I acquired a UDI last year and started booking weeks in May 2011. So far, I have booked a June red week, a July red week, 5 nights (red) in August, Labor Day week (also red), a Christmas week (also red; the resort offers skiing), and about four off-season weeks. By renting out some of the red reservations I was able to cover my annual fees. I have been so happy with my Christmas Mountain Village Cottage UDI that I recently bought a second UDI there, despite the pending special assessment.
To clarify how one can book multiple red weeks each year, the contract allows each owner to have up to four reservations (1 red, 2 blue/white, 1 45-day)
at a time, not four reservations per year. As soon as the check-in date for a reservation passes, an owner can book another reservation. So, once the check-in date for my July red week had passed, I was able to book the Labor Day red week. After check-in for my Labor Day week, I was able to book the Christmas week. (The June red week and August red partial week were booked with my 45-day reservation.)
It is true that if all owners booked all of the weeks they are entitled to, each owner would get only three weeks a year, of which about half would be blue or white weeks. (Just under half the year at Christmas Mountain Village is red.) However, few owners seem to use more than one or two weeks a year. We Tuggers are unusual!
Sounds like an usual one, and takes some time to master if you do not know what you are doing. Hate passing up an opportunity like this, but I would hate to get it and not make the most of it.
Hey, the more complicated a timeshare is, the better I like it! It's like playing chess, but you win low-cost vacations all the time!
I actually hesitated about buying a CMV UDI because I was afraid it would be hard to use. (Well that, and I'm cheap--UDIs cost about $4000 and up just a couple of years ago.) But, it's really quite easy. I suppose a person could lie awake nights trying to plot out how to extract the maximum value from their UDI (OK,
I've done that a few times), but getting 80% or so of the maximum value is quite easy and is still a very good deal.
I think if one used a CMV UDI
just for getting TPUs in RCI Weeks, it would be no problem to get 200 TPUs per year if one was willing to phone Bluegreen every few weeks. (Bluegreen is pretty efficient at answering their phones and making reservations, luckily.) However, most UDI owners seem to use their weeks in a combination of ways, rather than just depositing with RCI Weeks. They use some red weeks themselves or rent them, they deposit with II or with independent exchange companies, they maybe use a few weeks in RCI Points-For-Deposit. That's one of the great things about this type of ownership: it can be used many ways.
My main worry is that I'll end up with more TPUs and other deposits than I can use!
I am
such a timeshare addict!