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Four Seasons Aviara just added $30/day Resort Fee

TravelTime

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To me, fair will be the established fee structure as everything should be above board. I am not the one paying almost $3K on MF at the resort. If FS collects an additional $210 plus taxes per week, I would surely wish that the money goes back to HOA to lower my MF.

We do not know the answer. I am not sure why you say it is not above board if it is disclosed to exchangers. The fact that I do not know the answer does not mean much. I do not follow the HOA stuff at timeshares. It is what it is to me.

I can ask next time they email me something from the HOA about who gets this revenue. I am paying almost $3000 and I am not overly concerned. I think it is great that exchangers pay extra. I am assuming it goes back to the residence club.
 

zentraveler

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What I meant is that Four Seasons charges management fees and licensing fees. So is this resort fees going back to the Four Seasons hotel brand or do they flow back as revenue for the HOA?
No idea. I do wonder if the $30 daily fee is to defray daily housekeeping which, as far as I know, is not offered at any other timeshare. Some these days one is lucky to get once week for longer stays.
 

zentraveler

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We do not know the answer. I am not sure why you say it is not above board if it is disclosed to exchangers. The fact that I do not know the answer does not mean much. I do not follow the HOA stuff at timeshares. It is what it is to me.

I can ask next time they email me something from the HOA about who gets this revenue. I am paying almost $3000 and I am not overly concerned. I think it is great that exchangers pay extra. I am assuming it goes back to the residence club.
We are not paying $3000; must be the lowly gold week we have ;).
 
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TravelTime

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We are not paying $3000; must be the lowly gold week we have .

We would pay the same as you. I have gold weeks too. I know it is less than $3000 but the poster was saying almost $3000 so I went along. I can’t recall exactly how much it is. Is it $2600 now?

BTW, Gold weeks at FSA are better than Platinum weeks, IMO. You get more months and many holidays.
 

dannybaker

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All I’m saying is if your resort charges a fee or resort fee you should have to pay exactly the same fee or resort fees to trade into my Marriott resort. If the fee is for house keeping give the exchange person a option.
 

VacationForever

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All I’m saying is if your resort charges a fee or resort fee you should have to pay exactly the same fee or resort fees to trade into my Marriott resort. If the fee is for house keeping give the exchange person a option.
Like it or not, it is a free market and you can always not exchange into a resort which charges resort fees.
 

dannybaker

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Okay so next year it’s $60. Then maybe $500 per night? This is total bs in my opinion its a money grab period. my Point is the maintenance fees for this resort are $3k already. Is this money helping reduce the maintenance fees? I seriously doubt it. Again this sets a precedent for additional cost to all of us who exchange. I understand for a lot of elite people who have tons of money no big deal right!!!
 

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I’m told by an owner that this does not apply to owners or people who come in directly through an owner, as opposed to people who trade in through II
 

rickandcindy23

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All I’m saying is if your resort charges a fee or resort fee you should have to pay exactly the same fee or resort fees to trade into my Marriott resort. If the fee is for house keeping give the exchange person a option.
Don't give Marriott any ideas. :)

This is why I don't trade into Hiltons. Well, my credit card covers 1 week of fees + an additional 3 days ($25 X 10 =$250 credit card refund).
 

TravelTime

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Okay so next year it’s $60. Then maybe $500 per night? This is total bs in my opinion its a money grab period. my Point is the maintenance fees for this resort are $3k already. Is this money helping reduce the maintenance fees? I seriously doubt it. Again this sets a precedent for additional cost to all of us who exchange. I understand for a lot of elite people who have tons of money no big deal right!!!

If it is any consolation prize to hear this, Four Seasons Aviara is a terrible trader in Interval International. I am surprised II gets any deposits for FSA given what a lousy trader it is. I made my one and only deposit in II several years ago and never again. So maybe eventually there will not be any FSA in II to trade into and the $30 resort fee will be a non-issue.
 

VacationForever

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If it is any consolation prize to hear this, Four Seasons Aviara is a terrible trader in Interval International. I am surprised II gets any deposits for FSA given what a lousy trader it is. I made my one and only deposit in II several years ago and never again. So maybe eventually there will not be any FSA in II to trade into and the $30 resort fee will be a non-issue.
Actually there are more deposits now than before. I managed to retrade 2 BR several times until I got the dates which we preferred.
 

TravelTime

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Actually there are more deposits now than before. I managed to retrade 2 BR several times until I got the dates which we preferred.

I believe it but I do not understand it. It is such a terrible trader. I wonder if those could be HOA deposits. If owners are depositing, there are much better places to deposit like ThirdHome, which actually gives good value to FSA.
 

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I believe it but I do not understand it. It is such a terrible trader. I wonder if those could be HOA deposits. If owners are depositing, there are much better places to deposit like ThirdHome, which actually gives good value to FSA.
I think you said you deposited a studio. In general, studios don't have good trade power no matter the brand.
 

TravelTime

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I think you said you deposited a studio. In general, studios don't have good trade power no matter the brand.

FSA is a bad trader regardless of unit size. I have looked with the 2BR unit intact also. Someone said it‘s because all the other brands give preference to their owners first. So I guess there’s not much left over after that. So not sure why people are whining about a resort fee to stay at FSA when an FSA owner can barely get into their resorts.
 

VacationForever

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FSA is a bad trader regardless of unit size. I have looked with the 2BR unit intact also. Someone said it‘s because all the other brands give preference to their owners first. So I guess there’s not much left over after that. So not sure why people are whining about a resort fee to stay at FSA when an FSA owner can barely get into their resorts.
Back when TUGgers were comparing trade power, deposited weeks were showing higher trade power than undeposited weeks. Did you deposit a full 2BR? Yes, the priority blocks for Marriott and Vistana do factor into the inability of other brand names to see these weeks while being blocked out during those first 3 weeks.
 
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rickandcindy23

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I think you said you deposited a studio. In general, studios don't have good trade power no matter the brand.
My Marriott studios are great traders, so I don't think that's true. I am sure there is truth in what TravelTime says. No reason to doubt an owner who has had the experience.
 

rickandcindy23

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A FSA studio should trump a Marriott studio trader, except for the brand name blocks.
Except I do get the Marriott brand for my trades, and what brand is FSA going to trade into with priority, except maybe a bigger FSA or Scottsdale. I am not arguing with you at all, I am just saying that TravelTime speaks from experience, so of course I believe what she is saying. The fees are so high, higher than most oceanfront Maui weeks.
 

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Except I do get the Marriott brand for my trades, and what brand is FSA going to trade into with priority, except maybe a bigger FSA or Scottsdale. I am not arguing with you at all, I am just saying that TravelTime speaks from experience, so of course I believe what she is saying. The fees are so high, higher than most oceanfront Maui weeks.
Hypothetically, FSA would trump MVC trade into Hyatt Carmel deposit. I put in my MVC and Vistana trade request to Carmel and have never been matched, even when I put in a wide window. Yes, priority blocks are an issue for any non affiliated brand. But based on pure trade power, FSA should be higher when trading into other timeshare.
 

rickandcindy23

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I have gotten Hyatt Carmel with a combined trading power 9-43 SBP one bedroom. I have gotten matches more than we have been able to go. But honestly, I don't question the validity of an owners's complaint about trading power. If you have the same type of week, then perhaps you can ease her mind?
 

VacationForever

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I have gotten Hyatt Carmel with a combined trading power 9-43 SBP one bedroom. I have gotten matches more than we have been able to go. But honestly, I don't question the validity of an owners's complaint about trading power. If you have the same type of week, then perhaps you can ease her mind?
It is not even a relevant discussion. FSA gets leftovers Vistana and MVC deposits and that has nothing to do with trade power. It is the priority block rule.
 

TravelTime

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Back when TUGgers were comparing trade power, deposited weeks were showing higher trade power than undeposited weeks. Did you deposit a full 2BR? Yes, the priority blocks for Marriott and Vistana do factor into the inability of other brand names to see these weeks while being blocked out during those first 3 weeks.

No I did not deposit a 2BR. I just use the II website to put in a dummy reservation to get an idea of what it would trade for. The difference between what I saw with the studio I deposited vs what I see with the dummy 2BR reservation is about the same. The ability to trade back into FSA was not even that great. I would have had priority for that but the options were just okay. You probably know I am not an II fan to begin with. So possibly this is not an FSA problem and just an II problem. No matter what I have ever deposited, I have never like the II trading system. However, based on my experience, Marriotts are much better traders than FSA within II.
 

zentraveler

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No I did not deposit a 2BR. I just use the II website to put in a dummy reservation to get an idea of what it would trade for. The difference between what I saw with the studio I deposited vs what I see with the dummy 2BR reservation is about the same. The ability to trade back into FSA was not even that great. I would have had priority for that but the options were just okay. You probably know I am not an II fan to begin with. So possibly this is not an FSA problem and just an II problem. No matter what I have ever deposited, I have never like the II trading system. However, based on my experience, Marriotts are much better traders than FSA within II.
FWIW, we have owned FSA for 20+ years and have traded it through II almost exclusively. We have consistently gotten great trades, mostly in Hawaii. We have gotten several over the years for larger units than we deposited (including one at MFC where we got a 2 bdrm for a 1 bdrm deposit). We have also used a lot of the AC's we have been given for nice trades as well. The Four Seasons desk at II has been very helpful over the years.

No complaints from us, although as always one's mileage may vary as it certainly seems to.
 
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rickandcindy23

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FWIW, we have owned FSA for 20+ years and have traded it through II almost exclusively. We have consistently gotten great trades, mostly in Hawaii. We have gotten several over the years for larger units than we deposited (including one at MFC). We have also used a lot of the AC's we have been given for nice trades as well. The Four Seasons desk at II has been very helpful over the years.

No complaints from us, although as always one's mileage may vary as it certainly seems to.
Great information.

For what it's worth, I would pay the $30 housekeeping fee at FSA for the wonderful benefits of staying at FSA. I love everything about that resort, including the toiletries, the daily housekeeping, the coffee, the comfortable beds (OH MY) and furniture. The location is unique. It's worth every penny of the $30 per day fee. Our daughter-in-law is really wanting to stay at FSA.

On the other hand, I always said I would not pay the $25 per day for the exchanges at Hilton that I can get through RCI in Orlando. I would pay on the islands, I would pay it for coastal resorts. But when I look at the number of points I have built up right now in RCI that I can no longer use for Disney exchanges, I am sure considering using up that trading power somehow.

I may be forced to pay those nonsense fees. Getting rid of RCI exchange power is my current goal. Our kids love the Hiltons in Orlando. I do too. Ironically, the dates I need for October are not available. People are paying those fees willingly.

I have run out of my Marriott and Sheraton weeks to exchange through II and my trading power is all with RCI.
 
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