Advice needed with renting or trading Pono Kai in Kauai

[Pono Kai Cami]

We are new to the whole timeshare thing. We have only owned our unit for 4 years, and we have only used our home resort. We have a 2 Bdr./ 2 bath condo that sleep 6-8 at the Pono Kai in Kapaa, Kauai reserved for July 26 - Aug. 2, 2017. We were planning on using this year for our family vacation, but just found out about my daughter having a scheduling conflict. Now we need to try and trade or rent out this week. Unfortunately, we are only a little more than 4 months out. The Pono Kai is tradeable both with RCI and II, but I know nothing about doing this. Also, I am nervous about depositing a Kauai unit in prime season and receiving crap in return. We are not looking to make money we would just like to get equivalent value in trade or rent enough to cover our maintenance fees if possible. I would appreciate any insight or help.

 

[DaveNV]

Welcome to Tug!

At this point in time, if you deposited this week to RCI, you'd get 32 TPU. (The full amount is 35 TPU, so you haven't lost too much - but the clock is ticking.) Whether or not that translated to "crap in return" would depend on what you would accept as an exchange using those TPU. I have no experience with II or in renting timeshares, so can't offer you any advice there.

What I would suggest, however, is seeing if you can shift your reservation to a different date, so you could still have your family vacation. There is a whole bunch of information about renting timeshares on Tug, so if you read about renting and such, you may find answers there. The biggest problem I see is the short timeframe between now and July, with high season airfare and such, you would probably have a hard time finding a renter, given that most people will have already made their summer plans.

If it were me, I'd probably cut to the chase, deposit to RCI, and know that I had two years to use the TPUs on an exchange I was looking for.

Good luck!
Dave

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

Welcome to Tug!

At this point in time, if you deposited this week to RCI, you'd get 32 TPU. (The full amount is 35 TPU, so you haven't lost too much - but the clock is ticking.) Whether or not that translated to "crap in return" would depend on what you would accept as an exchange using those TPU. I have no experience with II or in renting timeshares, so can't offer you any advice there.

What I would suggest, however, is seeing if you can shift your reservation to a different date, so you could still have your family vacation. There is a whole bunch of information about renting timeshares on Tug, so if you read about renting and such, you may find answers there. The biggest problem I see is the short timeframe between now and July, with high season airfare and such, you would probably have a hard time finding a renter, given that most people will have already made their summer plans.

If it were me, I'd probably cut to the chase, deposit to RCI, and know that I had two years to use the TPUs on an exchange I was looking for.

Good luck!
Dave

Dave,
Thank you for your response! I greatly appreciate the insight. That sounds like we haven't lost too much value if we decided to trade with RCI then. We are fairly open to trading to different places and different times of the year. I just don't want to get stuck with a low value week in an undesirable location in return for my week in Kauai. I have read a few nightmare stories about people depositing good weeks with timeshare companies and never finding anything to book in return. Unfortunately, we can not change our dates for this year at our home resort as this is a 2016 week that we had pushed to this year. Our resort allows us to do this.

Can you give me and idea what 32 TPU is worth? Is that a good or bad TPU? What is your experience with RCI are you usually able to get what you want?

Thanks a ton!
Cami

 

[DaveNV]

Dave,
Thank you for your response! I greatly appreciate the insight. That sounds like we haven't lost too much value if we decided to trade with RCI then. We are fairly open to trading to different places and different times of the year. I just don't want to get stuck with a low value week in an undesirable location in return for my week in Kauai. I have read a few nightmare stories about people depositing good weeks with timeshare companies and never finding anything to book in return. Unfortunately, we can not change our dates for this year at our home resort as this is a 2016 week that we had pushed to this year. Our resort allows us to do this.

Can you give me and idea what 32 TPU is worth? Is that a good or bad TPU? What is your experience with RCI are you usually able to get what you want?

Thanks a ton!
Cami

RCI has two sides. There is a Points side and a Weeks side. If you have an account with RCI you haven't used, it's likely a Weeks account (if you had a Points account you'd probably know about it.) When you deposit a week with RCI, you are granted a certain amount of Trade Power Units (TPU) for what you deposited. It varies, based on resorts, locations, which week, and so forth. In this case, today, it's 32 TPU. The clock is ticking, so the longer you wait, the lower amount of TPU you'll receive, if you choose to go that way.

You then can view RCI's inventory of available weeks, or open an Ongoing Search (OGS) to find a specific week you want to exchange for. They will be offered for certain TPU values. You "spend" your TPU on the exchange(s) you want. The amount of TPU required to get the exchange varies, depending on where and when you want to go. If your needs are reasonable, you could likely turn that 32 TPU into two or even three weeks of exchanges. They wouldn't be in Hawaii, (those tend to go for higher TPU numbers), but a reasonable vacation on the Mainland, or just about anything in Mexico, is doable. You won't likely get a Disney vacation out of it, because they tend to go for more TPU. But as I say, a reasonable vacation can be done for 32 TPU or less. RCI gives you two years to use the TPU before they expire. It's not a perfect science, and it can be a pain in the rear to get what you want. But if you're focused and know what you'd like, you can probably make it work for you.

You do need to have an account with RCI to exchange with them. And that comes with a fee. You'd do well to go to RCI.com and see what they offer. After you're set up, your resort can assist you with how to deposit your week.

You may also want to see if one of the other exchange companies will take your week. Hawaii Timeshare Exchange (htse.net) is one option to look at, as is the San Francisco Exchange (sfxresorts.com) Both are honest companies to work with, that may give you a better experience than RCI.

Do your due diligence and research. There is a lot to learn about exchanging. Tug has forums about all of it.

Dave

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

RCI has two sides. There is a Points side and a Weeks side. If you have an account with RCI you haven't used, it's likely a Weeks account (if you had a Points account you'd probably know about it.) When you deposit a week with RCI, you are granted a certain amount of Trade Power Units (TPU) for what you deposited. It varies, based on resorts, locations, which week, and so forth. In this case, today, it's 32 TPU. The clock is ticking, so the longer you wait, the lower amount of TPU you'll receive, if you choose to go that way.

You then can view RCI's inventory of available weeks, or open an Ongoing Search (OGS) to find a specific week you want to exchange for. They will be offered for certain TPU values. You "spend" your TPU on the exchange(s) you want. The amount of TPU required to get the exchange varies, depending on where and when you want to go. If your needs are reasonable, you could likely turn that 32 TPU into two or even three weeks of exchanges. They wouldn't be in Hawaii, (those tend to go for higher TPU numbers), but a reasonable vacation on the Mainland, or just about anything in Mexico, is doable. You won't likely get a Disney vacation out of it, because they tend to go for more TPU. But as I say, a reasonable vacation can be done for 32 TPU or less. RCI gives you two years to use the TPU before they expire. It's not a perfect science, and it can be a pain in the rear to get what you want. But if you're focused and know what you'd like, you can probably make it work for you.

You do need to have an account with RCI to exchange with them. And that comes with a fee. You'd do well to go to RCI.com and see what they offer. After you're set up, your resort can assist you with how to deposit your week.

You may also want to see if one of the other exchange companies will take your week. Hawaii Timeshare Exchange (htse.net) is one option to look at, as is the San Francisco Exchange (sfxresorts.com) Both are honest companies to work with, that may give you a better experience than RCI.

Do your due diligence and research. There is a lot to learn about exchanging. Tug has forums about all of it.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks for you help! We appreciate the insight and we will try to look more into these. I wish we weren't on a time crunch. It looks like there is lots to learn!

Cami

 

[slip]

I would definitely deposit it. If your not an RCI member it will cost you to join but they do have the most inventory. You can check out Platinum Interchange too, no membership fee and you can check out their inventory before you deposit.

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

I would definitely deposit it. If your not an RCI member it will cost you to join but they do have the most inventory. You can check out Platinum Interchange too, no membership fee and you can check out their inventory before you deposit.

Aloha Jeff,
Thank you for your response. Have you ever exchanged your Pono Kai week? How did it work out for you?

Thanks,
Cami

 

[LisaH]

A couple of comments:
1. 32TPU is quite decent. You can use these to reserve majority of resorts with RCI.
2. Alternatively, you can also use TradingPlace if you would like to go back to Hawaii. They have lots of inventory there. Its Classic membership is for free and you should be OK with depositing a 2BR prime season week.

 

[slip]

Yes, I have. I own about 18 weeks at the Pono Kai and I have a friend that watches my dog when I go on vacation so I usually deposit a week for her and she has gone to many places with it. I use both RCI and Platinum Interchange. I only have one week left with Platinum right now.

We are also going to New Orleans in August on an exchange. We just got back from our annual Pono trip three weeks ago. Let me know if you have other questions.

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

That helps reassure me, thank you! Which do you prefer to trade through RCI or Platinum Interchange? Will I still be able to get a good trade depositing my week this close to the use date? Where are some of your favorite places you have traded for?

Cami

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

A couple of comments:
1. 32TPU is quite decent. You can use these to reserve majority of resorts with RCI.
2. Alternatively, you can also use TradingPlace if you would like to go back to Hawaii. They have lots of inventory there. Its Classic membership is for free and you should be OK with depositing a 2BR prime season week.

Awesome! Thanks for the tips. You all are so very helpful. So glad I found this site!
Cami

 

[slip]

You can get into some nicer places with RCI but Platinum has many resorts on par with the Pono Kai. Definitely check them out but you should deposit as soon as possible.

I do rent my weeks and I'd say I could help you re t it but nothing is guaranteed and it's safer to deposit it now, especially if you'd like to go somewhere else.

 

[slip]

We have gone to West Palm Beach Florida and Las Vegas. My friend that watches my dog has been to California, Key West, Puerto Rico and northern Wisconsin and she just booked a week in Nashville.

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

Perfect! We are checking out the sites mentioned and will try and get it figured out right away. I also checked out your site. We have really enjoyed the Pono Kai so far, so it was fun to see your pictures and videos on your site. Thank you for being so kind and helpful!

Cami

 

[slip]

I have a lot of updates to do on my site. I have a lot of pictures from our last trip I want to put on there. I am going to start to put the pictures of the updated units on there since two of the four oceanfront buildings will be done by the start of the Summer.

One good thing about Platinum is that they will give you three weeks for your one deposit if you do it way in advance. It won't help you this time but if you like their inventory, it may be sometime keep in mind for the future.

 

[MuranoJo]

Just FYI if you deposited to RCI soon, you may be able to snag one of the very nice HI bulk deposits reported recently in the Sightings forum. You would have enough TPU to grab one of these, depending on how fast they go. They're for 2018.

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

Thanks for the tip, MuranoJo! Where in Idaho are you from? We are in Boise area.

 

[bizaro86]

If you've never deposited before, it takes RCI 3-5 days to verify (acording to the rep I spoke with after my first deposit late last week) so those weeks will probably be gone by then...

 

[MuranoJo]

If you've never deposited before, it takes RCI 3-5 days to verify (acording to the rep I spoke with after my first deposit late last week) so those weeks will probably be gone by then...

Good point. It has been a while since I've made a deposit--but much depends on your resort as well. I have one that gets things deposited within a day or two (after I pay m/f).

@ Pono Kai Cami: Not too far away from your area. Howdy.

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

Ugh.... RCI won't let me deposit my week because it is a 2016 week. Our resort allows us to carry-over our week to the following year as long as we do it by a certain time each year. We have the unit booked for July 26- Aug. 2, 2017. This seems crazy to me! Looks like I better come up with another plan. I posted a rent ad here on TUG. I am sure it looks novice. I will also try and continue to look at other options.

 

[MuranoJo]

Sorry to hear that...yeah, a 2016 week wouldn't work for exchanging today anywhere. Since your resort has allowed you to carry the week forward and you have the high-demand week at a nice location, your renting it out is a good step. I bet you'll get some takers--you'd be surprised how many renters will wait til the last minute to make vacation plans--and pay a nice fee for last-minute lodging. Or there are others who make flight plans way ahead and plan to get an exchange or grab a rental later. So your chances should be good, IMO.

Also consider posting your rental on Redweek asap. You'll have to pay a member fee and an ad fee, but a lot of us have had good luck there with high-demand weeks. I also use Myresortnetwork.

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

Thanks for the tips MuranoJo! I will look into redweek and myresortnetwork.
Cami

 

[Kapolei]

Former Pono Kai owner here. I have rented and exchanged my 1 bedroom unit through HTSE.

It didn't matter if it was from the prior year. I have also deposited in II. I can't say for certain if my II deposits were carry over weeks. I think they took one and treated it like it was for the current year. Sorry can't say for sure about II. Memory not as good as it used to be.

HTSE will allow you to rent and if there are no takers you deposit wirh them. I remember them taking a couple hundred on the rental. You can check their site for info. You can also check what they got. If renting, you might under-cut others to move the unit and take a loss. I used to login using htse and htse for user/password. Don'the know if that changed.

 

[Pono Kai Cami]

Former Pono Kai owner here. I have rented and exchanged my 1 bedroom unit through HTSE.

It didn't matter if it was from the prior year. I have also deposited in II. I can't say for certain if my II deposits were carry over weeks. I think they took one and treated it like it was for the current year. Sorry can't say for sure about II. Memory not as good as it used to be.

HTSE will allow you to rent and if there are no takers you deposit wirh them. I remember them taking a couple hundred on the rental. You can check their site for info. You can also check what they got. If renting, you might under-cut others to move the unit and take a loss. I used to login using htse and htse for user/password. Don'the know if that changed.

Kapolei,

I really appreciate the tips. I will check out both those options.

Cami

 

[easyrider]

I placed my Maui ts for rent on facebook and tug. Right off the get go there was interest with facebook and it is no longer available. I have had success with tug classified as well.

Good Luck Pono Kai Cami !!!

Bill