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Possible to trade Custom House 1BR for 2BR ski week?

feckman

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Hi All,

I am a Custom House owner and have been for years. In fact, I'm writing from there now, looking out over the North End and Old North Church. :)

Anyway, we use our membership to stay here every year, but we are interested in trading next year's usage for a ski week over Christmas break with our kids this winter. I am trying to figure out if there is any way to finagle our 1BR 2019 CH usage into a 2BR week someplace like Breckenridge, Vail, Avon or Park City?

We also have an EOY 2BR at Lakeside Terrace, but we can't use that again until 2020 and they won't let us pre-pay maintenance fees and deposit that now. So, any advice that could help us make this happen would be VERY much appreciated. Or, if there's no practical way to do so, that would be good to know, too.

Thanks in advance!

--Jim.
 

Fasttr

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Isn't Custom House one that trades in II as a 2BR??
 

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I used to own Custom House, it trades as a 2 bedroom with II. I would select week 23 to 31, highest demand week in Boston, then I would select all of the 2 bedroom ski areas that I would like. This will give you more options. Good luck.
 

tschwa2

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I think getting a 2 br ski resort will be impossible if you are limiting yourself to Westin, Sheraton, Marriott and Timber Lodge. Vistana controls deposits and will not deposit a holiday ski week in II. Marriott sold these as event weeks and Owners can rent for a much higher value (or get destination points) than a deposit in II. You might get a second or third tier holiday ski week but if that isn't what you are looking for than I think you will be disappointed.
 

feckman

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Understood, thanks to all. I will give it a try. I just booked July 4th week at the CH for next year -- do different weeks have better/worse trading power? Also, I believe when I considered depositing it in the past II only allowed me to select 1BR units through the website. Do I need to call in to get the 2BR option? I could be wrong, so I'll check that again.

Otherwise, we're considering any of the "established" timeshares in addition to Grand Timber Lodge or any of the newer Breckenridge Grand Vacations properties in Breck. Hopefully one of those will pan out.
 

dioxide45

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Here is the verbiage from the II Buyers Guide about Custom House;

MVCI Owners of one-bedroom unit Weeks at Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club, Marriott’s Custom House,Marriott’s Grande Vista,Marriott’s Kauai Beach Club, Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club, and Marriott’s Mountain Valley Lodge at Breckenridge are eligible to request two-bedroom units at MVCI Resorts that do not have one-bedroom units.

This doesn't say anything about it trading as a 2BR unit. It still trades as a 1BR, I don't know if the upgrade fee applies if you trade in to a 2BR unit. Really, based on that wording, it means nothing. Anyone owning a 1BR unit or who books the 1BR side of their lock off can do the same thing.
 

bizaro86

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Are you wanting the upcoming year? IE December 2018? If so, you also have the issue that it is quite late to request such a difficult trade...
 

feckman

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Strange. I just spoke to a rep at II to clarify. She said that "Custom House does trade as a 2BR and can book 2BR units without the upgrade fee."

That's one rep, but I'm hoping that is the case. Can anyone with firsthand knowledge one way or the other chime in?

Thanks again!
 

WBP

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Here is the verbiage from the II Buyers Guide about Custom House;

MVCI Owners of one-bedroom unit Weeks at Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club, Marriott’s Custom House,Marriott’s Grande Vista,Marriott’s Kauai Beach Club, Marriott’s Maui Ocean Club, and Marriott’s Mountain Valley Lodge at Breckenridge are eligible to request two-bedroom units at MVCI Resorts that do not have one-bedroom units.

This doesn't say anything about it trading as a 2BR unit. It still trades as a 1BR, I don't know if the upgrade fee applies if you trade in to a 2BR unit. Really, based on that wording, it means nothing. Anyone owning a 1BR unit or who books the 1BR side of their lock off can do the same thing.

I don't doubt that Dioxide 45 is accurate, with regard to the verbiage that he extracted from the I.I. Buyer's Guide, BUT, the I.I Buyers Guide is not accurate, with regard to Marriott's Custom House and Interval International. In my opinion, the Custom House owners should demand that Marriott, or their HOA Board, fix this (language (in the I.I. Buyer's Guide)).

As a matter of FACT, there was a perpetual agreement signed between two senior officials, of Marriott Vacation Club, and Interval International, that very clearly states that Marriott's Custom House, one-bedroom villas, exchange as/for two-bedroom villas, anywhere in the I.I. system, including I.I. resorts that offer one-bedroom villas. I believe the signatories were Lee Cunningham, at MVC, and Craig Nash, at Interval International. I have a copy of that agreement, which I will look for, and try to post (here). The agreement was the result of a very contentious issue, between Custom House owners, and MVCI, and I.I., and it was rectified by Maureen Boyd, then a Vice President at Interval International.

There are a few important steps that you must take, when you exchange your Custom House villa to a resort at which you require a two-bedroom villa. First, you must tell I.I. that you are a "traveliing party of six;" if you get any pushabck from I.I., ask to speak to a supervisor. Second, if I.I. should happen to confirm you into a one-bedroom villa, at a resort that has two-bedroom villas, immediately reject the one-bedroom villa. Third, Marriott's Mountain Valley Lodge (at Breckenridge) has only studios, and very large one-bedroom villas; their one-bedroom villas probably sleep six - be aware of that. Fourth, at Marriott's StreamSide at Vail, only put in for the "EVERGREEN BUILDING," at StreamSide at Vail; it is the only building that was built by Marriott, and that is Marriott quality. Fifth, the chances of you getting a ski week a Christmas this year is remarcably low; you are way too late for a request like that (at this late date, it is not a reasonable request, unless you can do it with Destination Points, and not through I.I.). If you want Christmas Week somewhere in MVC, think about starting you request NOW for Christmas 2019, but understand that that is a longshot, as Christmas Week was sold as a "fixed week" at several MVC ski resorts, and those owners tend to use them, or rent them, not exchange them, BUT, you may be the lucky recipient of a Chrsitmas Week. In my experience, Christmas Week exchanges can be a nightmare, because by the time you MAY be confirmed, affordable air may be sold out, or all available seats may be sold out.

If it were me, I'd start a request with I.I., using a prime, summer Custom House week, and I'd include the MVC ski resorts that you name, for Christmas Week 2019 (you can try for 2018, but can you get air, at this late date?), and I'd give serious consideration to broadening your request to other ski weeks, beyond Christmas Week. Forget about getting into a Starwood/Vistana or Hyatt ski resort over Chrsitmas Week, that is not going to happen, and its not worth paying I.I. a very expensive fee, for the exchange, that you will never get.
 

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Strange. I just spoke to a rep at II to clarify. She said that "Custom House does trade as a 2BR and can book 2BR units without the upgrade fee."

That's one rep, but I'm hoping that is the case. Can anyone with firsthand knowledge one way or the other chime in?

Thanks again!

Yes, I can confirm that as FACT. I worked for MVC at the time that the agreement that I refer to above, was negotiated.
 

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Great information -- THANK YOU! I'm sure you're right about the Christmas week availability, but I couldn't put in the II request until now because I couldn't book the week we wanted and do a "request first" search until we booked on Friday. Since the II fee will be refunded if they can't find a match, I figure it's a "no harm, no foul" situation -- if a miracle happens, great. If not, no big deal.

We're lucky enough to be in a city serviced by Southwest Airlines and my wife and I are both points-rich Companion Pass holders, so airfare isn't much of a practical concern for us. Regardless, I wonder if we might have more luck doing something else for Christmas and trying to use the CH week to trade into Maui for February break? We love the Lahaina/Ka'anapali Beach area and are planning on going back there as well.

Thanks again -- fantastic information provided here, I'm glad I asked if only for future reference.
 

dioxide45

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I don't doubt that Dioxide 45 is accurate, with regard to the verbiage that he extracted from the I.I. Buyer's Guide, BUT, the I.I Buyers Guide is not accurate, with regard to Marriott's Custom House and Interval International. In my opinion, the Custom House owners should demand that Marriott, or their HOA Board, fix this (language (in the I.I. Buyer's Guide)).

As a matter of FACT, there was a perpetual agreement signed between two senior officials, of Marriott Vacation Club, and Interval International, that very clearly states that Marriott's Custom House, one-bedroom villas, exchange as/for two-bedroom villas, anywhere in the I.I. system, including I.I. resorts that offer one-bedroom villas. I believe the signatories were Lee Cunningham, at MVC, and Craig Nash, at Interval International. I have a copy of that agreement, which I will look for, and try to post (here). The agreement was the result of a very contentious issue, between Custom House owners, and MVCI, and I.I., and it was rectified by Maureen Boyd, then a Vice President at Interval International.

There are a few important steps that you must take, when you exchange your Custom House villa to a resort at which you require a two-bedroom villa. First, you must tell I.I. that you are a "traveliing party of six;" if you get any pushabck from I.I., ask to speak to a supervisor. Second, if I.I. should happen to confirm you into a one-bedroom villa, at a resort that has two-bedroom villas, immediately reject the one-bedroom villa. Third, Marriott's Mountain Valley Lodge (at Breckenridge) has only studios, and very large one-bedroom villas; their one-bedroom villas probably sleep six - be aware of that. Fourth, at Marriott's StreamSide at Vail, only put in for the "EVERGREEN BUILDING," at StreamSide at Vail; it is the only building that was built by Marriott, and that is Marriott quality. Fifth, the chances of you getting a ski week a Christmas this year is remarcably low; you are way too late for a request like that (at this late date, it is not a reasonable request, unless you can do it with Destination Points, and not through I.I.). If you want Christmas Week somewhere in MVC, think about starting you request NOW for Christmas 2019, but understand that that is a longshot, as Christmas Week was sold as a "fixed week" at several MVC ski resorts, and those owners tend to use them, or rent them, not exchange them, BUT, you may be the lucky recipient of a Chrsitmas Week. In my experience, Christmas Week exchanges can be a nightmare, because by the time you MAY be confirmed, affordable air may be sold out, or all available seats may be sold out.

If it were me, I'd start a request with I.I., using a prime, summer Custom House week, and I'd include the MVC ski resorts that you name, for Christmas Week 2019 (you can try for 2018, but can you get air, at this late date?), and I'd give serious consideration to broadening your request to other ski weeks, beyond Christmas Week. Forget about getting into a Starwood/Vistana or Hyatt ski resort over Chrsitmas Week, that is not going to happen, and its not worth paying I.I. a very expensive fee, for the exchange, that you will never get.
Thanks for the insight and the history behind the arrangement for these properties. I would be interesting in seeing that agreement. I always looked at that verbiage in the II Buyers Guide and thought to myself "That is nothing special", because it essentially mentions what anyone can do. If a Custom House owner can indeed trade in to a 2BR unit without the upgrade fee, it seems to fall in line with the agreement you mention. Of course, what does "trading like a 2BR" really mean outside of that. The II demand power is invisible and we really don't know what they assign to any week. The ability to place a request and specify you only want a 2BR unit if using a CH week would be beneficial and how it should work. If a CH owner could test this out, it would be easy to do online without even having to complete the request.
 

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Great information -- THANK YOU! I'm sure you're right about the Christmas week availability, but I couldn't put in the II request until now because I couldn't book the week we wanted and do a "request first" search until we booked on Friday. Since the II fee will be refunded if they can't find a match, I figure it's a "no harm, no foul" situation -- if a miracle happens, great. If not, no big deal.

We're lucky enough to be in a city serviced by Southwest Airlines and my wife and I are both points-rich Companion Pass holders, so airfare isn't much of a practical concern for us. Regardless, I wonder if we might have more luck doing something else for Christmas and trying to use the CH week to trade into Maui for February break? We love the Lahaina/Ka'anapali Beach area and are planning on going back there as well.

Thanks again -- fantastic information provided here, I'm glad I asked if only for future reference.

You are quite welcome.

I get the fact that you could not yet reserve a Custom House week; case in point, as to why you should be initiating your exchanges with I.I. in the summer/Platinum season of one year, for a winter vacation at a prime resort/destination/peak season for the winter following your check-in date at Custom House (e.g. July 1, 2019 reservation at Custom House for exchange request for winter 2020 (or Christmas 2019 destination choice), initiated in June/July 2018).

I would caution you about using Request First, unless you expect that you may possibly occupy that week at Custom House. From one of the people at I.I. who develops the algorithm/logic for exchange, I have been told that other than the reason that I site above, that Request First only complicates the exchange process. I realize that there was Marriott “salesperson folklore” that for years suggested that you should “tease” I.I. with your week, to incent them to make your confirmation. That, it ends up, is folklore, with about as much scientific merit as putting butter on a burn.
 

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Thanks for the insight and the history behind the arrangement for these properties. I would be interesting in seeing that agreement. I always looked at that verbiage in the II Buyers Guide and thought to myself "That is nothing special", because it essentially mentions what anyone can do. If a Custom House owner can indeed trade in to a 2BR unit without the upgrade fee, it seems to fall in line with the agreement you mention. Of course, what does "trading like a 2BR" really mean outside of that. The II demand power is invisible and we really don't know what they assign to any week. The ability to place a request and specify you only want a 2BR unit if using a CH week would be beneficial and how it should work. If a CH owner could test this out, it would be easy to do online without even having to complete the request.

I will look for that agreement, I know exactly where it is buried, identified by latitude and longitude metrics.

“Trading like a two-bedroom” means that I.I.’s algorithms are “weighted” for a two-bedroom villa, rather than a one-bedroom villa. It would not surprise me if there is an on-line exchange glitch; the key to success, is to enter SIX in the size of your traveling party, which may necessitate a phone call to I.I. (hopefully not).
 

feckman

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Okay, I just updated my request to six people and added Marriott Streamside Evergreen. Fingers crossed!
 

Steve Fatula

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On the Tug Marketplace, there is someone with a week 52 Timber Lodge looking to exchange it with someone else. The ad specifically says "SKI - NEW YEAR'S (WEEK 51 OR 52)".
 

chemteach

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The other option is to rent your custom house week and use the proceeds to pay for part of the rent of a ski week.
 

bazzap

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You are quite welcome.

I get the fact that you could not yet reserve a Custom House week; case in point, as to why you should be initiating your exchanges with I.I. in the summer/Platinum season of one year, for a winter vacation at a prime resort/destination/peak season for the winter following your check-in date at Custom House (e.g. July 1, 2019 reservation at Custom House for exchange request for winter 2020 (or Christmas 2019 destination choice), initiated in June/July 2018).

I would caution you about using Request First, unless you expect that you may possibly occupy that week at Custom House. From one of the people at I.I. who develops the algorithm/logic for exchange, I have been told that other than the reason that I site above, that Request First only complicates the exchange process. I realize that there was Marriott “salesperson folklore” that for years suggested that you should “tease” I.I. with your week, to incent them to make your confirmation. That, it ends up, is folklore, with about as much scientific merit as putting butter on a burn.
Perhaps it is just folklore, perhaps it is not?
All I can say is that having followed that advice and discussed the merits with both MVC and II reps, I have only used Request First to exchange for 10+ years and I have 100% success rate with 4 or more exchanges per year requesting specific resorts/weeks (albeit not peak holiday season)
 

Dean

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Yes, I can confirm that as FACT. I worked for MVC at the time that the agreement that I refer to above, was negotiated.
Interesting to have that information. I'd point out that even if it was a lifelong contract, they could change it or agree to other terms if they wanted. I do not see this as binding on either party to supply this option into perpetuity in such a way an owner/member could demand it. The wording for II has been around since before CH came on board. It'd be interesting know how it actually trades and is input compared to a 2 BR that were the same otherwise, IE IF CH had 2 BR unit.
 

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I can confirm that CH trades as a 2 bedroom, with no up grade charge. We traded our Custom House summer Platinum in 2016 for a Christmas week at Marriott's Desert Springs. While we owned CH we usually traded a summer week for a week in February at a Marriott in FL (2 bedroom). It trades as a two bedroom, but if they give you an XYZ certificate, it is for a one bedroom. Good luck in your trade.
 

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Thanks again for all the input. I have added week 7 at a few resorts in Hawaii (Westin Ka'anapali, Marriott Maui Ocean Club, Hyatt Ka'anapali) which I'm sure is also unlikely at this point, but we'll see. Worst case scenario -- we spend Independence Day in Boston again next year. Not so bad!

I will report back if/when a match is confirmed.

Thanks,

--Jim.
 

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Yes, I can confirm that as FACT. I worked for MVC at the time that the agreement that I refer to above, was negotiated.

OK, here is the letter (attached). Granted, my memory is a little vague, but, I was very close. Not bad for me being ## years old (not three digits (yet)), and a document that is now 19 years old. Of note, the document was in the public domain, and was given to Custom House owners, and prospective owners, when they inquired about the two-bedroom exchange agreement with Custom House and Interval International.

Of note, although the letter refers to "Internal Trades," in practice, Custom House owners are confirmed into two-bedroom villas, outside of MVCI, all of the time, so, I wonder if there was a successor agreement? This agreement was, at the time, lucrative for I.I., and costly for MVCI; it gave Custom House owners what they needed, and I.I access to a very limited pool of inventory, with a very limited pool of inventory at Custom House (84 villas (which contributes to Custom House' very strong exchange power).

I have whited out the name of the recipient of this letter (a great, high integrity leader at MVCI), so that he is not deluged with phone calls/email.
 

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Dean

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OK, here is the letter (attached). Granted, my memory is a little vague, but, I was very close. Not bad for me being ## years old (not three digits (yet)), and a document that is now 19 years old. Of note, the document was in the public domain, and was given to Custom House owners, and prospective owners, when they inquired about the two-bedroom exchange agreement with Custom House and Interval International.

Of note, although the letter refers to "Internal Trades," in practice, Custom House owners are confirmed into two-bedroom villas, outside of MVCI, all of the time, so, I wonder if there was a successor agreement? This agreement was, at the time, lucrative for I.I., and costly for MVCI; it gave Custom House owners what they needed, and I.I access to a very limited pool of inventory, with a very limited pool of inventory at Custom House (84 villas (which contributes to Custom House' very strong exchange power).

I have whited out the name of the recipient of this letter (a great, high integrity leader at MVCI), so that he is not deluged with phone calls/email.
Thanks. As I read it, the current II wording is not inconsistent with the letter which obviously isn't binding, it's hard to know what underlying contracts or agreements were done from our perspective. Depending on how it might implemented, it could have little or significant benefit for CH owners and other similar resorts with the option. Ultimately it's the trade power in addition to the option to require the larger units though the latter might be the most important for some.
 

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Thanks. As I read it, the current II wording is not inconsistent with the letter which obviously isn't binding, it's hard to know what underlying contracts or agreements were done from our perspective. Depending on how it might implemented, it could have little or significant benefit for CH owners and other similar resorts with the option. Ultimately it's the trade power in addition to the option to require the larger units though the latter might be the most important for some.

I respectfully disagree. The longstanding language in the I.I. Buyers Guide says that Custom House (et al) owners are eligible to request two-bedroom villas at MVCI resorts that do not have one-bedroom villas. That language basically says that if you are a Custom House owner, and request a two-bedroom villa at a two-bedroom lock-off resort, you are entitled to a one-bedroom, not two-bedroom villa (so, it IS inconsistent with the letter). This was the source of the problem that led to the agreement between MVCI and I.I. However, that problem was fixed through the agreement, which has worked for 19 years. The agreement, as I said above, is very lucrative for I.I. I am aware of no other MVCI resorts, other than Custom House, with such an agreement. At this point the Custom House leasehold is inching its way to its term, in 2057. Like many other Marriott legacy timeshares, Marriott has the right to do much of what they want, other than change the timeshare owners deeded week and unit (which the Timeshare Plan could revert to). This two-bedroom/one-bedroom issue was a very big deal for Custom House owners who were exchanging into two-bedroom, lock-off resorts, and who were being told by I.I. that they are entitled to only a one-bedroom villa. To Marriott’s credit, they fixed this for Custom House owners (to align the I.I. practice with representations that were made in the sales process).
 
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