II Strategy

[jp10558]

One plan I've made since getting an II account and finding mixed success with instant exchanges is to make a online spreadsheet of locations I / others would like to go and months of the year they'd be good so eventually I can pounce on ones if I see a sighting, or I can set as an OGS next time I have a free unit.

I'm kind of assuming this is sort of how other people use II - they have places they specifically want to go, set up the OGS and hope for a match. At what point do you all decide it's not going to match and do something else? What do you all see as the alternative - take an "instant exchange"? Change the OGS options?

I'm also considering thinking up some sort of plan where I'd put up a TUG direct exchange for so many months (IDK, can I do it 2 years out?) then deposit to II and set up OGS, then take a fallback instant exchange or something?

 

[Hindsite]

It varies depending on the resort, the general profile of when they get deposited and when I need to make non-cancellable travel reservations. Usually I let the accomodation booking lead the process, having set up the OGS at least 12 months ahead. If its DVC, Hyatt or 4 Seasons I don't expect a match more than 5 months ahead. If its MVC I expect a match 12-8 months ahead, but will also wait until end of Feb as a lot of resorts get deposited as people make plans in Jan/Feb. There's some interesting inventory currently going in and out of II for 2025 and 2026, showing that its more active than usual.

I tend to try and match the trading power of my deposit to the expected TP of what I want, and aren't pushing the limits of what is possible by trading up more than 1 season or location popularity and to similar unit sizes. I always get better value than the deposit, measured in terms of the MF of the unit I exchange in to or the owner rental rate.

I don't use a spreadsheet as its not possible to codify the background effect of TP or whether a resort/week combination will get deposited in any year, so you would just be doing analysis of uncertainty, which is never good. e.g There was a load of 4-seasons Scottsdale deposited for last Feb all unit sizes, nothing this year that I've seen for Feb.

As I'm a long-term planner and tend to get what I request, I don't usually have or need a fall-back. The closest I have is that for a March trip I'm currently stalking inventory for a Sat check-in when I currently have a Sun check-in as the following week I have a resort that is only Sat check-in. I'll keep stalking until I need to book the location to location flights and then not look any more. I've also used Bonus points to book 1 night to stitch 2 reservations together, but that's all I can recall in +20 years.

There are plenty of people who do instant exchanges, short notice ones and push the boundaries of getting larger units, more popular weeks and locations and they seem to do just fine, so its all about what works for you.

 

[jp10558]

I don't use a spreadsheet as its not possible to codify the background effect of TP or whether a resort/week combination will get deposited in any year, so you would just be doing analysis of uncertainty, which is never good. e.g There was a load of 4-seasons Scottsdale deposited for last Feb all unit sizes, nothing this year that I've seen for Feb.

Sorry, I think you misunderstand, the spreadsheet isn't to track TP or if a resort will get deposited, more it's a list of places family wants to go to sometime and places I want to go to.

So, for instance, right now pre spreadsheet, I have to see something that may look promising, then wrangle 2 different people to see if either wants to go, and I might eventually add a third or other friends.

I already have a reasonably workable method with the systems outside of II - I use HGVC and Wyndham points for locations that I don't see often in cash deals that are appealing. I.e. ones that are probably hard to exchange into also. I then use Extra Vacations for the locations that show up there a lot if I need to be sure of a booking. Then for ones that I'm pretty sure will show up but also that are a "nice to have trip but can skip it easily" I'll watch for last calls.

II I'm actually doing exchanges through trying to get good deals for the MFs. I see far fewer getaways in general in II, but I'm slowly learning where those may show up. I think I'm generally in a good season with both my traders (4th of July for Gatlinburg and week 33 for Fox Run) so I'm mostly trying to keep the same size unit, so I'm just figuring out what popularity it can pull I think.

Your info is very useful for how far out I can expect to see a match and that I really need to try and set up the exchange search as close to 12 months ahead as possible.

 

[Hindsite]

Thanks, yes you could use a SS to track options and who wants what. There are some TUG regulars who regularly do family bookings so they may be able to advise how to approach the task: @Dean any advice on tools or automation to use?
Check Accom Certs in II and look out for offers with your weeks where you can deposit and get a promo accom cert, those can have better availability than the ones that turn up for no reason, but not always.

 

[heathpack]

Sorry, I think you misunderstand, the spreadsheet isn't to track TP or if a resort will get deposited, more it's a list of places family wants to go to sometime and places I want to go to.

So, for instance, right now pre spreadsheet, I have to see something that may look promising, then wrangle 2 different people to see if either wants to go, and I might eventually add a third or other friends.

I already have a reasonably workable method with the systems outside of II - I use HGVC and Wyndham points for locations that I don't see often in cash deals that are appealing. I.e. ones that are probably hard to exchange into also. I then use Extra Vacations for the locations that show up there a lot if I need to be sure of a booking. Then for ones that I'm pretty sure will show up but also that are a "nice to have trip but can skip it easily" I'll watch for last calls.

II I'm actually doing exchanges through trying to get good deals for the MFs. I see far fewer getaways in general in II, but I'm slowly learning where those may show up. I think I'm generally in a good season with both my traders (4th of July for Gatlinburg and week 33 for Fox Run) so I'm mostly trying to keep the same size unit, so I'm just figuring out what popularity it can pull I think.

Your info is very useful for how far out I can expect to see a match and that I really need to try and set up the exchange search as close to 12 months ahead as possible.

I actually have an excel spreadsheet that I just started building in the past few months.
Page 1 is Marriott locations I want to visit, the resorts in that location I’d be willing to stay at, available unit sizes, best times of year to visit that location, and what I think I’d need to deposit to get my trade. This is a work in progress.
Page 2 is a list by month that goes several years into the future for each Disney resort I own. I put in color blocks to denote the duration of UY for each ownership, a column when I can add new points at the appropriate month of the year, a column for points used, and a column for current tally x 4 (for the four contracts I own or hope to soon own), then a column at the end to note reservations made (or plan to make) which I can enter for the month I will be travelling, how many points the reservation needed, and where the points came from. We’ll see how it works.

When I search open inventory, I often just grab a unit of interest and put it in my cart. I then have 18 minutes to get an idea of how expensive it is to travel to that location, whether the unit is available at a good time of year to visit, what the resort and rooms are like, etc. Most of the time I throw the unit back. But I’ve done that enough times over the years that I know a lot of the answers already and don’t need to grab the unit to know that I don’t want to go to Vermont in March say or St Thomas in Aug. However, I (unlike many it seems) DO want to go to Sedona in Feb or Napa in November.