Vistana Villages Orlando - VSN Flex Vacations Ownership Plan

[SAMMCG]

Hey Tug Members - I am new to this forum and I am looking for some specific help in Rescinding a Vistana Signature Network Flex Vacations Ownership Plan I just purchased this week at Vistana Villages in Orlando FL.

For background, we bought a Sheraton Vistana Resort (Orlando) Lakes Lock-off unit from a friend (so, a re-sale) about 20 years ago. It has been great and we come down every year, exchanging through RCI and usually getting a couple 2 Bedroom units by banking the Lock-off as two 1 Bedroom units (24 + 24 points). In 2021, we exchanged for two 2 Bedroom weeks (12 points per week) and still have 24 points points left over for other exchanges. Vistana keeps telling us that we will eventually have difficulty exchanging through RCI (or Interval), but this has never been the case.

After going to owner updates every year and never spending a dime, somehow I got weak this go around and made a Flex Vacations Ownership Plan purchase at Vistana Villages (67,100 Flex Options ... $22k) to bring our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit into the VSN (95,700 Flex Options). We have good friends who also own at Vistana did this a few years ago, so this is about getting into StarOptions so we can travel together.

Based solely on the Tug research, I am going to Rescind and look for some Mandatory re-sale alternatives for getting into the VSN Flex Options Program (or, perhaps Westin). My thought is to keep the Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off timeshare as is, because we are approaching retirement and our adult children / grandchildren will use this ... or we will keep giving extra weeks to family members.

My Questions:

1) Is there any reason that we should consider bringing in our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit into VSN Flex Options?

2) Conversely, is there a reason to just leave my Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit alone and keep the RCI train going?

3) Rescinding: When we rescind the Vistana Villages Flex VOP purchase, will this automatically rescind our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit from the Vistana Signature Network? Thi separately signed agreement states that this is so based on 'cancellation by Purchaser of the Agreement for the New Purchase'.

4) Related to 3), do we need to send a separate letter rescinding the VSN enrollment of our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off?

Thanks in advance for any TUG insights!!!

 

[alexadeparis]

That‘s relatively little money to make sure both units are legitimate in the eyes of Marriott. If and when the merger details are finally announced, it will be the most likely way to ensure you can use both units fully in whatever new system they concoct. If it were me personally I would buy the new unit only if it allows you to enroll the resale. We love star options and while you can get a resale unit that comes with staroptions cheaper, it won’t requalify the old one, so overall I would do the deal. If you rescind they won’t enroll your Lakes unit.

 

[CPNY]

Hey Tug Members - I am new to this forum and I am looking for some specific help in Rescinding a Vistana Signature Network Flex Vacations Ownership Plan I just purchased this week at Vistana Villages in Orlando FL.

For background, we bought a Sheraton Vistana Resort (Orlando) Lakes Lock-off unit from a friend (so, a re-sale) about 20 years ago. It has been great and we come down every year, exchanging through RCI and usually getting a couple 2 Bedroom units by banking the Lock-off as two 1 Bedroom units (24 + 24 points). In 2021, we exchanged for two 2 Bedroom weeks (12 points per week) and still have 24 points points left over for other exchanges. Vistana keeps telling us that we will eventually have difficulty exchanging through RCI (or Interval), but this has never been the case.

After going to owner updates every year and never spending a dime, somehow I got weak this go around and made a Flex Vacations Ownership Plan purchase at Vistana Villages (67,100 Flex Options ... $22k) to bring our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit into the VSN (95,700 Flex Options). We have good friends who also own at Vistana did this a few years ago, so this is about getting into StarOptions so we can travel together.

Based solely on the Tug research, I am going to Rescind and look for some Mandatory re-sale alternatives for getting into the VSN Flex Options Program (or, perhaps Westin). My thought is to keep the Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off timeshare as is, because we are approaching retirement and our adult children / grandchildren will use this ... or we will keep giving extra weeks to family members.

My Questions:

1) Is there any reason that we should consider bringing in our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit into VSN Flex Options?

2) Conversely, is there a reason to just leave my Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit alone and keep the RCI train going?

3) Rescinding: When we rescind the Vistana Villages Flex VOP purchase, will this automatically rescind our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit from the Vistana Signature Network? Thi separately signed agreement states that this is so based on 'cancellation by Purchaser of the Agreement for the New Purchase'.

4) Related to 3), do we need to send a separate letter rescinding the VSN enrollment of our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off?

Thanks in advance for any TUG insights!!!

I’ll be short..... rescind (you got that already). Use the SVR unit for Orlando or trade in Interval. BUY A WESTIN KIERLAND VILLAS 2 bedroom lockoff worth 148K star options in resale. End of story.

 

[dioxide45]

Read through the documentation thoroughly. I suspect that there is no need to separately rescind the VSN enrollment of your SVR week. That was contingent upon your Flex purchase. Rescinding the Flex purchase should reset everything back to how it was before. As @CPNY says, you can get a resale WKV week for about $15,000 that comes with 148K StarOptions on the resale market. That is cheaper than your Flex buy and will likely retain most of its resale value. Flex goes down to $0 the day the rescission period ends.

As for trading. I would look into using Interval International instead of RCI. The fees in II are cheaper (both annual and exchange). You also get Vistana priority and have more options trading into other Westin and Sheraton properties through II.

 

[Ken555]

95.7 just isn’t enough and certainly not comparable to the unit size and number of nights you currently receive for that SVR week. Rescind and buy resale as you intend. Have fun!


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[CPNY]

Hey Tug Members - I am new to this forum and I am looking for some specific help in Rescinding a Vistana Signature Network Flex Vacations Ownership Plan I just purchased this week at Vistana Villages in Orlando FL.

For background, we bought a Sheraton Vistana Resort (Orlando) Lakes Lock-off unit from a friend (so, a re-sale) about 20 years ago. It has been great and we come down every year, exchanging through RCI and usually getting a couple 2 Bedroom units by banking the Lock-off as two 1 Bedroom units (24 + 24 points). In 2021, we exchanged for two 2 Bedroom weeks (12 points per week) and still have 24 points points left over for other exchanges. Vistana keeps telling us that we will eventually have difficulty exchanging through RCI (or Interval), but this has never been the case.

After going to owner updates every year and never spending a dime, somehow I got weak this go around and made a Flex Vacations Ownership Plan purchase at Vistana Villages (67,100 Flex Options ... $22k) to bring our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit into the VSN (95,700 Flex Options). We have good friends who also own at Vistana did this a few years ago, so this is about getting into StarOptions so we can travel together.

Based solely on the Tug research, I am going to Rescind and look for some Mandatory re-sale alternatives for getting into the VSN Flex Options Program (or, perhaps Westin). My thought is to keep the Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off timeshare as is, because we are approaching retirement and our adult children / grandchildren will use this ... or we will keep giving extra weeks to family members.

My Questions:

1) Is there any reason that we should consider bringing in our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit into VSN Flex Options?

2) Conversely, is there a reason to just leave my Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit alone and keep the RCI train going?

3) Rescinding: When we rescind the Vistana Villages Flex VOP purchase, will this automatically rescind our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off unit from the Vistana Signature Network? Thi separately signed agreement states that this is so based on 'cancellation by Purchaser of the Agreement for the New Purchase'.

4) Related to 3), do we need to send a separate letter rescinding the VSN enrollment of our Sheraton Vistana Resorts Lakes Lock-off?

Thanks in advance for any TUG insights!!!

There has been a 148K Westin kierland for $13,500 listed for a bit on eBay. That’s the one you need to be looking at.

 

[DannyTS]

Another option, better IMO and with a lower risk and more potential is to buy SVV Bella 2 BR platinum season that comes with 81,000 StarOptions.

 

[rcv82]

While the WKV path may be a good one for you, you should at least think about where you would want to go most, and in what season. Some locations can be hard to book with StarOptions in popular times. For example, if you want to go to Maui regularly, you can buy WKORV (also mandatory, but higher MFs) for about the same cost as WKV, but it would allow you to book Maui a year out. Finally, buying one of the Flex plans resale let’s you book any of the home resorts in the plan a year out using HomeOptions, but with resale you would be limited to those resorts in your plan even at 8 months as it would not convert to StarOptions.


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[Ken555]

While the WKV path may be a good one for you, you should at least think about where you would want to go most, and in what season. Some locations can be hard to book with StarOptions in popular times. For example, if you want to go to Maui regularly, you can buy WKORV (also mandatory, but higher MFs) for about the same cost as WKV, but it would allow you to book Maui a year out. Finally, buying one of the Flex plans resale let’s you book any of the home resorts in the plan a year out using HomeOptions, but with resale you would be limited to those resorts in your plan even at 8 months as it would not convert to StarOptions.


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WKORV has been less expensive than WKR for years, sometimes by a significant amount. But...the MF is much, much more expensive.


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[CPNY]

Another option, better IMO and with a lower risk and more potential is to buy SVV Bella 2 BR platinum season that comes with 81,000 StarOptions.

Yes, SVV bella is a great option. But, I go by cost. If someone is willing to drop 22K for flex from vistana then they should be willing to drop or finance (at a better rate) a $13K WKV 2bd plat resale.

Having 148K SO at such a low MF will allow the OP to hold on to roughly the same amount of SO as the original deal while saving 10K in upfront costs (not including financing).

In the future they can then deed-back the SVR and still hold on to a nice amount of SO with the WKV for just a bit more in MF’s compared to an 81K SVV unit.

 

[SAMMCG]

Thanks everyone, great options and recommendations! The WKORV home resort consideration is a good one, particularly as we do plan to travel to Hawaii.

A couple of other questions ...

I see the references to SVV Bella and SVV Key West as mandatory resorts - are these build/sales phases of SVV in Orlando, or separate resorts?

Are there any StarPoints usage limitations in purchasing a mandatory resort resale vs directly from the developer? The quote below references HomeOptions for booking home resorts in the plan a year out, but that with resale it would not convert to StarOptions. So, trying to understand this more.

"Finally, buying one of the Flex plans resale let’s you book any of the home resorts in the plan a year out using HomeOptions, but with resale you would be limited to those resorts in your plan even at 8 months as it would not convert to StarOptions."

 

[vacationtime1]

Yes, SVV Bella and SVV Key West are phases of SVV. The other sections (and all sections of SVR) are voluntary resorts and will not work for your intended purpose.

The Flex plans are voluntary so they don't convert into StarOptions at eight months. Which means you are limited to the resorts in that particular Flex pool from 12 - 0 months.

 

[DannyTS]

Thanks everyone, great options and recommendations! The WKORV home resort consideration is a good one, particularly as we do plan to travel to Hawaii.

A couple of other questions ...

I see the references to SVV Bella and SVV Key West as mandatory resorts - are these build/sales phases of SVV in Orlando, or separate resorts?

Are there any StarPoints usage limitations in purchasing a mandatory resort resale vs directly from the developer? The quote below references HomeOptions for booking home resorts in the plan a year out, but that with resale it would not convert to StarOptions. So, trying to understand this more.

"Finally, buying one of the Flex plans resale let’s you book any of the home resorts in the plan a year out using HomeOptions, but with resale you would be limited to those resorts in your plan even at 8 months as it would not convert to StarOptions."

For booking purpuses, the Staroptions from the mandatory resale contracts can be used the exact same way as those bought from the developer. The only limitations I am aware of, they cannot be converted to Bonvoy points and they cannot be converted to resort credits. The former is a lousy benefit because of the conversion rate, the later would be good to have but not good enough to pay tens of thousands to buy directly from the developer.

 

[SAMMCG]

Thanks all ... Rescinded today via Certified Mail and am thankful for the Tug forum advice! We now have time to weigh the different options and consider mandatory resort re-sales to get to the point totals we expect to use annually ... and to align with destinations we expect to frequent most.

 

[vacationtime1]

Thanks all ... Rescinded today via Certified Mail and am thankful for the Tug forum advice! We now have time to weigh the different options and consider mandatory resort re-sales to get to the point totals we expect to use annually ... and to align with destinations we expect to frequent most.

Good move.

Now, take your time. Research. Prices aren't going up in the interim.

 

[SAMMCG]

OK, so received the USPS Certified Mail text that our rescission letter was delivered. Any follow up required / suggested ... or are we good to go? Anything we should expect to hear from Sheraton Flexible Vacations, LLC ? Bought last Wed, letter to the contract requirements in their hands the following Mon.

Hate the one way delivery and not being certain ...almost feel like doing a 2nd mailing! Although TUG user threads indicated Vistana handled these properly.

Thanks!

 

[controller1]

OK, so received the USPS Certified Mail text that our rescission letter was delivered. Any follow up required / suggested ... or are we good to go? Anything we should expect to hear from Sheraton Flexible Vacations, LLC ? Bought last Wed, letter to the contract requirements in their hands the following Mon.

Hate the one way delivery and not being certain ...almost feel like doing a 2nd mailing! Although TUG user threads indicated Vistana handled these properly.

Thanks!

Just sit tight. Everything will be taken care of by Vistana. No need for a further mailing.

 

[SAMMCG]

An update on this thread - received a call yesterday from the Vistana Villages sales team acknowledging that they had received our rescission letter. Their main intent was a final push on selling us a ~ $10k (lower Flex Options Points) to bring our SVR unit into VSN. Declined interest repeatedly and told them we were going to take time to plan out our future needs. So, will update a final time once we secure our refund.

 

[SAMMCG]

Received full credit today, 18 days after our certified letter of rescission was received by the sales office. Thanks to everyone that helped with the process! Very relieved this is behind us ...