In the last two weeks I have made my first two forays into the world of external exchange. I have gotten the vibe that alot of starwood owners dismiss the II exchange as a bad deal, and that has been my opinion until now. Now I wuld agree that when it comes to prime Starwood weeks the external deal could be a bad deal unless trading for another elite resort...DVC,FSA etc, but I have had 2 good experiences trading my non prime season starwood weeks through II.
My first trade made me the most happy, we have been planning this summer to go to Colorado and stay at the sheraton mountain vista where we own. I actually had made a reservation at SMV using our summer 2brlo. But I did a request first using one side (the small side) of our lock off there and it actually pulled a full 2brlo at SMV for the same week as the unit we were trading! This really made me happy. I give you a dollar and you give me $2.25.
When I scored the 2brlo in exchange for the smaller 1br, I went ahead and deposited the large side in II as well. I have been searching for a last minute trip to Califoria coast and yesterday scored a week at Harbortown resort Ventura, in what is basically a 2br. While this resort is not up to starwood standards it is a five star on the california coast, and I got it with my summer 1br at SMV.
The final test is still in the works, but it is looking good. We deposited our 2brlo ski week at SMV with II looking for a 2br at DVC next year. I put in a broad search-april through October at any DVC. I am still waiting for confirmation, but they did call and offer me a 2br at Wilderness villas for this year, so this trade looks like it will come to pass.
I imagine for the most part I will stick to internal exchange, but so far so good with II.
My first trade made me the most happy, we have been planning this summer to go to Colorado and stay at the sheraton mountain vista where we own. I actually had made a reservation at SMV using our summer 2brlo. But I did a request first using one side (the small side) of our lock off there and it actually pulled a full 2brlo at SMV for the same week as the unit we were trading! This really made me happy. I give you a dollar and you give me $2.25.
When I scored the 2brlo in exchange for the smaller 1br, I went ahead and deposited the large side in II as well. I have been searching for a last minute trip to Califoria coast and yesterday scored a week at Harbortown resort Ventura, in what is basically a 2br. While this resort is not up to starwood standards it is a five star on the california coast, and I got it with my summer 1br at SMV.
The final test is still in the works, but it is looking good. We deposited our 2brlo ski week at SMV with II looking for a 2br at DVC next year. I put in a broad search-april through October at any DVC. I am still waiting for confirmation, but they did call and offer me a 2br at Wilderness villas for this year, so this trade looks like it will come to pass.
I imagine for the most part I will stick to internal exchange, but so far so good with II.