Thoughts on owning a trader v. staying put?

[Steve Fatula]

For me, points let's me stay where I want and for how long I want in the size unit I want without having to make sure I get a great lock off at a prime resort.
I can take a 7 night in a two BR or multiple 3-5 night stays in a studio or 1BR or even roll my points/borrow from the next year and get a 3-4BR.

Yes, agree, and we no longer are ok with week trips. But as pointed out, the OP is not interested in points.

 

[TravelTime]

I am very picky about my stays and the view. I like to plan and know I have a confirmed booking. For this reason, I do not like trading through II. I may use it sometimes to deposit a studio portion of a lock off or if I have a week I can’t use but II is generally my last resort - no pun intended.

 

[PhilaMom]

Thanks for all your thoughtful replies. We’re not interested it points - too costly for us. But do you think a trader would work if we’re constrained in time (school schedules), but not really place? We can travel thanksgiving, Xmas, spring break, certain summer weeks but don’t necessarily care we we go. Although east coast properties are driving distance. Thanks again!

 

[jme]

I am very picky about my stays and the view. I like to plan and know I have a confirmed booking. For this reason, I do not like trading through II. I may use it sometimes to deposit a studio portion of a lock off or if I have a week I can’t use but II is generally my last resort - no pun intended.

No one pickier than me.
As for our trades, maybe I'm lucky, but with my status I always get great views. I research them and make specific requests, and truly have never had a bad view. Matter of fact they have all been outstanding.

Some of the great experienced have been at:
Mountainside (x3, ski slope view, top floor overlooking lifts and pool), Grande Vista (3BR third floor, overlooking major pool),
Summit Watch x3 (overlooking plaza and up to mountain/slopes), Lakeshore Reserve (x5 & varied as requested: pool view/high floor x3; lake view/mid-level floor x2), Newport Coast Villas (top floor, directly overlooking Pacific--amazing),
Manor Club (Berkeley building x1, top floor; Governor's Manor x2 top floor), Cypress Harbour (top floor overlooking lake),
Ocean Pointe (high floor oceanview), Beach Place Towers (top floor waterway view as requested--more interesting & beautiful than oceanview), Kaua'i Beach Club (top floor oceanfront), Maui Ocean Club (high floor, pool & oceanview),
Custom House (x 4: Harbour View as requested x1, South city view as requested x2, North End view as requested x1),
Harbour Club/Hilton Head (top floor, waterway view as requested x3), Monarch (2nd floor oceanfront as requested),
Harbour Point/Hilton Head (high floor, waterway view as requested),
SurfWatch x5 (all top floors, & as requested > pool view x2, pond view x2, marsh/ocean view x1),
OceanWatch/Hilton Head (high floor/oceanfront as requested), Aruba Ocean Club (pool view/partial ocean view).

 

[csalter2]

Thanks for all your thoughtful replies. We’re not interested it points - too costly for us. But do you think a trader would work if we’re constrained in time (school schedules), but not really place? We can travel thanksgiving, Xmas, spring break, certain summer weeks but don’t necessarily care we we go. Although east coast properties are driving distance. Thanks again!

If you don’t truly care where you go, yes a trader will work. However, you will care once you start paying maintenance fees that start increasing each year. Thus, it is important that you find a property that you like and if worse come to worse and you can’t find a place that is accessible and you’d like to visit, you can at lest stay at your trader/home resort.

If you are a planner, one who plans well in advance, then yes it could work with you. You can deposit your week into Interval International and give them some leeway in your travel dates and you could have some good success getting what you would like. However, some places will be very difficult to get during Xmas, spring break and summer. It will depend on the location. For example, trying to go to Hawaii during Xmas could be a difficult trade or trying to get summer weeks at Grand Ocean can be more difficult. However, difficult does not mean impossible. It will be important to get a strong platinum trader and you will need to get a prime week to put into Interval International to get the weeks you desire.

Also, i would like to warn you that once you start timesharing, it can be difficult to go back to regular hotel rooms. Your kids will come to expect a certain level of accommodations as will you. After eating filet mignon and lobster, it’s hard to go back to chopped liver.

 

[elaine]

in your case, wanting a lot of prime dates (as many with TS has kids in school), I think the likelihood of getting a 2BR Marriott via II trading would not be consistent, except Orlando, which is an easy trade. If you're going to commit to the annual fees, I'd get somewhere that you would enjoy going to at least EOY as a fallback. If you want the beach, then you should buy there. One option might be Williamsburg, which you could then have Orlando also as a fallback via trading if something else didn't work out. You would be able to get non-Marriotts in those times with searches at least a year out, but you can also get those with much cheaper capital outlay and annual fees.

 

[Dean]

Thanks for all your thoughtful replies. We’re not interested it points - too costly for us. But do you think a trader would work if we’re constrained in time (school schedules), but not really place? We can travel thanksgiving, Xmas, spring break, certain summer weeks but don’t necessarily care we we go. Although east coast properties are driving distance. Thanks again!

It really depends on truly how flexible you are. If you're set on driving as it seemed early on then you'll be looking at HH, NJ, MB shoulder season, Williamsburg and Orlando for the most part. If you're OK with flying or further driving trips, you'll have more options. If you're locked in to those times I'd get something I could use if things didn't work otherwise that I could drive to and use the special internal request first option for exchanging. Still, you have to consider the costs. By the time you pay the up front, II and exchange fees it likely doesn't make sense for a single week.

 

[klpca]

We are shoulder season travelers because two things that I don't like when traveling are crowds and/or heat. Which essentially eliminates summer travel to most places. So we are happy exchangers. But when purchasing our units, I have tried to choose places that we could enjoy if there ever came a time when we couldn't trade for something or we just decided to stay closer to home. We own three resorts that are driving distance, one in Hawaii (easy flight), and a two bedroom unit in New Orleans, which so far has been easy to rent.

Thanksgiving is a time when you can find off season places using an exchange, and Christmas/New Years as well - but a bit harder to get. You will find "warm weather" locations during the time of year when it won't be warm, but perhaps that suits you? For the most part, we are ok with that (just did Sedona over New Years and had a great time, but it was very cold!). I'm not sure about spring break time or summer because I am not usually looking for those weeks. The key as others have said, is going to be your flexibility - dates/location/unit size. Only you can answer that question. As Dean said above, once you consider your costs and the fact that you may be better off renting.

 

[Quadmaniac]

I think overall it is a balance between EFFORT AND COST. The lower the cost, the more effort you need to put into getting what you want. From experience, I can definitely say it is possible to get what you have listed thus far if you want to spend the time to trade and put time into searches. If you do not or unwilling to, then it might be easier to buy a week at a location you want to go to. The cost will be higher per week but less work and variables. The highest cost is points and it too is subject to availability though as well and how far in advance you book.

The end question is what is most important to you and how hard are you willing to work to get what you want ? I don't see it as alot of work but everyone has a different opinion on the exact same situation. Everyone's lifestyle is different, its all a matter of what you are willing to put in - is it money or time.

 

[carpie99]

This is a great topic ... I am considering this same issue but as an add-on to my current portfolio.

I have a timeshare for annual use that I use (with high MF) - fixed weeks at Westin St. John (1 annual wk 28 and 1 EOYO wk 29). One low MF trader in Vistana (81,000 points) - 2 Bedroom but not a lockoff that I only use inside network.

I am basically trying to figure out should I get another Vistana mandatory property (lockoff), a Vistana voluntary at Lagunamar (use and II trader), or a timeshare outside the Vistana system ... thinking about a resale Marriott to get II priority (I just am struggling to understand the Marriott resale process and how all the different systems work). Maybe if I want a trader I should go even cheaper.

 

[Dean]

I think overall it is a balance between EFFORT AND COST. The lower the cost, the more effort you need to put into getting what you want. From experience, I can definitely say it is possible to get what you have listed thus far if you want to spend the time to trade and put time into searches. If you do not or unwilling to, then it might be easier to buy a week at a location you want to go to. The cost will be higher per week but less work and variables. The highest cost is points and it too is subject to availability though as well and how far in advance you book.

The end question is what is most important to you and how hard are you willing to work to get what you want ? I don't see it as alot of work but everyone has a different opinion on the exact same situation. Everyone's lifestyle is different, its all a matter of what you are willing to put in - is it money or time.

I would agree but add there's more to it. It's not just effort and cost, it's also the chance of success plus one's own personal wants/needs and personality. I enjoy the hunt, some want to be done with it the first moment. But the reality is that for many timeshares don't make sense if their demands are too stringent.

 

[ilene13]

We bought our first timeshare in 1980. At one point we owned 10 weeks and we did a lot of trading. We found that we did not like a lot of the places we traded into. We then bought and sold them. Today we own 7 weeks all in resorts that we love going to. In addition they are all fabulous traders. We own 3 platinum weeks at Marriott’s Aruba Ocean Club, 1 platinum week at Marriott’s Surfwatch, 2 weeks at the Royal Sands and 1 week at the Royal Haciendas. In addition we enrolled our Marriott weeks in DP and we own some Trust DP.

 

[Quadmaniac]

I would agree but add there's more to it. It's not just effort and cost, it's also the chance of success plus one's own personal wants/needs and personality. I enjoy the hunt, some want to be done with it the first moment. But the reality is that for many timeshares don't make sense if their demands are too stringent.

I would say the chance of success is quite high from the OP's requirements. If someone is specifically particular about view, then they are better off buying what they want to ensure that get it, but again it is at a higher cost. Some do want it done the first moment, they don't want much effort, so their cost will be higher to get something quicker rather than spend time looking for it.

From personal experience, I have had success trading into "hard to get places and times" and I have the same access as everyone else to searches. If I can do it, anyone can do it in my opinion. Its all about how much effort you're willing to put it. I am willing to put a lot in for multiple searches on a daily basis as I do it in between clients, on my break, at lunch, as I am getting into my vehicle, when I am at home, before bed, middle of the night if I have to go to the bathroom.

2013 Spring Break MMO
2013 Easter MMO
2013 August KAA
2013 USA Thanksgiving MKO
2013 Christmas MMO
2014 Easter MKO
2014 August MMO
2014 August KAA
2014 Christmas MKO
2015 Easter KAN
2015 Labour Day MKO
2015 Christmas MKO
2015 NY MKO
2016 Easter KAN
2016 July Long MKO
2016 August MMO
2016 USA Thanksgiving KAA
2016 NY MKO
2018 Easter WNA
2018 Christmas MKO
2018 NY MKO

*These were all trades

Definitely the timeshare lifestyle is not for everyone if they can not plan ahead and willing to learn/use the system as it is available to them. The possibilities of success is there, or does one just want to have more immediate certainty they will get it right away ? Cost / effort scenario.

 

[PhilaMom]

All of your insights and advice are very very helpful! I am definitely the planning type, love research, and am for sure a type A. It’s good to see that with effort, trading is very doable.

 

[Quadmaniac]

All of your insights and advice are very very helpful! I am definitely the planning type, love research, and am for sure a type A. It’s good to see that with effort, trading is very doable.

Many people complain of not getting what they are seeking, and my answer is 95% of the time is lack of constant searches. If you're willing to put in the time, it is most definitely possible.

 

[Steve Fatula]

I would tend to agree with the effort / reward crowd. I do however feel there are less good trades vs say 5 years ago. With effort, can still be done. Not sure what this means for the future. And 1 week with II does get a little expensive with all the fees. Don't ignore that.

 

[Dean]

Many people complain of not getting what they are seeking, and my answer is 95% of the time is lack of constant searches. If you're willing to put in the time, it is most definitely possible.

While I would agree that often poor or no matches are a result of less than ideal planning, I agree with Steve that trading does seem to be a moving target in a negative way. Based on the OP's posted information, I'm not convinced they're sufficiently flexible that trading will meet their needs just with Marriott. They simply haven't posted enough information for us to have a good feel for how this would work in their situation. We know that budget is relatively tight as it is for many of us and that they are tied to school Calendar's. They hinted that they would generally be driving and that FL was the limit doing so. They have not indicated specific areas or locations otherwise unless I missed such. I'm also not convinced at a 2 BR a year it will save them money or at least enough to justify the risk and aggravation. Given those parameters driving would seem to give them possibilities of MB, HHI, LV, ? Boston, Williamsburg, Ocean Pointe, Oceana Palms, NJ, Boston, Orlando and Branson for Marriott's. I eliminated DC due to the setup. Realistically that limits them to early to mid June and August for many of these properties esp the Beach options.

Assuming MB/HH options for Platinum are also out of the budget, there aren't a lot of choices one could look at to buy/use for the beach if that's part of the plan. Gold at Grande Ocean goes through week 23 so maybe that's a possibility if they can travel the first week out of school and it would trade better than most options. It'd be more expensive than many "traders" but not a lot. Maybe a lessor HH resort like Harbour Pointe. Personally I do not think one is likely to be successful buying a "trader" and trading to the higher end resorts for the beach areas in a 2 BR during the summer unless they are willing to go the first half of June or the second week of August one.

As described and based on the assumptions I've made so far, I'd look at a different system, likely Wyndham or Bluegreen. Or else I'd look at renting something and resisting the budget for place to own to use rather than trading as the only option.

 

[AlmostRetired]

Thanks for all your thoughtful replies. We’re not interested it points - too costly for us. But do you think a trader would work if we’re constrained in time (school schedules), but not really place? We can travel thanksgiving, Xmas, spring break, certain summer weeks but don’t necessarily care we we go. Although east coast properties are driving distance. Thanks again!

A trader is a viable strategy and always was when tied to a school calendar. The key is being flexible. I look for the best place I know my family would like to go and use retrade if I find a better choice or life happens. We enjoy beach so this is why HHI and Aruba are picked often. For HHI we have never stayed anywhere other than the Monarch (where we own two units) or GO via trade when I need to sleep 8.

Between my kids growing up and my wife working in a school since returning back to work, I have been tied to a school calendar since 1993. I have always had at least one trader. My first one was purchased in 1995 for under 2,000 resale at Resort World of Orlando. It is now called Legacy Vacation Club Kissimmee. I gave it away in 2015 never having stayed there even once. The MF at give away time was maybe $750 but the diminishing trade value reflected it and the reason for the give away. In 2015 I added another Monarch week 31 for $5,000 as a trader (occasional use or rent) and a EOY 2 BR Grand Chateau at a pure trader (paid 1800). At the end of each final trade below I put an estimated DP value used from a 2019 chart just for a comparison. Overall, even with upgrade fees and trading fees trading offers great value.

Legacy Vacation Club Kissimmee 2 BR - Going further back in time the resulting trades were more on par getting 2 bedrooms for 2 bedrooms 90% of the time.

on 12/24/13 traded Surf (2 br) 9/2/13 (2900)

on 12/8/14 traded Canyon Villas (1 br) 12/21/14 (1450)

on 1/15/15 traded Surf (1 br) for 6/15/15
Retrade 2/1/15 for Ocean Club (for 1 br) 6/22/15
Retrade 3/15/15 for Ocean Club (1 br) for 8/22/15
Retraded 4/12/15 to Ocean Pointe (1 br) for 12/24/15 (2700)

Monarch - I purchased this for 5000 because of the need to sleep 8 required a bigger unit. This was inexpensive enough and I knew I could rent it like my other Monarch unit or trade it into the GO if I wanted when 8 was required.

on 10/04/18 traded to Grand Ocean for 7/6/19 (4500)

on 7/14/17 traded to Grand Ocean for 7/13/18 (4500)

on 8/22/16 traded to Grand Ocean for 7/16/17 (4500)

2 BR EOY Grand Chateau - I am sorry I didn't buy a 3 bedroom.

1 BR side on 9/17/2016 traded to Aruba Surf (2 br) for 7/10/17
Retrade 1/23/17 to Aruba Surf (2 br) for 8/21/17 (3500)

Studio side on 3/1/18 traded to Legends Edge for 12/22/2018
Retrade on 4/1/18 to Frenchman Cove (2 Br) for 7/13/18
Retrade on 4/15/18 to Hyatt Windwaed Point (2 br) for 7/13/18
Retrade on 5/15/18 to Desert Springs (1 br) for 12/23/18 (2175)

Studio side on 6/11/18 traded to Surfwatch 3 br for 8/19/18
Retrade on 7/2/18 to OceanWatch for 4/21/19 (2675)

1 BR side On 12/7/18 traded to Surfwatch for 8/17/19
Retrade on 1/4/2019 to Grand Ocean for 8/17/19 (4500)


In addition, we always traveled outside of timeshares with the kids when they were young but mostly now with just my wife and myself. My second Monarch unit is a high floor legacy enrolled Monarch summer oceanfront week that I rented out the last 6 years. it allows me to get on average 75 to 90 percent return on my MF to help fund trips outside of timeshares. My trader Monarch week is a few units down with a great partial ocean view. The once I rented it, it got me about 60% return on my MF. Again used to travel outside of timeshare. The year I rented both the total I got was about 5200 with a MF of about 3000 for both. I am thinking at some point when I retire am not tied to a school calendar I can turn the combined 5200 rental (or whatever rental I get) into renting DP giving me a good number of points to figure out if it can work for me.

I think the keys to success:
(1) There is no one size that fits all. Because of this,
(2) it is incumbent on you to take the time to figure out what works for you. It helps if
(3) buy a unit as low a cost as you can as long as the unit can make it work for you. My total purchase cost for all my timeshares add up to about 21,000. The smartest money I ever spent.

 

[PhilaMom]

Thank you again. You have all given us a lot to consider! I’ll circle back if/when we pull the trigger and buy something!

 

[Quadmaniac]

Thank you again. You have all given us a lot to consider! I’ll circle back if/when we pull the trigger and buy something!

You can get platinum traders for next to nothing nowadays on eBay. Sometimes they are including usage.

 

[TravelTime]

I understand your reasons.

I definitely figured anyone could do better on the purchase price of points depending on various factors,
that's why I added "Correct me if that's high" when I stated the retail price. There are many ways to do it, but none that are "cheap".
Your $61,000 is still significant, though.....so what if it would have cost $150,000?
Given the $61,000 plus maintenance fees, I wouldn't do it.
(But that's just me, knowing we have 18,000 DC points available annually because of enrolled weeks.)

My history of trades, including current trades involving upcoming stays, has been phenomenal, and my requests have been very specific
for dates and resorts....99% ONE check-in date and ONE resort. Only once did I do an Ongoing Search for a Summer Grande Ocean week, and an August week came up, which was great because we had already been there 4 other weeks in June. We seldom if ever have the absolute flexibility of requesting any week or multiple resorts, so that's why I deem our history of trades as extraordinary.
It's been that way for many years, and continues unabated, so I wouldn't consider it "lucky" at all.
There are many who will continue to deposit, and my platinum trader has plenty of pull, plus I book a great week to deposit,
so I'm counting on known factors and not so much a roll of the dice.

We did quite well with our purchases (resorts and seasons), and were in the right place at the right time for enrolling
for a very low fee, so I'd have to say THOSE two factors were fortunate.
Most owners didn't share that experience as to timing, so it does make a difference.
Your options to achieve what you want out of this system required a different plan,
so I do understand your approach.

I know buyers could still do well with resales for occupying, and resales for "traders", however.
And just think: $61,000 could buy a ton of great resale weeks, and then use half of the weeks to rent out
and subsidize the maintenance fees, rendering lots of free stays.

You bought your weeks before 2010. I was not into timeshares then. If I had, I was not have had to spend so much. I absolutely did not want weeks anymore. I was happy buying my first MKO EOY OF 2 BR for $5500 but that was cheap. All the other weeks that interested me were expensive. I am not into trading with II, unless absolutely necessary. I am not into renting out weeks or points. Frankly, I prefer to use my points at the Ritz Carlton or in Hawaii or the Caribbean with oceanfront views. Those are expensive weeks to own and you have no guarantee to get it with an II trade.

 

[SteelerGal]

Buy where you want to stay and a trader outside of Marriott. We are a family of 7 w/ young children on West Coast. All our weeks are resale and w/in driving distance. Our main are Westins/BI and traders/renters are Sheratons. We are race fans as well as FB fans so we love short jaunts which is why I purchased our Traders. And if we don’t trade, I can rent to cover MF.
For a good trader that also is Mandatory w/ in Vistana, SVV Key West or Bella. Since WestCoast, our option was Only Kierland.

 

[TravelTime]

I would not recommend a trader but that is personal preference. I prefer owning points and having my choice of staying anywhere in the world any time. I think II is really limited with high end inventory at the times I want to go. For example, I could not get Marriott Marbella for April this year through II but luckily I own MVC DPs. I also could not get Marriott Orlando for a specific week in August for a friend through II, believe it or not. If you are super flexible, a trader is great with II. With DPs, I have gotten everything I want and I also have access to the Ritz Carlton and other special inventory you can’t get through II.