Floating vs Fixed week? How to buy resale?

[lreinstein]

I note on some of the resale listings (specifically Aruba) that there are Marriott timeshares for sale listed as Floating and others specific weeks. What does this mean and what is the best to purchase if I want to have good trade potential?

thanks

larry

 

[falmouth3]

This is a generic reply, not specific to the Marriott system.

Floating means that you can request a week at the timeshare anytime within the season for that float week. For instance, I have a 52 week float at my TS (not a Marriott). That means that I can request any week in the year - but I'm not guaranteed to get it because all of the available units for that week may have been requested at the time that I request. I always request Easter week so a float week works best for me since Easter isn't the same week each year.

Also, if you buy a summer week at the beach, you'll only be able to request a summer week, and same for ski weeks. So, you'll want to get a floating week in the season that you're most likely to want to use it.

However a fixed week means that if you have a week 27, you'll have 4th of July week every year.

I know that there are some other twists to the Marriott system.

Hope this helps.

Sue

 

[Dave M]

Specific to Marriott, almost all weeks are floating weeks. Most of the very few exceptions are for highly prized "Platinum Plus" weeks - typically Christmas, July 4th or other high-demand weeks at a particular resort.
Thus, it's likely that all of the ads you have seen are for floating weeks, unless "Platinum Plus" or a holiday week is specified.

Having said that, all Marriott deeded timeshares have a specific week and unit # on the deed. That's only for deed recording purposes, to ensure that Marriott doesn't sell more weeks that are available and to give you security that you own a percentage interest (1/51 or 1/52) in a particular unit at the resort. That deed designation has no meaning for purposes of what week you reserve or in what unit you stay at your resort. You have no priority for that deeded week or unit when you make a reservation at the resort. Repeating: It is only for deed purposes.

And....

Many owners, especially those that don't understand the Marriott system very well, list that week in their ad without realizing that doing so is likely to be confusing to those who read the ad. They would be much better advised to list the season (e.g., Platinum or Gold) and the specific weeks of the year covered by that season at that resort. You find that information yourself, no matter whether the season or the deeded week is listed....

To find out what the season structure is for any resort and for which weeks a particular season applies, go to this link. Then select a resort from the drop-down box and "Submit"; then scroll to the bottom of the resort page to the Calendar for the resort. That will show you which weeks fall in the varying seasons for that resort.

 

[lreinstein]

thanks,

so, if i purchase a floating "platinum week", am i guaranteed that i can use the timeshare (marriott) in some platinum week?


also, if i want the best "exchange value" since i plan to use other marriott TS resorts about every other year... is it best to have a floating "platinum week" somewhere?

larry

 

[KathyPet]

Umm Yes and No. The ability to trade your week does depend of the value assigned to your week for trading purposes. Overall your statement is correct and a platinum week SHOULD be your best trader. there have been individual stories of a gold week at one resort trading better than a platinum week at another resort. However, these appear to be isolated incidents and are really difficult to isolate. So, in summary your statement is correct. However you should always try to book a strong trading week using the demand index for the weeks within your season

 

[lreinstein]

Umm Yes and No. The ability to trade your week does depend of the value assigned to your week for trading purposes. Overall your statement is correct and a platinum week SHOULD be your best trader. there have been individual stories of a gold week at one resort trading better than a platinum week at another resort. However, these appear to be isolated incidents and are really difficult to isolate. So, in summary your statement is correct. However you should always try to book a strong trading week using the demand index for the weeks within your season

what numerical demand index value would you consider a minimum for "strong" ?

 

[KathyPet]

Interval International assigns each week in a year a value based on the demand for that week. they do this by region and in some cases break it down by a specific location. The lowest value is 50 and the highest is 150 with 100 as the median.. Obviously you want to try to get a week that is assigned a value of 150 which for Hilton Head as a example is weeks 22-31. Week 15 is assigned a 145 and week . Week 34 is a 110. I would consider a strong trader anything with a 140 or above.

 

[falmouth3]

Interval International assigns each week in a year a value based on the demand for that week. they do this by region and in some cases break it down by a specific location. The lowest value is 50 and the highest is 150 with 100 as the median.. Obviously you want to try to get a week that is assigned a value of 150 which for Hilton Head as a example is weeks 22-31. Week 15 is assigned a 145 and week . Week 34 is a 110. I would consider a strong trader anything with a 140 or above.

Just curious, does II do that for only Marriott TS or all weeks/resorts? That would be a most useful guide to determining the value of a TS before purchase.

Sue

 

[KathyPet]

THe Interval Intl Travel Demand index is not specific by resort. It only rates the demand for a certain week and has nothing to do with any individual resorts. The on line directory of resorts at Interval International does give certain resorts a upgraded rating of either a gold laurel leaf to indicate a Premier resort or a silver laurel leaf to indicate a select resort. However these designations are only viewable in the on line resort directory. they used to put these designations in the hard copy directory but no longer do so. However, the last time I saw them put them in the hard copy directory all of the Marriott resorts had the premier desigination

 

[m61376]

Keep in mind that the travel demand index indicates relative demand for a given region, not for a specific resort and is not applicable for comparisons between resorts/regions. That is, for example, a 150 Orlando week means that it is a high demand Orlando week and, while likely a Platinum week, does not mean it has the same trade power as a winter Caribbean week that is valued at 110 or 120. So the demand index is useful when deciding what weeks to book for trading, but doesn't indicate relative trade value between resorts.

If you buy a floating Platinum week you are guaranteed a reservation within the Platinum period at your home resort (as long as making the request before the season has begun for the year in question). Due to relative trade value between certain resorts, a Platinum 2BR in one resort may not be strong enough to trade for a Plat. 2BR in another locale, esp. during peak time, of course depending upon which resorts are in questions. Winter Caribbean and ski weeks and Hawaii weeks, esp. over the summers/school vacations are your hardest trades and, similarly, will be your best traders. Summer HH weeks, summer NCV and a few others will also be great traders.

Besides buying where you'd like to travel, consider what locations and during what periods you want to exchange into. If you like to travel a bit off season your needs will be different than someone locked into prime weeks (school vacations, etc.). If you always want a 2BR you will need a stronger trader than if 1BR or studio units are fine with you. If you are looking to regularly trade into peak resorts during peak periods, make sure you buy a comparable trader; buying with the expectation of always trading up is likely to make you an unhappy timeshare owner. Of course, there will be times when you "luck out" and can trade a less desirable week for a top week, but I wouldn't buy expecting those trades regularly unless you plan on trading less than 59 days before travel (during Flexchange); in that case, you don't need a Plat. week to get top weeks elsewhere.

So, as you decide where to buy, besides thinking about where/when you like to go, think about unit size needed/wanted and how far in advance you like to make plans.