Vacation International and/or Royal Aloha

[mlpmd56]

I am wondering how easy it is to use VI points. Often these are seen on ebay and go for fairly inexpensive....and usually have "banked" points as well. I also sometimes see Royal ALoha points. Has anyone experience with these that they can share? I must admit I am spoiled as I own at the Maui Schooner and owners can schedule 18 months ahead of time there, so I always get what I want. Reading and hearing about other peoples' nightmares with exchanges and inability to get what they want makes me gun shy. Having once tried to use a banked week with II that was a total headache also makes me take pause. However, Points Systems do seem to have great advantages for flexibility, etc.... Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[timeos2]

VI has nice resorts

I don't own in VI but one of my resorts - Cypress Pointe - has VI inventory available. In general terms a points based system such as VI which owns units at top resorts makes it easy to travel to places other than your "home" unit. They know what inventory they have and you can, with the proper amount of points in your account, simply reserve it. No trade hassles, no extra fees - if it's there you get it. You can also plan ahead for a special trip by saving up points for a bigger unit or to make multiple reservations for a larger group. Or you can squeeze more out of your points by taking smaller units at a reort you like and stay longer or go to more resorts. I now belong to three different points based systems and all three have similar results. I get to know what I have to use, what it costs to get what I want and various ways to reach the goal through pooling points, renting and borrowing. It really gives you control over how you use your timeshare ownership and that is a great feeling. So good that except for SFX based weeks trades which yield quality for quality I have no use for week for weeks trades any longer. I stopped using both RCI & II weeks in 2002 and haven't missed either one.

 

[Spence]

I own VI and it is an easy to use system with good availability at the 12month window when booking opens. It is a very straightforward system. MFs are not the cheapest around.

 

[EJC]

I have been very pleased with my Vacation Internationale timeshare. It was my first timeshare purchase, and like my other timeshares, it was purchased resale. My favorite feature is that you can book red-time stays of less than a week at most (not all) of their resorts 12 months out. I also own WorldMark, and with WorldMark you can only book short red-time stays at 60 days out (I know there are exceptions with WM like inventory specials or if only a block of time shorter than a week is available). Frequently, I book Sunday through Thursday stays to stretch my V.I. points. Since I live in Washington state, V.I. is great for drive-to locations. So far I've driven to and stayed at V.I. resorts is Sun Valley, ID; Whistler, B.C.; Sunriver, OR; Newport, OR; and Ocean Shores, WA. I've also stayed at the V.I. resorts in Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta. Another positive thing about V.I. is that their point shedule has several "seasons" for each resort, whereas WM's schedule has red season only at several resorts. Hawaii is just one example where WM is red all year and V.I.'s schedule has more than one season. That allows you to get more mileage from your V.I. points. I never exchange my V.I. points. I use every last one of them every year. The downside, and it is a big downside, is that V.I. mtnc fees are considerably higher than WM's. Plus, because of Sunterra's mismanagement and lack of properly maintaining the resorts for several years, there was a special assessment a couple of years ago. V.I. is doing the improvements over a two-year period, but spreading the special assessment hit over a three-year period. I own 105 V.I. points, which is equivalent to one week red-time in a one-bedroom. The special assessment on that amount of points is appx. $100./year for the three years. The regular mtnc fee is $4.93/point (appx. $518. for 105 points). The mtnc fee is not on a sliding scale (unlike WM), so that the mtnc fee is $4.93/point no matter how many points you own. V.I. discontinued its ties with Sunterra by buying back whatever (I don't understand all of it), and has now hired VRI as its management company. Bottom line is that you can pick up a V.I. membership inexpensively if it is just RTU. Some contracts (like mine) have a remainder deed so that some of the points never expire. Others are perpetual contracts. The remainder deed and perpetual contracts are more expensive--considerably so--on the secondary market. However, in exchange for the low front-end resale cost, you'll have a mtnc fee that is higher than WM. I'm glad I own both WM and VI because there are advantages to each system. I'm afraid I know very little about the other system you are researching. Their units look very plain to me in the RCI pictures. Royal Aloha Club used to have a very informative website, but I haven't looked at it for years. I get an email list of VI resales from a guy in Montana. If you want, email me and I'll forward his latest list to you.

 

[EJC]

Isn't Royal Aloha Club a week system? Maybe you are thinking of Royal Holiday Club which does have some point memberships. Regarding my previous long post about VI, I don't think I even answered your question. I've never had a problem reserving any of the VI resorts, but I do book 12 months out. Also,you can check VI resort availability online. The site even shows how many of each type of unit are available. It is very user friendly.

 

[aliikai2]

VI is a points system, RAVC is a weeks system

Both have some interesting benefits, like being able to internally bank for 3 years.

VI calls this a timebank, where your points go in the top and fall out the bottom into the current use year in 3 years.( effectively allowing your 4 years to use them)

RAVC allows you to carry over a week for 3 years, and at the end of the 3rd year, the week is lost.

The annual fee for a 1 bedroom RAVC is currently $495, regardless of which resort or season.

With VI you can book a 1 bedroom for 77 points for a week in low season ( in Hawaii this is May 1st -June 30th, September 1st to November 15th.)

This allows you to get a 1 bedroom unit for only $507.43 for this low season. $599.69 for mid season, and $691.95 for prime season.

These figures include the special assessment of $1.05 per point.

VI has 26 resorts with 10 in Hawaii, a nightly exchange program with WM, and an owners exchange where you can deposit a non VI week for points, or exchange into one using your points.

VI also has the flexibility to use a studio to a 2 bedroom unit in most locations, where RAVC is just a 1 bedroom or 2 bedroom, depending upon what you own.

RAVC will only allow you to have one reservation in Hawaii at any one time, for example you booked a week in July of 2007 in Honolulu for your parents, you can't book another week in Hawaii until after the July 2007 week, you can book you week up to 2 years in advance in Hawaii, 12 months in the other resorts.

RAVC has 7 resorts with 3 in Hawaii.

Both systems are easy to use, once you figure them out. We like both.

fwiw, Greg

I am wondering how easy it is to use VI points. Often these are seen on ebay and go for fairly inexpensive....and usually have "banked" points as well. I also sometimes see Royal ALoha points. Has anyone experience with these that they can share? I must admit I am spoiled as I own at the Maui Schooner and owners can schedule 18 months ahead of time there, so I always get what I want. Reading and hearing about other peoples' nightmares with exchanges and inability to get what they want makes me gun shy. Having once tried to use a banked week with II that was a total headache also makes me take pause. However, Points Systems do seem to have great advantages for flexibility, etc.... Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[rsonc]

Does VI charge any cleaning fees or any other fees besides the m/f for using one of your weeks within their system?

Thanks
Susan

 

[EJC]

They have a maid point system. Each year you get maid points equivalent to the number of membership points you own. Since I have a 105-point membership, I get 105 maid points a year. I never pay much attention to the maid point thing, but the maid points required for a 1-bdrm are like 91 or something close to that. If I just booked a week in a 1-bdrm, my 105 maid points would more than cover it. For my next 1-bdrm reservation, I'd have appx. 14 maid points left from my first reservation, but I'd have to buy the rest of the required maid points for $.85/point. A studio requires something like 70 maid points. A two-bedroom is probably like 112 points. These aren't the exact point amounts, but they have to be close. You get the idea. The maid fees are more expensive than WorldMark's. I usually make three or four V.I. reservations a year, so after the first one, I am buying maid points for most if not all of the maid fees.

 

[lonandter]

Does that mean you can't stay at RAVC in Hawaii for longer than one week even if you have several banked weeks?

 

[reddiablosv]

Does that mean you can't stay at RAVC in Hawaii for longer than one week even if you have several banked weeks?

RAVC has an exception to the one Hawaii week reservation rule which does allow consecutive Hawaii weeks to be booked. I booked consecutive weeks this year on the big island with banked weeks that came with a resale I bought on ebay. Ben

 

[rsonc]

These figures include the special assessment of $1.05 per point.

VI has 26 resorts with 10 in Hawaii, a nightly exchange program with WM, and an owners exchange where you can deposit a non VI week for points, or exchange into one using your points.

------------------

How many years is left on the special assessment? Is the m/f suppose to go lower after the SA is paid off?

How does the nightly exchange program work and can you deposit other resorts besides VI and WM for additional points?

Do you think VI is worth even with the large M/F fees? I live in Oregon and have family in Seattle. I have always wanted a WM but the initial cost is more then my DH wants to spend right now (someday, I will own one).

Thanks,
Susan

 

[ragtop]

How does the nightly exchange program work and can you deposit other resorts besides VI and WM for additional points?

VI does accept various timeshares other than WM for deposit and extra points. For example, Wapato has been accepted in the past.

The nightly exchange program is beween VI and WM. Owners of each system can exchange into certain locations in the other system on a nightly basis - not just weekly. The number of points is dependent on the size of unit being taken in the exchange.

Not sure about your other questions.

 

[aliikai2]

Yes, I

think they will have a handle on the deferred maintenance by the end of the 3rd year( 2007) and we should see a reduction in the overall annual fees.

They just had a survey ( see the attachment) that covered many items.

I have also looked at WM for years, but I can't get my head around needing to purchase 12K for about $9000 to get 1 prime week per year.
For about that much we own 768 annual VI points and what we don't use I can easily rent out Hawaii space for more than we pay in total each year.

They accept most any drive to resorts from the west coast, and looking over what they are offering, they accept almost any nice resort that has good demand potential.

The maid point thing is a little different to get used to, but I seldom need to rent more than a few points .

fwiw, Greg

These figures include the special assessment of $1.05 per point.

VI has 26 resorts with 10 in Hawaii, a nightly exchange program with WM, and an owners exchange where you can deposit a non VI week for points, or exchange into one using your points.

------------------

How many years is left on the special assessment? Is the m/f suppose to go lower after the SA is paid off?

How does the nightly exchange program work and can you deposit other resorts besides VI and WM for additional points?

Do you think VI is worth even with the large M/F fees? I live in Oregon and have family in Seattle. I have always wanted a WM but the initial cost is more then my DH wants to spend right now (someday, I will own one).

Thanks,
Susan

 

[rsonc]

There was a 130 pt per year that just sold for $800 plus closing and it included 390 points (but you had to pay the 2006 m/f) was this a good deal?

Thanks,
Susan