We owned in the Welk system from 2000-2015 after trading into the Escondido property for many years before that. We started out with a resale fixed unit/week in the original section of the Escondido property and converted to their points program in 2010. We sold our points back to them in early 2016. Overall, we enjoyed the properties we visited, but decided that we preferred our Marriott and Westin properties and systems more. I have also addressed your questions below within the quote of your post. I know you are looking for a resale, but I would add, stay away from their sales people. We did not care for them at all (big surprise!).
Good luck with your decision.
Best regards.
Mike
Our son and DIL live in San Diego, and DW and I have been looking at the possibility of buying into one of the Welk properties in Escondido.
I'm curious about fellow TUGgers opinions of the Welk system. Specifically:
- It's a small system with most of its properties in the West, but how does it trade within II? MJM1 response: We traded both our original fixed 2 BR unit and using our points via II. I would say the trades were good, but not great. We usually traveled during shoulder season with these trades. The sales team will show you how owners trade into Marriott in Hawaii, etc., but I never saw it. We did trade into Marriott Marbella, Cypress Harbour in Orlando, and Aruba Ocean Club, but again they were shoulder season. One good thing with Welk is you get an accommodation certificate with each trade via II. We also received some decent "trades" using those we used, but a lot of Tuggers don't see much value in them. One thing to note, if you buy points and want to trade via II, Welk will assign a resort and week based on what they space bank with II. You don't have the ability to reserve a high demand week and deposit it yourself. They say this provides greater trading value, because they space bank the weeks well in advance. I don't buy it.
- How do the quality of the units compare to the nicer systems like Hyatt, Vistana, or Hilton? MJM1 response: The quality of the Welk resorts we have stayed in are quite nice, although I would put them a notch below those you mentioned and Marriott. One exception would be their property in Palm Springs. They remodeled the units a couple years ago, but it is not at the same level as their other resorts. The original units in Escondido are some of the largest 2BR units you will find.
- How easy is it to exchange within the system using points? For example, I've found that exchanging within Hyatt is very easy, within Hilton reasonably so, and much more difficult within Westin/Vistana for certain properties. MJM1 response: You won't have any trouble using points to stay in Escondido. The property is huge and consists of the original Lawrence Welk Resort Villas (fixed 2BR non-lockoff units sold as weeks), Villas on the Green (lock-off units sold as weeks but not fixed weeks/units), and Mountain Villas (only sold as points). Mountain Villas includes some 3BR units too. The only other resort we used points to reserve in Sirena del Mar in Cabo. We didn't have any problem getting a week in early January a few years ago. They have three buildings currently, with two of them with direct ocean views. Exchangers may be assigned units in the 3rd building, which is behind the first two, so the views aren't as good from what I have heard (some don't have ocean view). They added units at the Hyatt Residence Club at Northstar several years ago (very high end) and built some additional units on land they acquired in that purchase. I have not seen the new units. They also bought land in Kauai (not on the ocean) and Colorado. I don't think they have started building either property. If you buy points resale, be aware that you cannot combine point contracts. As a result, your MF's will be higher because they start with a base fee for points and add an incremental amount based on the number of points.
- What is Welk's record of MF increases? Hyatt and Hilton do a good job of keeping increases roughly in line with the CPI. Westin/Vistana, not so much. MJM1 response: Like all systems, the MF's increase over time. Our fees went from $428 in 2000 to about $800 in 2008, not including property taxes, which are billed by the county. The MF's for the 300,000 points we converted to in 2010 went from $1,128 to $1,379 in 2015.
- How is the quality of the system's customer service department? Helpful phone agents? Ease of use of their website? MJM1 response: We always felt welcomed by the people at the resorts as well as the agents that I spoke with over the phone. The website seemed functional, although I didn't use it that often.
- Finally, how do they do in the resale market in terms of retention of value and marketability? MJM1 response: If you buy resale you should find that the value will maintain it's value within reason. Of course, buying direct is another story, as usual. When we decided to sell our points, I watched on redweek, TUG Marketplace and eBay, and didn't see much activity for Welk. A lot of postings, but not many sales. I contacted the resort and discovered that Welk started a sister company to buy back points and units from owners. It was an easy process and the price was not much different than what I thought we may get if I could find a buyer, so we sold it back to them. I posted that process on a separate thread at the time.
Thanks so much in advance for your comments and insights.
