[11/2008 Thread] Vistana SO's are all over the place!

[SDKath]

I am looking at the StarOption charts for Vistana Resorts and Villages. I am realizing that the SO's are totally random at this point and completely unequal between each of the different phases of the resorts.

1) Vistana Village 2BR non-lockoffs are only worth 67,100 SO's in Gold (and 81,000 in platinum). But SVR 2BR units in Springs, Falls, Fountains, etc are being given 76,000 SO's all year. Isn't that unfair? SVV has $300 more maintenance fees!

2) Fountains 2BR non-lockoff owners get 76,000 SOs when trading to other resorts but to trade INTO SVR takes 81,000 SO's?? HUH?

3) 2BR LOs at Lakes and Cascades are 90,000 SOs. 2BR LO's at SVV are 95,700.

This just doesn't make sense to me? Can someone help me out as to why the SOs are so different between all these different parts of SVR and SVV? Or is there just no rhyme and reason?

The rest of the system seems so nicely balanced but it looks like Orlando's SO valuations are just totally random!

Katherine

 

[TomH]

SVV Staroptions

I agree! SVV Staroptions are also all over the place. I am in the process of upgrading a nearly free SVV EOY week I bought on ebay to a developer 3 bedroom Key West Unit EOY. I was shocked that despite the relatively high maintenance fees, that it gets 139,700 SO and 82,000 SPs. This is higher that a Amelia week which would only get 125,000 SO and 68,000 at the same resort. So inconsistent.

Your would think that there would be at least some consistency in the same resort.

 

[colmo]

key west and amelia 3BR

I think the difference between the Key West and Amelia 3BR units is that the Key West 3BR is a 2 bedroom lockout plus a smaller one bedroom and the Amelia unit is a dedicated 2 bedroom plus a smaller one bedroom. There are diagrams on MSC for all the sizes - about 10 different options. It's confusing.

As for the SVR situation: I got nothing.

 

[LisaRex]

There's definitely no rhyme or reason to it. If Starwood were to start from scratch, I think they should have better correlated SOs to purchase price and MFs.

 

[CeeWoo]

Hi Kath

Now you know why some of us who are long time owners at SVR got so freakin' confused by the whole deal when we were first given the opportunity to join SVN!

If it hadn't been for the help of a few long time members of this board, I'd still be in the twilight zone

For myself now I just figure I can go to about anywhere in the network, but my 2br in SVN-Fountains is usually worth only a 1br in most places (and sometimes only a studio)

 

[James1975NY]

Even better.....

I was working on selling a Bella owners 2bedroom. He was deeded week 47 which shows are valued at 81,000 StarOptions starting 2009. I had the old charts where the Bella is seperate from the rest of the phases so I treaded lightly with the buyer and warned him of my suspicion (that the ownership was not really 81,000).

We moved forward with the sale and the Estoppels came back as 67,100 StarOptions which is what I had anticipated. I talked to several SVO employees and was given different answers....one said "they are changing for 2009 to match Key West, Amelia" etc. Another said, "they are not changing"...while a third said "we have to fill out the Estoppels for what the villa is valued at currently but it IS going to change for 2009".

I could only tell the buyer that we should renegotiate the price with the assumption that the ownership will not change to 67,100 StarOptions and if it does change to 81,000 next year, then good for him. This was the safest way and both parties were happy with this scenario.

Then I get a hold of the sales prices from Sept 2009 which outline the Bella pricing and it included week 47 in the platinum season at 81,000 StarOptions.

How are they pricing the week 47 at platinum prices with platinum StarOptions while telling current week 47 owners that they will remain gold at 67,100?

What am I missing?

 

[abdibile]

But SVR 2BR units in Springs, Falls, Fountains, etc are being given 76,000 SO's all year.

Did I miss anything?

Which Springs and Falls owners get StarOptions at all?

I thought only Fountains, Fountains II and Vistana Beach CLub owners where invited to join SVN.

 

[SDKath]

They are starting to sell Springs and Falls for 2010 occupancy (assuming it is after the remodel). You have to buy directly from Starwood right now to get into SVN. The whole issue of prior owners have not been dealt with yet.

Katherine

 

[FCM4MILE]

I am confused on staroptions. The staroption chart for 2009 for Vistana shows all 2 bedroom units require 81,000 options per week to reserve. The Sheraton price list that I downloaded shows the maximum staroptions for a 2 bedroom is 76,000. Does this mean i couldn't even reserve a unit at Vistana where I own because I wouldn't have enough options ? If this is true why would anybody convert if you are not using their other resorts. Am I missing something ?
P.S. I am currently at Vistana in the middle of my 2 week vacation - great weather !

 

[DeniseM]

I am confused on staroptions. The staroption chart for 2009 for Vistana shows all 2 bedroom units require 81,000 options per week to reserve. The Sheraton price list that I downloaded shows the maximum staroptions for a 2 bedroom is 76,000. Does this mean i couldn't even reserve a unit at Vistana where I own because I wouldn't have enough options ? If this is true why would anybody convert if you are not using their other resorts. Am I missing something ?
P.S. I am currently at Vistana in the middle of my 2 week vacation - great weather !

Yes - they changed the Staroption chart awhile back, and now it takes more Staroptions to exchange into SVR, than the number of Staroptions that owners own.

People join the SVN, because it allows them to exchange into the big, new, and expensive Starwood resorts, like Hawaii and Cancun. If you aren't going to do Staroptions exchanges, there really is no reason to join the SVN, because the Starpoint conversion has a poor exchange rate.

Have you considered II? - with the Starwood priority for other Starwood resorts, you can get a larger unit exchanging with II, than you can with Staroptions!

 

[malyons]

agreed on the fact that there is no point if you aren't exchanging....BUT, you don't really get a poor exchange rate b/c you can always reserve a week at your home resort in your season (for me 1-52 at SVR), BEFORE converting and therefore really do have access to those 81k SO weeks, even though your unit is only worth 76k SO's IF converted, right?

no doubt 76k is a frustrating number, guess my point is just to clarify that you can still reserve any unit in your season at your resort, even if it has a wacky setup like SVR where there's a 1-52 float for some owners, yet different SO levels for different seasons (i guess that's why they gave us the average)

 

[Captron]

Maylons,

You are correct. You can reserve any week in your season at your resort. It takes owners (OTHER that at that resort/phase) 81000 to get in. You only get 76000 going out. I went round and round with many on this one. The last answer I got was that they changed seasons but gave all owners the average or the options for the week outbound. (x @81000 and y @ 67100= z @76000)

I believe it is all horse hockey! Either the unit is 81000 or not. They should not be different out and in bound. I am sure starwood is pocketing all these options and making money off rentals while us owners pay all the MF!

 

[Need to Travel]

Real StarOptions vs chart StarOptions

I was told today that the Bella section is still different that the other sections at SVV. Can anyone tell me, is there a plan that the options will change for some weeks that are now 67,100 in Bella but 81,000 in the other SVV sections? The StarOption chart shows Bella included with all sections at SVV, but when I purchased I only got 67,100 options for a week that the charts showed as 81,000.
Also are MF the same for a 67,100 as 81,000 options at SVV?

 

[DeniseM]

What that means is that if you convert your week to Staroptions you will receive 67,100 Staroptions, but if someone wants to exchange into Bella, it will cost them 81,000 Staroptions. So all Bella units of the same size are worth 67,100 Staroptions, and have the same MF. The 81,000 Staroptions only affect people who are exchanging in. For more info. about this, go back and read the other posts in this thread.

In Owner Resources at the top of the Starwood Board, if you look at the most recent developer price list, it lists the maintenance fees for Bella.