I'm still not sure why Vistana hasn't fallen in line with how Marriott does this. Marriott doesn't require prepayment of fees for deposit. I guess there are more Vistana folks out there that deposit, use the week to exchange a year earlier then skip out on the fees?
They also haven't aligned the trading power approach between the two, which means Vistana owners get a longer expiry than most MVC weeks too. Lots of stuff going on inside the "black box" that might not be good for anyone if they changed it, like when they "aligned" for Abound and Club points owners lost the ability to book Sheraton and Westin resorts via II, and the banking durations, deadlines etc changed for Vistana owners. I don't think we need any more alignment to mess up how things work.
True, but Vistana owners didn't really lose the ability to book Sheraton and Westin resorts via II. They just didn't get the ability to do that with Abound Club Points. They can still use their week or HomeOptions to exchange into Westin and Sheraton resorts through II. Nothing lost there. Banking StarOptions did take a big hit for most owners.
I actually like blended trade power since that means I do not need to try to book right at 6am Pacific time 12 / 13 months out.
I agree. It is more likely to leave the high value weeks available for owner stays and put the less valuable weeks into exchange inventory. As an owner at a resort, it is what I would personally prefer. (Of course, as an exchanger that is not what I want but at the end of the day, ownership should trump exchanges). In other Vistana vs Marriott differences, paying mf in advance should be the default, imo, because when you deposit the week you are "using" it, and you should pay as you go. If you renege on your mf payment the next year, there is no way to claw that unit back, so if the HOA is exercising their fiduciary duty they shouldn't allow a deposit without a payment. I also like that Vistana does not have a lockoff charge. That seems like such a money grab.I actually like blended trade power since that means I do not need to try to book right at 6am Pacific time 12 / 13 months out.
Indeed they did not, but MVC Trust club points owners did loose out on a load of high quality inventory in II, no longer being available, some of that inventory is much mor easily available via II than Abound. In addition they face the addition of around 200k new Abound members, some of whom got a lot of club points for the week that they would elect, further adding pressure to the limited decent inventory in Abound.