Trading power of Marriott Playa Andaluza

[Jim Mc]

I own 2 weeks in Playa Andaluza and have either stayed there or deposited in for Abound points. I am wondering what kind of trading power would these have in II (low season: Sept-May) as I have just recently discovered there is a "preference" window with Marriott properties in II, if this is correct.

 

[Hindsite]

It depends on what unit size you have, if you've got a 2-bed and can book the best TDI week in your season and put in a request 12+ months in advance you can expect to get at least 2 steps in season increase back at Playa as there is a small home resort advantage as well as the MVC preference.
You can also get at least 1 if not 2 season improvements at other MVCs and also to other major brands, including Hyatt and DVC (Orlando) and round the world.
You should be able to get locations that would require at least 40% more club points than it elects for, depending on what usually has better available via Abound vs II. They exchange in II surprisingly well. I've got a silver week 2-bed at Son Antem and am off to Puerto Rico to a 2-bed in the Hyatt there in mid March using SA as a deposit.
In addition you can get II accom certs when you deposit the week, if you get the dates right, and use that for trips where using your ownership would be expensive. I'm off to MFV for a week the week before April using one of those for the outrageous cost of £209!!!
Give it a go, you really aren't going to know until you try, but take some time to learn how to use II so you don't have a bad experience.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

You can check potential trade power without depositing/committing to II. Go into (or set up) your corporate II account listed on your ownership and use search first. Search with each side of the lockoff and the 2 bedroom to see what it pulls. You can search all you want. Just don't hit pay and commit to the trade unless you really want it because that will deposit your unit.

Once you are in II you can also look up the seasonal TDI to get a sense of the trade power. However search before deposit will be your best indicator of trade power.

There is also an II representative to TUG that you can email with questions or if you get stuck. He has been very responsive and helpful when I contacted him.

Mark Delcampo. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/i...s-direct-email-for-tug-member-support.198023/

Note: I am a Vistana owner so I do not need to make a reservation first to search for my corporate enrolled units. I do not believe you need to do this with MVC either. YMMV.

 

[bazzap]

We own an enrolled 3 Bed Sea Front Lock Off unit at Playa, just a Silver week one.
Since Covid, we have elected it for Abound points, as it generates a useful 3,375 points.
Previously though we used to successfully lock it off and exchange for 2 weeks in other MVC resorts.

 

[Pamplemousse]

You can check potential trade power without depositing/committing to II. Go into (or set up) your corporate II account listed on your ownership and use search first. Search with each side of the lockoff and the 2 bedroom to see what it pulls. You can search all you want. Just don't hit pay and commit to the trade unless you really want it because that will deposit your unit.

Once you are in II you can also look up the seasonal TDI to get a sense of the trade power. However search before deposit will be your best indicator of trade power.

There is also an II representative to TUG that you can email with questions or if you get stuck. He has been very responsive and helpful when I contacted him.

Mark Delcampo. https://tugbbs.com/forums/threads/i...s-direct-email-for-tug-member-support.198023/

Note: I am a Vistana owner so I do not need to make a reservation first to search for my corporate enrolled units. I do not believe you need to do this with MVC either. YMMV.

Not really- when you search manually you are just looking at available inventory- leftovers after all requests have been filled.
That is not really an indication of what you could get by requesting.

@Jim Mc I don’t think your trading power would disqualify you for anything in MVC, you just will have others with higher trading power ahead of you so your success depends on supply and some luck.
Traveling shoulder season will help, as will accepting a smaller unit.

Requesting 12+ months in advance and staying in brand helps tremendously.
MVC owners can deposit their units 13/12 months in advance so have your request sitting there when the deposits begin.

If you are new to II there are video tutorials in the general discussion section of the community.

@Jim Mc where do you want to go?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

When you search you are just looking at available inventory- leftovers after all requests have been filled.
That is not really an indication of what you could get by requesting.

Requesting 12+ months in advance and staying in brand helps tremendously.
MVC owners can deposit their units 13/12 months in advance so have your request sitting there when the deposits begin.

I don’t think your trading power would disqualify you for anything in MVC, you just will have others with higher trading power ahead of you so your success depends on supply and some luck.
Traveling shoulder season will help, as will accepting a smaller unit.

@Jim Mc where do you want to go?

Emphasis above is true. I am relatively new to II trading with my Vistana (we have always used our units).

FWIW...I have been impressed with the "leftovers" (and I am very picky about quality) and used promos to get free size upgrades before my OGS matched. I check every morning for ePlus retrades to up my trade and already traded once (3 bdrm Marbella November shoulder size promo to a 2 bdrm Westin Cabo January Peak using a small 1 bdrm peak Vistana.) My other trade is a 1 bdrm to 1 bdrm peak ski week (Vistana to Vistana).

I heard there is a time during the day when the unit is deposited and before it is OGS matched but not sure of exact times.

 

[Pamplemousse]

Emphasis above is true. I am relatively new to II trading with my Vistana (we have always used our units).

FWIW...I have been impressed with the "leftovers" (and I am very picky about quality) and used promos to get free size upgrades before my OGS matched. I check every morning for ePlus retrades to up my trade and already traded once (3 bdrm Marbella to a 2 bdrm Westin Cabo using a small 1 bdrm Vistana.)

I heard there is a time during the day when the unit is deposited and before it is OGS matched but not sure of exact times.

Yes there are some great finds to be had searching available inventory. I have been exchanging on II for close to 20 years.

OGS is not continuous, it runs every X amount of time so it is possible a potential request match might end up available in inventory before the filter snags it and matches to the request.

But you told OP that searching available would give him an indication of his trading power and I disagree.
He should be able to see most if not everything that is available in inventory (except if he is searching with a studio) with an elite MVC. The units that would be a “challenge” won’t be sitting in inventory.
And I still don’t think he would be disqualified from a prime trade- for example high season Maui- it’s just that there will be many others with higher trading power that would match ahead of him.

I have had many great trades with my gold season premiere resort MVC- improved season, elite resorts- by requesting very early and avoiding max high season.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@Pamplemousse I don't disagree with what you are saying. It is good to know that you can possibly get better with an OGS at 12 months. However an OGS is opaque and as you state, others may be ahead in line and you do not know where you stand.

Is there any other accurate proxy than to search II?

 

[Pamplemousse]

@Pamplemousse I don't disagree with what you are saying. It is good to know that you can possibly get better with an OGS at 12 months. However an OGS is opaque and as you state, others may be ahead in line and you do not know where you stand.

Is there any other accurate proxy than to search II?

There is no downside to requesting.
You can request first before deposit and hold onto your home unit.
You can modify or cancel your request.
You can search manually and confirm another exchange with that unit while the request is pending.

There is no mathematical equation or such to determine trading power.
There would be some baseline level to allow a trade- a low season unrated resort will not be able to even see high season elite deposits.
But all MVC are over that baseline and so it is really just requesting early and hoping your turn comes before the units run out.
And so that’s why requesting early and a bit off max season plus taking the smallest unit that works for you is the best strategy

Again my point to you and OP is searching what is in inventory does not indicate what one could get by placing a request.
I also asked where he wanted to go because some cases choosing Abound points is better, others you can get exchanges on II which is often a better value. I do both with my enrolled week- depends on the situation.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I will have to try OGS in the future. I took the free unit upsize promo and "bird in hand" approach. For example my ski week is in January but I prefer in Feb/Mar if I can get it so I set up ePlus and check because I cannot set another OGS. I can live with the January dates if Feb/Mar does not happen.

I had an OGS in place prior to finding the January trades. Perhaps I would have gotten better dates or resorts in Feb if I had kept my OGS but perhaps not. I did not want to take the risk since I am new to this.

For the OP: If you are willing to check frequently and don't mind learning the system, II can be useful.