Starwood- Options/Points ?

[beachluvin22]

I've been reading, reading and doing more reading. So I've learned alot but still have alot of confusion. One thing I've taken away is that it's a good idea to buy where you would want to go (completely logical)

So with that I've been reading about the Marriott Vacation Club (which if we bought resale doesn't look like something we would be a part of) but I guess I just had a question regarding the Starwood Vacation Network. It looks like if you bought a resale from 5 of the 'mandatory' resorts you would have the starwoodoptions- I guess I don't exactly understand the difference between the SPG and the starwood options. Say we bought at the Vistana Village (Key West) and we wanted to do a trade- Is there any advantage to having the Starwood options points ? Are you able to do more of a direct exchange using this vs. going through Interval ? We would seriously consider the Vistana Village (Orlando or Key West) Would these be good traders ? We would be looking at a 2 bd lockoff. Or would it be more cost effective (if we're looking for a trade perspective) to go with Sheraton Desert Oasis or Sheraton Broadway Plantation ? We have not been to AZ and coming from MN I do prefer beach locations so honestly the Sheraton Desert Oasis would be one that we would mostly want to trade. If it came to using the home resort the Myrtle Beach & FL locations would be fine 'home' locations for us

Thanks for any thoughts and inputs- Sorry so long!

 

[DeniseM]

I've been reading, reading and doing more reading. So I've learned alot but still have alot of confusion. One thing I've taken away is that it's a good idea to buy where you would want to go (completely logical)

So with that I've been reading about the Marriott Vacation Club (which if we bought resale doesn't look like something we would be a part of) but I guess I just had a question regarding the Starwood Vacation Network. It looks like if you bought a resale from 5 of the 'mandatory' resorts you would have the starwoodoptions- I guess I don't exactly understand the difference between the SPG and the starwood options.

Starpoints = Starwood HOTEL points - NO resale has Starpoints - you must buy from the developer for Starpoints.

Staroptions = the trading value of your TIMESHARE in the Starwood Vacation Network

Say we bought at the Vistana Village (Key West) and we wanted to do a trade- Is there any advantage to having the Starwood options points ?

There are 2 kinds of trading:
-Staroption trading through the Starwood Vacation Network
-Depositing a week and trading with Interval International or RCI (Staroptions not involved in any way)

They are completely different and have different strategies.

Are you able to do more of a direct exchange using this vs. going through Interval ?

I am not sure what you mean by direct exchange, but with a SVN Staroption trade you call Starwood, and if the trade you want is available, AND if you own enough Staroptions for the trade, you make the Staroption exchange right then and there on the phone. There is no ongoing request or searching - Starwood has no online reservation/exchanging function.

We would seriously consider the Vistana Village (Orlando or Key West) Would these be good traders ?

No - Florida is overbuilt, and has more supply than demand so Florida resorts do not have strong trading power.

They also have poor Staroption/maintenance fee ratios (low Staroptions - high maintenance fees.)

We would be looking at a 2 bd lockoff. Or would it be more cost effective (if we're looking for a trade perspective) to go with Sheraton Desert Oasis or Sheraton Broadway Plantation ?

For a pure trader, SDO has lower maintenance fees, and higher trading value in II, than SBP, but SBP is close, and may be a better option for people on the East Coast.

For lots more details, see the Starwood FAQ at the top of the forum.

 

[grgs]

We have not been to AZ and coming from MN I do prefer beach locations so honestly the Sheraton Desert Oasis would be one that we would mostly want to trade. If it came to using the home resort the Myrtle Beach & FL locations would be fine 'home' locations for us.

If you would be satisfied with Myrtle Beach or Orlando as a home location, I would go with one of those. Of course, Orlando isn't on the beach, so Myrtle Beach may be better for you. Are you interested in traveling every year (EY) or every other year (EOY)? If EY, you might get a Myrtle Beach EOY and a mandatory Orlando unit EOY.

Glorian

 

[beachluvin22]

Are you more likely to get a trade using the staroption vs. going through II? I guess I'm trying to determine if it would be worth it to get one of the starwood units that has the staroptions or not? Does someone have to 'deposit' a week to use the staroptions ? I like the fact that you could be confirmed right away vs. having to wait. We are probably looking at getting a 2 or 3 bedroom lockoff-some years we would use it to bring extended family, split it into 2 weeks or if we are trying to get a hard trade(Maui) i would even give up to a studio (we are a family of 3). As a home resort I would use the vistana village in Orlando/Key West and we would also be ok with a myrtle beach location but if the SDO would yield us better trades and there is no benefit to the staroptions we would probably try to find a unit there but we would use this for a trader.
There were a few other resorts I had been looking at that are not starwood- I was looking at the Marriott oceanwatch (Myrtle beach) and the Marriott Fft Lauderdale-any thoughts on either of these as traders? I did read we would not be eligible for the MVC.

 

[DeniseM]

Are you more likely to get a trade using the staroption vs. going through II? I guess I'm trying to determine if it would be worth it to get one of the starwood units that has the staroptions or not? Does someone have to 'deposit' a week to use the staroptions ? I like the fact that you could be confirmed right away vs. having to wait. We are probably looking at getting a 2 or 3 bedroom lockoff-some years we would use it to bring extended family, split it into 2 weeks or if we are trying to get a hard trade(Maui) i would even give up to a studio (we are a family of 3). As a home resort I would use the vistana village in Orlando/Key West and we would also be ok with a myrtle beach location but if the SDO would yield us better trades and there is no benefit to the staroptions we would probably try to find a unit there but we would use this for a trader.
There were a few other resorts I had been looking at that are not starwood- I was looking at the Marriott oceanwatch (Myrtle beach) and the Marriott Fft Lauderdale-any thoughts on either of these as traders? I did read we would not be eligible for the MVC.

It is extremely difficult to get a 3 bdm. through II or Starwood - there aren't very many of them, and there is FAR more demand than supply. Also - it's unlikely that you would have enough Staroptions for a 3 bdm. with a 2 bdm. ownership at SVV.

And yes, someone has to give up there 3 bdm. to Starwood, for it to be available. With II it's even worse because Starwood controls all deposits to II, and I would be amazed if they'd deposit a 3 bdm.

Have you looked at the Staroption chart in Owner Resources at the top of the page? Most 2 bdm. units in Florida will not have enough Staroptions for 2 or 3 bdm. units in other locations - as I said earlier, the Florida timeshares have fewer Staroptions. You must have the Staroptions to be able to make the trade.

Here are the Staroptions for high season Key West:
2 bdm. lock-off: 95,700 SO
2 bdm. 81,000 SO

Here are the Staroptions needed to trade into a 3 bdm. and Hawaii 2 bdm.s (no 3 bdms. there):

Harborside -
3 bdm. - 196,900
2 bdm. lock-off - 148,100
2 bdm. - 129,800

Westin St. John-
3 bdm. - 196,900
2 bdm. - 148,100

All 3 Hawaii Resorts-
2 bdm. - 148,100

Sheraton Steamboat-
3 bdm. - 196,900

Sheraton Vistana Villages-
3 bdm. - 139,700
3 bdm. lock-off - 125,000

In summary:

With both Starwood and II, school holidays are very difficult to trade into.

With II, you can trade into all the Starwood resorts, except WSJ, and Harborside, if you are flexible about when you go.
And in II, a 2 bdm. trades for a 2 bdm. - there are no Staroptions involved.

With the SVN, you will have a better shot at WSJ and Harborside with Staroptions, but a SVV week, won't give you very many Staroptions to trade.

 

[beachluvin22]

Thank you for the info Denise . We would be looking to purchase a 2 bedroom and some years we would require the use of 2 bedrooms-if we brought extended family but a majority of the time it would be just my husband,myself and our son. If we were bringing extended family and needed the use of the bedrooms we would look to book at the home resort or try for a trade in the off season, etc. We would be willing to give up our 2 bedroom and use staroptions to get a studio unit if that makes any sense. If we could get a studio in Maui for the 3 of us using the the staroptions we would be willing to do that. So if we purchased a starwood ts vs. a Marriott and the starwood unit was not part of the SVN program we could not trade into the st John or Atlantis location through II? Any thoughts on the Marriott ts's and their trading power over the starwood options I've listed?

 

[DeniseM]

So if we purchased a starwood ts vs. a Marriott and the starwood unit was not part of the SVN program we could not trade into the st John or Atlantis location through II?

It would be difficult - you would have to be willing to accept any week of the whole year and it would probably be in the fall. School holidays would be nearly impossible. WSJ and Harborside are the 2 most difficult trades in the Starwood system.

Most people feel that if you want to go to WSJ and Harborside on a regular basis, it's best to own there, and to buy exactly the unit and season/week when you want to go.

Any thoughts on the Marriott ts's and their trading power over the starwood options I've listed?

If you are talking about trading into Starwood with Marriott, then your trading power is significantly less. With Starwood you have priority for Starwood to Starwood trades through II. In other words, with II, all Starwood owners would have their trade requests filled before Marriott, or any other owners could trade into a Starwood resort.

If you are talking about Marriott to Marriott trades, you will get more action on the Marriott forum.

 

[bobpark56]

Starwood has no online reservation/exchanging function.

Sure it does...and it has had for quite some time. Just login to www.mystarcentral.com and press the Reservation Request button on the left. I regularly make my reservations this way.

 

[DeniseM]

Sure it does...and it has had for quite some time. Just login to www.mystarcentral.com and press the Reservation Request button on the left. I regularly make my reservations this way.

All you are doing is sending an email which a real person has to read and answer - when they get to it. This is ineffective for a high demand date or a difficult resort like Harborside or WSJ, and it puts you behind everyone that called at 9 a.m. ET.

Starwood has no real-time reservation system like the other hotel based systems do. With the other resorts, you can go online, see what is available, and reserve it instantly.

 

[beachluvin22]

I'm sorry I think I maybe confusing myself or not explaining clearly-I'm still in a little bit of a fog trying to understand everything.

What would the advantages be of purchasing a starwood resort we can enroll in the staroptions? With the internal exchange system with them would we have a better chance getting a trade i.e. Westin Maui vs. using II

If we are thinking for trading power what of these resorts would offer the most- Sheraton Desert Oasis, Sheraton Plantation Beach, Sheraton Vistana Village (Key West/Orlando) Marriott Oceanwatch or Marriott Ft Lauderdale. Are any of these strong traders?

 

[DeniseM]

With II, you can trade into all the Starwood resorts, except WSJ, and Harborside, and school holiday, if you are flexible about when you go.

In II, a 2 bdm. trades for a 2 bdm. - there are no Staroptions involved. In other words - you don't have enough Staroptions for a Maui 2 bdm. through the SVN. But you can trade for a 2 bdm. through II, because with II - you trade by unit size, not by Staroptions.

With the SVN, you will have a better shot at WSJ and Harborside with Staroptions, but a SVV week, won't give you very many Staroptions to trade.

Sheraton Desert Oasis is the strongest of the Starwood II traders that you listed.

I have no idea about Marriott - you can't directly compare Marriott to Starwood because they have completely different systems. If you want to trade into Marriott resorts, you should buy Marriott. If you want to trade into Starwood resorts, you should buy Starwood.

 

[Sea Six]

We would seriously consider the Vistana Village (Orlando or Key West) Would these be good traders ?

Just to clarify - Key West is a construction phase at the Vistana Villages in Orlando. There is no Vistana resort in Key West. The Bella phase at Vistana Villages in Orlando is also a mandatory phase, meaning you get StarOptions with a resale purchase.

 

[beachluvin22]

I have no idea about Marriott - you can't directly compare Marriott to Starwood because they have completely different systems. If you want to trade into Marriott resorts, you should buy Marriott. If you want to trade into Starwood resorts, you should buy Starwood.

As far as this goes I meant not trading Marriott for Marriott. I was just curious if those resorts were strong traders for II-into any of the properties in II-not just other Marriott's-again sorry for the confusion.

Would we be able to use SDO to do a trade for Aruba or would that be close to impossible? I guess I just don't know if we might be better off trying for one of the mandatory resorts-if we we're willing to give up a 2 bedroom and say we get 81,000 points it looks like on the chart we would be able to get a studio unit in Maui- is that a likely exchange with SVN?

 

[jerseygirl]

I have no idea about Marriott - you can't directly compare Marriott to Starwood because they have completely different systems. If you want to trade into Marriott resorts, you should buy Marriott. If you want to trade into Starwood resorts, you should buy Starwood.

As far as this goes I meant not trading Marriott for Marriott. I was just curious if those resorts were strong traders for II-into any of the properties in II-not just other Marriott's-again sorry for the confusion.

Would we be able to use SDO to do a trade for Aruba or would that be close to impossible? I guess I just don't know if we might be better off trying for one of the mandatory resorts-if we we're willing to give up a 2 bedroom and say we get 81,000 points it looks like on the chart we would be able to get a studio unit in Maui- is that a likely exchange with SVN?

The Starwood resorts have very strong trading power for other Starwood resorts. In today's world, the one bedroom (half of a lockoff) can often trade via II for a two bedroom in Hawaii ... So you can essentially get two 2-BR units for depositing a SDO or SBP lockoff (depositing as two separate halves) if you're willing to travel in off season or shoulder season. If you buy a mandatory resort, you can use StarOptions to trade for better weeks (e.g. Prime summer), but you'll have to settle for a smaller unit unless you're willing to spend $10-$14K for a mandatory Westin Kierland Villas that is worth 148100 SOs. If you buy a mandatory SVV, you'd have no problem trading vis Starwood into Maui, but you'll always have to settle for a smaller unit (unless you banked your SOs for a year and used two years worth to secure a 2-BR unit). SVN units definitely have more flexibility, but you either have to pay big bucks for a unit worth at least 148,100 SOs, or "settle" for smaller units. Cheap voluntary weeks offer the opportunity to "trade up," consistently, but you must be willing and able to travel in shoulder or off season.

Marriott works similarly in II .... But seems to be more "demand" driven ... An Orlando unit can trade for Hawaii or Aruba during prime season, but their system is far larger and a stronger week will get that Hawaii or Aruba week before an Orlando week.

Both systems trade well for non branded resorts ... But this is where an Orlando unit falls short. If you want to trade for one of the nicer, non-Marriott resorts in Aruba, for example, the SDO or SBP will have greater trading power than an Orlando week (except for a prime Spring Break or holiday fixed weeks, which are only available in the older phases of SVR).

It sounds more complicated than it is! Bottom line:

A mandatory Starwood week gives you the flexibility of SVN ... But you either have to pay real money or settle for smaller units. And, Harborside and Westin St John are difficult trades unless you buy there.

A voluntary week in either Starwood or Marriott (there's no such thing as mandatory with Marriott - you must buy from the developer to get the internal trading system), is an inexpensive way to trade into other nicer, more desirable Starwood's and Marriotts ... But you have to be willing to travel in shoulder or off season.

There's no magic bullet that gives you the benefits of both strategies. The closest would be to buy a mandatory prime SVV. You can trade via SVN, and accept a smaller unit, when you want to travel during prime season ... And trade via II when size is more important than season. The only thing you give up with this strategy is a slightly higher price (but they're still very cheap). And you won't have super trading power for places like Aruba. You can get to Aruba, but you'll be slightly behind the SDOs and SBPs in line for the best deposits.

 

[beachluvin22]

Thank you Jerseygirl! That really is the info I was after and couldn't seem to phrase my questions correctly. For us it's the balancing act of trying to find a home location that we would want to use but also wanting it to have a good trading power so that we are able to get trades. And being honest AZ is not somewhere I've been and necessarily desire to go (Coming from the frozen tundra of MN I want sun, beach, and ocean) but it seems that we would be able to find a good value in one of the SDO units (as far as trading) We are looking to buy resale for a good amount (less than 5,000) and have decent MF's. I was really unsure about the SVN and didn't know that if it would be possible be able to get a trade using SVN vs. II. In some instances we would have no problem settling for a smaller unit (if trying to trade for Maui it would just be 3 of us)

So it's possible that we may be able to travel during a prime week (spring break) using StarOptions if we're willing to settle for a smaller unit vs. using II ?

"And you won't have super trading power for places like Aruba. You can get to Aruba, but you'll be slightly behind the SDOs and SBPs in line for the best deposits" --- With an SDO unit would we have good trade power for non-branded resorts in Aruba ?

Some of the trade locations we would be looking for would be (Maui-Westin Villas ,Aruba,FL-Key West, Fort Lauderdale) Would an SDO unit gives some trade power for these kind of locations?

 

[DeniseM]

For us it's the balancing act of trying to find a home location that we would want to use but also wanting it to have a good trading power so that we are able to get trades. And being honest AZ is not somewhere I've been and necessarily desire to go (Coming from the frozen tundra of MN I want sun, beach, and ocean) but it seems that we would be able to find a good value in one of the SDO units (as far as trading)

With your goals, I would not worry so much about your home resort. It sounds like you may visit Florida the most often? Since Florida is just about the easiest trade in the world, year round, it will be easy to use a SDO week to trade into Florida - you don't actually have to own there. Holiday weeks like Christmas, New Years, and Easter are readily available in II at the Florida resorts.

You may never visit SDO at all and that's fine - I have never been to half my resorts. Since you are primarily buying a trader, and Florida is an easy exchange, it makes more sense to go for the strongest trader, rather than a home resort in Florida. If you really want an East Coast home resort, then SBP would be a good 2nd choice, but it will have slightly lower trading power. For a II trader, I would not buy at SVV or SVR, unless I bought a true fixed New Years week for high trading power.

Some of the trade locations we would be looking for would be (Maui-Westin Villas, Aruba, FL-Key West, Fort Lauderdale) Would an SDO unit gives some trade power for these kind of locations?

The main reason to buy a Starwood II trader is for the Starwood to Starwood preference in II. Most of these locations are not Starwood locations - so Marriott may be a better choice for you. You will not have as much trading power when trading for non-Starwood resorts. So I think you need to consider if most of your destinations have Marriott resorts, or if most of them have Starwood resorts. Marriott has a lot more resorts than Starwood.

So it's possible that we may be able to travel during a prime week (spring break) using StarOptions if we're willing to settle for a smaller unit vs. using II ?

School holiday weeks are always more difficult because there is more demand than supply. You can probably get a Maui Spring Break exchange through the SVN, but you will need to call at 7:59 a.m. Eastern Time at exactly 8 mos. out. But this is the way I look at it - you can either get a 1 bdm. through the SVN, or, by being more flexible (by putting in a request for the whole summer, rather than just Spring Break) you can get a 2 bdm. through II.

Jerseygirl's suggestion will give you the most flexibility because you can trade it both through II and the SVN, but it won't have as much trading power in II, and your maintenance fees will be higher.

There's no magic bullet that gives you the benefits of both strategies. The closest would be to buy a mandatory prime SVV. You can trade via SVN, and accept a smaller unit, when you want to travel during prime season ... And trade via II when size is more important than season. The only thing you give up with this strategy is a slightly higher price (but they're still very cheap). And you won't have super trading power for places like Aruba. You can get to Aruba, but you'll be slightly behind the SDOs and SBPs in line for the best deposits.

Again - I am not sure the Starwood is right for you, because of the locations you want to travel to. I'd take a good look at Marriott before I decided.

 

[beachluvin22]

I wanted to first say I do really appreciate all of the responses and feel like the with the more answers we've learned alot and feel closer to trying to narrow down the field of options.

Really our dilemna is trying to find a resort that we would be happy with as a 'home' resort in case an exchange is not viable. But if we had a strong trader and we're more than likely able to exchange SDO for a FL location through II then that would probably take the worry out of that issue for me.
The StarOption seems like it might be a valuable thing to have if we we're willing to trade down to a smaller unit and possibly be able to get an exchange during a spring break week- And the option of Starwood priority is appealing through II. The problem I feel we would have with a Marriott is that buying resale we would not be eligible for their MVC and after reading (tons) on their program we would not be purchasing their 'Trust' points as the cost is too high. Also my fear is that because we are not eligible in their internal trading system that possibly the more people that join there would be less Marriott inventory available in II so it may somewhat defeat the purpose of purchasing Marriott.

It's my understanding that Marriott also has a priority system with II similiar to Starwood so if we did purchase Marriott at least the inventory in II we would have a priority over trying to trade Marriot for Marriott- is this correct ? I'm again just worried that their may not be as much inventory through II with their MVC program now.

So if we purchased Starwood and we're trying to trade for Marriott Aruba it would be a difficult trade as we would not have any priority. But is SDO a strong trader for non-branded hotels- just a strong trader in general ? Or would a Marriott (OceanWatch Myrtle Beach, Ft. Lauderdale OceanTower, one of the Orlando Marriotts ) be a stronger trader in II in general ? I do see that the starwood resorts are limited and that there are a lot more Marriott locations but again my worry is that there may not be as many Marriott's in II in the future and we will not be eligible for the MVC. Because if we bought SDO we would at least have the option of the StarOptions and have some Starwood priority in II and with a Marriott purchase we may have a hard time trying to even trade into another Marriott due to the decreased availibility.
Again thanks for all the helpful info!

 

[LisaRex]

So if we purchased Starwood and we're trying to trade for Marriott Aruba it would be a difficult trade as we would not have any priority. But is SDO a strong trader for non-branded hotels- just a strong trader in general ? Or would a Marriott (OceanWatch Myrtle Beach, Ft. Lauderdale OceanTower, one of the Orlando Marriotts ) be a stronger trader in II in general ?

Marriott owners have a 21 day (IIRC) priority in II, so it would be highly unlikely that a non-Marriott owner would pick up a great Marriott location such as Aruba, except possibly in low season.

If you want to exchange to Marriotts in II, I'd buy a strong Marriott trader.

 

[DeniseM]

But is SDO a strong trader for non-branded hotels- just a strong trader in general ? Or would a Marriott (OceanWatch Myrtle Beach, Ft. Lauderdale OceanTower, one of the Orlando Marriotts ) be a stronger trader in II in general ?

The main reason to buy a Starwood trader, is for the Starwood to Starwood priority in II. If you mostly want to trade outside Starwood, then I would explore other options.

With a Starwood trader, you will not get a Marriott trade, until after all Marriott requests have been filled.

For Marriott trades - buy a Marriott trader, but the Marriott forum is a better source of info. for that.

 

[bobpark56]

All you are doing is sending an email which a real person has to read and answer - when they get to it. This is ineffective for a high demand date or a difficult resort like Harborside or WSJ, and it puts you behind everyone that called at 9 a.m. ET.

Starwood has no real-time reservation system like the other hotel based systems do. With the other resorts, you can go online, see what is available, and reserve it instantly.

Maybe so, but it works well enough for us. Then again, we own at WSJ as well as at Lagunamar, so trading into St John is not an issue. Kinda would like to get to Harborside some day, though.

 

[VacationForever]

The StarOption seems like it might be a valuable thing to have if we we're willing to trade down to a smaller unit and possibly be able to get an exchange during a spring break week- And the option of Starwood priority is appealing through II.
Because if we bought SDO we would at least have the option of the StarOptions and have some Starwood priority in II and with a Marriott purchase we may have a hard time trying to even trade into another Marriott due to the decreased availibility.
Again thanks for all the helpful info!

Buying a resale voluntary Starwood resort like SDO will not allow you to trade in SVN as it does not come with Staroptions. Buying SDO will be equivalent to buying a strong resale Marriott trader to trade within II. Resale SDO has Starwood priority in II and a resale Marriott has Marriott priority in II. Both will not enable trade within their internal networks.

 

[DeniseM]

sptung - Good catch! Only these timeshares have Staroptions when purchased resale:

* Harborside at Atlantis
* Vistana Villages (Bella and Key West phases only)
* Westin St. John (Virgin Grand - Hillside only)
* Westin Ka'anapali & Westin Ka'anapali-North
* Westin Kierland Villas

 

[beachluvin22]

For an overall trader is SDO a strong trader if we are trying to get into non-branded hotels in Aruba, Bahamas, etc? For myself I would always be interested in trying to trade into Maui & Kauai so it would be nice to try and have the starwood priority for that. Or is there any other recommendations that may be a better option for having a strong trader for even non-branded resorts? Meaning we aren't necessarily ever going to try and get spring break week at the Marriot Aruba but maybe just another resort in Aruba. Would SDO give us trading power for that? I was just curious if a Marriott resort vs. SDO would give us a stronger trader for non-branded resorts? Again thanks for all the info.

 

[DeniseM]

The main reason to buy a Starwood trader, is for the Starwood to Starwood priority in II. If you mostly want to trade outside Starwood, then I would explore other options.

Here is another idea: Buy an every-other-year TS at SDO for Starwood trades, and an EOY TS somewhere else for non-Starwood trades. This could be your "home resort."

 

[sail27bill]

beachluvin22--I have used my Starwood SVV to effectively exchange into Aruba. I will be leaving in a few weeks for our stay at the Marriott ocean club. That said, I placed my request over a year in advance. I specifically asked for ocean club for a specific week, and had to wait a few months to match, but in the meantime, I was offered other lovely resorts which were equally wonderful, just not the week I wanted. I have also used SVV to exchange into other quality Marriotts during school vacations, just not Easter week or Spring break. While SDO might be a slightly better trader, SVV is pretty good. The key is flexability.

I like Denise's plan about owning an EOY Starwood and non-Starwood . This way you get the best of both worlds.

Best of luck on your decision.

Anita