SDO and control over II trades

[Politico]

I am about to own a 2BR SVV Plat. And I am considering purchasing at resale an SDO 1BR Premium Plat EOY that floats 1-21 and 50-52. I'm purchasing the SDO unit strictly for II trades purposes (I want international locations every other year).

My questions is about SDO as an II trader. How will my weeks be treated when they are deposited into II. Since it's a floating week, will Starwood decide which week gets deposited with II? A Starwood rep. advised me that even though this unit would not be part of SVN (since it's voluntary and bought on resale), I would still need to call Starwood to determine which week is banked with II and that week could be any week from any of Starwood's properties (even SBP silver). I find that hard to believe How, if the SDO unit is not part of SVN, could SVN determine what week is banked with II?

Does anyone have any experience executing this type of trade? SKAth, seems like she might. Also, is SDO a good II trader in general and as compared to an equivalent unit at SVV.

I've reviewed the thread link below. But, I don't think it answers my specific concern about floating weeks that are not part of SVN. Thanks in advance.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76105&highlight=ii+trade

 

[James1975NY]

I am about to own a 2BR SVV Plat. And I am considering purchasing at resale an SDO 1BR Premium Plat EOY that floats 1-21 and 50-52. I'm purchasing the SDO unit strictly for II trades purposes (I want international locations every other year).

My questions is about SDO as an II trader. How will my weeks be treated when they are deposited into II. Since it's a floating week, will Starwood decide which week gets deposited with II? A Starwood rep. advised me that even though this unit would not be part of SVN (since it's voluntary and bought on resale), I would still need to call Starwood to determine which week is banked with II and that week could be any week from any of Starwood's properties (even SBP silver). I find that hard to believe How, if the SDO unit is not part of SVN, could SVN determine what week is banked with II?

Does anyone have any experience executing this type of trade? SKAth, seems like she might. Also, is SDO a good II trader in general and as compared to an equivalent unit at SVV.

I've reviewed the thread link below. But, I don't think it answers my specific concern about floating weeks that are not part of SVN. Thanks in advance.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=76105&highlight=ii+trade

As long as you are depositing in advance, you will not have a problem getting a true SDO week into your II account. I would imagine that if you are trying to travel internationally with this week, you would be planning in advance anyway. Lets say for example that you are depositing a 2010 week for trade. Call in January of 2009 and deposit it.....thats the purpose of owning this week anyway right?

I would not worry.

 

[LisaRex]

Acc. to other Tuggers, you will probably meet with resistance. They will probably tell you that the Starwood II team will choose the week to deposit despite the fact that you don't belong to SVN, and in fact as a resale owner you can't even opt in if you wanted to. Contractually speaking, they don't really have a leg to stand on because...they don't have a contract with you.

So be prepared to argue. Be prepared to be put on hold while the poor CSR speaks to a supervisor. Ultimately you should win the argument if you're persistent, but it may not go smoothly. Unless and until someone decides to sue them for attempting to impose their will on non-SVN owners, be prepared for a hassle.

 

[DeniseM]

Welcome to TUG!

SDO is a good II trader because of the 3 day priority for other Starwood resorts on II's website. This 3 day priority does not exist for on-going requests. However, since Starwood has few international timeshares, you won't be able to take full advantage of that. Starwood does have Westin St. John, Harborside, and Lagunamar (Cancun.) But the first two are unlikely to be deposited to II. Several Tuggers did get exchanges into Lagunamar on II within the last 6 mos. For all the details, see the article listed under Exchanging, in the Owner Resources sticky at the top of the page.

I also recommend that you read the Starwood FAQ at the top of the board for lots of info. about how Starwood works.

You might also want to look at the ebay sales database in the Owner Resources sticky to see what other owners have paid for SDO.

 

[jerseygirl]

..... Lets say for example that you are depositing a 2010 week for trade. Call in January of 2009 and deposit it.....thats the purpose of owning this week anyway right?

I would not worry.

Actually, that's not the best advice. If you call in January 2009, you can only book January 2010 (per the 12 months in advance rule), which would only get you a week with moderate/average demand. You would be far better off to book and deposit a March week.

 

[Politico]

Acc. to other Tuggers, you will probably meet with resistance. They will probably tell you that the Starwood II team will choose the week to deposit despite the fact that you don't belong to SVN, and in fact as a resale owner you can't even opt in if you wanted to. Contractually speaking, they don't really have a leg to stand on because...they don't have a contract with you.

So be prepared to argue. Be prepared to be put on hold while the poor CSR speaks to a supervisor. Ultimately you should win the argument if you're persistent, but it may not go smoothly. Unless and until someone decides to sue them for attempting to impose their will on non-SVN owners, be prepared for a hassle.

This seems absurd that an SDO owner would have to go through that hassle each time they attempt the II trade, when it seems like Starwood's practice doesn't have a leg to stand on. Of course, I don't have the funds to hire a lawyer and challenge them to end the practice once and for all.

 

[Politico]

Actually, that's not the best advice. If you call in January 2009, you can only book January 2010 (per the 12 months in advance rule), which would only get you a week with moderate/average demand. You would be far better off to book and deposit a March week.

Once I booked the week, would starwood be obligated to deposit that week into my II account?

 

[DeniseM]

I would not worry.

Jim - I'm curious about why you would post this. Resale owners consistently have problems when depositing their resale weeks. Owner Services seems to be all over the place regarding this policy.

 

[DeniseM]

Once I booked the week, would starwood be obligated to deposit that week into my II account?

In theory, yes, but in practice you will most likely have to insist on your right to deposit they week of your choice. Owner Services is very inconsistent about this policy.

 

[jerseygirl]

Agree with Denise's comments above. However, after YEARS of problems, I recently successfully deposited a reserved week -- online, no less, which means I didn't even have to talk to Starwood, let alone beg or whine! :whoopie: This was a first, and gives me hope that the legal department has finally passed the word to the reps that they must allow owners of non-SVN weeks to reserve and deposit at their discretion. (I think we have a Tugger, who wishes to remain anonymous, to thank for his persistence and success.) My attorney was all lined up to fight the fight for me this year -- and he's quite disappointed to not have the chance. I told him not to worry, Starwood will find another way to mess with us soon!

 

[GrayFal]

Agree with Denise's comments above. However, after YEARS of problems, I recently successfully deposited a reserved week -- online, no less, which means I didn't even have to talk to Starwood, let alone beg or whine! :whoopie: This was a first, and gives me hope that the legal department has finally passed the word to the reps that they must allow owners of non-SVN weeks to reserve and deposit at their discretion. (I think we have a TUGer, who wishes to remain anonymous, to thank for his persistence and success.) My attorney was all lined up to fight the fight for me this year -- and he's quite disappointed to not have the chance. I told him not to worry, Starwood will find another way to mess with us soon!

I also deposit my reserved weeks online....without difficulty.

1. Call Starwood and reserve a prime week (12 months out is best)
2. Write down the reservation # and hang up the phone.
3. Log into your non Starwood II account and deposit the week (you need the resie number I think and the check-in date) - II takes care of confirming the information with Starwood.

Done

And thanks to all the TUGgers who fought the good fight to make this happen so easily

Okay....Here it is.....and I didn't need a resie number to enter into the II site but I DO need it for my records as I did make the reservation.

Deposit Complete
Sheraton Broadway Plantation · STW
FLOAT, 1 bedroom, Sleeps 4
Deposit Number: XXXXXXXX
Check-In Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009
Check-Out Date: Sunday, July 05, 2009
Deposit Expiration Date: Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Deposit Type: Deposit -- offers you the flexibility of up to a three-year travel window. You can request an exchange week from one year before to two years after the date the home week begins and Interval International has immediate use of this week. You will have until the expiration date of your Deposit to travel.

And on the exchange page....

Jun 28 2009 - Jul 05 2009
Week 26 1BED 1 4 14 Unredeemed DepositThis unit has been deposited and is available to exchange immediately or to place an exchange request.
Expires: 05 July 2011
Exchange#: XXXXXXXXX

 

[DeniseM]

JerseyGirl and GrayFal - that's great news!

Question - have either of you tried to exchange these weeks yet, because I understand that sometimes that's when the snafu shows up.

 

[BLUE AYES]

I also deposited my reserved March week at SDO online with no problem (about 1 month ago), have not tried to trade yet.

 

[GrayFal]

JerseyGirl and GrayFal - that's great news!

Question - have either of you tried to exchange these weeks yet, because I understand that sometimes that's when the snafu shows up.

Yes, I have Traded 2 weeks deposited in this manner.
When ANY resort is deposited online, II verifies with the resort/group that the week is eligible for deposit.

 

[jerseygirl]

JerseyGirl and GrayFal - that's great news!

Question - have either of you tried to exchange these weeks yet, because I understand that sometimes that's when the snafu shows up.

I did an instant exchange with one of mine Denise -- found something I wanted, and hit the "exchange" key. I did not need to put my reservation number in. I went immediately to mystarcentral and pre-paid my maint fee so that wouldn't hold things up. The trade was confirmed within 48 hours. I've tried this many times in the past and there was always a snafu ... the old, "we don't deposit these summer weeks" story, which of course was not true (I've saved screen shots and recorded the date/time when summer BP weeks have been available at II). Not quite ready to destroy my proof yet, but I'm very happy with this development.

 

[Politico]

This all sounds like great news!

 

[GrayFal]

Deposit Complete
Sheraton Broadway Plantation · STW
FLOAT, 1 bedroom, Sleeps 4
Deposit Number: XXXXXXXX
Check-In Date: Sunday, June 28, 2009
Check-Out Date: Sunday, July 05, 2009
Deposit Expiration Date: Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Deposit Type: Deposit -- offers you the flexibility of up to a three-year travel window. You can request an exchange week from one year before to two years after the date the home week begins and Interval International has immediate use of this week. You will have until the expiration date of your Deposit to travel.

And on the exchange page....

Jun 28 2009 - Jul 05 2009
Week 26 unit 1BED 1 4 14
Unredeemed DepositThis unit has been deposited and is available to exchange immediately or to place an exchange request.
Expires: 05 July 2011
Exchange#: XXXXXXXXX

Just an update - now on my exchange screen on II it says....

Jun 28 2009 - Jul 05 2009
Week 26 unit 0314 1 4 14
Unredeemed DepositThis unit has been deposited and is available to exchange immediately or to place an exchange request.
Expires: 05 July 2011
Exchange#: XXXXXXXXX

What this indicates is that II contacted Starwood and Starwood gave them the unit number of my confirmation......
So I am all set.

 

[dr.debs]

Excellent news!!!

 

[LisaRex]

Thanks to everyone who fought to educate the CSRs about voluntary property trades in II. Sounds like it's working well now.

 

[grgs]

Just to follow up--today I tried to deposit my non-SVN SDO week online in Interval using the date I have on my reservation (April 4 check-in). The deposit would not go through, and I got the following message:

"The unit information submitted is not found in our records. Please contact your home resort."

I called Starwood, and they said they would request the April 4 date (or another spring break week) be deposited on my behalf. We'll see.

I'm bummed given the success others had with online depositing. I hope they haven't changed things again. Maybe there's a problem with my particular unit?

Glorian

 

[SDKath]

I got the same message a week ago too. Did they close this pleasant "loophole" for us already????

UGH. Katherine

 

[grgs]

Well, they deposited a Mar. 1 week for me. Not my April 4 week, but a spring week nonetheless, so I guess it's good.

Glorian

 

[DeniseM]

March may be a better trader - Spring Training is in March.

 

[grgs]

March may be a better trader - Spring Training is in March.

Yes, I think you're right. This may well be better than my original reservation.

Glorian

 

[Politico]

Legally, I don't understand how starwood could do this. If I own at SDO and don't belong to to SVN, in fact as a resale owner I can't even opt in if I wanted to, how can starwood control the week that is deposited in II?