How to get access to Abound w/ resale

[hinrish1]

Hi all,

I have been trying to read up on my timeshare that I just purchased this past month. I have ownership at Kierland. One item that I didn't realize is that I would not have access to Abound - I feel like I vetted that with my realtor and confirmed I would have access, but unfortunately here I am. What are my options to get access to Abound? Or are there no options? Still happy with Vistana, but any insight is appreciated! Thanks for your help!!

 

[Ken555]

WKV offers a poor value in Abound, so you're not missing much.

 

[iftravel]

Hi all,

I have been trying to read up on my timeshare that I just purchased this past month. I have ownership at Kierland. One item that I didn't realize is that I would not have access to Abound - I feel like I vetted that with my realtor and confirmed I would have access, but unfortunately here I am. What are my options to get access to Abound? Or are there no options? Still happy with Vistana, but any insight is appreciated! Thanks for your help!!

Your realtor misled you. Hope you didn't overpay for it. You can use your ownership for a lot of things even without Abound - expecially if you bought the right week / season.

 

[dioxide45]

You can get access to Abound for your one VOI by purchasing at least $10,000 of some Vistana product at a Vistana sales center. Most people go for Westin Aventuras given you can get more points for the $10K and maintenance fees are lower than the other Flex products. I don't know if you can buy Westin Aventuras outside of a Mexican sales office, so you may need to do it through email/phone vs in a sales office in the USA.

 

[DavidnRobin]

WKV offers a poor value in Abound, so you're not missing much.

I just responded to this in another thread.
We have managed to get good value in Abound for our WKV P+.
Been renting one week and converting (electing Abound) the other.
It may be a YMMV, because we use for MVC LV Grand Chateau and have been staying for about 12-15 nites per year for last few years.
LV-GC is an central location and excellent for the WSOP.

 

[jpnotaku]

Thank you so much for asking the question hinrish1! I purchased WKV on resale 11 years ago and have made my ROI on the initial purchase. I'm currently here at WPORV and agreed to do a owners update just to find out more about the Abound program. I'm sure they're going to do a hard sale pitch to try to sell me more which I'm going to say "NO" to given that I would never purchase from the developer. Is there anything else I should know about Abound? What sort or tactics will the sale people take to try to get me to purchase more. Just want to be prepared when they try to sell me something...

 

[dioxide45]

Thank you so much for asking the question hinrish1! I purchased WKV on resale 11 years ago and have made my ROI on the initial purchase. I'm currently here at WPORV and agreed to do a owners update just to find out more about the Abound program. I'm sure they're going to do a hard sale pitch to try to sell me more which I'm going to say "NO" to given that I would never purchase from the developer. Is there anything else I should know about Abound? What sort or tactics will the sale people take to try to get me to purchase more. Just want to be prepared when they try to sell me something...

They can try many angles depending on what you own and what information they glean from you when talking to you. If you are close to a higher Owner Benefit Level, they may try pitching to buy more to get to the next level. Perhaps they think you are uniformed about Abound and need to buy directly from them in order to get "full access", which you already have. Then there is also the whole "hybrid owner" since they will tell you that your enrolled VOI doesn't have access to all the inventory, so you need to become hybrid by also owning some Abound Trust Points.

 

[Ken555]

I just responded to this in another thread.
We have managed to get good value in Abound for our WKV P+.
Been renting one week and converting (electing Abound) the other.
It may be a YMMV, because we use for MVC LV Grand Chateau and have been staying for about 12-15 nites per year for last few years.
LV-GC is an central location and excellent for the WSOP.

As you know, the relative points value for wkv conversion to abound is poor relative to other 148k weeks at other resorts such as Maui, and trading within VSN derives greater benefits at prime locations such as Hawaii. Its easy to get to Las Vegas, and I've been able to get Marriott GC several times via II during prime weeks (such as CES) as a trade with a lower price SDO 1-bed or even as a getaway week. I would expect decent value on a per night basis trading to overbuilt locations such as Vegas or Orlando.

 

[jpnotaku]

They can try many angles depending on what you own and what information they glean from you when talking to you. If you are close to a higher Owner Benefit Level, they may try pitching to buy more to get to the next level. Perhaps they think you are uniformed about Abound and need to buy directly from them in order to get "full access", which you already have. Then there is also the whole "hybrid owner" since they will tell you that your enrolled VOI doesn't have access to all the inventory, so you need to become hybrid by also owning some Abound Trust Points.

Thanks for the information! I have zero desire to reach the next Owner Benefit Level. I'm already at the highest level at another hotel group and don't need it for my Vistana property. I saw on the Vistana website that I already have an exchange with Abound although I have never used it before. I did notice that the exchange value wasn't very good.

What is a "hybrid owner"? Is there where you own StarOptions like I do now and also have Abound points? Also, is it true that I won't have access to to all the inventory and does that really matter? I just want to make sure I'm ready for when they ask me that question that I have a response ready when I'm speaking with them.

 

[daviator]

Thanks for the information! I have zero desire to reach the next Owner Benefit Level. I'm already at the highest level at another hotel group and don't need it for my Vistana property. I saw on the Vistana website that I already have an exchange with Abound although I have never used it before. I did notice that the exchange value wasn't very good.

What is a "hybrid owner"? Is there where you own StarOptions like I do now and also have Abound points? Also, is it true that I won't have access to to all the inventory and does that really matter? I just want to make sure I'm ready for when they ask me that question that I have a response ready when I'm speaking with them.

"Hybrid owner" is essentially a meaningless concept invented by Sales, it means whatever they want it to mean at the time, but generally that you own both weeks and Abound points. In the past they used it to mean that you owned both Vistana weeks and Flex points though this usage is probably obsolete. They will state or imply that there is inventory that you won't see if you only own one or the other. However, this isn't actually true; if you own an Abound-enrolled Vistana property and elect Abound points, you will see and have access to exactly the same inventory as if you own Abound (trust) points directly.

 

[jpnotaku]

"Hybrid owner" is essentially a meaningless concept invented by Sales, it means whatever they want it to mean at the time, but generally that you own both weeks and Abound points. In the past they used it to mean that you owned both Vistana weeks and Flex points though this usage is probably obsolete. They will state or imply that there is inventory that you won't see if you only own one or the other. However, this isn't actually true; if you own an Abound-enrolled Vistana property and elect Abound points, you will see and have access to exactly the same inventory as if you own Abound (trust) points directly.

Thanks for the additional information. That's what I thought regarding "Hybrid Owner" but just wanted verification. I feel much more prepared for my owners updates later this week.