Lagunamar as a occasional Interval Trader

[carpie99]

This is my second trip here ... first one 7 years ago. I forgot how beautiful it was here. We are loving it here. The one thing missing from my portfolio is a good interval trader.

I am considering trying to find a 2 bedroom Lagunamar resale to come here at least every other year and some time use part of it as a II trader. The MFs are more than say SDO but I feel like this is a good option while also sticking to the “buy where you want to go” mantra.

The voluntary limitations are much less here considering with the 2 bedroom lockoff I can still book three different options in my season (studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom).

Thoughts?

Currently own SVV developer purchase (option trader unit) plus three units STJ VGV Hillside.

 

[DannyTS]

I believe that Lagunamar is a great combination of relatively low MF, great resort, long season, good II trader a great buy especially for those that live on the East coast

 

[Sea Six]

I've always heard that Cancun resorts are not good traders because there are too many resorts on the beach. Especially when you add in the Riviera Maya area. This is similar to those who say the Disney area is overbuilt, so those resorts aren't good traders either.

 

[TravelTime]

There are also many very nice luxury resorts in Cancun and Riviera Maya that are relatively affordable using cash or for lower hotel point cost since it is Mexico. In addition, it is easy to trade into and get low cost Getaways at the Grand Luxxe in their humongous 1 and 2 bedrooms (1600 sf to almost 3000 sf with wading pools). With the Registry you can access their most luxurious units (2/3 BR spa units, 3/4 BR loft units - these are 3000 to almost 5000 sf units with huge terraces and pools) for a higher exchange price about equivalent to the maintenance fee including the cost of the trade and exchange fees. Grand Luxxe is among the nicest resorts in Mexico, as long as you stay away from the salespeople and do not answer the telephone.

 

[DannyTS]

I've always heard that Cancun resorts are not good traders because there are too many resorts on the beach. Especially when you add in the Riviera Maya area. This is similar to those who say the Disney area is overbuilt, so those resorts aren't good traders either.

with Lagunamar platinum i see everything that comes up on the sightings forum except those that have Marriott priority. Also Lagunamar has all the 2 bd lockout and and virtually all oceanview a great advantage whether you deposit or trade into. Cancun is not overbuilt IMO, the problem is that most other resorts are AI so few are interested to trade into those.

 

[Sea Six]

I had the same opinion about the Disney area. Yes, there are a lot of units, but there isn't an oversupply of NICE units. How else would Disney be able to justify the constant new construction? All I can say is that, in general, Cancun and Disney resorts are not considered good traders because of supply and demand.

 

[vacationtime1]

Lagunamar units deposited into Interval will have a preference for other Vistana units -- which is very powerful. So if your intended trade targets are Vistana (Hawaii, Palm Desert, etc.), you will do fine.

 

[TravelTime]

I have never traded using my Vistana unit through Interval. Can you get Hawaii, Harborside and Westin St John through Interval with any Vistana unit anytime of the year if you own a Platinum unit?

 

[Sea Six]

Lagunamar units deposited into Interval will have a preference for other Vistana units -- which is very powerful. So if your intended trade targets are Vistana (Hawaii, Palm Desert, etc.), you will do fine.

If you bought mandatory resale, you got Star Options and don't need II to get Vistana units. The problem is trying to get the good resorts that AREN'T part of Vistana.

 

[Sea Six]

I have never traded using my Vistana unit through Interval. Can you get Hawaii, Harborside and Westin St John through Interval with any Vistana unit anytime of the year if you own a Platinum unit?

Try it and let us know how you do.

 

[carpie99]

OK ... so what I am reading is Lagunamar IS NOT a good trader outside of Vistana.

I already have a star option trader for Vistana ... I was hoping Lagunamar would help me trade for good Marriott or Hyatt properties when I wanted to look outside the network.

 

[TravelTime]

Try it and let us know how you do.

I just tried it using both the studio portion and the 2 bedroom portion of my WKOVRN OF. I did not see much at all but I did see a 3 BR at Marriott St Kitts and some Marriotts in Aruba. I saw very little at the Westins. I would never deposit my unit because I would use it for StarOptions since I can trade my studio lockoff easily for other 1 BR Hawaii properties, 1 BR at Harborside and studios at St John through Vistana internally with no worries.

I do see all brands with my Marriotts including other Marriotts, Westin and Hyatt. I have deposited my Marriott Ko Olina studio and a Marriott Marbella 1 bedroom. I have seen fabulous exchanges with both.

It is probably a bad day for looking with WKOVRN OF. I would think that would have some of the best trading power possible.

 

[TravelTime]

OK ... so what I am reading is Lagunamar IS NOT a good trader outside of Vistana.

I already have a star option trader for Vistana ... I was hoping Lagunamar would help me trade for good Marriott or Hyatt properties when I wanted to look outside the network.

You can’t trade Lagunamar within Vistana. It is voluntary and does not come with SOs. You must use Interval.

 

[Sea Six]

You should do better with a Maui unit, but when you said a Vistana unit, I assumed you were talking about Orlando.

 

[TravelTime]

You should do better with a Maui unit, but when you said a Vistana unit, I assumed you were talking about Orlando.

No, I was wondering if any Platinum Vistana unit is getting priority trading into the high value Vistana properties in Hawaii, Harborside and St John. I never see Westin St John or Harborside in II and rarely see Westins in Hawaii or Marriotts in Hawaii. When I do, they go fast. So I was wondering if people with a lower cost voluntary properties like WLR or WKR are getting priority into the more expensive properties through II.

 

[TravelTime]

OK ... so what I am reading is Lagunamar IS NOT a good trader outside of Vistana.

I already have a star option trader for Vistana ... I was hoping Lagunamar would help me trade for good Marriott or Hyatt properties when I wanted to look outside the network.

Maybe this will change if/when Marriott integrates Vistana?

 

[carpie99]

You can’t trade Lagunamar within Vistana. It is voluntary and does not come with SOs. You must use Interval.

I understand ... I was hoping Lagunamar would pull nice resorts in Interval ... I will use my SVV inside the Vistana network

 

[Tucsonadventurer]

Maybe this will change if/when Marriott integrates Vistana?

I think it will be more difficult to trade once Marriott integrates especially for resales. Just my opinion after multiple Marriott presentations but many differ in predictions AND I hope they are right

 

[TravelTime]

I understand ... I was hoping Lagunamar would pull nice resorts in Interval ... I will use my SVV inside the Vistana network

I love having a mandatory resort and access to SOs as well as home resort priority at WKOVRN OF. It’s the best of all worlds to me. Vistana is a great system and I think availability is good for internal exchanges. With Marriott, I have access through II for all the Westin properties, as well as Marriott and Hyatt and everyone else. I have enrolled all my Marriott weeks because I really like the Marriott Destination Club too. I like flexibility to travel where I want. Even though points are nominally more expensive, it is much cheaper than hotels (especially if you want more space and a kitchen) and more flexible than renting from owners. You might consider a cheap Marriott trader to get access to Marriotts. There are many threads on TUG about this. I have heard that Grand Chateau and Palm Desert two bedroom lockoffs are good traders and cost effective. However Palm Desert is flooded with time shares so not sure how strong a trader it is. I guess it depends on where you live. On East Coast, there may be some Hilton Head locations that are good traders.

 

[PamMo]

You're not really trading YOUR Lagunamar unit in Interval. Vistana chooses what is deposited and you get assigned a unit for trade with Interval. We never know what is deposited - some think it could even be an altogether different Vistana resort week. I don't own Lagunamar, but I would assume trading a platinum week there would have similar trading power to other weeks worth 148,100 Star Options. Hopefully, some TUG owners at the resort will share their Interval trading experiences in this thread.

Lagunamar's only negative is that you can't lock it off to get two separate 1BR's for trade, like you can with SDO, Kierland, and some others. Even with the highest quality designation in Interval, you'll have to pay an upgrade fee to get a 1BR for the studio deposit. But, that wouldn't really matter if you plan to use your Lagunamar week most years.

 

[DannyTS]

I consider Lagunamar a great trader. I have seen all the Westin Hawaii, Marriott Arubas, ski weeks in Colorado etc when they were posted in the sightings section. Why do I need more? For every week i own i have seen many times more weeks in places i would love to go in good or great seasons.
I also compare with SVV Bella, even if they both have Vistana priority Lagunamar pulls a lot more resorts and dates every time i search with both. Not that i would trade SVV in II, just searching for fun.

 

[DannyTS]

I think it will be more difficult to trade once Marriott integrates especially for resales. Just my opinion after multiple Marriott presentations but many differ in predictions AND I hope they are right

were their lips moving? Funny how different are the stories that come from the Vistana and Marriott reps based not on what they know but on what serves them best at the moment.

Why exactly would trading become more difficult after integration? Would people stop depositing? Where would those weeks go? Would people stop wanting to trade? Besides, Interval makes a lot of money with the exchanges, they would shoot themselves in the foot. I guess this is just wishful thinking coming from hungry reps.

 

[DannyTS]

I think a good indicator of the trading power might be the getaway prices for the platinum season.
Typically, if available at all, getaways range from 300-400 to about 1200 for a studio depending on the resort. There are currently 3 Lagunamar platinum studios, 2 in late March one in April for $1,097.
Just compare this to the resorts you may be interested in (if getaways available) and you may have an indication of what Interval and Vistana think about their relative trading power. You should compare season per season to be fair. For example there are St Kitt's Marriott studios available for $679 but those are not prime season. You can also compare to the other Vistana and Marriott typical traders: SDO, SPB, Marriott Chateau etc

 

[TravelTime]

This is what I get for Getaways using my II account that has Marriott Ko Olina in it:

Westin Lagunamar Studios:

Nov 09 2018 - Nov 16 2018
$577.00 $552.00 $527.00

Mar 31 2019 - Apr 07 2019
$1,097.00 $1,072.00 $1,047.00

Apr 06 2019 - Apr 13 2019
$1,097.00 $1,072.00 $1,047.00

Apr 07 2019 - Apr 14 2019
$1,097.00 $1,072.00 $1,047.00

May 04 2019 - May 11 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 05 2019 - May 12 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 11 2019 - May 18 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 12 2019 - May 19 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 18 2019 - May 25 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 19 2019 - May 26 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

If I wanted to stay at Lagunamar, though, I would use SOs for a one bedroom or I would find an affordable way to get a 1 bedroom. I was just wondering what would show up for Getaways to see if Marriott had good exchange power.

I have 3 II accounts. Typically, I see the same stuff with all of them. The range for Getaways regardless of size is high $200s to about $1100. Occasionally I see something higher priced like $1800 for a week in a 1 bedroom at Hyatt Highlands or $1400 for New Year’s week in Morritt’s in the Cayman Island’s (although Morritt’s is usually significantly less).

One thing to keep in mind is that II does not release the more desirable resorts as far in advance or at all as Getaways and even as exchanges. I see Marriott St Kitts Resort hotel rooms as Getaways through December only.

The only Marriott St Kitts Beach Club release I see as a Getaway right now is this:

Marriott St Kitts Beach Club 3 BR
Oct 27 2018 - Nov 03 2018

3810

$727.00 $702.00 $677.00

I went back and checked using my Vistana II account and I see exactly the same Getaways as with my Marriott II account.

 

[DannyTS]

This is what I get for Getaways using my II account that has Marriott Ko Olina in it:

Westin Lagunamar Studios:

Nov 09 2018 - Nov 16 2018
$577.00 $552.00 $527.00

Mar 31 2019 - Apr 07 2019
$1,097.00 $1,072.00 $1,047.00

Apr 06 2019 - Apr 13 2019
$1,097.00 $1,072.00 $1,047.00

Apr 07 2019 - Apr 14 2019
$1,097.00 $1,072.00 $1,047.00

May 04 2019 - May 11 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 05 2019 - May 12 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 11 2019 - May 18 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 12 2019 - May 19 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 18 2019 - May 25 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

May 19 2019 - May 26 2019
$827.00 $802.00 $777.00

If I wanted to stay at Lagunamar, though, I would use SOs for a one bedroom or I would find an affordable way to get a 1 bedroom. I was just wondering what would show up for Getaways to see if Marriott had good exchange power.

I have 3 II accounts. Typically, I see the same stuff with all of them. The range for Getaways regardless of size is high $200s to about $1100. Occasionally I see something higher priced like $1800 for a week in a 1 bedroom at Hyatt Highlands or $1400 for New Year’s week in Morritt’s in the Cayman Island’s (although Morritt’s is usually significantly less).

One thing to keep in mind is that II does not release the more desirable resorts as far in advance. That is why you see fewer St Kitts releases right now. I see Marriott St Kitts hotel rooms as Getaways through December only. The most desireable resorts will rarely have any Getaways at all.

The only Marriott St Kitts Beach Resort release I see as a Getaway right now is this:

Marriott St Kitts Beach Club 3 BR
Oct 27 2018 - Nov 03 2018

3810

$727.00 $702.00 $677.00

I went back and checked using my Vistana II account and I see exactly the same Getaways as with my Marriott II account.

You will have to let the OP do his own research, he will know what i mean. there are some mix ups in your list: high and low season, sizes, real getaways and those that are listed in a hotel regime etc.