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Retro a unit [merged]
- Thread starter oldfool19
- Start date
jim, ... I'd buy from Starwood where I want to go to use with a retro. Same, but even more so, for the week to be retroed. In the end, all you get when you buy a timeshare is a deed to the unit and a guaranteed use week (fixed) or a use week in a season (float).
All other benefits, SVN trading, II trading, procedures for both, II preferences in branded systems, rules for internal and external trading, Starpoint trading and use, StarOption value and Elite status, are not guaranteed and subject to change or elimination.
The worst things you can do are: 1. buy more timeshare weeks than you can easily afford and 2. buy timeshares in places or seasons where you wouldn't want to wind up vacationing.
However:
A Plat Lagunamar EOY 2-br costs about $21.5K with MF of about $640 per year. It yields 148,100 StarOptions every other year. IMO, that's the lowest cost MF for a Starwood new purchase and use for a retro.
There is very little information on prices Starwood is selling re-acquired weeks for. My experience is that the Plat EOY 2-br weeks are selling for less than $20K. So, they cannot be purchased from Starwood with a retro included. I believe Starwood has adopted that pricing to promote sales of new units. The facts and pricing of Starwood's selling re-acquired units is kept under the radar.
If you want to be able to drive to where you will vacation and want to stay in the US, the lowest cost mainland places to buy a Plat EOY 2-br for slightly over $20K are either WDW or WMH. Same StarOption yield. About the same developer price. However, the annual MF are higher - around $770 per year for each (plus separately billed property taxes).
It seems to me that you are looking to get to 5 Star Elite - eventually. I would question whether getting to 5 Star Elite eventually (or in little bites) is wise. There is no reason to pay more than you have to getting to 5 Star Elite. But, if you can't afford to go all the way now (or within a year), getting part of the way to 5 Star Elite by making EOY developer purchases and retros makes little sense.
I think it is better to make the non-developer purchases now and wait to make any developer purchases (and retros) when you have the assets to go all the way to 5 Star Elite. Salty
All other benefits, SVN trading, II trading, procedures for both, II preferences in branded systems, rules for internal and external trading, Starpoint trading and use, StarOption value and Elite status, are not guaranteed and subject to change or elimination.
The worst things you can do are: 1. buy more timeshare weeks than you can easily afford and 2. buy timeshares in places or seasons where you wouldn't want to wind up vacationing.
However:
A Plat Lagunamar EOY 2-br costs about $21.5K with MF of about $640 per year. It yields 148,100 StarOptions every other year. IMO, that's the lowest cost MF for a Starwood new purchase and use for a retro.
There is very little information on prices Starwood is selling re-acquired weeks for. My experience is that the Plat EOY 2-br weeks are selling for less than $20K. So, they cannot be purchased from Starwood with a retro included. I believe Starwood has adopted that pricing to promote sales of new units. The facts and pricing of Starwood's selling re-acquired units is kept under the radar.
If you want to be able to drive to where you will vacation and want to stay in the US, the lowest cost mainland places to buy a Plat EOY 2-br for slightly over $20K are either WDW or WMH. Same StarOption yield. About the same developer price. However, the annual MF are higher - around $770 per year for each (plus separately billed property taxes).
It seems to me that you are looking to get to 5 Star Elite - eventually. I would question whether getting to 5 Star Elite eventually (or in little bites) is wise. There is no reason to pay more than you have to getting to 5 Star Elite. But, if you can't afford to go all the way now (or within a year), getting part of the way to 5 Star Elite by making EOY developer purchases and retros makes little sense.
I think it is better to make the non-developer purchases now and wait to make any developer purchases (and retros) when you have the assets to go all the way to 5 Star Elite. Salty
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Thanks Jarta. Just what I was looking for. Eventually we will go to 5*, but our first goal is 4*.
So far have picked up one retro unit where we want to go - a ski week in Avon. One difficulty in picking retro units where we want to go is that we live 2 miles from SDO and 4 miles from WKV. Although we could always use in town weeks for kids to stay, or for us to come back to Scottsdale when it's not our primary residence.
So far have picked up one retro unit where we want to go - a ski week in Avon. One difficulty in picking retro units where we want to go is that we live 2 miles from SDO and 4 miles from WKV. Although we could always use in town weeks for kids to stay, or for us to come back to Scottsdale when it's not our primary residence.
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I disagree on the StarPoint incentives offers and rep control. In talking with sales reps for current owners (who are different than the reps for new owners) they have some leeway on how many StarPoints they can offer to sweeten the deal. There may be some "cost" to the rep for the number of Points they give, but they can offer different amounts if they want to to close the sale. I have never heard of the number of Points changing after an initial offer -- it's the initial amount that can be different.
Fredm
TUG Member
Queue up the Theme From Mission Impossible (hit it Lalo!).
Good afternoon, Mr. Phelps. A disagreement has arisen on the TUG Starwood forum. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to penetrate the Starwood sales force, obtain the secret table of sales incentives, and safely return with differing incentive offers to purchase a specific Starwood timeshare.
As always, should you or any of your I.M. Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.
This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck.
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Fredm
TUG Member
OK, OK. Just having fun with my last post. Well, sort of.
Starwood may, in a particular period, have special incentives for existing owners. But, they will be uniform. Just as incentives may change and be uniform, from time to time, on new owner sales.
Sales reps do not have the ability to "buy" points to close a deal. They may have the ability to offer an existing owner a "special deal", but the deal will be the same for every existing owner. The rest is sales speak, IMO.
It really is easy to test. Just go do what the OP wants to try. Get different proposals from different sales reps. Same buyer, same timeshare, same time frame.
The first time this is successful will be a sad day for Starwood on several fronts.
Sales reps and team leaders (closers) are not only paid by commission, they compete for bonus based on sales volume (that can be larger than the commissions). The playing field has to be level. If it isn't, the sales force will revolt. Imagine a sales exec who lost a sale to a fellow sales rep because they were able to offer the same buyer a more attractive deal? It would be chaos.
Also, if prospective buyers found out that they could "shop" the same purchase, Starwood's marketing cost would escalate, and sales rep productivity/closing stats would plummet. A death kneel for a branded sales organization. Imagine again the customer issues that would spring from such a successful "shopping". Two owners chatting at the pool; both purchased the same thing on different terms in the same day?
Maintaining uniformity is very much self-serving.
Having said all this I, too, would be very interested if an actual buyer comes here and credibly reports that they were able to shop a different timeshare deal with Starwood.
There can be a first time for everything. Having been around this industry for many years, it would be the first I will have heard it.
Starwood may, in a particular period, have special incentives for existing owners. But, they will be uniform. Just as incentives may change and be uniform, from time to time, on new owner sales.
Sales reps do not have the ability to "buy" points to close a deal. They may have the ability to offer an existing owner a "special deal", but the deal will be the same for every existing owner. The rest is sales speak, IMO.
It really is easy to test. Just go do what the OP wants to try. Get different proposals from different sales reps. Same buyer, same timeshare, same time frame.
The first time this is successful will be a sad day for Starwood on several fronts.
Sales reps and team leaders (closers) are not only paid by commission, they compete for bonus based on sales volume (that can be larger than the commissions). The playing field has to be level. If it isn't, the sales force will revolt. Imagine a sales exec who lost a sale to a fellow sales rep because they were able to offer the same buyer a more attractive deal? It would be chaos.
Also, if prospective buyers found out that they could "shop" the same purchase, Starwood's marketing cost would escalate, and sales rep productivity/closing stats would plummet. A death kneel for a branded sales organization. Imagine again the customer issues that would spring from such a successful "shopping". Two owners chatting at the pool; both purchased the same thing on different terms in the same day?
Maintaining uniformity is very much self-serving.
Having said all this I, too, would be very interested if an actual buyer comes here and credibly reports that they were able to shop a different timeshare deal with Starwood.
There can be a first time for everything. Having been around this industry for many years, it would be the first I will have heard it.
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