What exactly does a week number assignment along with floating mean?

[TJALB]

I'm ashamed to say that I've been buying resale timeshares for years but, never really looked into how the week number affects the timeshare. I know if it's "Fixed" then that's the only week an owner can use. However, if a week number is assigned to a TS and along with that it states "Floating" or "Platinum" then what does that mean to the owner? Also, does 1-52 mean the TS owner can book any of those weeks? Then ... does 1-50 mean the TS owner is blocked out of the last two weeks of the year?

I currently own 4 weeks at Westin/Marriott and 2 weeks at Diamond/Hilton. I don't think I've ever had a problem because all my weeks are "Floating/Platinum". Thought it was time I understand the week designation.

Thanks in advance to all my TUG friends!

 

[artringwald]

When a deed is floating, the week number on the deed is just a guarantee that the developer does not sell more deeds than weeks available.

 

[TheHolleys87]

Our weeks at Kona Coast are “floating Winter” weeks. We can book any week beginning with week 51 of one year through week 16 of the next. But we have no right to book weeks 17-50.

 

[rickandcindy23]

A seller on ebay was recently selling a week that is not listed in the platinum category. If the week on your deed is a week 26 in Palm Desert, you aren't going to be able to book platinum season, which is winter.

I just rented my week at Grand Palms, Surfside, SC, and my guests were amazed at the resort and are now interested in buying. She noticed my for sale ad and asked how much. I told her my total price with closing costs included.

She then told me that there is a free week on Timeshare Nation, and so I looked at the only ad I saw on the website. That one is a floating winter, weeks 50, and weeks 2-4. I told her mine is a floating summer week, not winter. I don't know if she understood the difference, but it's a big difference. She is a teacher and probably cannot travel during those times of year. She told me there was another one for summer that is now gone. So basically, she is telling me my week is worthless. Well, I rented it to her for $300 over MF's, so I guess it's not really worthless. I told her that I would continue to rent until someone buys my week(s). I have plenty of time. I have sold 3 out of 5 already.

 

[AwayWeGo]

We formerly owned unit B36A10B at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas, Orlando FL -- Bldg. B, Unit 36A+B (i.e., both sides of lock-off), Week 10. All usage at the resort was floating, however, so owning B36A10B gave us no special rights to check in for either side of the Unit B36 lock-off during Week 10 or any other time. We had to call up the management company's reservation office in California & make a reservation.

Somewhere in the official condominium documents that apply to all owners at the resort was language specifying which weeks got Diamond usage (higher-demand weeks) & which got Emerald (lower demand). (Diamond owners could reserve Emerald weeks, but Emerald owners were pretty much limited to Emerald weeks.) Other than that, all weeks in all units were up for grabs.

Not only that, by waiting to long to nail down a reservation, it was possible to get completely shut out. If all weeks were spoken for by the time an owner called the reservation office, then that owner got zippity-doodah for the year despite paying his or her maintenance fees & everything. If an owner who got nothing by calling the reservation office in July, say, asked what happened to the week that he or she paid for, the answer would be that it was 1 of the weeks that went by when a unit stayed vacant some week between January & June. Fortunately we did not learn that the hard way.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[chapjim]

We formerly owned unit B36A10B at Cypress Pointe Grande Villas, Orlando FL -- Bldg. B, Unit 36A+B (i.e., both sides of lock-off), Week 10. All usage at the resort was floating, however, so owning B36A10B gave us no special rights to check in for either side of the Unit 36 lock-off during Week 10 or any other time. We had to call up the management company's reservation office in California & make a reservation.

Somewhere in the official condominium documents that apply to all owners at the resort was language specifying which weeks got Diamond usage (higher-demand weeks) & which got Emerald (lower demand). (Diamond owners could reserve Emerald weeks, but Emerald owners were pretty much limited to Emerald weeks.) Other than that, all weeks in all units were up for grabs.

Not only that, by waiting to long to nail down a reservation, it was possible to get completely shut out. If all weeks were spoken for by the time an owner called the reservation office, then that owner got zippity-doodah for the year despite paying his or her maintenance fees & everything. If an owner who got nothing by calling the reservation office in July, say, asked what happened to the week that he or she paid for, the answer would be that it was 1 of the weeks that went by when a unit stayed vacant some week between January & June. Fortunately we did not learn that the hard way.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

Another one of those "when you snooze, you lose" situations. The ability to timely plan vacations is a crucial aspect of timeshare ownership.

 

[Sandy VDH]

Hilton sells a week number, but that only represents a season that is your home season, unless you own an EVENT week. An Event week automatically books that week for you, which you can cancel and use the points for something else.

 

[rboesl]

There's a little more to the week number than what's been discussed here so far. Assume your resort is affiliated with Interval International or RCI. When you decide you will not be staying at your home resort and will deposit it with either II or RCI. Those organizations use the week number as part of determining how many points they will give to exchange for others in their system. It's part of the formula used to "value" your deposit.

 

[TJALB]

So, its as I thought. If it says floating the week number is inconsequential to me. That explains why I've never had a problem with it.
Thanks Artringwald!

There's a little more to the week number than what's been discussed here so far. Assume your resort is affiliated with Interval International or RCI. When you decide you will not be staying at your home resort and will deposit it with either II or RCI. Those organizations use the week number as part of determining how many points they will give to exchange for others in their system. It's part of the formula used to "value" your deposit.

Thank you for the info. I don't use any exchange programs but, I can see where the week number would come into play using it there.
Thank you

 

[TUGBrian]

this underlines why its so very important to research a timeshare purchase ahead of time!

 

[DouginSC]

I don't really understand the week # thing either. All I know is we own Bldg 205, Unit F2 Week 21 odd years at Grand Palms Resort and have never had any issue getting a unit anytime during the year....even in the peak of Summer.

 

[sponger76]

I don't really understand the week # thing either. All I know is we own Bldg 205, Unit F2 Week 21 odd years at Grand Palms Resort and have never had any issue getting a unit anytime during the year....even in the peak of Summer.

Each deed sold corresponds to a specific week of the year in a specific unit just as a placeholder so they can keep track and make sure they don't sell more than the resort can actually accommodate. Basically they sell them the same way they would have sold a fixed week, fixed unit, but when it comes time to reserve instead of being limited to that specific week/unit it's first-come, first-served within that unit type and season.

 

[TJALB]

I don't really understand the week # thing either. All I know is we own Bldg 205, Unit F2 Week 21 odd years at Grand Palms Resort and have never had any issue getting a unit anytime during the year....even in the peak of Summer.

Glad that I’m not the only one in the dark about this.

 

[TJALB]

Each deed sold corresponds to a specific week of the year in a specific unit just as a placeholder so they can keep track and make sure they don't sell more than the resort can actually accommodate. Basically they sell them the same way they would have sold a fixed week, fixed unit, but when it comes time to reserve instead of being limited to that specific week/unit it's first-come, first-served within that unit type and season.

Makes sense. Thanks for the insight. It’s all starting to make more sense.