New WKORVN Owner Needs Help with II

[Travispete1234]

Ok...new owner here at WKORVN. Just transferred and made a res for Spring Break 2020. I need to understand how to go about the whole II exchanging thing. Looking for a comprehensive thread so I understand how it works.

I have 176,100 options for 2019. Do I book two premium reservations in Hawaii, for example (1BR and a Studio) and then just deposit those weeks into II?

Do I need to know where I want to go in II now or does it bank in their system? Sorry for all of these questions, but I am trying to understand how to do this and strategies.

Thanks!!!

 

[tomvc]

With Vistana, you don't have to reserve any weeks. You call to deposit the studio or 1BR or both. Most II trades will be "down" trade given Hawaii maintenance fees.

If you want to stay at other Vistana resorts, you can bank the staroptions instead. The deadline is June 30th. You have until end of the year to deposit to II.

 

[mauitraveler]

Ok...new owner here at WKORVN. Just transferred and made a res for Spring Break 2020. I need to understand how to go about the whole II exchanging thing. Looking for a comprehensive thread so I understand how it works.

I have 176,100 options for 2019. Do I book two premium reservations in Hawaii, for example (1BR and a Studio) and then just deposit those weeks into II?

Do I need to know where I want to go in II now or does it bank in their system? Sorry for all of these questions, but I am trying to understand how to do this and strategies.

Thanks!!!

I agree with tomvc, in that KORVN ownership is too valuable to deposit into II. Banking your SOs will give you 2 years to use the SOs. However, if you ever miss the deadline to bank your SOs, and decide to deposit your unit/s into II, you can do it online through your II account. No need to call II. Welcome to TUG!

 

[TravelTime]

Did you buy WKOVRN north as a trader?

 

[DeniseM]

It's a TERRIBLE value to deposit an expensive resort like WKORV-N.

It's like depositing a Mercedes in a pool of Chevys, because 95% of what is available for you to exchange for will be a down-trade into a lower value resort.

The only way to get full value is to use it yourself, rent it, or trade the Staroptions for equivalent value resorts in the internal Vistana trading system.

 

[Henry M.]

I have only used II once, and it was many years ago. I don't know exactly how a unit gets assigned what it can trade into and haven't paid attention in quite a while.

The one time I used II, I traded a WKORV Studio for a 2BR unit in the German Alps, south of Munich. The resort wasn't really comparable to WKORV, but then I got a fairly large 2BR unit for my studio, so in the end I considered it a fair trade.

Since then, I've found I'm better off renting WKORV and using the money to get a VRBO/HomeAway or AirBnB reservation, which give me much more flexibility on locations and unit sizes. I just have to be careful when selecting the rental, since they can be hit or miss. If I really wanted a specific timeshare in a nice location, I'd rent it through Redweek and the like, rather than try to exchange. The good ones are too hard to get through exchanges.

 

[DeniseM]

Vistana gives you a generic deposit credit for your deposit, and it has the average trading value of the entire season that you own. With WKORVN, that means the average trading value of weeks 1-50.

But the problem isn't the trading value, the problem is getting an equal trade in return.

 

[Henry M.]

The 2BR that I got for the studio didn’t seem like such a terrible deal even if the resorts weren’t at the same level. My issue is that there isn’t all that much to choose from in many places. Short term rentals, like VRBO, give you better flexibility in places with no timeshares.

 

[DeniseM]

Hi Henry - It sounds like you got a good deal, but I think your experience is the exception, rather than the norm - especially now that Interval charges an upgrade fee and you can no longer trade a studio for a 2 bdm, straight across.

 

[Henry M.]

My experience must have been in 2003 or so. I think things have changed with II since then.

I remember at the time Disney traded in II, but none of their resorts were ever available.

 

[EnglishmanAbroad]

I deposited our 1BR WKORV-N last year into II as we had a December reservation that we'd sold to a friend who had to cancel due to personal reasons and we had no luck with Redweek. As we were past the banking deadline and couldn't use it ourselves it seemed the best option but I must admit having now looked at what's available in trade, most of what's on II seems underwhelming or is tagged by an 'all inclusive' fee, especially for the 'tropical' locales. What's worse is they also state that the all inclusive fee has to be paid up to the maximum occupancy of the accommodation, usually 4-8, and there's only 2 of us.

 

[mauitraveler]

I deposited our 1BR WKORV-N last year into II as we had a December reservation that we'd sold to a friend who had to cancel due to personal reasons and we had no luck with Redweek. As we were past the banking deadline and couldn't use it ourselves it seemed the best option but I must admit having now looked at what's available in trade, most of what's on II seems underwhelming or is tagged by an 'all inclusive' fee, especially for the 'tropical' locales. What's worse is they also state that the all inclusive fee has to be paid up to the maximum occupancy of the accommodation, usually 4-8, and there's only 2 of us.

IIRC you can still deposit WKORV-N into II and request back into WKORV/N. My niece did this three years ago when she forgot to bank her SOs. Just another option if choosing to use II...