Value of Ski in/out on II

[Addds]

Hi all!

For numerous reasons, I am considering a 2br prime ski week in Breckenridge. The resort would either be the Grand Lodge on Peak 7 or Grand Colorado on Peak 8. (I know buying resale is cheaper, I haven't purchased anything yet, still working through the mental gymnastics of that.) Both resorts are literally feet from the lifts. They are also comfortable and well appointed. Both resorts are also "elite" on II.

My questions revolve around the value of this on II.

What is the value of a week like this on II?

Would it be easy to trade to another prime ski resort (Park City, Whistler, Tahoe)?

Would it be easy to trade for prime beach weeks (Hawaii, Caribbean)?

P.S. I am not considering this just to trade. I am trying to work through possible future contingencies.

 

[Marathoner]

II puts both Grand Lodge and Grand Colorado in their "Elite" category due to their upscale nature. Similar to many Hyatts and Marriotts, whether beach or ski locations. So, you will have similar trading power as the other upscale resorts. II does not make any distinction between ski or beach resorts. You have a similar chance of getting into either, depending on availability. Prime ski resorts are available but are not as numerous as the many Florida, Mexico, and Carribbean resorts. You can easily trade into other Park City or Tahoe ski weeks if you are willing to trade down in quality. If you want a similar level of resort quality, it is do-able but not easy. On-going searches will be your friend. Similar for beach weeks but somewhat easier than prime ski weeks from my experience.

The biggest impediment to buying outside the big hotel chain timeshares is that you will not be able to exchange during the II trading preference period for that particular hotel chain timeshare system. For example, Marriott timeshare owners will see other Marriott timeshares for exchange for 20+ days before non-Marriott owners. Similar to Starwood/Vistana timeshares. That said, I have been happy with II and you can get comparable trades with a bit of effort.

 

[Addds]

II puts both Grand Lodge and Grand Colorado in their "Elite" category due to their upscale nature. Similar to many Hyatts and Marriotts, whether beach or ski locations. So, you will have similar trading power as the other upscale resorts. II does not make any distinction between ski or beach resorts. You have a similar chance of getting into either, depending on availability. Prime ski resorts are available but are not as numerous as the many Florida, Mexico, and Carribbean resorts. You can easily trade into other Park City or Tahoe ski weeks if you are willing to trade down in quality. If you want a similar level of resort quality, it is do-able but not easy. On-going searches will be your friend. Similar for beach weeks but somewhat easier than prime ski weeks from my experience.

The biggest impediment to buying outside the big hotel chain timeshares is that you will not be able to exchange during the II trading preference period for that particular hotel chain timeshare system. For example, Marriott timeshare owners will see other Marriott timeshares for exchange for 20+ days before non-Marriott owners. Similar to Starwood/Vistana timeshares. That said, I have been happy with II and you can get comparable trades with a bit of effort.

Thanks again for your insight on this. I think ideally in the next several years we would also have purchased into either Hyatt or Marriott, so the preference period might not be the biggest issue. I'm sure we'd use a timeshare in Breck and not trade it for the forseeable future. Maybe not as much in 7-10 years as we would now. Hence the question about a trade vs taking a huge hit trying to resell.

So in your experience with II, is an elite resort a clear advantage when purchasing a week? Or is it really not that big of a deal?

Also, it seems prime ski weeks just aren't that common on the resale market as beach weeks. Is that strictly a function of sheer volume of beach resorts vs ski resorts? It also seems that some prime ski weeks retain their resale value compared to other non prime mountain resort weeks or beach weeks of any season. Granted, my search has not been scientific or exhaustive, but just a limited observation. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Marathoner]

So in your experience with II, is an elite resort a clear advantage when purchasing a week? Or is it really not that big of a deal?

Also, it seems prime ski weeks just aren't that common on the resale market as beach weeks. Is that strictly a function of sheer volume of beach resorts vs ski resorts? It also seems that some prime ski weeks retain their resale value compared to other non prime mountain resort weeks or beach weeks of any season. Granted, my search has not been scientific or exhaustive, but just a limited observation. Any thoughts on that?

I don't think the elite classification makes much of a difference in II currently. A gold or silver resort can see pretty much all the exchanges that an elite resort can. That is why Worldmark has such a strong following. It is relatively inexpensive and you will be able to see most elite and gold resorts available that are outside of the preference period.

There are a lot more beach resorts in the world than there are ski-in/out timeshares so that is the reason for the fewer ski week availability.

In my experience, holiday weeks 51 and 52 can hold their value or actually go up when purchased at a very nice ski-in/out resort from the developer. There is limited supply at this period and lots of demand due to families who want to vacation during Christmas and New Years. Floating prime ski weeks will go down in price. They may go down in price relatively slowly and may stabilize at 50% reduction from the original developer price, if you are lucky, but I know of no floating prime ski week prices which has not fallen in the resale market.

 

[Addds]

In my experience, holiday weeks 51 and 52 can hold their value or actually go up when purchased at a very nice ski-in/out resort from the developer. There is limited supply at this period and lots of demand due to families who want to vacation during Christmas and New Years. Floating prime ski weeks will go down in price. They may go down in price relatively slowly and may stabilize at 50% reduction from the original developer price, if you are lucky, but I know of no floating prime ski week prices which has not fallen in the resale market.

That is interesting regarding those fixed weeks. Point well taken. I am just assuming at least 50% reduction in price on resale as a best case scenario. But now that you mention it, I haven't really seen any of those weeks for sale at any decent ski in/out resort.

 

[ondeadlin]

Would it be easy to trade to another prime ski resort (Park City, Whistler, Tahoe)?

Would it be easy to trade for prime beach weeks (Hawaii, Caribbean)?

The comments above about trading power are accurate. That said, Whistler is an impossible trade in II. There is no inventory with any consistency, and the little inventory that does show up is not comparable to GL on Peak 7 or the Grand Colorado (or even Grand Timber Lodge, for that matter). I've had good luck trading into both Marriotts in Park City and Hawaii with less powerful weeks (Worldmark points), so you should be fine on those fronts. Tahoe is a very easy ski trade IMO. Lots of good inventory.

I would never buy a Christmas/New Years ski week unless you were planning on using it every year. The premium you'll pay, even resale, just does not justify trading it. Those weeks will hold their value, though.

 

[Addds]

I would never buy a Christmas/New Years ski week unless you were planning on using it every year. The premium you'll pay, even resale, just does not justify trading it. Those weeks will hold their value, though.

I'm starting to see why everyone says to explore Worldmark. It sounds like they trade well and are fairly inexpensive comparatively.

Ondeadlin, it sounds like you are familiar with GL7 and GTL. Do you own there? If not, have they been easy to trade into?

 

[tschwa2]

You always need to check with floating week resorts that you deposit with an exchange company, if you can reserve and choose the week to deposit. Some resorts have a schedule for float weeks where you may not always get a prime week. Some resorts allow multi week owners (or even developer purchased only) to reserve earlier making it harder for some owners to reserve prime weeks in the float system.

 

[Addds]

You always need to check with floating week resorts that you deposit with an exchange company, if you can reserve and choose the week to deposit. Some resorts have a schedule for float weeks where you may not always get a prime week. Some resorts allow multi week owners (or even developer purchased only) to reserve earlier making it harder for some owners to reserve prime weeks in the float system.

Huh, interesting. Based on the sales presentation rolleyes, it seems you are guaranteed a prime week if you've purchased that. If you deposit for trade, you may not get a prime week at that resort. I suppose I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case, but it would be contrary to what I think I was told.

 

[JohnPaul]

I'm starting to see why everyone says to explore Worldmark. It sounds like they trade well and are fairly inexpensive comparatively.

Ondeadlin, it sounds like you are familiar with GL7 and GTL. Do you own there? If not, have they been easy to trade into?

I was able to use Shell Vacation Club points through II to book two different weeks in a full one bedroom unit this ski season. It didn't seem especially difficult although I obviously booked out quite a ways. We stayed at Peak 7 which was very nice.

 

[Marathoner]

Ondeadlin, it sounds like you are familiar with GL7 and GTL. Do you own there? If not, have they been easy to trade into?

In the last two years, I've exchanged into twice into GL7 and twice into GTL. All four times during ski season - between Jan and April, both in 1BR and 2BR units at each location. It is not too difficult to trade into if you plan ahead because there are a reasonable number of GL7 and GTL owners who exchange via II.

 

[Colt Seavers]

For resale value my brief investigation showed that the Grand Lodge and Grand Timber Lodge hold their value better than most timeshare properties. The management and operations are also excellent and they are committed only to Breckenridge so that is a positive to me.

For trading the problem is that there is not much that you can trade to that would be considered better than these locations. Trading into these resorts in Interval is not extremely difficult but you also won't just find good weeks sitting there for exchange. As mentioned above Worldmark and an average Marriott week should have no problem trading in if you are patient.

 

[chrisfromOC]

The comments above about trading power are accurate. That said, Whistler is an impossible trade in II. There is no inventory with any consistency, and the little inventory that does show up is not comparable to GL on Peak 7 or the Grand Colorado (or even Grand Timber Lodge, for that matter). I've had good luck trading into both Marriotts in Park City and Hawaii with less powerful weeks (Worldmark points), so you should be fine on those fronts. Tahoe is a very easy ski trade IMO. Lots of good inventory.

I would never buy a Christmas/New Years ski week unless you were planning on using it every year. The premium you'll pay, even resale, just does not justify trading it. Those weeks will hold their value, though.

Note that the other big upside to owning a week 51 or 52 in a nice ski in ski out location is the rental potential. With our kids in school, this is the week we need and I've paid about $4500-5000 for this week on many occasions. I'm paying signficantly more than this for week 52 at Grand Lodge next year. A week 52 at Mountainside can be purchased for about $50k, and with its low maint fees could still provide a great return during the years you elect not to go there.