Consider new purchase of TS from Resale Market but...

[tturla]

I fell for the sales pitch years ago and bought a 2 bedroom lock off floating Winter every year out at Grand Timber Lodge in Breck. It cost me 37k and the yearly MF is $900+, deeded so I can leave it with my kids (which now I see can be a burden for them--but it least it is paid off). I use it all the time to use and to trade in interval international as CIG points and have used as short stay exchanges in Cancun, Key West and Park City Utah. I was also duped because they said I could trade in my points to get into the (then future Grand Colorado at Peak 7 and Grand Colorado at Peak 8). When I tried to trade into Peak7/8 they said I would not be allowed to trade "up" in the same area from GTL unless I owned in Peak 7 or Peak 8. Of course, now they are hard pressing me to upgrade my trading power by buying the cheapest unit in peak 7/8. With that ownership, I would be allowed to trade my GTL points in II to get weeks in peak 7/8. I have to purchase from the developer and not in the resale market, stating the resale market is not eligible for II CIG points. Is this true?
To make matters worse, I once again fell for the sales pitch last Dec 2016 and purchased a Club VIP membership for $1295 which got me a 2br 3day/2 night stay in peak 8 this Dec (2017--already booked), a year renewal of my interval international membership, and an accommodation certificate (that does not expire) at interval international with a $450 credit in my account to pay for the cost to use the AC. With this they locked in the price of spring/fall smallest unit in either peak7/8 at 13.5K. I recently called and asked for what the locked-in price was and they said it was 21k (peak 8) but would offer it to me at 16k with MF of $700+. I had lost my notes but found it after they quoted me(13.5K), which once again reaffirmed the scamming nature of the business.
I guess what I am asking is...
Currently, I trade in II now with CIG points from my GTL purchase. If I bought another TS as resale would I be able to trade in CIG points in II?
Is the deal at 13.5k horrible at spring/fall peak 7/8?
My true goal is to have another week in the mountains for skiing and snowboarding but I want it to be tradable in II. So I am not married to Breck or Colorado. Considering Utah, Lake Tahoe or any others ski/snowboard areas.
Sorry for all the details. Thanks ahead of time for your thoughts, advise and opinions.

 

[tturla]

I guess the short version of this question is what can I buy from the resale market that has great trading power in Interval International (since I already am a member there) for trading into peak ski weeks. I don't really need to buy from a developer right?

 

[vacationtime1]

Trading into a peak ski week at a prime resort is unpredictable regardless of the trading power of your unit; unless someone deposits that prime week into Interval, there is nothing into which to exchange.

If you want a prime ski week, you should buy a prime ski week. Resale, of course.

I would avoid Tahoe unless you are familiar with and enjoy skiing Sierra cement (as much as I like the Red Wolf Lodge at Squaw). If I were you, I would be looking for a fixed week at Park City or Snowbird.

 

[Saintsfanfl]

Echo. A week 52 ski week at a good resort is just not going to happen. The early or late ski season is doable but not the highest demand weeks. You need to own those or rent them.

 

[tturla]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[davidvel]

Echo. A week 52 ski week at a good resort is just not going to happen. The early or late ski season is doable but not the highest demand weeks. You need to own those or rent them.

Every year lots of Marriott ski weeks are available for the first 2 weeks of January. Probably need Marriott preference though.

I agree though, if your primary use is another ski week, just buy one resale which is the best value for your needs by far.

 

[rickandcindy23]

We live in Colorado and are familiar with the sales pitch of that resort group. I am not sure what points you are talking about, but I guarantee that a fall week is a horrible buy for any price. You will rue the day you bought that, years from now. You will also rue the day you bought your current week, to be honest.

These salespeople are total liars. You can trade into the newer resorts was an outright lie, as you know now.

Buy a Marriott in Utah, Platinum week, ski float, but buy it resale. You will get a great deal on it and will wonder why in the world you bought Grand Timber.

 

[rickandcindy23]

And additionally, have you seen Gold Point by the same resort group? The resales are cheap because the resort is no longer shiny new. But that says something to me. Gold Point is okay, but it was a top resort back in the day. The new resorts the same developer built, how do you know they are going to keep those nice? Gold Point has not been better than Silver in II for years now.

 

[PigsDad]

You currently own a 2BR floating ski week at a nice resort in Breckenridge, and the MFs are only $900. A Marriott ski week would cost you double the MF in most locations. That seems like a great deal if you use it there -- just try renting a 2BR ski condo in a ski in/ ski out resort for a week in Breckenridge and you will see what a bargain you currently have!

I've stayed at GTL and IMO it is a great place for skiing. Yes, the Peak 7 / 8 properties are newer and nicer, but they are also much more expensive. GTL has a lottery system for reserving your ski week, right? Most owners I've talked to usually get their first or second choice each year. Is that not working out for you? Seems to me you are looking for a good ski week, and you already own one -- am I missing something here? You need to put what you originally paid for the week behind you and not throw good money after bad, IMO.

Kurt

 

[tturla]

You currently own a 2BR floating ski week at a nice resort in Breckenridge, and the MFs are only $900. A Marriott ski week would cost you double the MF in most locations. That seems like a great deal if you use it there -- just try renting a 2BR ski condo in a ski in/ ski out resort for a week in Breckenridge and you will see what a bargain you currently have!

I've stayed at GTL and IMO it is a great place for skiing. Yes, the Peak 7 / 8 properties are newer and nicer, but they are also much more expensive. GTL has a lottery system for reserving your ski week, right? Most owners I've talked to usually get their first or second choice each year. Is that not working out for you? Seems to me you are looking for a good ski week, and you already own one -- am I missing something here? You need to put what you originally paid for the week behind you and not throw good money after bad, IMO.

Kurt

I love my TS and have learned my lesson (albeit at a high cost) about buying from the developer. I plan to continue using it but I wish to ski (snowboard actually) more than one week per season. That’s why I was looking into other resorts in other locations and educating myself before I purchase another. I’d likely rent/trade/use points/buy an ii getaway/use the AC at other places first to see what other resorts I would enjoy. So tips on ski resorts are always welcomed.


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[PigsDad]

I think bottom line is that if you are looking for a guaranteed ski/snowboard week, you cannot depend on trading in to a winter resort. I own HGVC weeks, and have had some decent success getting partial week reservations at Valdoro in Breckenridge, but it is nothing that I can reliably count on getting. Have you looked into buying another GTL winter week resale? I have seen some quite reasonable. The advantage of GTL is that is has one of the lowest maintenance fees at a ski resort. Park City might be a place to look into as well, as there are several timeshares there.

Kurt

 

[Marathoner]

What is your budget? Because Hyatt, Marriott, and a few other timeshare systems are good for ski weeks.

Resale weeks are inexpensive at GTL and they have a nice resort as you know since you are an owner. I would suggest buying a resale week at GTL on the open market. They can still be traded via II and there may be a block into GL7 and GC8 (I'm not sure if it really exists) but you can still trade into other resorts in Breck or Vail or Beaver Creek. You'll have a number of good opportunities in II if you decide not to use your annual week at Grand Timber Lodge.

Under no circumstances should you buy a week from the developer in the spring/fall season as these weeks are worthless and still require a similar maintenance fee as the winter weeks!

 

[CO skier]

I guess the short version of this question is what can I buy from the resale market that has great trading power in Interval International (since I already am a member there) for trading into peak ski weeks. I don't really need to buy from a developer right?

WorldMark worked great for me when I traded in Interval International. You can put in as many Ongoing Searches as you want to pay the exchange fees for. When you score all the OGS you want, cancel the remaining and receive a full refund of the exchange fees. That is how I used the trading power of a 2 BR WorldMark exchange to score not just one, but two 1 BR units at GTL for New Years week 2012-2013. We stood on the deck of one of the units to watch the New Years fireworks.

The best part is that I used the trading power of 2 BR units, but paid only the exchange costs for the 1 BR (9,000 credits, about $800 at the time) plus the exchange fee for each 1 BR at GTL.

Once the WM Interval International account was set up, I was able to add my other II interval to the account and pay only one annual fee.

Week 49 and January weeks are surprisingly easy to exchange into at Grand Lodge Peak 7, if you can vacation any of those weeks.

WorldMark has resorts at Steamboat Springs, CO, Park City, South Shore Lake Tahoe as major destinations and Red River, NM, Pagosa Springs, CO and Granby, CO as minor ski resort destinations. It is not too difficult to get week 51 or 52 at any of these resorts if you can be there at 6 a.m. Pacific Time 13 months in advance to reserve them. No exchange fee for the WorldMark resorts.

A 10,000 credit WorldMark account will run about $3,000 plus closing and transfer. Much lower cost, obviously, than a developer purchase at Peak 7 or 8 (and probably better trading power in II, too).

 

[vacationtime1]

You have another consideration: Breck takes the Epic Pass, so if you buy your second ski TS at another resort that also takes it, you can buy a season's pass and save quite a bit on lift tickets. Park City, Vail, Whistler.

 

[tturla]

What is your budget? Because Hyatt, Marriott, and a few other timeshare systems are good for ski weeks.

Resale weeks are inexpensive at GTL and they have a nice resort as you know since you are an owner. I would suggest buying a resale week at GTL on the open market. They can still be traded via II and there may be a block into GL7 and GC8 (I'm not sure if it really exists) but you can still trade into other resorts in Breck or Vail or Beaver Creek. You'll have a number of good opportunities in II if you decide not to use your annual week at Grand Timber Lodge.

Under no circumstances should you buy a week from the developer in the spring/fall season as these weeks are worthless and still require a similar maintenance fee as the winter weeks!

Thanks for the advice. I mainly needed to hear the “under no circumstances” part! I traded my 2017 week in GTL and wait listed for MarriottPark city for 2018 with points to spare. Will check out other ski resorts for this season, then buy resale but all this advice helps : )


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[tturla]

WorldMark worked great for me when I traded in Interval International. You can put in as many Ongoing Searches as you want to pay the exchange fees for. When you score all the OGS you want, cancel the remaining and receive a full refund of the exchange fees. That is how I used the trading power of a 2 BR WorldMark exchange to score not just one, but two 1 BR units at GTL for New Years week 2012-2013. We stood on the deck of one of the units to watch the New Years fireworks.

The best part is that I used the trading power of 2 BR units, but paid only the exchange costs for the 1 BR (9,000 credits, about $800 at the time) plus the exchange fee for each 1 BR at GTL.

Once the WM Interval International account was set up, I was able to add my other II interval to the account and pay only one annual fee.

Week 49 and January weeks are surprisingly easy to exchange into at Grand Lodge Peak 7, if you can vacation any of those weeks.

WorldMark has resorts at Steamboat Springs, CO, Park City, South Shore Lake Tahoe as major destinations and Red River, NM, Pagosa Springs, CO and Granby, CO as minor ski resort destinations. It is not too difficult to get week 51 or 52 at any of these resorts if you can be there at 6 a.m. Pacific Time 13 months in advance to reserve them. No exchange fee for the WorldMark resorts.

A 10,000 credit WorldMark account will run about $3,000 plus closing and transfer. Much lower cost, obviously, than a developer purchase at Peak 7 or 8 (and probably better trading power in II, too).

I haven’t started my research on Worldmark yet. But this info definitely will get me started. Next on my list and I’ll keep you posted!


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[tturla]

I think bottom line is that if you are looking for a guaranteed ski/snowboard week, you cannot depend on trading in to a winter resort. I own HGVC weeks, and have had some decent success getting partial week reservations at Valdoro in Breckenridge, but it is nothing that I can reliably count on getting. Have you looked into buying another GTL winter week resale? I have seen some quite reasonable. The advantage of GTL is that is has one of the lowest maintenance fees at a ski resort. Park City might be a place to look into as well, as there are several timeshares there.

Kurt

Kurt, I have been watching the TS in GTL and Marriott Park City Mountainside and Summit. You’re so right! The MF for similar weeks are very different. GTL is 960+ and MOU is 1240+. I requested a trade into MOU for 2018 week 51 or 52 with II points and had plenty of points to spare (we shalll see if I’m successful). So GTL has exactly what you said:
lower MF’s and great trading power. I’ll be checking out park city this season. It appears that I haven’t heard much better news Tahoe (regarding ski conditions) vs Utah and Colorado. So I’m considering taking Tahoe off my list.


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[tturla]

And additionally, have you seen Gold Point by the same resort group? The resales are cheap because the resort is no longer shiny new. But that says something to me. Gold Point is okay, but it was a top resort back in the day. The new resorts the same developer built, how do you know they are going to keep those nice? Gold Point has not been better than Silver in II for years now.

Never been to Gold Pointe but I see it all the time as available when I look at exchanges and I see their lower value points in the II exchange system. I do cringe a little when I see the modern and shiny new Peak 7 and Peak 8 resorts get all the attention and excitement as my resort stays the same. I think we’ve been fortunate because the trading power in II remains strong. Honestly I don’t like the locations of 7 and 8. GTL has a closer proximity to historic downtown. And, at least it feel like it’s at
a lower elevation (for those altitude challenged vacationer) As they say in real estate “location location location.” I’m hoping I’m right.


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[tturla]

You have another consideration: Breck takes the Epic Pass, so if you buy your second ski TS at another resort that also takes it, you can buy a season's pass and save quite a bit on lift tickets. Park City, Vail, Whistler.

EXACTLY! I already have the epic local pass, which has opened up many options!


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[davidvel]

Kurt, I have been watching the TS in GTL and Marriott Park City Mountainside and Summit. You’re so right! The MF for similar weeks are very different. GTL is 960+ and MOU is 1240+. I requested a trade into MOU for 2018 week 51 or 52 with II points and had plenty of points to spare (we shalll see if I’m successful). So GTL has exactly what you said:
lower MF’s and great trading power. I’ll be checking out park city this season. It appears that I haven’t heard much better news Tahoe (regarding ski conditions) vs Utah and Colorado. So I’m considering taking Tahoe off my list.


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Great trading power only exists if you get the trade. I think you are talking trading vaIue. Good luck on that trade, but I expect it's a big longshot. Tahoe is expecting 3 feet this weekend. Hopefully that portends a great season, but they are predicting La Nina.

 

[tturla]

Great trading power only exists if you get the trade. I think you are talking trading vaIue. Good luck on that trade, but I expect it's a big longshot. Tahoe is expecting 3 feet this weekend. Hopefully that portends a great season, but they are predicting La Nina.

I certainly know I will be lucky if i get it. I’ll let y’all know if I do. Fingers crossed!


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[Marathoner]

I certainly know I will be lucky if i get it. I’ll let y’all know if I do. Fingers crossed!


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As pointed out, you can get nice prime 2BR ski weeks via II exchange if you are flexible and are open to a week between January to March. Exchanging before Christmas and in April are generally pretty easy even in upscale resorts. However, if you want holiday week exchanges, you will find it very difficult.

One resort that you may want to consider is Worldmark Steamboat Springs. Steamboat is a great ski experience and Worldmark is quite a good points system. And there Steamboat resort does not get too busy, even during holiday weeks. The resort is at the base of the mountain but is not walkable to the lifts and requires you to use the available bus.

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[tturla]

As pointed out, you can get nice prime 2BR ski weeks via II exchange if you are flexible and are open to a week between January to March. Exchanging before Christmas and in April are generally pretty easy even in upscale resorts. However, if you want holiday week exchanges, you will find it very difficult.

One resort that you may want to consider is Worldmark Steamboat Springs. Steamboat is a great ski experience and Worldmark is quite a good points system. And there Steamboat resort does not get too busy, even during holiday weeks. The resort is at the base of the mountain but is not walkable to the lifts and requires you to use the available bus.

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You and Co skier have mentioned Worldmark as a great addition to my future TS portfolio (it’s not a portfolio when you have one, right?). I am definitely going to research it. What has been your experience with the Worldmark in Park City?
T

 

[Marathoner]

You and Co skier have mentioned Worldmark as a great addition to my future TS portfolio (it’s not a portfolio when you have one, right?). I am definitely going to research it. What has been your experience with the Worldmark in Park City?
T

Worldmark Park City is excellent and is a 4 star property. It is walk to lifts and has 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units which is ideal for families and large groups. The issue is that Worldmark only owns 12 units there. In contrast, Marriott Mountainside has 182 two bedroom units and Summit Watch has 135 two bedroom units. Worldmark Steamboat Springs has 75 units. As a result, unless you can book within the first couple of minutes when the 13 month booking window opens at Worldmark Park City, your only chance of booking a unit successfully is either through the waitlist or when someone cancels their reservation. When I mentioned that Worldmark Steamboat is not busy, I mean that you can still successfully book a two bedroom week during the prime ski months several days or sometimes weeks after the 13 month booking window opens up. One of the important points to note is that to maximize your timeshare experience, you must know when you want to vacation exactly when the booking window opens and you have to be successful at reserving your week. That is why for ski weeks, I am a big fan of fixed week timeshares like at Hyatt Main Street Station and Marriott Platinum Plus fixed weeks at Mountainside and Summit Watch. You have to pay more for these weeks but can be worth the convenience.

 

[tturla]

Worldmark Park City is excellent and is a 4 star property. It is walk to lifts and has 2, 3, and 4 bedroom units which is ideal for families and large groups. The issue is that Worldmark only owns 12 units there. In contrast, Marriott Mountainside has 182 two bedroom units and Summit Watch has 135 two bedroom units. Worldmark Steamboat Springs has 75 units. As a result, unless you can book within the first couple of minutes when the 13 month booking window opens at Worldmark Park City, your only chance of booking a unit successfully is either through the waitlist or when someone cancels their reservation. When I mentioned that Worldmark Steamboat is not busy, I mean that you can still successfully book a two bedroom week during the prime ski months several days or sometimes weeks after the 13 month booking window opens up. One of the important points to note is that to maximize your timeshare experience, you must know when you want to vacation exactly when the booking window opens and you have to be successful at reserving your week. That is why for ski weeks, I am a big fan of fixed week timeshares like at Hyatt Main Street Station and Marriott Platinum Plus fixed weeks at Mountainside and Summit Watch. You have to pay more for these weeks but can be worth the convenience.

I was researching Park City for the lower altitude. Never thought of Steamboat springs but see it’s a lower altitude too! I’m not crazy about the double distance
time for driving to get there though. Any tips on transportation to get there from Denver airport?
Re: Worldmark. How many points do I need to purchase to get a week at either Steamboat or Park City? What’s the going Resale price? I guess I’ll have to start reading the wmowners.com forum!