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Some information on Royal Aloha Vacation Club (RAVC)

Ddee555

TUG Member
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
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Location
Southern California
Resorts Owned
Carlsbad Inn; San Clemente Cove, Coronado Beach Resort; Gaslamp Plaza Suites; Royal Aloha Vacation Club (RAVC)
I am doing this post, because I have enjoyed being an owner of a 1-bedroom interval in Royal Aloha Vacation Club for over 10 years and not much is known about the club and its benefits. So, I am writing to help people to consider becoming a RAVC owner.

http://www.ravc.com

Currently, there are over 7,000 members and many members own multiple intervals (1-bedroom and 2-bedrooms). RAVC is member-owned and member-managed. About 70% of owners use or internally bank their intervals each year with RAVC and the remaining 30% exchange their intervals through outside exchange companies. RAVC is affiliated with RCI, Interval International, and DAE. You can also exchange RAVC with the independent exchange companies, such as Trading Places International, Hawaii Timeshare Exchange, Platinum Interchange, etc.

RAVC owns units in eight locations--three of them in Hawaii. Hawaii represents about 50% of the units and they are located at: Waikiki (Oahu), Kihei (Maui), and Kailua-Kona (Big Island). The remaining locations are: Lake Tahoe (Stateline, Nevada), Chandler (near Phoenix, Arizona), Branson (Missouri), Otter Crest (Otter Rock, Oregon coast), and Nueva Andalucia (Marbella, Costa de Sol, Spain).

RAVC members own a specific type (1 or 2 bedroom interval), but not a specific location or time (all intervals are floating throughout the year). RAVC members are entitled to vacation at any of its eight locations every year with very minimal fees (there is a $35-$45 energy charge per week of occupancy at every location and at the Hawaii locations there is a weekly tax $39-$49 and other weekly fees at Maui (HOA fee $30) and Waikiki parking $55). There is also an additional weekly surcharge if you want to vacation the last three weeks of the year (Christmas and New Years).

As of 2019, the annual dues are very reasonable and budget-minded, especially, for a mostly Hawaii-based club. It is $724 for a 1-bedroom interval and $880 for a 2-bedroom interval. The units are all quite large, even the Waikiki units, which adequately fit 4 and 6 people depending on unit size, and I believe that every unit has a washer/dryer, dvd player, and free Wifi. Most units have been (or are in the process of being) remodeled and refurbished according to RAVC's 10 year plan (RAVC uses reserve funds and does not have special assessments).

RAVC units are for the most part "no frills"--meaning most locations are simply condos in apartment complexes with no planned onsite activities. So, if you go to the Hawaii locations, it is up to you to plan your activities as they are not located on luxury resorts with luaus and hula lessons, etc. But, every place does have at least a swimming pool to enjoy and all the locations have interesting things to do and see in the area depending on what you like.

Meanwhile, the unique feature about the club is that you can internally bank your weeks for up to 3 years, so you can save them up to take longer vacations at the RAVC locations. So, depending on how you use your weeks, you can potentially save your weeks for up to 5 years using the internal banking system and an outside exchange company. Within the club, you can reserve Hawaii weeks up to two years in advance and other locations up to one year in advance. There is an online reservation system that owners can use and it is very user-friendly. It has been my experience that it is not hard to reserve a Hawaii week two years in advance. However, you can only have one Hawaii reservation outstanding at a time per interval (this keeps people from monopolizing all the Hawaii weeks every year).

RAVC is a very fiscally-sound club. Several years ago, members voted to sell off all the Acapulco, Mexico units. Half the money has been placed in reserves and the rest has been used to purchase a few more units at Otter Crest (Oregon coast), to create the new website and online reservation system, and to remodel several of the Waikiki units.

Right now, RAVC is in the process of "right-sizing"--selling off units in less demand areas (Lake Tahoe, Chandler (Arizona), Branson, and Spain) as there are less members today due to a variety of reasons. RAVC is "rich" in its real estate holdings, due to its units in Hawaii and elsewhere. In particular, the Spanish units are very desirable and I believe as some of them are sold off, this will put the club in an even better financial state. I know that the money from "right-sizing" will be used to acquire even more units at Otter Crest (Oregon coast) and to add to the reserve fund, etc.

Also, RAVC would love to buy more units in Hawaii, but mainly due to existing condo HOAs and other regulations, RAVC is unable to do so. But, if the situation ever becomes favorable, RAVC will add more Hawaii units, which are the most popular locations for owners.

RAVC also has a direct exchange program for owners. It costs $135 for the exchange fee and use of your RAVC week. These direct exchange opportunities were created to replace locations that RAVC no longer had a presence at (such as Las Vegas and Acapulco, Mexico) and/or because of frequent owner requests. They are available at the following locations:

* Palm Springs, California (VI Oasis)
* Las Vegas, Nevada (Tahiti Village, Tahiti Resort, and Club de Soleil)
* Clermont (Orlando), Florida (Summer Bay Resort)
* Cancun, Mexico (WIVC Coral Mar)
* Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (WIVC Conchas Chinas)
* Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (VI at Rosedale on Robson)

Finally, here are some insider tips:

--All the 2-bedroom units in Waikiki are located in the Aloha Towers (Aloha and Ewa). The Sky Tower only has 1-bedroom units.

--Some RAVC locations have 3-bedroom units. Specifically, Kona and Lake Tahoe. Although they are normally given to owners, as an exchanger it does not hurt to ask (try 60 days within check-in).

--If you exchange into a 1-bedroom unit at the Branson location, you will receive a 2-bedroom unit, because RAVC only owns 2-bedrooms in Branson. So, no upgrade fee for owners or exchangers.

--This tip might be helpful for owners who have already an outstanding RAVC Hawaii reservation and want to vacation in Hawaii every year instead of every other year, etc. I suggest that you use Hawaii Timeshare Exchange (HTSE) or Trading Places International as your exchange company for your non-Hawaii RAVC reservation, because they have good availability for the island of Kauai, Maui, and other resorts in Hawaii that are comparable to RAVC units. You do not need to worry about like-for-like-exchanges and trading power.
 

JohnPaul

TUG Review Crew: Elite
TUG Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
1,649
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323
Location
Sacramento, CA
Resorts Owned
Vacation Internationale, HGVC - NYC, Worldmark, Shell Vacations, Sedona Pines, RCI Points, Starwood (Avon, CO)
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to post all of this information. Many of the smaller organizations don't get much posting.

You provided a wealth of information and made people aware of more options.
 

carmena79

TUG Member
Joined
Mar 23, 2014
Messages
104
Reaction score
36
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138
Location
northern nevada
Resorts Owned
Hawaiian Princess Hawaiian Sun Holidays Vacations Internationale
I just bought ravc . I'm trying to find out what check in days they have. Are they the same for all their resorts?
 
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