Trading power with II (weeks or points)?

[drbachrach]

I am brand new to the Hyatt family and still figuring things out.

In short, here is my question, "is there any difference in trading power in II between points or exchanging a fixed reserved week?"

For example, let's say I have a 2-bedroom Diamond. I of course could convert to EEE and would have 2200 points to exchange with in II. I believe that a 2-bedroom High/Red runs 1,300 points in II. So, I understand that I would have an additional 900 points to work with in II; which is very nice.

However, when you dig into it, not all Diamond weeks are equal. You could have a diamond week that lands on an ultra-high demand week (my made-up term to include holidays like Easter or the 4th or July, or major events like football, racing, festivals, etc.). You could also have a Diamond week at the same property that lands the week before or after one of those ultra-high demand weeks. Either way, you'll get 2200 points to exchange with. From what I have read, it appears that Hyatt then gives a Diamond week to II in exchange for the 2200 points. However, Hyatt may not necessarily give II the ultra-high demand week you gave up. They might give II a different Diamond week. Is that correct?

If my understanding is correct, then II must take into account that they will generally not be receiving ultra-high demand weeks through their Hyatt partnership. I assume that they would then somehow add more weighting to those weeks to incentivize those trades.

Back to the question; if my understanding and assumptions are correct, then would you have more trading power going directly to II with your ultra-high demand week? In other words, would you have access to more valuable properties/weeks in II if you directly traded your full ultra-high demand week versus trying to trade on points? I realize that you would not have as much "purchasing power" (another term I just made up) since you would only get a week and would not have the extra 900 points to work with. However, I am wondering if you really want that Christmas in Hawaii, would exchanging an ultra-high value week get you something your points wouldn't?

 

[ScoopKona]

Nope. Doesn't matter. Your 2200 points will go just as far as some Maui owner's 2200 points. And it will see the same inventory -- at least it did when I was working for Hyatt and was able to compare many different weeks and properties using the II website.

The least expensive diamond week is just as good as the most expensive one. And my gold week will see the same inventory -- I just won't be able to get as much because I have only 1880 points.

 

[GTLINZ]

Hyatt has very high trading power within Interval and can pull almost anything. The problem is that there are preferences in Interval internal to other systems so you are further down the food chain. The most obvious one is Marriott- weeks owners get access to Marriott inventory before it ever makes it makes it to general access.

You will have to work by putting in searches but I think you will not be disappointed in what you can pull.

It is more a matter of what is left as opposed to what you can pull.

 

[drbachrach]

Thank you @ScoopKona and @GTLINZ!

 

[sunski]

Is there a previous thread where people have discussed what kind of trades they've been able to make?

I have a variety of TS and I can't make any sense of the II trades for Hyatt when searching for a high season studio. They show me units that are outside of that parameter (larger units requiring more points) but don't show me units for studios I can see with my other ownerships. Like not showing a non-affiliated resort unit that hasn't been weeded out by the "it's not a Marriott" filter when searching with a Marriott studio.

They definitely have not shown me the better quality trades even when I have seen them with my units of lower quality than Hyatt.

I'm thinking along the same lines as the OP, that quantity is not always better than quality or specific dates. I don't need Hyatt quality for a trade, but rather if a unit is available in inventory for a place and time I'd like to book, then I would want to see that appear in my Hyatt account search or l'd like to understand why it is not showing.

 

[ScoopKona]

I'm thinking along the same lines as the OP, that quantity is not always better than quality or specific dates.

It has always been my strategy to choose a week, or choose a place -- but never both. For about 80% of what I want, I get both. But I'm also not trying to ski Colorado.

 

[sunski]

I'm thinking if you are trading a Hyatt, you are kind of hoping for both. Maybe not a specific high quality resort during Christmas week, but at least being able to pick the time frame and general location ie Maui, Kauai or Oahu in June or July seems like a wide enough net to me. Would this be an unreasonable request? There are plenty of small units that show up as leftovers, I just can't see them using a Hyatt trade and I can't figure out why not. All I can think is that II knows you are splitting the value of one week into multiple weeks, so they reduce the value of what you can trade into. The trades I can see are reminiscent of the things I can see with some of my certificates, not what I can see with a full week deposit.

Is there anyone here who owns Hyatt and owns other lower ranked resorts that has compared availability with the two in II?

 

[ScoopKona]

but at least being able to pick the time frame and general location ie Maui, Kauai or Oahu in June or July seems like a wide enough net to me. Would this be an unreasonable request?

I don't think that's unreasonable at all. That's how I get weeks with II.

It could be because Hawaii is crazy busy right now. The entire country has said, "We're through with the pandemic" and they're traveling. And the entire worldwide travel network -- planes, hotels, trains, rental cars, everything -- is broken right now.

For the past 20 years, the system has worked as advertised -- I was one of the people selling it. I see the past couple years as a hiccough. I'm more concerned with MVC monkeying with the system to sell the same resort twice.

 

[sunski]

I don't think that's unreasonable at all. That's how I get weeks with II.

It could be because Hawaii is crazy busy right now. The entire country has said, "We're through with the pandemic" and they're traveling. And the entire worldwide travel network -- planes, hotels, trains, rental cars, everything -- is broken right now.

For the past 20 years, the system has worked as advertised -- I was one of the people selling it. I see the past couple years as a hiccough. I'm more concerned with MVC monkeying with the system to sell the same resort twice.

The only thing this doesn't explain is why I can see some studios (even in Hawaii) with my other units (not with preference) but not with my Hyatt points.

 

[ScoopKona]

The only thing this doesn't explain is why I can see some studios (even in Hawaii) with my other units (not with preference) but not with my Hyatt points.

One possible reason is that Interval doesn't think they're good enough for Hyatt owners. Not kidding at all about this. My wife and I did a UK trip when I still worked at Hyatt. I called II about making requests the weeks before and after a week we had reserved. The II agent admitted there was some inventory. But it was "tired." Two of those resorts are no longer in Interval and one still is, after a renovation. We were delighted with the places because they were converted castles. Loads of quirks. And not even close to three star. Two, maybe. But one is more like it. What do you want with a 500-year old property?

There are a couple Hawaii resorts that are in dire straits. But I don't know if this is what's happening here.

In general, I've found that a call goes further than an online search.

 

[sunski]

One possible reason is that Interval doesn't think they're good enough for Hyatt owners. Not kidding at all about this. My wife and I did a UK trip when I still worked at Hyatt. I called II about making requests the weeks before and after a week we had reserved. The II agent admitted there was some inventory. But it was "tired." Two of those resorts are no longer in Interval and one still is, after a renovation. We were delighted with the places because they were converted castles. Loads of quirks. And not even close to three star. Two, maybe. But one is more like it. What do you want with a 500-year old property?

There are a couple Hawaii resorts that are in dire straits. But I don't know if this is what's happening here.

In general, I've found that a call goes further than an online search.

Yeah I thought about this possibility, but I can see them with Marriott/Vistana units which have the same "you will not be satisfied" filter. I know I can call if there is something I really want, but right now I am just trying to get a feel for what trades it pulls before I commit more points and can't use them for Hyatt

 

[ScoopKona]

Yeah I thought about this possibility, but I can see them with Marriott/Vistana units which have the same "you will not be satisfied" filter. I know I can call if there is something I really want, but right now I am just trying to get a feel for what trades it pulls before I commit more points and can't use them for Hyatt

Frankly, I don't know what's going on, either. I just got two nice (but not hard) II trades. Quality places, but not peak times. In general, I'm good with that.

Everything is screwy right now -- across the entire travel spectrum. So I'm not stressing over it. Go get something nice that isn't a unicorn and give it a year.

That's what I would do.

 

[GTLINZ]

They show me units that are outside of that parameter (larger units requiring more points) but don't show me units for studios I can see with my other ownerships.

I have reported a bug to the Hyatt II desk where when I search by 430 points i do NOT get hits on studios (430) that I DO get when searching by 870 points or 1300 points. So i would suggest you always just search by the maximum number of points (which is what I do now).

The rep tried it and saw the same issue.

 

[ScoopKona]

I have reported a bug to the Hyatt II desk where when I search by 430 points i do NOT get hits on studios (430) that I DO get when searching by 870 points or 1300 points. So i would suggest you always just search by the maximum number of points (which is what I do now).

The rep tried it and saw the same issue.

I wasn't aware of this. But I always search with 1300 points, even if I don't have them -- always have. I want to see availability, even if I don't have the points to cover it. My points might be coming good soon, or I might see a trend of availability.

 

[sunski]

Thanks, that's really gtk! Sadly, I'm not surprised. I was using 430 trying to keep it focused on studios since it was already pulling some one and two bedrooms when searching with that few points. I will try this and report back if I see a difference too.

 

[GTLINZ]

I found another glitch also. Once I do a wide search that may have 10+ hits, and I press "select another unit" and change the number of points, I get a maximum of 4 hits. If you go all the way back to "vacation/exchange" and start over, the limit goes away.

Our portal is very buggy. I never saw these issues until 2-3 months ago.

 

[dioxide45]

I found another glitch also. Once I do a wide search that may have 10+ hits, and I press "select another unit" and change the number of points, I get a maximum of 4 hits. If you go all the way back to "vacation/exchange" and start over, the limit goes away.

Our portal is very buggy. I never saw these issues until 2-3 months ago.

It isn't just your portal, it is the II website in general. At times one may get just a few results, but clicking the Search button again returns the full set of results again. This has been happening for years with our Marriott account.

 

[HudsHut]

The list of "results limited to 4" is a quirk I notice (nearly) every time I change units. I am not a Hyatt owner.

 

[GTLINZ]

Thanks for the updates.... it sounds like the interval portal is buggy and it is just not Hyatt.

I did not notice the issue on searching with 430 points until a 2-3 months ago. I had been getting plenty of hits and then the next day i was getting nothing. It seemed that all the inventory i had been seing went away. But i always searched by 430 points (studio) if I was looking for a studio.

 

[sunski]

Thanks for the updates.... it sounds like the interval portal is buggy and it is just not Hyatt.

I did not notice the issue on searching with 430 points until a 2-3 months ago. I had been getting plenty of hits and then the next day i was getting nothing. It seemed that all the inventory i had been seing went away. But i always searched by 430 points (studio) if I was looking for a studio.

Thanks for the tip. Thanks to a dump into Maui inventory and a return from someone of a WKOR unit this am, I was able to see that there is a distinct difference in inventory when searching with 1300 points than 430. So I will be doing that fno.
Who would expect the search mechanism to work like it should!