubesea]

Costco. Or many others. Never order from the bank, they're always the most expensive.

Or, don't use checks. It’s an outdated system, and almost every other country got rid of them decades ago.

@Ken555 , thanks for the information about Costco, I'm a caregiver for my 91 year old aunt who lives in HUD housing and due to them needing separation of funds, I had to open a checking account for her and I write the checks for her monthly rent, doctors bills, prescriptions, and utilities, so I do go thru a bunch of checks monthly with her... I will check costco out...

 

[Hindsite]

In my MVC enrolled II account, when I go through the book it pages for a getaway and then click on the Terms and conditions link, it brings up Abound Specific wording, which includes a para on cancellation that talks about cancellation 30 days to 24hrs being able to get an Accom Cert that has a reservation window of 30 days. Is that new? I never paid attention to less than 60 days before.

 

[rickandcindy23]

I still have four guest certificates. I was waiting to add a guest certificate to our friends' unit until I get an eplus retrade opportunity for Nanea instead of the one bedroom at Westin North. If I add the guest name, will it stay with the upgrade?

And really, since we are going to be there at the same time to celebrate their 50th anniversary, I think we will forgo the GC completely.

Does this mean that I will have to pay an upgrade fee for Nanea 2 bedroom, if we are within 60 days but not less than 30 days?

 

[GrayFal]

I still have four guest certificates. I was waiting to add a guest certificate to our friends' unit until I get an eplus retrade opportunity for Nanea instead of the one bedroom at Westin North. If I add the guest name, will it stay with the upgrade?

Guest cert stays with the unit/upgrade/eplus

 

[rickandcindy23]

Guest cert stays with the unit/upgrade/eplus

Thank you. I wasn't sure.

 

[dioxide45]

I still have four guest certificates. I was waiting to add a guest certificate to our friends' unit until I get an eplus retrade opportunity for Nanea instead of the one bedroom at Westin North. If I add the guest name, will it stay with the upgrade?

And really, since we are going to be there at the same time to celebrate their 50th anniversary, I think we will forgo the GC completely.

Does this mean that I will have to pay an upgrade fee for Nanea 2 bedroom, if we are within 60 days but not less than 30 days?

If you've already paid an upgrade fee from a studio to a 1BR, you won't needd to pay another.

 

[kozykritter]

In my MVC enrolled II account, when I go through the book it pages for a getaway and then click on the Terms and conditions link, it brings up Abound Specific wording, which includes a para on cancellation that talks about cancellation 30 days to 24hrs being able to get an Accom Cert that has a reservation window of 30 days. Is that new? I never paid attention to less than 60 days before.

Interesting. I just looked at the T&Cs through my MVC points-based account and the Abound language there doesn't reflect this...it's the standard non-changeable, non-refundable language. Same with my Vistana corporate account (which is way out of date...it says the discount internal exchange rate is $154 versus the current $199!).

 

[rickandcindy23]

If you've already paid an upgrade fee from a studio to a 1BR, you won't needd to pay another.

I used a 1 bed to get that 1 BR Westin North.

 

[GrayFal]

Loose lips…..

 

[dioxide45]

In my MVC enrolled II account, when I go through the book it pages for a getaway and then click on the Terms and conditions link, it brings up Abound Specific wording, which includes a para on cancellation that talks about cancellation 30 days to 24hrs being able to get an Accom Cert that has a reservation window of 30 days. Is that new? I never paid attention to less than 60 days before.

Perhaps you could post the specific wording. Those terms and conditions cover a lot of different things and aren't just Getaway sepcific.

 

[rickandcindy23]

Loose lips…..

I adjusted that. Good point. This is not the sightings thread, this is a general thread.

 

[WorldT]

I adjusted that. Good point. This is not the sightings thread, this is a general thread.

Unfortunately @GrayFal response to your post captured it. @GrayFal will have to edit their own posting to remove what you took out in yours.