good news - bad news

[jjking42]

The good news is that I book my vacations 18-24 months in advance.
That means that I am booked for all of 2006 and half of 2007. Because i can plan in advance i have been able to go to some great places

Marriott waiohaia 2005
orange lake 2005
Landmark PCB 2005
hgvc new york city 2005
Nob Hill inn 2005
fairfield branson 2005

hgvc sea world 2006
Calini beach club 2006
FF williamsburg 2006
valdoro mountain ldg 2006

Rams horn village 2007
surf club Marco isl 2007
Weston Maui 2007

the bad news is i am missing out on other great deals that dont come up that far in advance

So far I have had to pass on
Manhattan club
morritt's grand
Disney vacation club
bay club Christmas week
Aruba
and many others.

I get impatient with ongoing searches so i will book something good but not exactly what i want. Then later what i really wanted comes up and i will either have to cancel a week to go or pass on it. I hate canceling and re booking because of the extra fees. I have only been able to do that once. I am just too cheap to pay two exchange fees for one vacation.

So I must learn to be patient.

I must resist the temptation to trade now and use the force and let the right week come to me.

Anyone else have this problem

 

[michelle]

Yes, I once cancelled Pahio Bali Hai on Kauai for the Pahio Sheerwater. Lost $100, but I felt it was worth it.

Just recently I discovered that if I held out a bit, I could have gotten Morritts Grand for the beginning of the year, instead of the September 06 booking I am currently holding... I have already had to cancel one Morritts Grand due to Ivan in 04, so I would definately have preferred non-hurricane season! Not sure I want to pay the cancellation fee this time.

But I agree, I also feel pressured to take the trade, only to discover later that I could have gotten a better one. I also feel that I am not entirely to blame.... with RCI and their renting out of units, and the rumours that we "seem" to be seeing less and less online, I feel pressured to make the trade when I see it.

Does anyone else feel that they are not entirely to blame?

 

[glenn1000]

I hate canceling and re booking because of the extra fees. I have only been able to do that once. I am just too cheap to pay two exchange fees for one vacation.

To me this is just part of the cost involved. You pay to reserve an exchange that works for you. Later, if a better opportunity arises, you pay a cancellation fee and get something better. Seems fair. Exchange fees represent a very small portion of the total vacation cost so I find the ability to change well worth it.

 

[BocaBum99]

To me this is just part of the cost involved. You pay to reserve an exchange that works for you. Later, if a better opportunity arises, you pay a cancellation fee and get something better. Seems fair. Exchange fees represent a very small portion of the total vacation cost so I find the ability to change well worth it.

Not having to book more than a year out is one of the best benefits of point systems to me. I book a lot of reservation/confirmations less than 60-days out. 2 years is a Looong time to wait to go on vacation.

 

[Carolinian]

As someone who often uses ff miles, it is usually essential that I be able to book my exchanges at least 11 months in advance in order to use ff miles. Weeks has the flexibility to do this. Points does not within its own system, without doing a crossover into Weeks.

 

[BocaBum99]

As someone who often uses ff miles, it is usually essential that I be able to book my exchanges at least 11 months in advance in order to use ff miles. Weeks has the flexibility to do this. Points does not within its own system, without doing a crossover into Weeks.

Oh yes it does. In fact, it's far more reliable and flexible. All you do is book your airline flights first at the 12-month mark. Then, when the 11-month mark comes, you book the EXACT dates you need to match your airline tickets. You can't do that with weeks. You can book 6 or 8 days if you want and you can optimize it so that you can get the cheapest fares. If Thursday flights are cheaper or more available, then you can book those flights first. Timeshare weeks people are so used to lack of availability that they must look 2 years in advance, get an exchange and then match the airline flights. That's no longer necessary with points.

In addition, many point systems allow you to book 13-months from checkin. WorldMark is an example. Bluegreen allows Gold members to get first on the waitlist at 13-months.

Flexibility, is the key advantage of point systems over weeks systems. The key advantage of weeks systems is the ability to trade up until the pyramid scheme collapses. That collapse is very slow to occur, so opportunities will continue to abound for a long while to come.

 

[barndweller]

To get back to the OP...

Weeks vs points was not the original topic (and always seems to become the focal point) I'll answer the OP. Yes, I also get myself into the bind of seeing something I wish I had waited a little longer to grab. I'm pretty new at the game compared to many others here at TUG so I am still learning how to make it work best for me. I use the ACs that II gives me but it has taken me awhile to learn patience both in the timing of my deposit (and thereby getting an AC) and grabbing something I see that I'd like (rendering any AC useless for many reasons.) I try to get the most bang for my buck but sometimes end up kicking myself for a hasty decision. I've had to cancel only twice and yet I feel I've still come out with good trades and wonderful vacations. I don't use RCI so the ongoing diatribe makes me chuckle but really doesn't interest me. I've got some deposits in with SFX for requests to the British Isles in 2007. I'm trying to be patient but it is very hard. Time will, as they say, tell.
Meanwhile, even with my hasty decisions and such, I am very happy with my plunge into the world of timeshare vacations and look forward to the time when I am retired and can go within 59 days to get those goodies I now must pass up.
Julie

 

[jjking42]

Weeks vs points was not the original topic (and always seems to become the focal point) I'll answer the OP. Yes, I also get myself into the bind of seeing something I wish I had waited a little longer to grab. I'm pretty new at the game compared to many others here at TUG so I am still learning how to make it work best for me. I use the ACs that II gives me but it has taken me awhile to learn patience both in the timing of my deposit (and thereby getting an AC) and grabbing something I see that I'd like (rendering any AC useless for many reasons.) I try to get the most bang for my buck but sometimes end up kicking myself for a hasty decision. I've had to cancel only twice and yet I feel I've still come out with good trades and wonderful vacations. I don't use RCI so the ongoing diatribe makes me chuckle but really doesn't interest me. I've got some deposits in with SFX for requests to the British Isles in 2007. I'm trying to be patient but it is very hard. Time will, as they say, tell.
Meanwhile, even with my hasty decisions and such, I am very happy with my plunge into the world of timeshare vacations and look forward to the time when I am retired and can go within 59 days to get those goodies I now must pass up.
Julie

Thanks julie for getting back to the point.

 

[jjking42]

the other problem that also complicates the issue is I trade with RCi, II and SFX. so sometimes I take a trade with one company and then the other one come with the better week. Than it is not as simple as paying an extra fee.

 

[royalholidayclubbed]

Opposites Attract?

JJ:
I have exactly the OPPOSITE problem, whether it be timeshare or ANY kind of traveling. If it weren´t for my wife, EVERYTHING would be left till the last minute (which I believe has a number of advantages) till I look for the best deal !!!

Like anything, it´s swings and roundabaouts, sometimes she´s right - sometimes I am !

All going well it will be Europe this year. She´s doing the booking !

Regards,

John

Visit Harpy´s Website!

 

[boyblue]

It's also difficult when you're dealing with multiple weeks & different time frames. Should I book a great week and wait a year & hope that I find 10 days at a nearby points resort? Or should I wait, do all one time and hope you find a decent matching week 10 months out?

 

[michaelsmalley]

Must be nice !!!!!!!!!!!

I read all the posts about booking vacations a year or 2 in advance and think, "It must be nice". My wife and I are lucky to be able to plan 30 days from now. Try running 200 or 300 head of cattle plus owning an 'in town' business. We used to 'plan' vacations, then the cows decide to start calving early (or late) and all plans go out the window. We put up about 1200 big round bales of hay each year and if someone can tell me when the rains will hit a year ahead, I'll buy them a trip to anywhere they want to go.

I'm not complaining about those that can plan way ahead. Sometimes I wish we could. I also know this isn't a post to compare weeks vs points but just a comment. For those who can't plan way ahead, points is great. Last year we finished fall calving about 3 weeks early (I guess the bulls were in a hurry the year before) and it wasn't time to start winter feeding yet. I told my wife," Do you realize we have about 6 weeks and nothiing to do"

I jumped on RCI, grabbed a great trip SC in their 45 day window for about 8,000 points and we had a wonderful trip. We normally 'escape' 2 or 3 times a year but never with more than a couple of months notice. I read a lot of posts from people who hate RCI and hate points. For us RCI has been great and points work wonders. It is amazing how much traveling you can do on only 40 or 50,000 RCI points a year.

I read the Tug post on a daily basis and really enjoy them. I've read about so many places that sound like fun. We keep a list on the wall of good and bad places to go and most of that is thanks to you Tuggers. Then when we can grab a quickie we go to the good liist and try one. If you can plan way ahead great. If you can't, go anyway.

Mike S.

 

[BocaBum99]

Weeks vs points was not the original topic (and always seems to become the focal point) I'll answer the OP. Yes, I also get myself into the bind of seeing something I wish I had waited a little longer to grab. I'm pretty new at the game compared to many others here at TUG so I am still learning how to make it work best for me. I use the ACs that II gives me but it has taken me awhile to learn patience both in the timing of my deposit (and thereby getting an AC) and grabbing something I see that I'd like (rendering any AC useless for many reasons.) I try to get the most bang for my buck but sometimes end up kicking myself for a hasty decision. I've had to cancel only twice and yet I feel I've still come out with good trades and wonderful vacations. I don't use RCI so the ongoing diatribe makes me chuckle but really doesn't interest me. I've got some deposits in with SFX for requests to the British Isles in 2007. I'm trying to be patient but it is very hard. Time will, as they say, tell.
Meanwhile, even with my hasty decisions and such, I am very happy with my plunge into the world of timeshare vacations and look forward to the time when I am retired and can go within 59 days to get those goodies I now must pass up.
Julie

LOL. What's a BBS without some controversy? It keeps the ratings up.

Whatever your persuasion, weeks or points, it is interesting to know the underlying reasons for why thing are the way they are. Because if you do know, you can a) learn how to better utilize the system or b) move to a different one that better meets your needs.

When I first got into timesharing, I wondered who in their right mind would ever plan a vacation 2 years out. My mother, who is the quintessential worrier and thinks about and plans ahead for everything, didn't plan more than 12-15 months out for any vacation.

So, why the 2 year habit? I believe it is due to the nature and difficulty of trading weeks highlighted by the OP. Something they don't tell you at the sales presentation. Furthermore, I claim that if everyone knew that nothing was available until the 11 month mark and then all available inventory became available at the 11 month mark using a first come, first served allocation model, then that would be much more desirable to the majority of timesharers.

So, the 2-year planning horizon is an artifact created by the difficulty of trading weeks.

That said, there are good reasons to plan 2 years out. If you can get a tremendous trade up, then that's worth waiting for. So, this whole evolution of timesharing is fun to experience. And, the art of timesharing is to maximize your exchanges while minimizing your costs. It's all about testing your confidence is what will become available at various dates and times. So, we need to have these debates to educate people on creating their own optimal search and acquire plan.

 

["Roger"]

I read all the posts about booking vacations a year or 2 in advance and think, "It must be nice". My wife and I are lucky to be able to plan 30 days from now....
Mike S.

I think that you come closer to be more typical than most people. When I first bought, the biggest knock I heard against timesharing (even more than having been told that you could trade Red for Red) was that it required you to plan too far in advance. For most people, it wasn't working out. By the time that they could plan their vacations, everything was taken.

Personally, I have sympathy with the resorts that save units for owners during high seasons who want to use the resort itself (as opposed to banking a bright red week for someone who is intending to trade). I am going to get flamed for saying that, but my sympathy goes with the working people who simply want to use their own unit and can't pin down a vacation week a year and a half in advance.

 

[Conan]

I must resist the temptation to trade now and use the force and let the right week come to me.

The same temptation exists within the Points system - - booking two years ahead on the Weeks side versus holding onto your points down to the final 10 months.
Earlier Discussion on the Exchanges Board

 

[barndweller]

The planning is 1/2 the fun...

maybe even more than half. The trading game is just that, a game. I enjoy the hunt for my next vacation destination as much as the vacation itself. If the whole trading system goes down the tubes at some point, I can still have great vacations because I have taken all the great advice here to heart. Buy where you will use. If I could never trade again, I would still get wonderful vacations at places I would pay much more for were I to rent. I didn't get into timesharing back in the golden years when trades were easier to get and "great" trades were more abundant, so the "RCI has sold us down the river" stuff leaves me shaking my head. Don't get me wrong, I read all the postings on that subject as well as the "weeks vs points" arguments. I figure it's to my advantage to stay informed so I can make the best use of the system as B.B. has said. And I thank all of you seasoned timesharers for sharing your opinions.

As far as planning far ahead...You are a brave soul, Boca Bum, if you book an airline ticket and then try to match it to a timeshare trade Tell us, please, how often have you done that and how successful have you been?
Julie

 

[BocaBum99]

maybe even more than half. The trading game is just that, a game. I enjoy the hunt for my next vacation destination as much as the vacation itself. If the whole trading system goes down the tubes at some point, I can still have great vacations because I have taken all the great advice here to heart. Buy where you will use. If I could never trade again, I would still get wonderful vacations at places I would pay much more for were I to rent. I didn't get into timesharing back in the golden years when trades were easier to get and "great" trades were more abundant, so the "RCI has sold us down the river" stuff leaves me shaking my head. Don't get me wrong, I read all the postings on that subject as well as the "weeks vs points" arguments. I figure it's to my advantage to stay informed so I can make the best use of the system as B.B. has said. And I thank all of you seasoned timesharers for sharing your opinions.

As far as planning far ahead...You are a brave soul, Boca Bum, if you book an airline ticket and then try to match it to a timeshare trade Tell us, please, how often have you done that and how successful have you been?
Julie

Julie,

I think you have the right approach for timesharing. It will result in many many more happy days ahead.

Regarding plane tickets, I live in Florida so flights abound for cheap prices. I don't ever have to book a flight more than 6 months out. But, I am so confident that I can get to where I want to go with one of my timesharing alternatives that I wouldn't hesitate doing it.

In addition, I know someone who is so confident about how II deposits weeks during the flexchange period that she books flights first to Hawaii and then waits until the right flexchange comes along to book her accommodations. Talk about guts. I probably wouldn't do that unless I had a back up that I could cancel should the right unit pop up within 60-days.

 

[boyblue]

As far as planning far ahead...You are a brave soul, Boca Bum, if you book an airline ticket and then try to match it to a timeshare trade Tell us, please, how often have you done that and how successful have you been?
Julie

Yea we've been doing points for a couple years now and it is dead on. 10 monts out and bam there are your resort options, but I have not developed the confidence to purchase our tickets first.

As a matter of fact just this morning I had a delema. Friday at 12 am I was supposed to book 5 nights at Calabogie for check in on Dec 10th. I didn't attempt a booking until this morning (Saturday 12 am). I needed a 2 br and there was nothing showing for the 10th and there was a 1 br showing for the 11th. My last hope was to try The 9th for 6 nights. Bam there it was our 2 br for 6 nights 20,000 points. I had to pay about 3000 points (about $40.00 at our cost) for a night I won't use but I could live with that.

If I had gotten the tickets first I would have looked for a silver crown or standard resort in the area but that I still consider that risky business.

 

[jjking42]

JJ:
I have exactly the OPPOSITE problem, whether it be timeshare or ANY kind of traveling. If it weren´t for my wife, EVERYTHING would be left till the last minute (which I believe has a number of advantages) till I look for the best deal !!!

Like anything, it´s swings and roundabaouts, sometimes she´s right - sometimes I am !

All going well it will be Europe this year. She´s doing the booking !

Regards,

John

Visit Harpy´s Website!

Your right I keep asking my wife were do you want to go for 2008 and she looks at me like I am crazy. I own my own business and for 14 years I hardly took any vacation. If I waited I would always be busy and never leave.

I hate to waste money so by planing in advance and paying those maint fee it forces me to take vacations. The problems now is all the money I spend while I am there. It does not matter how inexpensive the condo is, you still spend a lot on transportation and activities.

 

[boyblue]

Your right I keep asking my wife were do you want to go for 2008 and she looks at me like I am crazy. I own my own business and for 14 years I hardly took any vacation. If I waited I would always be busy and never leave.

I hate to waste money so by planing in advance and paying those maint fee it forces me to take vacations. The problems now is all the money I spend while I am there. It does not matter how inexpensive the condo is, you still spend a lot on transportation and activities.

Ditto (with the exception that we've been in business for 10 years)

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