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Star points vs star options

Rule 1: SOs cannot be rented (even at loss)
Rule 2: See Rule 1

Like many aspects in TSing - important to know rules going in. This has always been the case with no renting of SOs - enforcement is more recent.

For many - it is about taking away SO availability at premium resorts.

I rent a few of my VOIs - these are all Home Resort rentals that I paid a hefty premium to own.


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DavidnRobin said:
Rule 1: SOs cannot be rented (even at loss)
Rule 2: See Rule 1

Like many aspects in TSing - important to know rules going in. This has always been the case with no renting of SOs - enforcement is more recent.

For many - it is about taking away SO availability at premium resorts.

I rent a few of my VOIs - these are all Home Resort rentals that I paid a hefty premium to own.


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Click to expand...

Rule 1: Never pointed out in over 15 sales presentations/owners updates I've attended
Rule 2: See Rule 1

I'll be at Nanea next week (SO reservation made at the 3 month mark) so will listen very carefully and ask some very leading questions about SO usage to see what answers they give.

Still not sure how individuals making SO reservations to give (or sell) to their friends/family/neighbors takes away from SO availability at premium resorts because the prime weeks/units there will always be taken by the owners in the 12-8 month window (and released before/around the 90 day window if they fail to rent them out to cover their MFs and/or make a profit). All 3 Maui resorts are still wide open for late April and all May next year to anyone in the network to book today if they want to.
 
I believe the rules are intended to avoid creating arbitrage for professional renters in favor of property owners who are paying full boat to use their property. If you have a situation that is infrequent or a one-off that should not be a problem.

Consider this: If you are a WKORV OF owner, lock off your unit and want to book the studio during the following week to make a 2 week vacation, does that become a Staroption trade? Do you get any preference to use it OF at WKORV during that second week?

What about preference if you want to use it later in the year? Given the premium paid for OF and WKORV, I hope there would be preference over Vistana property traders and particularly professional renting companies who are arbitraging on a broad scale.
 
For that second week, you would still be using your ownership to book, as long as you are within the 8-12 month window. I've done this in the past. Actually, I booked both weeks at the same time, since I waited to book at 12 months out from the second week. CJ
 
mauitraveler said:
For that second week, you would still be using your ownership to book, as long as you are within the 8-12 month window. I've done this in the past. Actually, I booked both weeks at the same time, since I waited to book at 12 months out from the second week. CJ
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Thank you. As a prospective owner, that is comforting to know. What happens if you book OF at 12 months for the 1 BDRM side for whale season in Feb and you lock off your studio and want to book it 12 months out for the following July? Does the studio still get preferential OF booking because it is 12 months out from the reservation?
 
CalGalTraveler said:
Thank you. As a prospective owner, that is comforting to know. What happens if you book OF at 12 months for the 1 BDRM side for whale season in Feb and you lock off your studio and want to book it 12 months out for the following July? Does the studio still get preferential OF booking because it is 12 months out from the reservation?
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Timestamp generally rules - this is what is often told to me and appears to be the case based on my experiences.

You can split 1Bd and studio, but best to reserve the minute the reservation window opens whether at 12 months for Home Resort, or 8 months for SOs.

Temper your expectation to get PrezDay week (or other high demand weeks) - that takes timing and luck that you refreshed the browser at the right time.


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@EnglishmanAbroad - I am not going to respond - waste of time. Sorry if this does not sit well with you - contact VSE/VSN and complain- maybe they can explain better the rules and reasoning.

Do your research.

btw - it was partly me who got VSE/VSN to put this rule on the reservation confirmation - so you can thank me for that. If you make a cohesive argument with VSE/VSN - they will listen.
Try Suzanne Clark - SVP of Owner Services.


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DavidnRobin said:
Timestamp generally rules - this is what is often told to me and appears to be the case based on my experiences.

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Click to expand...

Thanks. I am still confused as to what constitutes a 12 month owner trade in a lock-off situation and how timestamps work.

Is the 12 month owner preference tied to each side of the unit? or when the first owner reservation is made?

So if the timestamp on the 1 BDRM in Feb is at 12 months. Do I get another timestamp for reserving the studio side in July at 12 months as an owner reservation? or does the studio convert to SO because the 12 to 8 month window locked with the first reservation of the 1 Bedroom and I must wait until the 8 month staroption window opens in November to reserve the studio for the following July?
 
DavidnRobin said:
@EnglishmanAbroad - I am not going to respond - waste of time. Sorry if this does not sit well with you - contact VSE/VSN and complain- maybe they can explain better the rules and reasoning.

Do your research.

btw - it was partly me who got VSE/VSN to put this rule on the reservation confirmation - so you can thank me for that. If you make a cohesive argument with VSE/VSN - they will listen.
Try Suzanne Clark - SVP of Owner Services.


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Actually did my research based upon my SO reservation at Nanea next week as you suggested and found out 2 things:-

1. The reservation information displayed online is wrong as it states it's a Home Resort Reservation which is news to me as I never bought anything at Nanea.
2. Requested a confirmation email and the details are correct and as you say contains the following:-

Rental of units reserved using StarOptions® (other than a vacation period at your Home Resort) is prohibited. Violation may result in the suspension of an Owner’s right to reserve within the Vistana Signature Network™ until compliant.

So I'm happy because, if needed, as long as I'm not renting it out and I'm willing to pay the fee they introduced in that communications debacle at the beginning of the year to change the guest name then I'm covered.
 
Did the owners update today and toured Nanea. They said we could rent out any reservation we made at our home resort which they wanted to be Nanea. Of course we declined their offer, but it was the first time in an owners update that they mentioned renting.
 
CalGalTraveler said:
Thanks. I am still confused as to what constitutes a 12 month owner trade in a lock-off situation and how timestamps work.

Is the 12 month owner preference tied to each side of the unit? or when the first owner reservation is made?

So if the timestamp on the 1 BDRM in Feb is at 12 months. Do I get another timestamp for reserving the studio side in July at 12 months as an owner reservation? or does the studio convert to SO because the 12 to 8 month window locked with the first reservation of the 1 Bedroom and I must wait until the 8 month staroption window opens in November to reserve the studio for the following July?
Click to expand...

When you split your two bedroom lock-off and reserve separate dates - the reservation rules apply to each side separately. The 1st reservation has no impact on the 2nd reservation. The rules are simply based on the date of check-in for each, separate reservation:

ALL reservations made 12-8 mos. before check-in are home resort reservations. The earliest you can make a home resort reservation is 12 mos. before check-in at midnight eastern.

For example - tonight (Sept. 27) at midnight eastern, you can reserve Friday, Sept. 28, 2018.

The timestamp indicates how early or late you made your reservation. The timestamp is not on your reservation, and you won't know what it is - it's only in the reservation system. But it's pretty simple - the earlier you make your reservation, the lower your timestamp number will be.

ALL reservations made 8-0 mos. before check-in are Staroption reservations - even at your home resort.
 
Thank you for clarifying @DeniseM. What happens to your second half of your unit if you don't book it by the end of the year?
 
If you don't reserve it, convert it to Starpoints, roll the Staroptions over to the next year, or deposit it with an exchange company, it simply expires and you lose it.
 
What if I own a voluntary resort bought resale that does not have staroptions, like SDO, and make a reservation 8-0 months out, is it a home resort reservation or a staroptions reservation? Can I rent it out?
 
Good question - my explanation above was about Mandatory/Staroption deeds.

With a voluntary resort, all reservations are home resort reservations, regardless of when you make them. A voluntary deed does not have Staroptions, so you can't make Staroption reservations.

However, if you own a specific season, you are limited to making a reservation in that season, and it's best to make it as early as possible (12 mos. out.)

You are allowed to rent a reservation you make at your voluntary resort - you own it.
 
DeniseM said:
If you don't reserve it, convert it to Starpoints, roll the Staroptions over to the next year, or deposit it with an exchange company, it simply expires and you lose it.
Click to expand...
Conversion to Starpoints is between Oct 1 of prior year to Mar 31 of current use year, one cannot wait until the end of the use year to do so.
 
VacationForever said:
Conversion to Starpoints is between Oct 1 of prior year to Mar 31 of current use year, one cannot wait until the end of the use year to do so.
Click to expand...

Thanks all for clarifying. Good to know I would keep my OF preference as long as it is 12 months reservation even if the lock-off is split from the other side. I would have until Mar 31 (or June 30?) of the use year to convert to Star Options - that is a great benefit!

Without converting to staroptions do the units have to be used in the use year? For example, can I book 12 months out in February of the use year for Feb the following year? Is that answer any different with an EOY unit?
 
You don't actually convert to Staroptions. You can use Staroptions for the entire year - you just make a reservation using the Staroptions and it happens automatically.

There is a deadline to roll Staroptions over to the next year, and for a non-Elite owner, it's July 1.

If you don't roll the Staroptions over to the next year, you have to use your week during that year, or it expires. "Use" may include depositing it with II, or converting it to Starpoints, or making a home resort reservation, or making a Staroption reservation, or rolling the Staroptions over to the next year.

[For example, can I book 12 months out in February of the use year for Feb the following year?]

No - Staroption reservations cannot be made 12 months out - Staroption reservations start 8 mos. out from check-in. To make a 2018 Staroption reservation, you have to roll 2017 Staroptions over to 2018.

However, in this scenario, you can make a home resort reservation at 12 mos., using the 2018 usage.
 
DavidnRobin said:
Is it? Only if you intend to buy from VSE - which is questionable under most circumstances. IMO


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Really? I always thought the Explorer package was the cheap package they offer back to owners to revisit the resort and the ones shared with potential new owners.

This was at lagunamar.

The new owner one was
4 nights stay in studio for $419.

They offered us
4 night stay studio for 399
4 night 1bd for $449
5 night studio $449
5 night 1 bedroom $499.
 
Yes, but I think that you still save more by not buying from the developer. Even with the enticing pricing of the explorer package.
 
momofthreeplusone said:
Yes, but I think that you still save more by not buying from the developer. Even with the enticing pricing of the explorer package.
Click to expand...
You can still take the explorer package and not buy. It is an incredible deal for a vacation for the added cost of 90 min of your time for a presentation. We did the 5 day one at Lagunamar, then bought resale at Kierland. Does anyone know how often these come your way? Is it yearly? If you go to an owner's update does that cancel the possibility of these offers?
 
Once you become an owner, I don't think you are eligible for this offer.
 
DeniseM said:
Once you become an owner, I don't think you are eligible for this offer.
Click to expand...
I have heard of owner's being offered it but it may just be when they are introducing a new program such as the Mexico one.
 
I have been an owner since pre-WKORV, and I don't get these offers, but perhaps others do.
 
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