RCI is keeping the $ 149.00 EXCHANGE fee

gidat1 · Oct 27, 2005

Due to Wilma the resort I was going to on November 6th is out of order. RCI told me that they put my week in the bank, but will keep the $ 149.00 exchange fee for theit troubles.

They insisted that I should have bought the insurance when I requested the exchange. I thought that the insurance is for my mistakes or my unforseen circumstances. Like getting sick or in a car accident or missing a flight etc... not when the resort is telling me that they could not accomodate me.

I am little perplxed. I think REsorts insurance company should pay those fees or the RCI should eat them. Any suggestions.

I am posting this in Florida also. [ Edited to note that the other thread has been moved to the Exchanging forum. Dave M, BBS Administrator]

Phil

wise one · Oct 28, 2005

The same thing happened to me last year when the Georgian Resort in Ormond Beach got hit by hurricanes. I had a resrevation for spring break 2005. I had made the reservations AFTER the hurricanes. Apparently, the resort's HOC decided to do some refurbishing as well as cleaning up the stom's damage. I got the letter from RCI as and early Christmas present, about Dec 20th.

I also feel that the trade fee should have been part of the cost of the resort's refurbishing, but I ended up paying for another trade.

riverdees05 · Oct 28, 2005

I think all of us will be rethinking RCI and II insurance in the future when going to resorts in the Hurricane Zone. Can you purchase travel insurance for resorts that you own and use?

cycart · Oct 28, 2005

For airfares, I believe Discover has an automatic trip insurance if you use it to purchase your flights.

spiceycat · Oct 28, 2005

riverdees05 said:
I think all of us will be rethinking RCI and II insurance in the future when going to resorts in the Hurricane Zone. Can you purchase travel insurance for resorts that you own and use?

I looked for one last year for my home resort. I didn't find one - so if you do please let me know.

but I got lucky my resort, Landmark is paying me back (through their insurance provider) for the 2004 reservation they had to cancel.

gidat1 · Oct 28, 2005

do clarify...

spiceycat said:
I looked for one last year for my home resort. I didn't find one - so if you do please let me know.

but I got lucky my resort, Landmark is paying me back (through their insurance provider) for the 2004 reservation they had to cancel.

Spicycat:

You mean to say you filed your $ 149.00 RCI exchange fee with the resort you were going to ? Did their insurtance company reimbursed you ?

I am bit confused.

Phil

Ps Thanks for the input... waiting for Marge to reply...

Holly · Oct 29, 2005

Amazing

Let me get this straight. We pay RCI $149 for a "trade fee". A hurricane hits and the trade does not go through, the resort is unopen and unable to honor the trade. We still pay the fee?

Madge, that is just wrong. Insurance should for MY illness, MY transportation problems, not the resort's. RCI should apply that money towards a new exchange that they can follow through on.

Dave M · Oct 29, 2005

In my capacity as a BBS administrator....

I have deleted multiple messages from this thread. Please respect that this forum is only for posing questions to RCI. Discussions about RCI belong on the Exchanging forum.

Carolinian · Oct 29, 2005

It looks like my question to Madge somehow got deleted, so I will repost it.

Are non-members who rented timeshare weeks from RCI in resorts closed due to hurricanes refunded their rental fees? If so, why is the same policy not applied to dues paying RCI members who exchange into such resorts?

Madge · Nov 23, 2005

gidat1,

RCI does not refund exchange fees for events that are outside of its control, such as natural disasters. In the past, when we have experimented with refunding even a portion of the exchange fee in natural disaster situations, the fiscal results to us as a company were disastrous.

However, we also recognize that these events are outside of our members' control. For just this reason, we pursued a partnership with BerkelyCare to provide our members with a way to protect themselves financially. This protection includes some RCI-related benefits as well as other travel-related benefits. Unless the travel dates are less than 30 days away, every single member is presented with the opportunity to purchase the protection with their exchange confirmation.

The suggestion has been made in past years that we could increase our exchange fee and attach vacation protection to every confirmation. However, that just doesn't seem fair to members who are willing to roll the dice during non-hurricane seasons. So, we continue to offer it on a per-trip basis. We do hope to have an annual product available through BerkelyCare again in the future; however, I do not have a timeline on that at this point.

I responded to this issue earlier here as well.

Madge · Nov 23, 2005

Carolinian,

Our standard cancellation policy applies to Extra Vacations as well as one-for-one exchanges - it is not modified for natural disaster situations. It is, however, different for Extra Vacations than it is for one-for-one exchanges. Following shows the standard Extra Vacation cancellation guides:

61 days or more in advance - 70% refund
60-15 days in advance - 50% refund
14 days or less in advance - no refund

For travelers who booked with an outside vendor partner, such as AFVClub or Sky Auction, the cancellation policy is decided by the individual partner.