Desert Springs Villa I Gifted (major noob)

[mav]

I would also like to mention that an ongoing search with Interval International always helps. I own 4 weeks in England in the summer , and also in other places and have received many beautiful trades into Marriott timeshares, Newport Coast Villas, have stayed many times at the lovely Marriott in France by Euro Disney, Orlando, West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hawaii Marriotts, Hilton Head, Myrtle Beach , too many others to list and that is using non Marriott weeks . Marriott has priority so u should get some VERY nice ones. BTW all the units I have received have been 2 bedroom units, sometimes 3 bedrooms.
Also, there are some gorgeous timeshares in the English and Scottish countryside that are not Marriott. You should take a peek at those. Some are jaw dropping, lovely units, large, clean, etc. have stayed at many of them and some multiple times. You should do well.

 

[AKC3333]

Ok, thanks again for the recent comments/questions. I read each and every post. The 2018 has been used and now for 2019...I called today and reserved week 44 of 2019 (Nov 1). I did lock off unit, paid $80 to MVC. Then they transferred me over to II and the II rep told me I need to renew my membership because I only have it until Sept 2019 (I paid $89 in Sept 2018). So I dished out another $89. So now I am in the hole 80+89+89 = $258 plus 2019 maintenance fees.

Now I have my two weeks, 1 studio and 1 bedroom, in II. So my adventure on II begins today...

 

[VacationForever]

Ok, thanks again for the recent comments/questions. I read each and every post. The 2018 has been used and now for 2019...I called today and reserved week 44 of 2019 (Nov 1). I did lock off unit, paid $80 to MVC. Then they transferred me over to II and the II rep told me I need to renew my membership because I only have it until Sept 2019 (I paid $89 in Sept 2018). So I dished out another $89. So now I am in the hole 80+89+89 = $258 plus 2019 maintenance fees.

Now I have my two weeks, 1 studio and 1 bedroom, in II. So my adventure on II begins today...

You should have bought multiple-year II membership, with the best deal being for a 5-year membership. Usually even for a new member, you get 1 year for a second year free. Oh well.

The issue is that by extending just one year, now you have to trade your 2019 year out to only Sept 2020. Your Nov 1 2019 deposits are good for use until Nov 1 2021, so now you have limited the period of exchanging until Sept 2020 unless you pay to extend your II membership again.

You can call II back and if you find a nice agent, the person will be able to sell you a new multi-year membership starting immediately and give you a refund for memberships that are not yet used.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Ok, thanks again for the recent comments/questions. I read each and every post. The 2018 has been used and now for 2019...I called today and reserved week 44 of 2019 (Nov 1). I did lock off unit, paid $80 to MVC. Then they transferred me over to II and the II rep told me I need to renew my membership because I only have it until Sept 2019 (I paid $89 in Sept 2018). So I dished out another $89. So now I am in the hole 80+89+89 = $258 plus 2019 maintenance fees.

Now I have my two weeks, 1 studio and 1 bedroom, in II. So my adventure on II begins today...

Two pieces of advice for success on II-
- read their community boards and if you have questions look at the faq and buyers guide on the bottom of the page or post on the community. I have learned so much there.
- place a request for you exchanges as early as possible ( more than a year is best)- there is a video in the general discussion area that shows how to do it. Search under exchange too, but requesting gets you “in line” for when something you want gets deposited.

 

[AKC3333]

Ok, so I started messing around with II past few days. I am trying to be flexible with the location and just picking the date range. My plan is to use this sometime in May for our 1 year anniversary trip. So I go to II, my units, pick 1 of the 2 units/weeks I have and click on exchange unit. I search all destinations, put in my time frame and search all. Next page takes me to all the countries/cities listed I can choose. So far so good? If I am missing a step or doing it wrong, please let me know.

Now the fun part starts as I go down the list of places to visit. Andddd this is not fun at all because I have no clue what's a good place and what's crap. The only measure I have is customer ratings. Some resorts have zero, some have 30, few have 1000+. Is it a good tool to use going off the number of ratings? I'm looking at places like I would view restaurants on Yelp you can say. What other way(s) can I use to pick a good/right destination? Remember, my wife and I are fairly young, we are not super picky or 'must go to this place' type people. It's our first year using this, so we are open to basically anywhere (besides staying in US, we want to travel out of US for sure).

And finally, is this true we pay $199 ($144 for Marriott) on top of all the charges for the exchange?

 

[GetawaysRus]

Now the fun part starts as I go down the list of places to visit. Andddd this is not fun at all because I have no clue what's a good place and what's crap. The only measure I have is customer ratings. Some resorts have zero, some have 30, few have 1000+. Is it a good tool to use going off the number of ratings? I'm looking at places like I would view restaurants on Yelp you can say. What other way(s) can I use to pick a good/right destination? Remember, my wife and I are fairly young, we are not super picky or 'must go to this place' type people. It's our first year using this, so we are open to basically anywhere (besides staying in US, we want to travel out of US for sure).

You're a TUG member, so you should have access to the Resort Reviews section here. Click "Resort Reviews" at the top of the screen. Then log in with your TUG ID and the Resort Review password you hopefully have discovered. (If you haven't, PM me and I'll give you the password. It's a different password than the Forums section.) You'll now find lists of resorts sorted by area. You'll also be able to read the TUG reviews of a resort that interests you. Resorts are rated 1-10 on TUG. In general, we've always found that the TUG reviews are pretty accurate. My wife is very picky, and I've learned that she's usually OK with resorts rated 8 and above (and sometimes the upper 7s).

You're also trading with a Marriott unit, so that gives you "Marriott preference" if trying to trade into a Marriott resort. Marriott resorts are generally high quality, along with Hyatt and Vistana. Your Marriott unit should get you a good trade.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I have no clue what's a good place and what's crap. The only measure I have is customer ratings.

That isn't true at all. Tripadvisor is a very good resource. Also, Yelp has some reviews. Also, the Tug2.com reviews are another good source. Repeat after me: "google is my friend". ha ha.

Also, if you are looking at possible exchanges, you can get some idea of the quality based on the category of the exchange. The categories are Elite, Premier, select and no-rating. While there may be some gems out there, Elite's and Premier's tend to be pretty good. The no-rating resorts represent a bigger risk that you aren't going to be happy.

So, my advice is to do your homework. The ii customer ratings are only of mild statistic importance. And there isn't any specific details. There is a whole lot of other info out there if you look for it.

 

[Panina]

While there may be some gems out there, Elite’s and Premier’s then to be pretty good. The no-rating resorts represent a bigger risk that you aren't going to be happy.

So, my advice is to do your homework. The ii customer ratings are only of mild statistic importance. And there isn't any specific details. There is a whole lot of other info out there if you look for it.

If one does their homework like you suggest, you can find great no-rating resorts. Sometimes a resort doesn’t have the designation because it is small or has very few amenities or II gets very few of these units deposited. There are not only some gems out there, there are many.

 

[mav]

You are so right, Panina. Our favorite resort ANYWHERE was at Ferienclub Eichenhof in Zell am See, Austria. We LOVED that place, non rated, went on a getaway thru Interval International and loved the place. Couldn't even find a review on it before we went, and wondered what we had gotten into. Well, we loved it so much actually bought 2 resale summer weeks there, and for years NEVER traded it we loved it so much. Views over the lake, mountains and town that were the stuff dreams are made of. We would have loved to live in it year round. Sadly enough the resort went kaput, and we were heartbroken over it. We still go to Zell am See every summer but we stay in a hotel on the lake now. We can still see Eichenhof sitting up there on the side of the mountain overlooking the town, mountains and lake. It has been redone, modern looks like New York not Austria, and turned into multi million dollar apartments.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I read the Tug and tripadvisor reviews, looking at both the good and bad reviews. Sometimes I'll find a "bad" review that says something like "I had room 100, which was next to the trash compactor..." or "the units along Elm Street get a lot of road noise". So when I call the resort to make my request for location I'll tell them not to put me in room 100 or next to Elm Street, etc.

I also read the "good" reviews to find out what people found to be especially good. I often factor those gems into my plans.

Comments about "Gems" in the rough. Yes, Panina, you're right. There are some good no (ii) rating resorts. But a person probably needs to do more homework to ensure that it will necessarily meet expectations.

 

[AKC3333]

Ok, I read all the messages, I did what you all said and did my homework. I used tripadvisor, II ratings, tug2, etc. So I found a resort in the Caribbean, I select my dates, I follow the instructions all the way through, and then I land on the 'mandatory resort fee charges' page. I look at my dates of travel and it says $240 USD. Was a little confused on this so I email/messaged II and asked what is this fee. They replied back that I have to pay $240 per person PER DAY on top of the $199 fee (on top of all other fees I've paid so far). How is that possible? $240 per person per day is $3360 lol. It includes meals, airport transportation and phone calls, but that's a ridiculous amount. Am I reading it wrong? Here is the message copy pasted..

Thank you for your email message. I am more than happy to assist you. Since the rates are quoted as "per night, per adult," you would pay $240 per night, per adult to the resort if you book a studio unit. When you book a resort through our company, you pay only the confirmation fee for the accommodations to Interval and the all-inclusive fees directly to the resort. I hope that this information has been helpful.

 

[AKC3333]

Ok I just called them. So apparently from what the II rep said, Jamaica and DR are the ones that charge a mandatory resort fee. And yes $3360 would be the correct charge for the 7 night stay for two people. LOL, so scratch those two countries off the list for good. And I just found out about the Place Request option. I was just searching this whole time for whats available in May, I was told people haven't paid 2019 fees so their unit wont show up until they do so I can put in as many requests as I want and whichever one hits first we get it. Learn something new everyday.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Ok I just called them. So apparently from what the II rep said, Jamaica and DR are the ones that charge a mandatory resort fee. And yes $3360 would be the correct charge for the 7 night stay for two people. LOL, so scratch those two countries off the list for good. And I just found out about the Place Request option. I was just searching this whole time for whats available in May, I was told people haven't paid 2019 fees so their unit wont show up until they do so I can put in as many requests as I want and whichever one hits first we get it. Learn something new everyday.

I believe what you are talking about is an inclusive fee. You can tell resorts are all inclusive because they have a plus sign next to them. Just avoid then, not a good value as an exchange. You can tell the AI fee if you want to consider then ( or buy a getaway at one) by beginning the confirmation process- its one the third page under advisements- just cancel out if you don’t want to book it.

Yes, place a request. My approach is I look in the resort directory in the locations I want to travel, research resorts I’m interested in on trip advisor, pickout places I’d like and then place a request for as many places and dates as possible.

One important caveat to that statement is II trades on a like for like basis- so the resorts you are requesting should be toughly similar in resort ratings, unit sizes, and TDI ( search the II community boards for info on TDI).

For Marriott’s, owners with weeks can deposit 12 months ( or 13 at higher membership level) in advance of their reserved week- so Marriott week’s January thru October 2019 can potentially already deposited. Some other brands don’t deposit until the maintenance fees are paid.

 

[Dean]

Ok, I read all the messages, I did what you all said and did my homework. I used tripadvisor, II ratings, tug2, etc. So I found a resort in the Caribbean, I select my dates, I follow the instructions all the way through, and then I land on the 'mandatory resort fee charges' page. I look at my dates of travel and it says $240 USD. Was a little confused on this so I email/messaged II and asked what is this fee. They replied back that I have to pay $240 per person PER DAY on top of the $199 fee (on top of all other fees I've paid so far). How is that possible? $240 per person per day is $3360 lol. It includes meals, airport transportation and phone calls, but that's a ridiculous amount. Am I reading it wrong? Here is the message copy pasted..

Thank you for your email message. I am more than happy to assist you. Since the rates are quoted as "per night, per adult," you would pay $240 per night, per adult to the resort if you book a studio unit. When you book a resort through our company, you pay only the confirmation fee for the accommodations to Interval and the all-inclusive fees directly to the resort. I hope that this information has been helpful.

There are a number of resorts that are mandatory all inclusive, esp in DR & MX but also in a few other locations. Usually they are EASY to trade to and very expensive as you've found out While there may be a couple of gems that are worth it, most aren't. In many cases you can get the same or a similar resort for less than the AI fee without paying an exchange fee and without giving up the exchange, in many cases, including air. If you look on the resort page you'll see a blue plus sign indicating it's an AI resort.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

akc3333, I don't know if others have mentioned it or not, but when you're looking through the directory, the AI resorts have a blue Plus sign next to the resort code. If you hover over the symbol I think that it'll describe the resort as being AI.

Most, but not all people, find that the AI costs are prohibitively high. Some report that they can get a better rate going direct with the AI resort rather than do an exchange.

You did well, to catch that advisory.

 

[AKC3333]

Yes I did see the blue sign for the AI's thank you. I also noticed (from a message here) the tier ratings - Elite, premium, so on. I am hoping I can trade into an Elite or premium. Glad to see my MVC is an elite.

 

[jpc763]

AKC3333 - I do a lot of trading and I always put my trade request in before getting a match. I try to stay with other Marriott's so if you wanted to do the Caribbean than you would look at St. Kitt's, St. Thomas and Aruba. All fantastic resorts and can be secured with your trade depending on the time. Have you booked your 2019 week yet? I usually book a high demand week (like Thanksgiving) and then exchange it in II with a request for some place I want to go.

 

[AKC3333]

OK, after just a day I got confirmation of Marriott Aruba Surf Club in May 2019. I need to decide in 24 hours if I want to keep it or not. Should I go with this one?? What do you guys think? Thanks for all the help!

 

[BJRSanDiego]

I don't think that you can go wrong with any Marriotts. So, take a deep breath, relax, and begin the necessary plans to enjoy your great exchange.

 

[PaulaC]

OK, after just a day I got confirmation of Marriott Aruba Surf Club in May 2019. I need to decide in 24 hours if I want to keep it or not. Should I go with this one?? What do you guys think? Thanks for all the help!

We own at the Surf Club and love it there. Aruba has beautiful weather, fabulous restaurants, and all kinds of water sports. The Surf Club is really popular because of the lazy river, but May is a great time for a couple to visit, since kids are still in school.

 

[AKC3333]

Thank you, I think we're going to take it. We got a studio, so I still have my one bedroom to exchange.

 

[jpc763]

Thank you, I think we're going to take it. We got a studio, so I still have my one bedroom to exchange.

You are already trading like a Pro! Congratulations on a great trade with another in your future!