mandatory vs voluntary

[elizfield]

I read the FAQ's and am now feeling a little "slow". If I buy resale from a mandatory property can I trade in to ALL of the Starwood timeshares or JUST the other mandatory properties.

 

[DeniseM]

A mandatory property has the opportunity to exchange into all SVN properties using Staroptions (depending on availability, of course.)

A voluntary property can't be exchanged with SVN at all, but you can do II exchanges - and there is a 3-day priority for all Starwood resorts, that is a real advantage. Recently, owners at very inexpensive voluntary resorts have been able to exchange into the Hawaii resorts and Lagunamar, using this priority. There is an article about Starwood and II in Owner Resources at the top of the board.

 

[LisaRex]

The word "mandatory' simply means that membership in SVN, Starwood's internal exchange network, is mandatory and cannot be separated from ownership. If you own there, whether your buy from the developer or on the resale market, it is mandatory that you join SVN. All SVN memberships include a complimentary II membership.

"Voluntary" is kind of a misnomer, because unless you buy your unit directly from the developer, you are not allowed to join SVN. We should have called it a "Conditional" resort, because SVN membership is conditional upon purchasing it from Starwood. Because SVN membership is not included with resale purchases, II membership is not included either, though you are certainly free to join II on your own.

Now if you want to get into Westin St. John at all or into Harborside or the Westin Hawaii resorts during the summer/holiday weeks, you should look at either buying there and/or buying a mandatory resort on the resale market so that you can trade into them via SVN. Because of the high demand for these handful of resorts, owning there or trading in via SVN at exactly 8 months out are the only ways you're realistically going to get in these resorts during peak seasons.

Summer/holiday weeks in Hawaii and WSJ aside, if you want to exchange into any of the Starwood resorts and you do not belong to SVN, you can use II. As you may or may not know, clout is everything in II. If you deposit a strong trader, you will "see" more units from which to choose from. Now if you happen to own a Starwood unit, you have two things working in your favor: 1) Most Starwood resorts tend to be strong traders in II, whether they are mandatory or voluntary resorts; 2) ALL Starwood owners get a 2-3 day window during which only they can see other Starwood units.

So, depending on your wants, budget, and travel habits, it might make sense to buy a mandatory resort with their higher purchase prices and MFs OR it might make more sense to buy a voluntary resort with their lower fees and higher clout in II.

Hope this helps!

 

[B5Flyer]

Thank you LisaRex for that very concise reply. You helped straighten out my confusion as well.