VI - Vacation Internationale questions

[Tacoma]

I have looked on line and know where the resorts are. They look like they are fairly basic resorts nothing fancy but in a good variety of places. With Pacific Shores closing weeks owners are being offered 112 points in VI. I know the fees are $7.95 per point with ownership forever. There are quite a few interesting locations but I am worried about fees and particularly how do you get out of this? Thoughts on taking them up on the deal or just staying away. I could see myself going to Pacific Shores at least every other year.

Any info like how many points are needed for certain resorts in certain seasons, how long you can keep rolling points forward, are there booking fees on top of maintenance, penalties if you cancel a reservation after making it etc. I have other timeshares of which my favorite is worldmark for the flexibility.

TIA
Joan

 

[T-Dot-Traveller]

Hi Joan ,
I believe Mazatlan Torres is a Vacation Internationale property in Mexico .

There is a recent / currently active thread in the TUG Mexican forum on this location.
I believe TUG - Easyrider / Bill who started the thread owns VI points . You may wish to “conversation” him .

I see you list Calgary as your location - so the Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta VI locations could be useful as a winter vacation option .

 

[JohnPaul]

I am a long time owner of VI. They have done a very good job of holding down MF costs and have put a lot of money into renovations. The fees have gone up about a dime a point every year for the last many years. Up until this year, that dime went to the renovation fund. MF are assessed for July to June. You can pay at once or monthly. If monthly there is a financing cost (I think maybe 18%).

There are very few additional fees. There is a $20 reservation fee but there are no housekeeping fees (regardless of your length of stay) and the reservation fee was put in place to offset the housekeeping fees. You must cancel more than 30 days out to avoid losing your points but there is no cost to cancel. If you pay an extra $45 when you reserve you can cancel for any reason up to the last business day before check in or adjust your reservation at no cost (otherwise a change would be $20).

I would say VI units are quite comparable to WM (which we also own) although renovations are seeing more granite, etc.

I believe that the 112 point package you are being offered is considered a typical high season two bedroom cost.

You can borrow and save points (all automatically w no fees). I think you can save for 3 years.

You mentioned going to Pacific Shores in the future but I don’t think that’s an option since it’s closing.

You won’t get much if you go to sell but it shouldn’t be hard to find a buyer.

Realize some resorts (especially Hawaii) have possible end dates which may or may not come to pass (it’s complicated). The Mexico and Canada resorts do not have end dates.

 

[JohnPaul]

PS There is an e at the end of Internationale, but they are informally rebranding to VI Resorts.

 

[JohnPaul]

Clarification - Borrow points from one year ahead. Save points for two years.

 

[ecwinch]

In another thread it was mentioned that VI is owner-governed. I seem to recall some posts about the developer going bankrupt, and the Club buying the developer rights out of bankruptcy.

Any commentary on that process?
Is VI in "active sales"?
How does the BoD balance that relationship?
BoD composition?

 

[Tacoma]

Thank you all for your replies. Pacific Shores was sold but VI is taking over the timeshares. They are offering Pacific Shores owners a 112 point ownership for free just the ongoing maintenance fees. That's why I think I'll be able to go to Pacific Shores every other year or so. I will phone them and ask some questions before I decide.

 

[easyrider]

I have looked on line and know where the resorts are. They look like they are fairly basic resorts nothing fancy but in a good variety of places. With Pacific Shores closing weeks owners are being offered 112 points in VI. I know the fees are $7.95 per point with ownership forever. There are quite a few interesting locations but I am worried about fees and particularly how do you get out of this? Thoughts on taking them up on the deal or just staying away. I could see myself going to Pacific Shores at least every other year.

Any info like how many points are needed for certain resorts in certain seasons, how long you can keep rolling points forward, are there booking fees on top of maintenance, penalties if you cancel a reservation after making it etc. I have other timeshares of which my favorite is worldmark for the flexibility.

TIA
Joan

We like Vacation Internationale for the locations. There are some we really like because the resort is so close to the ocean and others we like because they are so close to home. Our membership is a rtu that expires in about 4 years. I'm not certain that we will add more years to this contract. We have 182 points but have been adding points by trading to the VI owner exchange program.

Just so you know, a VI rtu contract can be bought resale for under $200. The cost for ours was about $150 but included 182 expiring points.

To me, a Pacific Shores July, August or September week is pretty good, imo.

VI is kind of like WM but has some differences in the quality of the units, WM being better, and the location of the resort with VI being better in some areas like Hawaii and Mexico. We originally bought VI for Hawaii but now have that out of our system. The Torres in Mazatlan is a really nice location and the resort has been refurbished.

112 points is good for a week or more in a one bed unit depending on season and location. Here is Point Brown in Ocean Shores point list. Sorry, it didn't copy well.

Bill


Stu:Studio
1bd:1 Bedroom
2bd/3bd:2 Bedroom/ 3 Bedroom
2bd Pent:2 Bedroom Penthouse
OCEAN SHORES, WASHINGTON
Point Brown Stu 1bd 2bd/3bd 2bd Pent
Maximum Occupancy 2 4 6 6
Holiday
December 20 - January 2
Memorial Day Weekend (Fri-Sun)
Presidents' Day Weekend (Fri-Sun)
Thanksgiving Weekend (Wed-Sat) 13.7 17.8 22 26.2
Prime
June 16 - October 15
Friday & Saturday
Sunday - Thursday 13.7
10.6 17.8
13.8 22
17 26.2
20.2
Choice
March 1 - June 15 (except Memorial Day Weekend)
Friday & Saturday
Sunday - Thursday 11.5
7 15
9.1 18.5
11.2 22
13.4
Quiet
January 3 - February 29 (except Presidents' Day Weekend)
October 16 - December 19 (except Thanksgiving Weekend)
Friday & Saturday
Sunday - Thursday 8.5
5 11
6.5 13.5
8 16
9.4

 

[Tacoma]

I finally got around to calling VI. They will not let me look at the points chart unless I'm a member so thank you for that look at one resort Bill. They just told me that they will not have Pacific shores anymore. I thought they would still have it and it was my main resort. They are also losing Crestwood in Montana which is a drive to destination for us. That said their other resorts are mostly in places that I have access to with worldmark. The hawaii resorts look basic with good locations but I'm not sure it's worth paying another expensive maintenance fee for. I can rent in double my points every year in worldmark allowing me around 6 weeks in a 2 bedroom unit. So as of now I don't think I'l be taking them up on their offer. Thanks to all for your help.

Joan

 

[Ron K]

I know two people who are trying to sell 241 permanent VI points for $3,000.00. Depending on how badly someone wants to get out of paying maintenance fees after they can no longer travel due to health or financial problems, there are bargains to be found.
If you are interested in discussing the ownership transfer process, send me a private conversation message.
Ron K