I think it comes down to IIs ability to tie a rental to a member. We know a few members here have been caught up in it. One person listed their owned week on Redweek but also had an exchange for the same week through II. Their II account was locked until they were able to prove they weren't renting the exchange. Another person rented a week to someone on Facebook. That person called II to "ask questions" and II determined it was a rental. The II member had their account locked until they refunded the renter and still had to let them use the week exchange.They are not, and I have reported it to II in the past - their phone number is right in the ad sometimes - yet I see the same users doing it over and over again. I don't pay a ton of attention because I *do* have a lifebut every once in awhile I see a weird location that I don't normally see when doing searches on Interval. When the same unusual unit shows up here in the LMR section it catches my eye. But I have given up on reporting. Apparently they don't really care.
Mark from Interval actually brought up this story and said there was an eBay listing about selling a timeshare strategy for Ocean's Landing that was instrumental in clueing II into what was going on with Flexchange - people were Flexchanging cheap weeks for the purposes of reselling. In the context of our conversation, it implied to me that was one of the primary motivations for some of the recent
Mark from Interval actually brought up this story and said there was an eBay listing about Ocean's Landing that was instrumental in clueing II into what was going on with Flexchange - people were Flexchanging cheap weeks for the purposes of reselling. In the context of our conversation, it implied to me that was one of the primary motivations for some of the recentmajor changes"normal adjustments" in property trading values.
So congratulations, resellers. You broke Flexchange for everyone else.
If you know people doing this in the Last-minute threads, feel free to quote this post and tag them.
II is also still making money where it has always been for them. They make money on the exchange fees from trading.Maybe that drove some of the decisions; your Hyatt example was an excellent point.
But there is also an accounting argument to be made:
Last minute bookings (even if the inventory is nicer than your unit "deserves") helps Interval reduce a liability on the books. They owed me a week for my deposit, and they were able to erase that debt with a room that otherwise would have gone empty (generally something that a previous booker canceled and can't use), so basically "for free".
It's not like we're sharks taking inventory from advance planners, more we're cleaning up the mess when their advance plans fall through. We're actually the little fish that swim around the shark's teeth.. And that's a valid service in any ecosystem.
I don't think there is a problem with Marriott to Marriott in Flexchange. There certainly is a chance there were 3BR units in Flexchange and I didn't see them, but my studio will definitely see 2BR's for Ko Olina, Waiohai and other Elite Marriotts. I have been tracking all the Hawaii weeks I've seen so I'm confident that the things I saw with my 1BR could be seen by my studio.
What TDI is the week you picked on the Palm Springs chart? And were you depositing a year in advance? I find this strange because my Grand Chateau studio is Elite rated in Interval (which yours is too), and I could only deposit a week with 135 TDI this year. I am seeing lots of the Hawaii 2BR's for Marriott/Vistana that are Elite during Flexchange.
Disney rentals on RW are out of control. There are dozens of 1 and 2 bedrooms for rent on RW that 1) Aren't verified (RW won't verify exchanges), 2) Most are too cheap to be DVC owner rentals, 3) Some mention the $190 fee, 4) They are 7 nights (owners usually rent a few nights or weeknights to get the most profit for the MF dollar), and last but not least, 5) The units are 1 and 2 bedroom, for the most part.
So congratulations, resellers. You broke Flexchange for everyone else.
Maybe it's time to start renting the units then calling interval and getting some accounts locked.
I believe it is Michelle M on FB who has had excellent success in running paid for webinars and teaching people how to maximize Interval flex change. It is my understanding that she owns quite a few (8-10) studio weeks at Ocean Landing resort. I do not think she is renting her units rather just showing people what can be done with ownership and works remotely from excellent resorts and travels last minute. If she is renting the units, then that is a different scenario.Mark from Interval actually brought up this story and said there was an eBay listing about selling a timeshare strategy for Ocean's Landing that was instrumental in clueing II into what was going on with Flexchange - people were Flexchanging cheap weeks for the purposes of reselling. In the context of our conversation, it implied to me that was one of the primary motivations for some of the recentmajor changes"normal adjustments" in property trading values.
So congratulations, resellers. You broke Flexchange for everyone else.
If you know people doing this in the LMR/Distressed TUG threads, feel free to quote this post and tag them.
II used to have a very active fraud department. I don't think they care as much anymore.