PLease Help ME~~

[jojogreen]

Ok, My dad has had a time share in Orlando for many, many years..I want to say it's been at least 10, and has NEVER used it. EVER..
My sister and I are teachers and the time is for September..We both teach in Virginia and during that time, we have just started school and can never use it..

I have just found this site and honestly, I am just overwhelmed..
He wants me to change the dates so that I can use it, but I want to change the location too.. (I will stay at the Contemporary Hotel at Disney if it is the last thing I do~~)

So here are my gagillion questions..
Are there timeshares in NYC?
WHere can I find a list of places that this can be exchanged for?
My dad has NO desire to use this...Can my sister and my family use it if he is not with us?
I think this can be exchanged for hotel use, I read through some threads and am soo confused about how this is done..

Someone Help me...
I just wanna get some use out of this...And if I can't someone help me sell it for him..

thanks,
jojo

 

[Ken555]

Which timeshare does he own, and what season is it (though it sounds like it is a fixed week)?

 

[DeniseM]

Hi jojo and welcome to TUG:

If you can answer a few questions, I think we can help you:

What is the name of the resort?
What size unit does he own?
Did he buy from the developer (retail) or on the resale market?

Yes, you can use the timeshare if he's not with you - he can have a confirmation issued in your name.

If this is a fixed September week, it may not have the trading power needed for a trade to New York, but it can be traded for other locations. There isn't really a list of available exchanges that you can look at. With exchanging, you put in a request and hope that something come through - there are a lot more factors than just making a reservation. Another owner must deposit the week you want to trade into AND your deposit must have the trading value necessary for that exchange.

If he bought from the developer, he may be able to convert it to Starpoints (Starwood hotel points) but it won't be a lot of points.

If it's a Starwood timeshare in Florida, it's either Sheraton Vistana Resort, or Sheraton Vistana Villages. Florida has more supply than demand, so chances are that a September week has no resale value.

 

[Passepartout]

First, Welcome to TUG! We are glad you are here and you will get some help. I'm sure that some very helpful Starwood owners will give you guidance. Until then you might look at the stickies at the top of this header for newbie info. It will at least familiarize you with some terms.

I think that first you will have to find out exactly what your dad owns. There are several categories of ownership, and each has it's benefits and limitations. For instance, some can be exchanged for hotel stays and some can't.

Today, timeshares have little monetary value. Their value lies primarily in their use. From what you wrote, your dad owns a fixed week in Sept in Florida. It can be exchanged for a week elsewhere at a different time of year. You will have to find out what season, and in what exchange company it can be exchanged (probably II, or Interval Int'l). If your dad has no desire to use it and would transfer ownership to either you or your sis, or both, it might be easier to use than filter everything through his ownership. There is a charge for transferring title, and of course involves ongoing maintenance fees. MFs go on forever and increase.

You have a lot to learn, and TUG is a wealth of information. There are probably no questions you could ask that we haven't heard. Everything is archived and the search button up there in the blue stripe is your friend.

Again welcome.

Jim Ricks

 

[jojogreen]

Okay, so this is what I know.
Dad's Timeshare is for a fixed week in September.
It is at the Orlando Vistana Resort..It is a one bedroom unit. He bought it directly and not from another person, so we are assuming it was from the developer...

So where do I list it if we want to exchange it for another location?
At this point, I would love to exchange it for anywhere so that we could at least use it...
Thank you all for your help.
j

 

[zcrider]

starwood

I would call starwood directly and ask about internal exchange first. If he bought from the developer he should have star options with his timeshare that can be traded to other starwood timeshares. (better value then the hotel points they will give you). example you can get 7 nights of timeshare and maybe 4 night of hotel room.
Out side of starwood he must have a membership with II (Interval International) He probably has not set this up since he has never used it. Ask about this also while you are on the phone with starwood. Once that is set up, you can browse thru their availability and see what you would like to trade for. Keep in mind what you see listed as available is "left overs" after on going searches are matched.
If you want to use II, I would look thru all their available resorts and pick some that you would like to visit, you can then put in an ongoing request for summer time (if that is when you want to travel) and see what matches. You can always snag up what is already showing available anytime, so keep looking as inventory changes non stop as things get added and booked. There is a fee to exchange with II, and you will have to also purchase a guest certificate in your name if he is not traveling with you where this is free if you exchange directly with star options instead. You are paying for more exchange options with II.
There is something invisible called trade power that each week has...it basically is based off demand for your week (season), location, and unit size and how good your resort is. He owns in Orlando which is over build with timeshares (easy to trade into, so lower trade value for you), a September week (low season b/c school is in session), but the upside is he owns a starwood timeshare, so it is a desirable resort at least. So you should expect fair trade value. Maybe you can't get into the very most desirable resorts, but you can still get into lots of good ones.
Trading thru starwood, I would guess your star options will be low due to season and unit size, so you might be able to pull a better starwood resort from II's on going search, but it will cost you about $200 total for that better trade and you get the added benefit with II that your week can last for 2-3 years so you don't lose it if you can't use it that year.
I would NOT take your dad's timeshare and transfer it into your name or you will be stuck with the bills forever (until sold) for his purchase. There are better traders out there then what he owns. Use if for a few years, try out timeshare resorts and if you like them buy your own cheap trader and help him dispose of his. Sounds like he doesn't care much about burning his money, so enjoy the weeks while he is happy to have one of his kids getting something for the purchase.
Hope that helps and I can tell you that you will love the starwood timeshare resorts!! Enjoy your future vacations.

 

[jerseygirl]

If it's a one-BR, chances are that it is a floating week (only the older sections of Vistana Resort have fixed weeks, and they're all two bedroom units). All deeds are assigned a week for inventory control purposes, but if it's in the Lakes or Cascades section of SVR, it floats all year. It may have been theoretically possible for your dad to have "fixed" the week, but it is highly unlikely.

You definitely need to call Starwood with him, or sign up for an online account through mystarcentral.com (you'll need the contract number - can be found on a bill). Once you're sure what he has, we can help you better.

 

[bankr63]

Okay, so this is what I know.
Dad's Timeshare is for a fixed week in September.
It is at the Orlando Vistana Resort..It is a one bedroom unit. He bought it directly and not from another person, so we are assuming it was from the developer...

So where do I list it if we want to exchange it for another location?
At this point, I would love to exchange it for anywhere so that we could at least use it...
Thank you all for your help.
j

If this is a 1BR bought from the developer, I suspect it is floating unit. The 1BR units are all in Cascades and Lakes, and I don't think were ever sold as deeded week units by the developer. By the time these newer phases came along, the push was for SVN.

It is certainly worth a call to Starwood to understand your ownership as you should be able to reserve a much wider range of weeks than a single September week. It really is worth understanding what you can do inside Starwood before you start to focus on trading out so you can make the most out of what you have.

LOL - jinx Jerseygirl!

 

[bankr63]

Trading Options

One other thing for trading.

Don't forget to check out RCI as a trading option as well. Vistana is dual affiliated so you can trade in either of the major exchanges if you want. RCI may have destinations you would prefer. Despite all the negative talk here about the value of Orlando destinations, my SVR March 2BR gets me very good trading power in RCI - not much of anywhere I want to go that I can't trade into. And with the ability to combine deposits and change back on the RCI weeks side, I can trade up to anything.

II has a bunch of advantages too, like Starwood priority (you get access to other starwood resort exchanges before anyone else). I am only suggesting that you take a bit of time to understand your options before you decide.

 

[DeniseM]

One other thing for trading.

Don't forget to check out RCI as a trading option as well. Vistana is dual affiliated so you can trade in either of the major exchanges if you want. RCI may have destinations you would prefer. Despite all the negative talk here about the value of Orlando destinations, my SVR March 2BR gets me very good trading power in RCI -

TPU varies widely by season - a 1 bdm., September week, won't have nearly the trading power of a 2 bdm., fixed March week.

 

[bankr63]

TPU varies widely by season - a 1 bdm., September week, won't have nearly the trading power of a 2 bdm., fixed March week.

I realize there is a difference. I was speaking in relative terms that the value in Orlando isn't as bad as many have stated (at least not on RCI). My 3BR SL generally gets me 2 points less for the B side than the A side, so that is probably a fair spread for Vistana 1BR vs 2BR as well for a given week. SL always deposits a late August week for me (so far; it's their choice, like Starwood); not a prime week but close. This translates to about 3-5 points less TP than my March week. Still very respectable 25-27 pts for a 2BR, and 23 for a 1BR. Since the OP's week probably floats, the deposited week will likely have some variability in value as well, but Orlando is more stable than many resort areas. I personally don't worry about the couple of points of variance I see in my deposits.

I wanted to look it up some Vistana examples on the deposit calculator to see what values the OP might expect, but alas I get the hourglass of doom :annoyed:

 

[DeniseM]

You really can't compare the value of a fixed week in March - compared to a floating week deeded in September. With a true fixed week, you still get to deposit the actual week, so it has a lot more trading power. A 1 bdm. floating week deeded in September is going to be worth a lot less.

You can't look it up on RCI, because RCI only shows the TPU for fixed weeks.