THIRDHOME Exchange - Can someone explain how it really works???

[PolishOnPoint]

Hi, new person here....I own at Vidanta (Grand Luxxe) and am eligible to trade in via THIRDHOME but before I commit a week(s), I was hoping for a clear cut answer on how it actually works because it seems too good to be true. I've seen many places that I've favorited, but no idea how many "keys" my listing will generate. Any clue?? From what I have seen posted other places, it seems like I'd be responsible for paying my normal booking fee to THIRDHOME at the time I commit the week(s), and then they convert that to keys that I can use to book with other places. But then I have to pay another booking fee to that place too? Help me please! Thanks in advance! Also, I've seen where people felt duped by the number of keys they're given, where they don't seem to be able to secure as nice of place as the one they traded in....is that the scam? Any idea on how to make it work to your benefit?

 

[bizaro86]

It's a trading company, basically like RCI or II except much of the inventory is individual homes. You trade in your week for "keys" which are their version of points, and then you trade those keys for other properties.

It depends what you want. I got a full house with private pool over New Years, but the exchange fee was over $1000. Basically I think it has higher end options than the TS exchange companies at a higher price.

 

[chanakya]

I talked to them recently. It is like II, but for more higher end AirBnB-like properties.

The agent said a Hyatt (HPP) 2 BR platinum week would get 4 keys (2 for base * 2 for high season). I was hoping to find availability in Italy over the summer. She said summer is high season in Europe, and keys required would be top end of the range they display on their website.

This apartment would cost 6 keys in summer:

Beautiful Apartment on the Grand Canal | Venice, Italy

ThirdHome luxury home exchange details for Beautiful Apartment on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy

exchange.thirdhome.com

She said, without depositing a week, there is no way to check their inventory.

Exchange fees seemed very high ($495 to $1395. It depends on number of keys exchanged). Annual fee is $300.

My conclusion was that I'm better off renting out the Hyatt week and using the proceeds towards renting from Airbnb/vrbo for Europe.

 

[PolishOnPoint]

I talked to them recently. It is like II, but for more higher end AirBnB-like properties.

The agent said a Hyatt (HPP) 2 BR platinum week would get 4 keys (2 for base * 2 for high season). I was hoping to find availability in Italy over the summer. She said summer is high season in Europe, and keys required would be top end of the range they display on their website.

This apartment would cost 6 keys in summer:

Beautiful Apartment on the Grand Canal | Venice, Italy

ThirdHome luxury home exchange details for Beautiful Apartment on the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy

exchange.thirdhome.com

She said, without depositing a week, there is no way to check their inventory.

Exchange fees seemed very high ($495 to $1395. It depends on number of keys exchanged). Annual fee is $300.

My conclusion was that I'm better off renting out the Hyatt week and using the proceeds towards renting from Airbnb/vrbo for Europe.

Thanks for your reply. I did notice when I'm logged into my account, I can't search for properties (or results show 0) but if I log out, I can lol. I also have a free lifetime membership, so I'm assuming (hoping I guess) that means no annual fee for me. I'm still fuzzy on the fees and when they apply. When I decide to deposit a week, will I owe anything at that time? Or do you only owe when you go to book another place? And when you say "exchange fees seemed very high ($495 to $1395), are you referring to the cost for the week to rent that place? Or is that simply to use the service?

 

[chanakya]

They talked about only two fees.

One is annual fee. If you have free membership, I am guessing that must be covered for you.

The other is an exchange fee that you pay when you reserve a week (not when you deposit). This fee is not the cost to rent, because that is covered by the keys you get from depositing your week. Instead, it is the overhead cost you pay to the exchange to use their service. Exchange fee is how the exchange makes a profit.

 

[PolishOnPoint]

They talked about only two fees.

One is annual fee. If you have free membership, I am guessing that must be covered for you.

The other is an exchange fee that you pay when you reserve a week (not when you deposit). This fee is not the cost to rent, because that is covered by the keys you get from depositing your week. Instead, it is the overhead cost you pay to the exchange to use their service. Exchange fee is how the exchange makes a profit.

Thank you, this is extremely helpful!

 

[Eric B]

Hi, new person here....I own at Vidanta (Grand Luxxe) and am eligible to trade in via THIRDHOME but before I commit a week(s), I was hoping for a clear cut answer on how it actually works because it seems too good to be true. I've seen many places that I've favorited, but no idea how many "keys" my listing will generate. Any clue?? From what I have seen posted other places, it seems like I'd be responsible for paying my normal booking fee to THIRDHOME at the time I commit the week(s), and then they convert that to keys that I can use to book with other places. But then I have to pay another booking fee to that place too? Help me please! Thanks in advance! Also, I've seen where people felt duped by the number of keys they're given, where they don't seem to be able to secure as nice of place as the one they traded in....is that the scam? Any idea on how to make it work to your benefit?

I see from your profile that you own a Grand Luxxe 2 BR Presidential Suite with Vidanta. There aren't actually any listings in ThirdHome that correspond to that unit type, though there is a listing for a 3 BR Presidential Suite that gets between 4 and 12 keys depending on the season. Before Vidanta was affiliated with ThirdHome, an owner could select the week to deposit and maximize the number. I'm not sure how it works now, but understand that you need to call Vidanta to arrange depositing with ThirdHome and they will do that for you, essentially transferring keys to you from their bulk deposits. You'd be best off calling and inquiring.

The way ThirdHome works is the exchange fees are charged based on the number of keys it takes to book a week. To figure out your total cost for a week, you would need to divide your Vidanta usage fee for the week by the number of keys you get when you deposit it to get the cost/key, then multiply that by the number of keys a booking takes and add the exchange fee. I started out with ThirdHome through my Vidanta ownership, but found that there are much more efficient ownerships I have to get keys at a lower cost.

The other fees such as the annual dues are not applicable to Vidanta owners. Nor is the requirement to deposit a week every year. One advantage of depositing something with ThirdHome, though, in addition to the ability to actually search and book stays is the ability to book something during the periodic keyless promotions ThirdHome runs. The latest version of the limitations on Vidanta owners booking back there through ThirdHome allows doing so up to the ownership level you have, so it's possible to do that during a keyless promotion for significantly less in overall costs than your usage fees. They run those promotions about 4 or 5 times a year, which could get you back in a GL 2 BR typically for less than $1,000 or so in exchange fees plus the resort fee, which was $300 per week last time I checked - a decent savings as compared to the usage fees.

I've done quite well exchanging through ThirdHome, but do wind up checking for availability frequently in order to accomplish that. There are a fair number of properties they have listings for that rarely show up, like the one in Venice that was mentioned in a previous post. This is because many of them are vacation homes that people also rent out and only deposit if they want keys in order to exchange somewhere else. If you are interested in what sort of availability there is for any particular area, PM me and I can check for you on what's available in the system at that point as I do have weeks on deposit with them.

 

[PolishOnPoint]

I see from your profile that you own a Grand Luxxe 2 BR Presidential Suite with Vidanta. There aren't actually any listings in ThirdHome that correspond to that unit type, though there is a listing for a 3 BR Presidential Suite that gets between 4 and 12 keys depending on the season. Before Vidanta was affiliated with ThirdHome, an owner could select the week to deposit and maximize the number. I'm not sure how it works now, but understand that you need to call Vidanta to arrange depositing with ThirdHome and they will do that for you, essentially transferring keys to you from their bulk deposits. You'd be best off calling and inquiring.

The way ThirdHome works is the exchange fees are charged based on the number of keys it takes to book a week. To figure out your total cost for a week, you would need to divide your Vidanta usage fee for the week by the number of keys you get when you deposit it to get the cost/key, then multiply that by the number of keys a booking takes and add the exchange fee. I started out with ThirdHome through my Vidanta ownership, but found that there are much more efficient ownerships I have to get keys at a lower cost.

The other fees such as the annual dues are not applicable to Vidanta owners. Nor is the requirement to deposit a week every year. One advantage of depositing something with ThirdHome, though, in addition to the ability to actually search and book stays is the ability to book something during the periodic keyless promotions ThirdHome runs. The latest version of the limitations on Vidanta owners booking back there through ThirdHome allows doing so up to the ownership level you have, so it's possible to do that during a keyless promotion for significantly less in overall costs than your usage fees. They run those promotions about 4 or 5 times a year, which could get you back in a GL 2 BR typically for less than $1,000 or so in exchange fees plus the resort fee, which was $300 per week last time I checked - a decent savings as compared to the usage fees.

I've done quite well exchanging through ThirdHome, but do wind up checking for availability frequently in order to accomplish that. There are a fair number of properties they have listings for that rarely show up, like the one in Venice that was mentioned in a previous post. This is because many of them are vacation homes that people also rent out and only deposit if they want keys in order to exchange somewhere else. If you are interested in what sort of availability there is for any particular area, PM me and I can check for you on what's available in the system at that point as I do have weeks on deposit with them.

Thank you so much, and I will definitely be reaching out directly to chat more. I was definitely looking for someone who has successfully done this before, so it sounds like you're it!

 

[PolishOnPoint]

Thank you so much, and I will definitely be reaching out directly to chat more. I was definitely looking for someone who has successfully done this before, so it sounds like you're it!

the fees they charge.

Thanks again for your info! What I'm stuck on now is, how it can ever be worthwhile then?? So I pay my normal usage fee when I deposit my week. Then when I go to book somewhere else, I will owe another booking/resort fee. So now I've paid more than my normal usage fee. Right? Or am I misunderstanding?

 

[Eric B]

Thanks again for your info! What I'm stuck on now is, how it can ever be worthwhile then?? So I pay my normal usage fee when I deposit my week. Then when I go to book somewhere else, I will owe another booking/resort fee. So now I've paid more than my normal usage fee. Right? Or am I misunderstanding?

You have to do the math and figure out your total cost of vacation. For me, using a non-Vidanta ownership keys cost me ~$165 each based on the cost to me for a week I deposit with them. I'm fairly diligent about figuring out how much each exchange costs me when I'm considering doing it; I managed to get a week at the Ritz Carlton in St Thomas in a 2 BR Residence unit for an all in cost of $2,173 last year while there were people paying $1,000 or more per night to stay there I also booked a 2 BR Hayloft at Flora Farms for a total of $1,983.24 while those rent out for $1,575 per night. Later this year I'll be staying in a 4 BR villa in Tuscany for a total of $1,453.83 and a 5 BR vacation home on Lake Austin for $1,630. IMHO they're all worthwhile exchanges. They might be more expensive using Vidanta to exchange with, of course.

 

[altiste1]

You have to do the math and figure out your total cost of vacation. For me, using a non-Vidanta ownership keys cost me ~$165 each based on the cost to me for a week I deposit with them. I'm fairly diligent about figuring out how much each exchange costs me when I'm considering doing it; I managed to get a week at the Ritz Carlton in St Thomas in a 2 BR Residence unit for an all in cost of $2,173 last year while there were people paying $1,000 or more per night to stay there I also booked a 2 BR Hayloft at Flora Farms for a total of $1,983.24 while those rent out for $1,575 per night. Later this year I'll be staying in a 4 BR villa in Tuscany for a total of $1,453.83 and a 5 BR vacation home on Lake Austin for $1,630. IMHO they're all worthwhile exchanges. They might be more expensive using Vidanta to exchange with, of course.

Which timeshare resorts/systems trade in Thirdhome, and which are the best value for trading purposes? Not Vidanta, it seems.

 

[Eric B]

Which timeshare resorts/systems trade in Thirdhome, and which are the best value for trading purposes? Not Vidanta, it seems.

ThirdHome has affiliations with high end timeshare/fractional systems such as Ritz Carlton, St Regis, and Equity Resorts. They also allow individual owners of certain timeshares that are suitable to establish their own accounts using those ownerships, which results in a fair number of Westin, Marriott, Sheraton, and Hilton resort weeks in the system. I've done well with a high demand WorldMark resort - haven't seen too many Wyndham ones in there, though, probably due to the restrictions on guest certificates that Wyndham has instituted lately as part of a campaign against renters. I also do well with a fractional I own at Flora Farms.

Vidanta is not the best value for trading purposes because they now control what gets deposited for an owner wanting to exchange. They had been pretty decent when you could pick your own week to maximize the keys you get for the usage fee cost but that went away when they became affiliated with ThirdHome. The basic problem with Vidanta is that everything there is driven by sales, so they started using the quality of the week deposited in ThirdHome as part of an inducement to sell upgrades to an ownership. On the other hand, though, Vidanta is one of the affiliates for which an owner does not have to pay annual dues or make an annual deposit to ThirdHome in order to keep a membership active - they make enough bulk deposits of Grand Luxxe weeks to cover those needs for the owners as part of the affiliation agreement.

 

[lidi66]

ThirdHome has affiliations with high end timeshare/fractional systems such as Ritz Carlton, St Regis, and Equity Resorts. They also allow individual owners of certain timeshares that are suitable to establish their own accounts using those ownerships, which results in a fair number of Westin, Marriott, Sheraton, and Hilton resort weeks in the system. I've done well with a high demand WorldMark resort - haven't seen too many Wyndham ones in there, though, probably due to the restrictions on guest certificates that Wyndham has instituted lately as part of a campaign against renters. I also do well with a fractional I own at Flora Farms.

Vidanta is not the best value for trading purposes because they now control what gets deposited for an owner wanting to exchange. They had been pretty decent when you could pick your own week to maximize the keys you get for the usage fee cost but that went away when they became affiliated with ThirdHome. The basic problem with Vidanta is that everything there is driven by sales, so they started using the quality of the week deposited in ThirdHome as part of an inducement to sell upgrades to an ownership. On the other hand, though, Vidanta is one of the affiliates for which an owner does not have to pay annual dues or make an annual deposit to ThirdHome in order to keep a membership active - they make enough bulk deposits of Grand Luxxe weeks to cover those needs for the owners as part of the affiliation agreement.

Hello. Do you know which Marriott timeshares are eligible to trade with Third Home and which one had good trading value?

 

[Eric B]

I've seen a variety of them in ThirdHome. For Marriott, only the Ritz Carlton ownerships are set up as affiliated resorts, as are the Hyatt ones, so you have to check with ThirdHome and set up your own account. If your interested in pursuing, PM me and I'll provide you with my POC there.