Can we update the RCI Sticky?

[Ridewithme38]

Madge said on 1/11/06:

Hi everyone,

There was a thread in this forum that addressed this issue and several references have been made to it. However, that thread may have been purged as the links to it are no longer working.

Following is information I have posted in response to questions about this issue in the past. If you have additional questions or would like clarification, please let me know.

It is a violation of RCI's Terms and Conditions of Membership (Section 8) to rent, sell, barter, or auction, a deposited week or confirmed exchange, even if a Guest Certificate is purchased. Violation of this guideline could result in the termination of your RCI membership.

You may give a vacation to a friend or family member via the RCI Guest Certificate; however, you may not receive any compensation beyond the price of the exchange and Guest Certificate fees. Compensation includes anything of value, even another exchange vacation.

Following are a few of the reasons RCI prohibits deposited weeks and exchange vacations from being sold:

1) Accurate representation of Trading Power value -- RCI has contracts with its affiliated resorts and is in a better position to influence information provided about its program.

2) Fair exchange policy - RCI's program strives to provide a vacation that is comparable to the one you own. If members buy a deposited week from a resort they've never visited, RCI has no way to gauge their expectations.

3) Support for timeshare sales and purchases -- Most people who want higher quality vacation exchanges invest in the purchase of higher quality weeks. When these weeks are deposited with RCI, they in turn provide exchange families with a better selection and quality of inventory from which to choose. Travelers would not be incented to upgrade their purchases if they could simply buy the "interest" for a fraction of the purchase price per year.

4) The demand among RCI members for certain areas and times of year is overwhelming (school breaks, holidays, etc.) This is magnified when non-members can compete for the same space.

If you can't use a confimed exchange, cancel it and make the unit available to other RCI members who may be requesting it. When members rent or swap confirmed exchanges, they undermine RCI's program to the detriment of other members. If a member is waiting for a vacation, he would indeed be upset to think that prime exchange units were being offered to the general public or traded among friends instead of being released.

RCI works hard to keep its exchange program viable and to satisfy its subscribing members. Maintaining control of our inventory is crucial to our ability to do this.

The problem is that Section 8 of the Terms and Conditions reads

For Points:

8. TRANSACTION FEES. The Network Administrator
will collect the applicable Transaction fee prior to
confirming each transaction requested by a Member.
Transaction fees are established by the Network
Administrator and may change from time to time and
among Members without advance notice from RCI
and shall be disclosed on www.rci.com.

For Weeks:

8. Exchange System Priorities.
A. Deposit Trading Power may vary from Deposit to
Deposit and from year to year (based on the criteria
stated herein).
B. RCI, at its sole discretion, may reevaluate the
value assigned to a unit of Deposited Vacation Time.
Upon such reevaluation if the value assigned to the unit
of Deposited Vacation Time has increased the Deposit
Trading Power of such unit or the associated Combined
Deposit or Deposit Credit may be adjusted accordingly.
C. Exchange Trading Power is subject to change
based on system activity and the factors listed in this
Par. 8 and may differ from the Deposit Trading Power of
the Vacation Time.
D. In fulfilling an Exchange Request, RCI will
compare the Deposit Trading Power to the Exchange
Trading Power of the vacation the Member would like to
obtain. If the Exchange Trading Power is less than or
equal to the Deposit Trading Power, then an exchange
may occur, subject to terms of the Program Documents.
E. In deriving Deposit Trading Power and
Exchange Trading Power RCI considers such factors as:
i. the demand, supply, classification, grouping,
and utilization of the Vacation Time, and the Affiliated
Resort and geographic regions associated with the
Vacation Time;
ii. the seasonal designation of the Vacation
Time;
iii. the size and type of the unit (i.e., number of
bedrooms, kitchen type and maximum/private
occupancy of the physical unit);
iv. comment card scores that RCI compiles
from comments submitted by Members who visit the
Affiliated Resort;
v. the date deposited and the start date of the
Deposit.
F. From time to time and as determined by RCI in
its sole discretion, in order for RCI to obtain more
favorable Inventory for Members, RCI may waive any
of the Exchange System Priorities described in this
Par. 8. RCI may also, in its sole discretion, waive
certain fees or conditions as described in the
Program Documents.
G. RCI may at its sole discretion enter into
agreements with Affiliated Resorts to assign Deposit
Trading Power to certain units of Vacation Time based
on a derived average Deposit Trading Power for such
units.
H. Corporate Participants may request an
exchange which does not require the Member to first
deposit Vacation Time.
I. In addition, Inventory is shared regionally to
facilitate Member exchanges. RCI may set aside
deposited Vacation Time to match regional Exchange
Requests and other anticipated demands.
J. RCI may enforce any restrictions on
exchanges required by Affiliated Resorts, or
providers of Inventory or Alternative Inventory that
RCI, in its sole discretion, deems reasonable.
Restrictions may include, but are not limited to,
prohibiting Members or their guests from
exchanging into the same resort more than once in a
specified period, prohibiting exchanges from or to
all or designated resorts located in the same
geographic area or region as an Affiliated Resort,
minimum age requirements or requirements for
mandatory All-Inclusive Packages

 

[Ridewithme38]

The sections that i've found that apply to renting exchanges ARE:

Under Section 1

C. The Program may not be used by a Member or guest for commercial purposes, including without limitation, auction, rental or sale of a Confirmed Exchange, Deposited Vacation Time, Inventory, Guest Certificate, for example. Such use is grounds for immediate termination of Member’s membership and cancellation of any reservations, exchanges, or other benefits of the Program

Under Section 20

D. Guest Certificates and Guest Passes may not be used for any commercial purpose, including without limitation auction, rental or sale. Their use is subject to any conditions, restrictions or limitations which may be imposed by the Affiliated Resort or Accommodating Party.