Trading SVN

[schubes]

How difficult is it to trade options into Harborside or St. John in either March or June? These 2 resorts look good and could be my alternative to WPORV every year.

 

[DeniseM]

In a word - it's hard. These are the two most requested resorts in the SVN system. Westin St. John is nearly impossible. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't try - it happens, it's just not easy.

What I recommend is that at 12 mos. out (from the date you want to go on vacation) you reserve your home resort - Princeville, then, at 8 mos. out, you can try for an exchange. If you don't get the exchange, you will still have a reservation at your home resort that you can use.

Just to clarify this a little, in the SVN, owners can reserve at their home resort 12 mos. out, and can try for an exchange at 8 mos. out. Because of the tremendous competition for the most popular resorts, it's important to make your Resv. on those dates, as soon as the office opens at 9 am EST. Especially at Princeville where your view will be of importance, this will give you a higher priority for an ocean view - which you should request when you make your reservation.

This TUG Starwood Article is very helpful in understanding the SVN system - read it and then come back and ask your questions.

And WELCOME!

 

[schubes]

Thanks Denise. I did read the article and do understand the 12/mo and 8/mo timeframes. I was curious as to how hard it would be to secure those 2 resorts at 8 months out.

Another scenerio...Do owners ever privately exchange weeks and requests at the 12 month mark with each other or is that not possible? For instance, I would make a res at my resort for you at 12 months and you would make one for me at your resort at 12 months. Is this not even doable?

It is probably obvious we are completely new to this.

 

[schubes]

Also, if I make my res at the home resort 12 months out but really don't want to go there, and cannot get ST. John at 8 months, is this when I try to rent my chosen week at the home resort by placing an ad? If no one responds to the ad, what is the best coarse of action and is there a fee to cancel my reservation at the home resort?

 

[djp]

westin st jon is almost impossible to trade into at 8 months. Harborside is doable in june if you call first thing in the morning. I have done it twice.
Direct exchange is possible and I think there will be market for that at princeville.

 

[DeniseM]

Thanks Denise. I did read the article and do understand the 12/mo and 8/mo timeframes. I was curious as to how hard it would be to secure those 2 resorts at 8 months out.

The two resorts you named are hard to exchange into year-round, especially St. John, but not impossible - but you always want to have a back-up plan if you can't get the exchange.

Another scenerio...Do owners ever privately exchange weeks and requests at the 12 month mark with each other or is that not possible? For instance, I would make a res at my resort for you at 12 months and you would make one for me at your resort at 12 months. Is this not even doable?

It is doable, and there is a private exchange board on TUG. It's not a great set-up right now - but rumor has it that they are going to be putting together a better format for private exchanges, soon.

Many people love private exchanges because 1) there is no exchange fee 2) You get the owner's priority for view 3) You can confirm at 12 mos. 4) You don't have to deal with the darn exchange companies!

However, private exchanges into St. John are still difficult, because those weeks are in such demand that owners tend to rent them for $$$, when they can't use them, instead of exchanging.

Note that you are not allowed to solicit private exchange on other TUG boards (besides the one linked, above) and if you do the Admins will remove it and smack you with a ruler.

It is probably obvious we are completely new to this.

Yep! But you're asking all the right questions!

 

[DavidnRobin]

With WSJ opening more TS units (2 and 3 Bd in the Bay Vista phase) and many of them being float (unlike the Hillside units which are all fixed) - it may get slightly easier to do a SVN exchange - especially from after July 4th to Thanksgiving (low season).

One issue - unless you are 4* Elite - you cannot be waitlisted and still hold your WPORV reservation - which means that you may have to give up your reservation to be on the WSJ waitlist.

 

[schubes]

DavidnRobin....what is 4*Elite...I probably am not since I don't even know what it is.

 

[DeniseM]

DavidnRobin....what is 4*Elite...I probably am not since I don't even know what it is.

It means that you own multiple Starwood weeks - think $$$$

Even though you can't wait list - you can still make a Resv. at your home resort at 12 mos. and then try for an exchange at 8 mos.

When I tried (for a month) for a March exchange into WSJ - at the 8 mo. mark, the wait list was already full of owners who were trying to get into a different season, anyway. So it wasn't an option.

 

[Loriannf]

Private Exchanges can happen

I own WSJ Hillside and did, FINALLY, manage a direct exchange for Harborside. But as a previous poster indicated, WSJ Hillside units are fixed weeks; that means I have to find someone who wants my week and they have to have something I want. Since we're in Ohio, and have a soon to be six year old, Hawaii is not very doable at this time. She can do five to six hours on a plane (think Europe - I hope SVO hurries up with their Scottish plans), but not the 11+ hours it would take us to get to Hawaii. So I had to say no to all the wonderful offers to exchange Maui for my WSJ.

I may eat my words soon, though. One of our favorite BB teams will be playing in the 2008 Maui Invitational and my husband's indicated a desire to go.

Lori

 

[schubes]

One issue - unless you are 4* Elite - you cannot be waitlisted and still hold your WPORV reservation - which means that you may have to give up your reservation to be on the WSJ waitlist.

Does this mean no waitlist for only the WSJ or no waitlist for ANY resort while holding a res for WPORV if you are not elite?

If you cannot waitlist at 8 months for your non-home resort, do you just have to call every day until you hopefully find an opening? Soon after the 8 month mark, wouldn't most people be making their air arrangements to one place or the other anyway making it useless to continue to try?

Are there any other resources to do the direct exchange advertising....the link here on TUG is not very comprehensive....although that could be because no one wants to trade like that?

Sorry to be asking so many questions that are probably dumb to you all, but this is a whole new world for me and obviously I cannot trust what *Wood has to say as they really talked up the trading aspect (specificaly WSJ and one in Bora Bora I think) and how great it would be to just exchange. I would much rather get real life experiences if you do not mind responding.

 

[oneohana]

Hello Schubes,

Don't worry about asking "dumb" questions. I think most of us here have dumb questions. Especially when you here one thing from *wood, and then you come here and find out what they are saying isn't necessarly true. Some owners here know the *wood system better than those at *wood.

 

[susiequeve]

OK let me get this straight. If I reserve my week at my home resort 12 months out and then decide to trade at 8 months out, my question is, if I don't get an immediate exchange at 9:00 AM EST does Starwood still continue with an ongoing search? Then if it doesn't materialize I still have my home resort to go to? Thanks for your help.

 

[DeniseM]

Does this mean no waitlist for only the WSJ or no waitlist for ANY resort while holding a res for WPORV if you are not elite?

You cannot hold a Resv. AND waitlist at any resort, unless you are Elite.

If you cannot waitlist at 8 months for your non-home resort, do you just have to call every day until you hopefully find an opening?

Yes - you have to call until you get something, or give up.

Soon after the 8 month mark, wouldn't most people be making their air arrangements to one place or the other anyway making it useless to continue to try?

Some people give up, and some keep trying. I don't think it's useless to keep trying - irritating maybe.

Are there any other resources to do the direct exchange advertising....the link here on TUG is not very comprehensive....although that could be because no one wants to trade like that?

A couple of years ago a Tugger set up a private exchange board for Tuggers, but it wasn't successful. The problem is that if you own at one of the high demand resorts you are more likely to use your week or rent it for big bucks, than you are to exchange it. So what happened with the board was that there were very few owners at WSJ or Harborside involved and nearly all the other owners wanted exchanges for those 2 resorts. The demand just far exceeds the supply.

Sorry to be asking so many questions that are probably dumb to you all, but this is a whole new world for me and obviously I cannot trust what *Wood has to say as they really talked up the trading aspect (specificaly WSJ and one in Bora Bora I think) and how great it would be to just exchange. I would much rather get real life experiences if you do not mind responding.

There is no TS in BoraBora, but they may have been telling you how "great" it would be to convert your TS week to hotel points (StarPoints) and stay in the Starwood Hotel in BoraBora. The exchange rate (TS week to points) is horrible and my guess is that your 2 bdm. timeshare would give you about 3 nights in BoraBora.

 

[djp]

for someone who is very persistent at calling right at 8 months out and willing to be flexible and travel in off seasons, there is no reason to think that you couldn't eventually get into WSJ. It happens... just not very often at all, has it happened to me yet, no, but I have read from others that it does happen. Harborside is a little easier.....I have done this twice, in the summer....4th of July actually. Maui even a little easier. All other resorts should be no problem unless at a holiday week...XMas in Avon, CO.....4th of July at myrtle beach...etc.....IMO internal trading is not as easy as the salesman said it would be.....but not as difficult as some here on TUG make it sound...the truth is in the middle.....and my prediction is that once the new WSJ units, kuai, cancun, aruba, and the 3rd phase of Maui are all open it is going to reduce some of the pressure on the current "beach" resorts...as starwood is not expanding their mainland resorts at the same pace......and some people (probably not the astute tugger) will occasionally trade their princeville or harborside week to go to Orlando to see the mouse or to Colorado to Ski...the fact is almost all Amerian families with the money will at some point go to Orlando, and many will want to go Ski Colorado etc....all that to say I envision trading into Harborside and WSJ to only get easier in the days ahead, and for Maui to become a no brainer at 8 mos as Starwood seems intent on building a new city on their end of Kaanapali beach.

 

[schubes]

for someone who is very persistent at calling right at 8 months out and willing to be flexible and travel in off seasons, there is no reason to think that you couldn't eventually get into WSJ. It happens... just not very often at all, has it happened to me yet, no, but I have read from others that it does happen. Harborside is a little easier.....I have done this twice, in the summer....4th of July actually. Maui even a little easier. All other resorts should be no problem unless at a holiday week...XMas in Avon, CO.....4th of July at myrtle beach...etc.....IMO internal trading is not as easy as the salesman said it would be.....but not as difficult as some here on TUG make it sound...the truth is in the middle.....and my prediction is that once the new WSJ units, kuai, cancun, aruba, and the 3rd phase of Maui are all open it is going to reduce some of the pressure on the current "beach" resorts...as starwood is not expanding their mainland resorts at the same pace......and some people (probably not the astute tugger) will occasionally trade their princeville or harborside week to go to Orlando to see the mouse or to Colorado to Ski...the fact is almost all Amerian families with the money will at some point go to Orlando, and many will want to go Ski Colorado etc....all that to say I envision trading into Harborside and WSJ to only get easier in the days ahead, and for Maui to become a no brainer at 8 mos as Starwood seems intent on building a new city on their end of Kaanapali beach.

djp....thanks for the upbeat message. I was just about to start a new thread asking for some positive points about TS ownership. So far I have been sorely disappointed in my fantasy (per salesman) vs. reality (TUG info). Don't get me wrong everyone, we really LOVE Kauai, that is why we bought WPROV. We were slightly familiar with the *wood ownership rules at the time. Since we bought early in our vacation and just returned on the 29th, I did not have the time to research properly until the rescind was too late.

If anyone has a link or finds a way to trade within the SVO for high demand properties, please let me know. If getting to Kauai wasn't such a hassle from the midwest, this would be a no brainer. I am going to start a new post asking a question regarding SVO to SPG and the economics involved. I hope some of you will be able to set me straight in my thinking or give me some better ideas.

You are all very generous with your time and I truly appreciate all of this help.

 

[saluki]

schubes-

I think all of the info you are curious about has been discussed quite often here. I would suggest searching & reading through a lot of previous threads to get a good general knowledge base of the SVO system.

 

[djp]

[. I am going to start a new post asking a question regarding SVO to SPG and the economics involved. I hope some of you will be able to set me straight in my thinking or give me some better ideas.

The svo conversion into spg is widely regarded as a bad deal...I think there are occasions if you have a week with a lower maintenance fee (less than $1000) that it may not be terrible to trade your week for 85,800 points as is the case with Sheraton Mountain Vista. Those 85,800 points could result in 5 nights at a cat 6 (princeville hotel at $650 per night=$3250. Or 8 nights in a cat 5...at lets say $450 per night=$3600. Or 10 nights in a cat 4 at let say $350 per night=$3500. Not a terrible deal at mf's under $1000. At a place like princeville or maui the fees will be closer to $2000. So it becomes half as good a deal. Basically you are giving up 7 days in a 2br condo at princeville for 5 nights in a one bedroom hotel room at the princeville hotel. Or if you split up your lock off....you would give up 7 nights in a 1br condo and 7 nights in a studio...so 14 nights for 5 nights in a hotel room.
So for these reasons the consensus is that unless you have no other option the spg conversion is a bad deal...especially with mf's over $1000 to get 85000 points.

 

[schubes]

What about the conversion to Spg points over to air miles at a conversion rate of 20,000 points to 25,000 air miles.

I have posted a scenerio on a new thread. I think converting to first class tickets is more valuable than what people here think I can get renting out my unit for the year I don't intend to use.

 

[schubes]

schubes-

I think all of the info you are curious about has been discussed quite often here. I would suggest searching & reading through a lot of previous threads to get a good general knowledge base of the SVO system.

Thanks. I have been reading via the search function for a couple of days now. I will continue to do so. I hope that people will still answer my questions even if they have been answered 6 months ago on some other thread...It would be easier to search if they separated the *wood from the many other hotel based systems.

 

[susiequeve]

Denise M - Thanks for the clarification, I guess I didn't read the previous post to well. I get it now DUH, I'll have to call every day.

 

[DeniseM]

Denise M - Thanks for the clarification, I guess I didn't read the previous post to well. I get it now DUH, I'll have to call every day.

That is correct - Starwood does not have ongoing search. Sometimes they will let you wait-list, but only if you don't have a confirmed reservation at your home resort.