What would you be looking for if you we're buying a timeshare just for exchange

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

Pretty much rules out the US.

I was thinking about some parts of Asia.

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

I know I am in the minority here when I say that exchanging still brings me great value and I'm very happy with my exchanges in RCI and II.
I'm venturing into the independents more and hopefully will have success there too.

I think owning fixed weeks at places that you want to go is a good way to have a second home without the hassles.
I own a few fixed weeks at a beach resort close to home that I've owned for more than 15 years and never exchange.

For exchanging in this climate, I think owning in a mini system like Wyndham, Bluegreen, Worldmark or Hilton etc. makes more sense.
Maybe not even owning an annual but biennials so that in case things change you aren't over committed to any one system.
I own in several mini's with biennials and so far so good. I consider it the best of both worlds. You can exchange within your home
system and then go outside to RCI if you want to stay where your system has no resorts.
With a biennial in Wyndham and a biennial in Bluegreen for example, you'd pay almost the same MF's as if in one system alone with
alot more choices that would cover you every other year with lots of options.
Owning in Hilton allows you access to "open season" rentals from the club at a discount so no need to own too many points.
Bluegreen also has this option if you buy direct from them or you get bonus time at your home resort if you buy resale.

[Doc Holiday Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Doc Holiday]

Hi Guys some good advice here. I wanted to get a feel for the market across the pond. It's a little different in the European market same principles. A mini system within a resort area seems most sensible low maintenance and able to trade with access to independents. If you want to trade timeshare this has to be worked like a mini project.

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

We are now on deposit 130 with one exchange company and had somewhere around a dozen with exchange company #2 before we gave up on them.

The only time we have ever stayed at a resort we own at is once, the year after we bought (EOY), with the purpose of purchasing the other EOY, and when we cannot rent what we own at a local resort, just for the heck of it.

So, did we buy to trade and do we still own to trade?

Cointainly.

Nuttin else to do with 'em.



And do we want to own them at all?

Nope

[stevio99 Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevio99]

Well, essentially everyone is looking to trade up.

So I'd first start with whether I'm gonna do RCI or II. Then I'd look into the systems associated with them. You really have to take some time and learn the system inside and out, especially in terms of trading. There still exists some real value in trading, the bulk of that however is for non-peak times. If your hoping to trade for Christmas/NY/Presidents/summer-schools out, it gets harder. Some resorts you just cant trade into (WSJ comes to mind). Don't forget to factor in exchange fee as well as membership fee to RCI. Also dont forget some of the best traders cost quite a bit to acquire. For example one of the best RCI traders Vegas grandview will go on ebay for a thousand or more. You have to take quite a few vacations to spread this initial cost out. It maynot be worth it as the systems change and evolve every 5-10 yrs.

I'm probaby shopping for a trader myself in the next year.

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

If you want to trade, look at the independent exchange companies rather than RCI or II. I was a member of RCI and II but gave up on them and switched to SFX 15 years ago. Smartest move I ever made. It may not work for everybody but a lot of people are pretty happy with the independents.

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

Owning to trade is a crapshoot. If that is your determined angle, look into the minisystems so that you can at least trade 'internally' and skip some of the hoops and costs that the major exchange cos put you thru.

Concur on trying independent exchange companies. They have survived for good reason, with reasonable costs and customer service far superior to RCI (I have no II experience) and they likely move the goal posts/hike the fees less often.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Another thing to look for is a week (if you go with II or some others) that has a history of getting a bonus week. Then you get 2 weeks for one. There still is the ever increasing exchange fee tho.

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

I don't know that I would buy a week just for exchange in the current state of timesharing, but if I did, it would be a week that could be deposited with a variety of exchange companies, including RCI, II, and SFX, and had the best supply/demand curve I could find. Do not lock yourself into limitations on exchange companies that are open to you. The independents may be your best bet, but having RCI/II dual affiliation can also be helpful. The independent exchange company that tends to be restrictive on what deposits they accept is SFX, so I would make certain what you buy is acceptable as a deposit there.

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

Like Chriske, I am a very, very happy camper -- er, exchanger! I feel I get amazing values through timeshare trading. My only regret is that I can't travel nearly as much as I used to, although I hope I will be able to travel more soon.

.....
Worse, I'm convinced that in the long run, exchanging will no longer be viable. Exchanging well really requires that you find inefficiencies in the exchange system---places where you can exchange for much less than market rents. But, everyone is chasing those same things, both individual owners and the exchange companies themselves. So, over time, the market will necessarily remove those inefficiencies, and you won't do any better than just renting. In fact, you'll probably do worse, because the exchange companies themselves charge for their services.....

Brian, I always find your analyses very impressive. You make many good points here. But I don't agree with the overall conclusion.

I think there will always be good exchange opportunities, at least to overbuilt places such as Orlando. Even if the exchanges companies have nothing but lower-value weeks that are a poor deal for Orlando owners, there will always be Orlando owners depositing because they are new to timesharing and don't know any better. The developers don't want this inventory rented at fire-sale prices to the general public because it would undermine their timeshare sales and maybe their hotel business. For example, Marriott will limit the number of Orlando Marriott weeks that II offers to rent to the general public, or will at least insist that prices be kept high, because they don't want cheap rentals of exchanges undercutting their timeshare and hotel business. So, Orlando Marriott weeks will continue to be available to exchangers who own at much cheaper resorts.

To put it another way, the market will not become completely efficient because there are big players (the exchange companies, the timeshare developers) who are limiting the flow of information or even outright lying (like when a timeshare salesman says their resort will exchange to anywhere in the RCI catalog.) The timeshare developers don't want an efficient market because that would ruin their sales. The timeshare exchange companies can't offer an efficient market (of rentals to the general public) because their inventory comes from the developers and the developers won't permit it. The poor schmos buying the timeshares are generally caught up in the excitement of their vacation and are swayed by what the salespeople say, and aren't doing research before they buy.

So, do I feel that I am exploiting, say, Orlando owners when I trade into Orlando using a cheaper timeshare? No, I really don't. My refusing to trade into Orlando would do nothing to change how much they paid for their timeshare or how poor a value exchanging offers to them. In fact, it would make exchanging even a worse value for them. If I deposit my Smokey Mountains week that only costs $350 in MFs fees, at least some owner how has the option to trade into the Smokey Mountains if they don't want to stay at their home resort in Orlando. (And the Smokey Mountain resort has a lovely setting with a nice lake, even if the units themselves are a bit tired.)

Also, the some resorts have their own inefficiencies, which can be exploited. For example, some resorts charge about the same in MFs regardless of size. At those resorts, it's a good deal to own a large unit. Other resorts charge twice almost twice as much in MFs for a one-bedroom as a for a studio. At those resorts, the studio is the better deal. These sorts of inefficiencies are generally written right into the governing docs, so they can't be easily changed. (These inefficiencies aren't specific to exchanging; they apply regardless of whether one is exchanging, owning to rent, or owning to use. But they are one way to get good deals when exchanging.)

To Doc Holiday -- what you should buy for a trader depends on what sort of trades you want to make. Are you interested in basic-quality resorts in high-demand times/places or luxurious resorts during lower demand times/places? (If you want luxurious resorts in high demand times/places, you probably can't get those through exchanging; you will have to rent or own the week you want.)

One thing I definitely agree with is that you should never buy a week that can *only* be used to exchange, and especially not one that only trades well in one exchange company. The exchange companies are always re-valuing weeks and a week that is a great trader today may be a dog tomorrow. Getting a week that can be rented for more than the MFs is good insurance in case the trade power tanks.

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

Has anyone mentioned that the 11/16/10 faux points system was supposed to take the mystery out of questions like this, so that everyone can see exactly what relative Trading Power is on every week, every unit size at every resort in Renting Condos Instead, and that you can check out what it would take, or should take, to trade into any week, any size unit at any resort?

(if it was available, and if the faux points were consistent as advertised)

[VegasBella Member Find all posts View Profile Close VegasBella]

I just want to apologize for my post earlier in this thread. I first read the post on my phone and it cut off the last bit so instead of asking "What would you be looking for if you we're buying a timeshare just for exchange" I read it to ask "What would you be looking for if you we're buying a timeshare". I edited to make it more about points but it's still not in the spirit of the thread. Sorry.

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

As I have posted for many years now there is only one good reason to buy a timeshare! Only reason is you love the resort and plan many returns for your family over many years. Exchange is a second option and renting it out was never a option when we joined timesharing back in the 80s. Not worth the time or hassles!

Buying at any cost is bad idea if your idea is for exchange only!

PHILL12

We have converted to the "buy where and when you want to go" philosophy and it works great for us. Some of our resorts are part of a resort system that has multiple locations in Mexico, so we do have the option to go to other locations.

We have done some great exchanges over the years, but now they seem to be a hassle and you pay the exchange fee in addition to the MF.

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

Buy where you want to go doesn't work for us because there are very few timeshare destinations that we would want to visit more than once. The only place where we like to go every year is New York City. Buying there doesn't make any sense because of the extremely high maintenance fees in NYC. We have been able to exchange into NYC quite easily. We are very particular about where we want to visit as we like where we live and have no reason to ever travel very far except for the curiosity of seeing something new.

Most of our visits are non-timesharing. We do 2 or 3 timeshare visits a year and 10 - 12 non-timeshare ones. I don't call them vacations because I am on vacation all the time.

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

Buy where you want to go/be works for us, but the timeshares we are stuck with are for renting out or exchanging.

It seems too obvious to even have to mention, but it also wouldn't work for those who want to go lots of places, the concept that made timesharing popular in the first place.

It was not the sharing of time in one place that made them popular, it was the advent of exchanging.