The History of Exchanging

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

This will be elementary for many, but for some it may be of benefit.

For forty years, nearly, there have been efforts made to come up with the perfect exchange program.

The inherent problem associated with exchanging has always been, and still is, that more want to trade into less weeks. Some say 90% of the owners want 10% of the weeks; some say 80/20, some say 70/30, but whatever it is, some weeks have a lot of demand and others very little at all.

In the beginning, it was fixed, deeded weeks, first come first served.

Then attempts to value weeks differently started, and trading power came about.

Then came floating weeks.

Then points.

Now Weeks Points.

None has solved the problem. But, each has produced income for the industry.

Generally speaking, when folks talk about timesharing, it is about exchanging. Twenty years ago it was mostly about exchanging. Ten years ago it was mostly about exchanging.

Same today.

The more improvements I've seen the last 20 years, the more I think the first system, first come first served, was probably best. If you did not get something, it was because you were too late.

It is a topic that has always seemed to pit timeshare owners against each other.

It's a shame it has to.

[dcwojo Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dcwojo]

Thank you. Seeing it written down made me stop and think about how confusing exchanging can get. Trying to keep straight how all the different companies systems work is almost a full time job all by itself.

[Carolinian Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Carolinian]

Correction. In the beginning it was points - a points based mini-system in fact. That is the way that timeshare's very first developer, Hapimag of Switzerland, organized its business. The weeks system was developed later by a vrival French developer, and it was the weeks concept that the market liked and that is what took off. When timeshare crossed the Atlantic, it was the more popular weeks-based system that did so.

Yes, I know that many points advocates want to think it is a later ''improvement'' but that is simply wrong. Points was the original timeshare.

[chriskre Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close chriskre]

Correction. In the beginning it was points - a points based mini-system in fact. That is the way that timeshare's very first developer, Hapimag of Switzerland, organized its business. The weeks system was developed later by a vrival French developer, and it was the weeks concept that the market liked and that is what took off. When timeshare crossed the Atlantic, it was the more popular weeks-based system that did so.

Yes, I know that many points advocates want to think it is a later ''improvement'' but that is simply wrong. Points was the original timeshare.

Very interesting.
Funny how we've come full circle.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Thank you. Seeing it written down made me stop and think about how confusing exchanging can get. Trying to keep straight how all the different companies systems work is almost a full time job all by itself.

There a lot of things about timesharing that are confusing and appear to be conflicting. Some are explainable, mostly misperceptions made by us, and some appear to be intentional misrepresentations or things intentionally left out.

In our first tours, the first week, we talked openly about getting an exchange, then selling it through Classified ads. As a worst case scenario, we would at least pay our fees and make a little money on every week. No salesperson corrected that.

Of course, there is the traditional buy here and go anywhere you want, any time, that was part of every presentation. If not expressed, implied.

When we started exchanging, we could not believe how many empty units there always were, falsely relating that to lack of availability. Of course, we understand that now, but as recent as last month, we were not allowed to move to the empty beachfront, Gulfview unit the same as ours, because the way timeshare works. Well, to correct that, we would have been allowed to for another $800.

So, it, and several other units, sat empty.

Diverging . . . but back to the OP . . . there are a lot of factors involved in exchanging but the basic problem is too many wanting to trade into too few weeks. & no porgram has fairly addressed that.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Correction. In the beginning it was points - a points based mini-system in fact. That is the way that timeshare's very first developer, Hapimag of Switzerland, organized its business.

Yeah, I was trying to keep it domestic, what most would be familiar with . . . a 3 x 5 card file of weeks.

[Dancingfish Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Dancingfish]

I remember timeshares back in the 80's. If you bought a blue week you were stuck exchanging a blue week... but I don't recall rentals being an issue back then... now there are rooms available but they are slamming the door on people who pay the fees.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I remember timeshares back in the 80's. If you bought a blue week you were stuck exchanging a blue week... but I don't recall rentals being an issue back then... now there are rooms available but they are slamming the door on people who pay the fees.

Don't let the locals around here catch you saying stuff like that.