Anyone donated an RCI booked exchange week to charity fundraiser?

[vanillabean]

I have searched this site and I have found some threads where some TUG members have donated their exchange week to a charity. Some are several years old, and others are reservations in systems other than RCI. I did call RCI and spoke with someone who sounded young and said she had never been asked this question before. She had to ask her supervisor, and came back with the answer that yes, I can do that. I would just have to provide a guest certificate for the person who will be checking in under the reservation. I tried to make it clear to her that the charity would be using it as a fundraiser, but I'm not sure she understood that.

I think I read in some posts that some TUG members have done this many times without much trouble. I realize that I can't get a tax deduction for donating the week. I was wondering if the charity, in this case my children's school, receiving money for this prize, whether it be an auctioned item or a raffle, would be considered "commercial" use. I wouldn't want to risk my RCI membership on the off-chance that a high-paying winning bidder has a bad experience and RCI becomes aware that the guest paid money to the school for his vacation.

I have more deposited weeks than I think we can use, and if this isn't a bad idea, it would be a way for me to be able to make a donation without much additional cost to me.

Thoughts or tips from anyone who has done this recently without problems, or actually spoken about this with RCI?

Thanks!

 

[mdurette]

I have thought about doing this before, but have always decided not to because ultimately, the RCI member is responsible for the actions of the people they give a guest cert to. At a charity auction as an example, you just don't know who will end up occupying the unit. About 15 years ago, I did use one as a "prize" for top referrer of business during a work promotion. I at least knew the pool of people that could potentially earn it.

But the official answer comes from RCI Terms and Conditions:
D. Guest Certificates and Guest Passes may not be used for any commercial purpose, or monetary or other consideration, by Member or guest, including without limitation auction, barter, rental, raffle or sale of the Guest Pass or Guest Certificate or the underlying Confirmed Exchange. RCI, in its sole discretion, may limit the number of Guest Certificates or Guest Passes a Member may purchase, or the number of Exchange Requests or Confirmed Exchanges which may be made by or on behalf of a guest. Their use is also subject to any conditions, restrictions or limitations which may be imposed by an Inventory provider or Alternative Inventory provider.

E. Members are responsible for all acts and omissions of their guests and for any damage caused or
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expenses incurred by their guests while using any Inventory in the Program, including people who are using Guest Certificates or Guest Passes.

 

[tschwa2]

And the donation would cost you the $239 exchange fee plus the $89 guest certificate fee.

 

[Luanne]

Years ago. I decided I would have been better off just donating the money it cost me for the exchange fee.

 

[JudyH]

I did it once about 8 years ago. No problems but it was a PITA. A close relative had a cancer fundraiser and asked for a week to be donated. I offered a one bedroom week in Orlando, date to be arranged, could not be rented out, etc because I was sure I could procure that week as an exchange. A business owner bought that week and gave it to his employee. She contacted me and asked nice could I get a two bed July 4 week. Luckily I got this at one of the Sheratons and got her a guest certificate. I told her no renting it out, follow the rules, and you can’t call me for help because I am away from the US on that date.
It all worked. I think it cost me the exchange fee, the guest certificate, a % of my maintenance fee. I had a lot of TPUs so that didn’t matter so much. I wouldn’t do it again.

 

[KarenP]

I have several times. Most of the time it raises more than what it costs me.

 

[antjmar]

I have searched this site and I have found some threads where some TUG members have donated their exchange week to a charity. Some are several years old, and others are reservations in systems other than RCI. I did call RCI and spoke with someone who sounded young and said she had never been asked this question before. She had to ask her supervisor, and came back with the answer that yes, I can do that. I would just have to provide a guest certificate for the person who will be checking in under the reservation. I tried to make it clear to her that the charity would be using it as a fundraiser, but I'm not sure she understood that.

I think I read in some posts that some TUG members have done this many times without much trouble. I realize that I can't get a tax deduction for donating the week. I was wondering if the charity, in this case my children's school, receiving money for this prize, whether it be an auctioned item or a raffle, would be considered "commercial" use. I wouldn't want to risk my RCI membership on the off-chance that a high-paying winning bidder has a bad experience and RCI becomes aware that the guest paid money to the school for his vacation.

I have more deposited weeks than I think we can use, and if this isn't a bad idea, it would be a way for me to be able to make a donation without much additional cost to me.

Thoughts or tips from anyone who has done this recently without problems, or actually spoken about this with RCI?

Thanks!

I did this several years ago. It was also a school fundraising event. The exchange fee and guest fee cost me about $250. I wasn't going to use the points anyway. I told the school start the bidding at $250. The week went for just over $1000. IMO win win.
Be sure to book a desirable week when kids are not in school.
Also RCI had said this was fine.

 

[Shankilicious]

It would have been better if you had gotten the response of "OK" in an email. However, I have used guest certificates multiple times and it never raises a question. I even called one resort after booking and asked for special accommodations as I had booked the stay for a close friend's honeymoon. There was chocolate covered strawberries and a small bottle of champagne in their room at no extra charge.
Having worked with a lot of large companies/corporations that have to monitor tens to hundreds of thousands of clients/users, unless you're paying for a large amount of guest certificates (I'd think more than 10 a year) you're not gonna even blip on their radar.
I donated a week at one of my home resorts (Welk) last August and I know that wont be an issue cuz anyone can rent out their home resort without issue, or should be able to....

 

[vanillabean]

But the official answer comes from RCI Terms and Conditions:
D. Guest Certificates and Guest Passes may not be used for any commercial purpose, or monetary or other consideration, by Member or guest, including without limitation auction, barter, rental, raffle or sale of the Guest Pass or Guest Certificate or the underlying Confirmed Exchange. RCI, in its sole discretion, may limit the number of Guest Certificates or Guest Passes a Member may purchase, or the number of Exchange Requests or Confirmed Exchanges which may be made by or on behalf of a guest. Their use is also subject to any conditions, restrictions or limitations which may be imposed by an Inventory provider or Alternative Inventory provider.

It does look like this is the official policy. I do wish there was something clearly stated regarding CHARITY auctions or raffles, since one could get different answers depending on the person they speak to at RCI. And if this is official policy regarding charity auctions, I wish they would change it. One could dream, anyway.

 

[vanillabean]

And the donation would cost you the $239 exchange fee plus the $89 guest certificate fee.

I was considering donating $1000 cash to the school anyway, so if I am able to donate the week the exchange and guest certificate fees are less than that, even with the cost of the TPUs I would like to use.

 

[vanillabean]

I have several times. Most of the time it raises more than what it costs me.

Yes, I was planning to donate a beach week during spring break within a driveable distance, or Disney, or right after our schools get out. I think those would probably raise more than my cost as well.

 

[vanillabean]

I did this several years ago. It was also a school fundraising event. The exchange fee and guest fee cost me about $250. I wasn't going to use the points anyway. I told the school start the bidding at $250. The week went for just over $1000. IMO win win.
Be sure to book a desirable week when kids are not in school.
Also RCI had said this was fine.

This is exactly my situation!

 

[vanillabean]

Thanks for the input from everyone who shared their experiences with this. I did chat with an RCI representative. Here's the transcript of the question and response regarding donating an exchange week for a charity fundraiser:

=========================
Aarika M. (10:26:20 AM):Hello and thank you for contacting RCI! My name is Aarika and I will be assisting you today. How can I help?

Me (10:27:45 AM):Hi, I have a question about donating a booked exchange week to a school fundraiser to use for a silent auction or raffle. Is that allowed by RCI policy?

Aarika M. (10:30:46 AM):Hi Anna! According to the RCI Policy, weeks cannot be donated to fundraisers or auctions.
If you would like to gift a vacation to a guest, you have the option to confirm a reservation and add a guest certificate to the reservation.

Me (10:34:11 AM):Hmm, I had talked to someone one the phone in a separate conversation, and she checked with her supervisor on this. She said it was allowed. I wanted to confirm in writing that it is ok. But you are saying that it is not?

Aarika M. (10:35:19 AM):Correct. Weeks cannot be donated but a guest certificate can be added to a reservation in which you would like to gift to someone else.

Me (10:37:32 AM):Ok, regarding gifting a week to someone- it costs an exchange fee and guest certificate fee. Can the guest reimburse me for those fees? I know I cannot get reimbursed for the maintenance fees.

Aarika M. (10:38:50 AM):Correct. Both fees are paid to confirm the reservation with a guest certificate. Yes, the guest can reimburse the fees to you, based on your personal agreement.
=========================

 

[vanillabean]

UPDATE:

After I had the online chat, I received an email response to two questions I had sent to RCI using the email form in the "Contact Us" section of the website. The two questions I asked are quoted below:

"1. I understand that RCI prohibits renting an exchange week. If I gift the week to a friend or family, is it allowed by RCI if they pay me back for the exchange fee and guest fee but not the maintenance fees?

2. Also, does RCI allow the donation of an exchange week to a charity to be used in a fundraising auction or raffle. The winner of the silent auction or raffle would then be the guest checking in at the resort, which I would give a guest confirmation to. Is this allowed by RCI membership terms?

"

The response from RCI follows:

"Your Guest can pay the exchange fee or Guest Certificate fee with their own credit card. Otherwise, any private arrangements made between you and a Guest are your transactions. RCI cannot enforce any arrangements you do make with a Guest.

Thank you for contacting us about your desire to donate your vacation week to a charitable organization. Sharing your vacation time with others is a wonderful way to express your care, concern, and generosity.

Although RCI does not work directly with charities in this way, we do offer a way for you to arrange and donate your vacation time to an organization or individual of your choice. We hope the following information is helpful to you:

• You may start by contacting any of our Vacation Guides at 800-338-7777 and informing your Guide of your intention to arrange a Gift Exchange that you will be donating to a charitable organization. You may initiate a Gift Exchange request even before you have determined a destination or recipient.

• To set up your Gift Exchange, your Guide will ask you for the two fees that will be needed to initiate your vacation request. The two fees are for an RCI Guest Certificate ($84) to enable the recipient to travel on the Gift Exchange, and the applicable exchange fee ($239). Please note that the individual whose name is listed on the Guest Certificate must be 21 years of age or older.

• Finally, once you have determined the recipient, please contact us again with their name, address, and telephone number. Then, we can work directly with the recipient, or if you prefer, we can continue working with you to fulfill the request for the preferred destination.

If you are donating a vacation week other than one requiring the use of one of your own deposits, such as an Extra Vacation or other bonus week, varying reservation fees will apply. In these instances, please ask your Guide about the specific fee that would apply to you.

If you prefer, you may confirm a vacation week up front and donate that specific confirmed vacation instead of a deposited week to exchange. This simply requires the addition of the guest information once you know the recipient."

So, I sent a follow-up email to clarify that "if I donate a week to a charity, such as a school, using the process you described, and they hold a silent auction or raffle to determine a recipient of the use of the week, that is not a problem for RCI?"

The response to that was, "It is not a problem to RCI, however a Guest Certificate will need to be purchased in order to transfer the week to the winner/honoree. A Guest Certificate can be purchased after the vacation is confirmed or at the time of confirmation. The Guest must be 21 years of age or older. We hope this additional information is helpful."

CONCLUSION:
Two out of three responses say it is ok. Based on this response and on the responses from other TUGgers who shared their experiences doing this, I would be comfortable in donating an exchange week for a school fundraiser.

 

[mdurette]

All good info. Thanks for sharing.

I would addd one other thing, once you confirm the exchange with rci you should call the resort directly to ensure they have the reservation. The last thing you want with this is for some mess up and the winners show up and they don’t have a room.

It’s rare, but it can happen. I have caught it once on a getaway purchased for a friend. Thank goodness I caught it in time to fix.