New to the club

[buzglyd]

i just picked up an odd year Bella 81,000 point unit.

I own in the HGVC system and figured Vistana was a good compliment to my current system. I’ve been studying all the info here but I’m sure I’ll have questions once it closes and my account is set up.

The wife is eyeballing St John for her 50th next May but I told her my chances are likely slim and none with that one since the resort is just reopening in January.

 

[Saaz124]

I have looked at going there as well and you are correct to the slim and none, but not impossible. I think the fact that you want May will help but remaining flexible on the dates is best. Tell her this year you're going to celebrate her birthday all month long to give you the flexibility.

 

[buzglyd]

Fortunately we don’t have young children on school schedules and don’t live in frozen tundra we need to escape in winter so we are totally flexible.

 

[dokken88]

Fortunately we don’t have young children on school schedules and don’t live in frozen tundra we need to escape in winter so we are totally flexible.

I would be interested in seeing if you can book. Im trying to buy at SVV or WKR right now just to get SO to go to WSJ. Im cheap, so buying into lower MFs. Where did you buy your unit if I may ask? I havent had any luck YET...

 

[buzglyd]

Check my resort network dot com. They have a bunch of listings. I had a bid on eBay for an annual but didn’t bid enough. Then I decided an odd year would best compliment my even year Lagoon Tower. You can find them for nothing.

 

[alwysonvac]

I own in the HGVC system and figured Vistana was a good compliment to my current system. I’ve been studying all the info here but I’m sure I’ll have questions once it closes and my account is set up.

If you haven't, take a look at Vistana's 101 Ownership Guide - https://www.vistana.com/ownership101#new_vsn_enhancements

Similar to HGVC you can book any resort, any number of nights, in any size unit but begins 8 months before checkin (vs HGVC's 9 months before check out).
There is a small footnote that states "minimum lengths of stay may apply" but I'm not sure which resorts have this minimum.

Similar to HGVC the booking window opens at midnight eastern. Just like HGVC, this is important for high demand locations and/or high demand dates.
Unlike HGVC, Vistana allows you to book up to 21 nights in one booking (walking a reservation is not required).
Also there are no reservation fees however there is a cancellation fee (within 60 days of checkin).

One major difference is how Vistana handles banking & borrowing.
You have to bank your SO by July 1 and you have two years to use it. Unlike HGVC, once banked it can't be borrowed back (I made this mistake already).
If you miss the banking window, the only option is to bank your week with Interval International before the end of the year (and it requires the full week).
You can also borrow SOs but it requires you to pay next year's MF and from what I've read on TUG you can't book a reservation online using borrowed points (you have to call in).

 

[buzglyd]

That’s great info. Too bad VSE doesn’t have Open Season because there are several places I can easily drive to in CA and AZ.

We are most interested in:

St John
Harbor side
Maui
Lagunamar
Kierland

I know some of those will be difficult but we are totally flexible with our travel schedule. Several years ago we stayed at the Atlantis in May and the place was empty. We went down the slides so many times we were bruised for days. It was a total blast.

 

[alwysonvac]

You'll have online access to Interval International Getaway rates.
You'll find offseason deals for weekly stays at Kierland and Lagunamar which are just as good or even better than HGVC Open Season rates.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

This is a very helpful discussion because we are also experenced HGVC owners but new to Vistana (WKORVN OF.)

Not sure how much we will trade given high MF but may lock-off studio and use SO or II trade. But will rely mostly in II for cash getaways. What are our best options for:

1) Steamboat ski week studio or 1 bdrm
2) Marriott's during ski week in CO or Park City
3) Kauai Marriotts or Vistana late June or July 2Bdrm - cash getaway preferred
4) Oahu Ko Olina Marriott summer.

 

[alwysonvac]

Honestly you would be better off seeking an owner rental for high demand weeks vs hoping for a II Getaway.

I wouldn't expect to see high demand weeks in Interval International Getaways.
High demand weeks may appear sometimes for some destinations/resorts and when they do it's mostly last minute.
You'll simply have to keep checking II daily for availability and you need to be willing to take whatever travel date appears.

You can search the Sightings forum using "Getaway" as your search criteria to get an idea of what has been seen online.
Sometime we get bulk sightings but those are rare too - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...esort-villas-getaways-04-2017-12-2017.253386/

 

[alwysonvac]

Also keep in mind, now that you have Vistana you have access to Marriott, Hyatt, Four Seasons, etc. via II exchanges

Here are some examples from the Sightings Forum:
Hyatt - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php?threads/ii-hyatt-key-west-san-antonio-sedona-colorado.253263/
Marriott - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...t-coast-villas-nov-thru-feb-mini-bulk.259942/
Marriott - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...ba-surf-club-april-june-one-two-bdrms.254018/
Four Seasons - https://tugbbs.com/forums/index.php...residence-club-scottsdale-summer-bulk.254630/

 

[buzglyd]

I don’t have any experience with II because all my ownerships are RCI affiliated except Gaslamp in San Diego but I rent that out.

I figured getting an Odd year for next to nothing was the best way to get into the system and learn. I almost pulled the trigger on a 2BR Kierland but did not want the upfront cost.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thanks all for the helpful discussion. @alwysonvac your info on getaways and access to Hyatt/Marriott/Four Seasons is especially appreciated (you should change your handle from "Always on Vacation" to "Awesome on Vacation!")

So if I understand the SO chart correctly. Our WKORVN Ocean Front studio (after lock-off) = 81,000 SO which is equal to a 2bdrm at Bella (except I assume we pay more MF per point.)

1) Do both properties get equivalent priority for exchanging SOs in VSN i.e. 81k?

2) What about when they are exchanged via II? Are they valued differently? Would we be able to get a 1 or 2 bdrm at Vistana, Marriott, Hyatt properties in top locations with our OF studio? Or is it studio for studio? Does OF matter?

P.S. @buzglyd This makes me wonder whether we should pick up a Bella EOY trader What is the MF on an EOY unit?

 

[VacationForever]

Thanks all for the helpful discussion. @alwysonvac your info on getaways and access to Hyatt/Marriott/Four Seasons is especially appreciated (you should change your handle from "Always on Vacation" to "Awesome on Vacation!")

So if I understand the SO chart correctly. Our WKORVN Ocean Front studio (after lock-off) = 81,000 SO which is equal to a 2bdrm at Bella (except I assume we pay more MF per point.)

1) Do both properties get equivalent priority for exchanging SOs in VSN i.e. 81k?
If the inventory is there at 8 months out, anyone with enough SOs can book it. No priority.

2) What about when they are exchanged via II? Are they valued differently? Would we be able to get a 1 or 2 bdrm at Vistana, Marriott, Hyatt properties in top locations with our OF studio? Or is it studio for studio? Does OF matter?
OF means nothing in II. You can put in an ongoing search with a studio but you can only ask for a studio. If a larger size is available and you have enough trade power (WKORVN definitely has the trade power to go up to 1BR for most places), technically II agent is supposed to call you and offer a larger unit and collect an upsize fee from you. With ongoing search, the risk is getting a studio for a studio. Don't forget that Vistana does not have Marriott access to larger units, especially, as there is a 24 days block for other Marriott owners to exchange into the newly deposited Marriott weeks in II. Sometimes the block is not put on studio deposits and non-Marriott owners can see them. If you find inventory during real time search with your studio, you can certainly book it and pay the upsize fee.

P.S. @buzglyd This makes me wonder whether we should pick up a Bella EOY trader What is the MF on an EOY unit?

Bella EOY trader is a good thing because it is cheap and lower MF. EOY 2BR annual fee is about $600 to $700 per year.

 

[DeniseM]

So if I understand the SO chart correctly. Our WKORVN Ocean Front studio (after lock-off) = 81,000 SO which is equal to a 2bdrm at Bella (except I assume we pay more MF per point.)

You can see the maintenance fees on the chart in the stickies at the top of the Vistana home page.

1) Do both properties get equivalent priority for exchanging SOs in VSN i.e. 81k?

There are no reservation priorities with Vistana. At 8 months, all Staroption owners have the same opportunity to make a reservation, because Staroptions have the same value, no matter what resort they come from.

The difference is that you get more Staroptions at some resorts than others. Example: Maui 2 bdm = 148,100 Staroptions. Florida 2 bdm = 81,000 Staroptions.

2) What about when they are exchanged via II? Are they valued differently? Would we be able to get a 1 or 2 bdrm at Vistana, Marriott, Hyatt properties in top locations with our OF studio? Or is it studio for studio? Does OF matter?

Trading in II is not the same, because you don't use Staroptions in II - you deposit a week at your resort, and a higher demand resort/larger unit will have more trading power than a lower demand resort/smaller unit.

With II, they are now charging for an upgrade to a larger unit than the one you deposited.

However, with II, all Vistana deposit have priority for exchanges into other Vistana resorts. It is not consistently applied by II, but in theory, Vistana owners are supposed to be able to reserve Vistana deposits for 30 days, before they become available to non-Vistana owners.

In other words, Vistana owners can see Vistana deposits 30 days earlier than non-owners, or their on-going search has 30 day priority over non-owners.

*I would never deposit a Maui resort - you can get more value out of it if you rent it, and than use the $$$ to rent exactly what you want. For instance, a Maui OF studio will rent for $1,800 - $2,000.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Wow. These exchanging options seem like a big risk. There seems to be little incentive for WKORV owners to exchange an OF premium studio into II. I guess this is why people say that WKORV/N owners tend to use their unit, or rent it out and use the funds to rent elsewhere rather than risk exchanging through II.

Someday, we may try exchanging SOs but worry that we would be risking giving up our premium OF if there are no equivalent units at high season WSJ, Harborside, Ski weeks etc units to trade at 8 months. If this is the case, we would not have any priority into getting back into OF WKORVN, correct?

Have any Tuggers been successful recently in trading their OF studios at 8 Months for high season? Can you view availability at these other resorts with SOs before you commit?

 

[DeniseM]

Wow. These exchanging options seem like a big risk. There seems to be little incentive for WKORV owners to exchange an OF premium studio into II. I guess this is why people say that WKORV/N owners tend to use their unit, or rent it out and use the funds to rent elsewhere rather than risk exchanging through II.

Exactly - with any expensive/high demand resort, depositing it with an exchange company is like depositing a Mercedes in a pool of Chevys and Fords. It's a poor value, because only a small pecentage of the available deposits are equal in value to your high value deposit.

Someday, we may try exchanging SOs but worry that we would be risking giving up our premium OF if there are no equivalent units at high season WSJ, Harborside, Ski weeks etc units to trade at 8 months. If this is the case, we would not have any priority into getting back into OF WKORVN, correct? Have any Tuggers been successful recently in trading their OF studios at 8 Months for high season?

If you cannot get the Staroption reservation that you want, and you decide to go to your home resort instead, you will have to make a Staroption reservation for your home resort, and compete with everyone else, because it is within 8 months of check-in.

Again, with a high value resort, it's a better value to rent it, and then use the $$$ to rent exactly what you want.

This is why some Vistana owners have 3 weeks:

-Expensive home resort for personal use (like Hawaii/Harborside/WSJ)

-Less expensive mandatory week for trading with Vistana (like SVV)

-Less expensive voluntary resort with no Staroptions to trade in II (like SDO)

 

[Jayco29D]

Question about internal exchange with StarOptions. If you reserve a week at your home resort at 12 months, can’t you just wait and see if what you want is available at 8 months? Then can you give up the week at your home resort and switch to the new Vistana resort with your SOs - without taking the risk of losing the home resort reservation?

 

[DeniseM]

You can wait and see - but the competition is fierce for resorts like Maui and Harborside, so between the time you cancel and a few minutes later when you try to make your reservation, the inventory may disappear. This happens all the time at the popular resorts. If you are trying for one specific date, and can't change the date and try again, this can be problematic. If you are flexible about the date, you can just try again the next night.

 

[alexadeparis]

That’s great info. Too bad VSE doesn’t have Open Season because there are several places I can easily drive to in CA and AZ.

We are most interested in:

St John
Harbor side
Maui
Lagunamar
Kierland

I know some of those will be difficult but we are totally flexible with our travel schedule. Several years ago we stayed at the Atlantis in May and the place was empty. We went down the slides so many times we were bruised for days. It was a total blast.

I've been able to book all of these at 8 months out with flexible schedules.

 

[buzglyd]

I’ve learned a ton just from this one thread. Alwaysonvac was super helpful with the comparisons to the HGVC system which I know very well.

Thanks again everyone! Now I just need to wait for the transfer to play out and get enrolled in the system.

 

[alwysonvac]

Forgot to mention one more thing ....Similar to HGVC, your ownership includes a corporate account with a major exchange company. With Vistana, all mandatory resorts include a corporate Interval International account.

So definitely setup your II account once your transfer is complete. Happy hunting

 

[buzglyd]

At least with the II corporate account you can see Getaways. As you know, in the corporate RCI account you can’t see Extra Vacations, just Last Call.

 

[carpie99]

This is why some Vistana owners have 3 weeks:

-Expensive home resort for personal use (like Hawaii/Harborside/WSJ)

-Less expensive mandatory week for trading with Vistana (like SVV)

-Less expensive voluntary resort with no Staroptions to trade in II (like SDO)

This is exactly what I have minus the voluntary resort (3 WSJ weeks and 1 SVV week)

 

[CalGalTraveler]

At least with the II corporate account you can see Getaways. As you know, in the corporate RCI account you can’t see Extra Vacations, just Last Call.

Online getaway access is especially valuable since we will have limited opportunities to trade our unit unless we buy a trader.

Thanks @alwysonvac for the tip on II. We look forward to getting this set up once our unit closes.