Okay, why not just turn the tables?

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

I think I am probably delirious, but here is a thought....RCI wants to become a rental company, we know the discussions....

We don't have to deposit with them, but they WANT our deposits....soooooo

why not create a forum where we post something like this:

"Hey RCI, we have a 2 BR Aruba week in July 4, red season....if you want it, what is your offer to me...."

Imagine if we could turn the tables on them! Get them to "promise" first, and then we deposit....

I know, I will go away now....

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

You got it!

You already have that option. They promise to give you XXX points for your week AND tell you what those points are worth. That system, unlike the unknowns of weeks, works perfectly.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

Still a bad deal unless you get enough money to get another week where you want to go in the first place. Good idea to charge them for our deposits instead of the other way around.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

You already have that option. They promise to give you XXX points for your week AND tell you what those points are worth. That system, unlike the unknowns of weeks, works perfectly.

Not always, imho. What, if enough people save up points to go to the new Waikiki Beach resort and then there is no availability? Your oldest points may expire worthless then, unless I did not understand this properly.

Isn't that the problem with some Worldmark/Trendwest resorts where everybody hopes to go to the Oregon Coast but not everybody bought there? They make you believe that you can but that ain't so.

The short trips are ideal close to home. That is a nice feature and there are others too.

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

Wrong! They DON'T tell you what you can get in Points. Like getting ff tickets, if you don't grab the most popular, limited availibility areas right when the window opens, they are likely to be gone, maybe for good. The ''values'' they give you for your week and the week you want are likely to be fraudulent. Of course that may work out to your favor if your week is in one of those overpointed areas like the overbuilt areas, and what you want is a location resort, particularly a sold out resort (that term has a sinister double meaning in the corrupt world of RCI Points). It may also work out to your favor if you own at the downward margin of one of those big groups of weeks that are overaveraged in Points, but the reverse would be true if you are at upward margin of one of those groups. It really takes the cake that a picky exact number system, where you don't get a trade if you are a measly few points short, turns around and uses overaveraging that gives weeks of very different real values the same point total. Points can never give an accurate value of a week as long as it is bound by the severe limitations of publishing tables on a paper and ink basis. It will never give honest values as long as it continues to pander to developers in sales.

You already have that option. They promise to give you XXX points for your week AND tell you what those points are worth. That system, unlike the unknowns of weeks, works perfectly.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

I think I am probably delirious, but here is a thought....RCI wants to become a rental company, we know the discussions....

We don't have to deposit with them, but they WANT our deposits....soooooo

why not create a forum where we post something like this:

"Hey RCI, we have a 2 BR Aruba week in July 4, red season....if you want it, what is your offer to me...."

Imagine if we could turn the tables on them! Get them to "promise" first, and then we deposit....

I know, I will go away now....

Katiemack,

I completely agree with you. If RCI did this, weeks trading would be a much sounder system and it would be truly market based.

Today, the rental market is the only truly market based system. Both weeks and point systems try to simulate it. Both have their flaws although I believe that points systems do a better job than weeks systems simply because everyone has access to every unit and there is an attempt made at creating differential value for various weeks.

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

I think I am probably delirious, but here is a thought....RCI wants to become a rental company, we know the discussions....

We don't have to deposit with them, but they WANT our deposits....soooooo

why not create a forum where we post something like this:

"Hey RCI, we have a 2 BR Aruba week in July 4, red season....if you want it, what is your offer to me...."

Imagine if we could turn the tables on them! Get them to "promise" first, and then we deposit....

I know, I will go away now....

II's 'deposit first' is on the order of what you are suggesting. Deposit your week with a specific request. If you don't get it, you can take back your week. Give it to another trading company, rent it, etc.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

II's 'deposit first' is on the order of what you are suggesting. Deposit your week with a specific request. If you don't get it, you can take back your week. Give it to another trading company, rent it, etc.

Do you mean "request first?"

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

Many independent exchange companies also have a request first system.

You can already do what Katiemack is suggesting with DAE and several others.

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

Do you mean "request first?"

Yes....oops...

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Unless you own you have no guarantee

Not always, imho. What, if enough people save up points to go to the new Waikiki Beach resort and then there is no availability? Your oldest points may expire worthless then, unless I did not understand this properly.

Isn't that the problem with some Worldmark/Trendwest resorts where everybody hopes to go to the Oregon Coast but not everybody bought there? They make you believe that you can but that ain't so.

The short trips are ideal close to home. That is a nice feature and there are others too.

Substitute the word money for points and you get the exact same answer. Unless you own the property there are no guarantees no matter what system you participate in. It is strictly a matter of using the most likely to succeed.

In order they are:

1) Own It. You pay a lot but you know it will be there.
2) Rent It. You may get a deal or you may pay more than owning would cost but you can always negotiate the price upward until it becomes "available". This may be the most flexible way to get use time. If the price exceeds the value to you then YOU have decided it isn't worth the cost. Thats how a market distributes product.
3) Points based exchanges. See rental above with the added limitations of what properties may be in a given system and less ability to "raise the stakes" as the values are set and it is a first come - first served assignment. The risk of not getting what you want is rising. And as you say you are under a timeline restriction that would not apply to rentals.
4) Week for week trade. Same as points above in that the properties in the system may be limited and with many more restrictions. You don't know what your deposit is worth nor what the one you want requires in trade value. No room to neogotiate price as you already gave up your value when you assigned the exchange company your time and they won't tell you what you need to get the property you desire. Risk of failure extremely high but the occasional reward can be high as well. Do you feel lucky? Risk of loss of your week is very high if you refuse to take what is offered. Tight time line.

Simplified of course but that is the general way they work.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

It isn't like that

Wrong! They DON'T tell you what you can get in Points. Like getting ff tickets, if you don't grab the most popular, limited availibility areas right when the window opens, they are likely to be gone, maybe for good.

You are applying the "weeks attitude" to points users. It doesn't happen that way as people are very careful to utilize their points to their best advantage. They don't grab the best as soon as its out there just because its there as it costs them their annual usage. They are selective and may alter use to get the best value. They also have the ability to bank, borrow and rent points to get to the number needed. Try that in weeks. Your example of grab it or its gone - maybe for good doesn't apply either. Next year the same resorts are available all over again for a fresh round of owners deciding how to best use their ownership value. In weeks they may really be gone if no one deposits again.

We have jumped on day one to get a specific resort/date or unit size a few times regardless of point cost if it was really important to us. We had no problem getting what we wanted in multiple points based systems. We have far more often taken our time and decided 6-8 months out what we wanted and used less points. A few times we have waited to the last couple months and got deep discounts and still went where we wanted in a reasonably sized unit. In 10 years we have wasted just 1000 points - those were worth about $20 in annual fees in that system.

It is very obvious you have never been in a points system when you say these things as it is a different operation entirely than the weeks "grab it or its gone 18-24 months out" world. You should relax and join a kinder, gentler request and fulfillment process in a good points based exchange system.

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

You are applying the "weeks attitude" to points users. It doesn't happen that way as people are very careful to utilize their points to their best advantage. They don't grab the best as soon as its out there just because its there as it costs them their annual usage. They are selective and may alter use to get the best value. They also have the ability to bank, borrow and rent points to get to the number needed. Try that in weeks. Your example of grab it or its gone - maybe for good doesn't apply either. Next year the same resorts are available all over again for a fresh round of owners deciding how to best use their ownership value. In weeks they may really be gone if no one deposits again.

We have jumped on day one to get a specific resort/date or unit size a few times regardless of point cost if it was really important to us. We had no problem getting what we wanted in multiple points based systems. We have far more often taken our time and decided 6-8 months out what we wanted and used less points. A few times we have waited to the last couple months and got deep discounts and still went where we wanted in a reasonably sized unit. In 10 years we have wasted just 1000 points - those were worth about $20 in annual fees in that system.

It is very obvious you have never been in a points system when you say these things as it is a different operation entirely than the weeks "grab it or its gone 18-24 months out" world. You should relax and join a kinder, gentler request and fulfillment process in a good points based exchange system.

Thats just what I was going to say except not so elaquently.

Short

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

You already have that option. They promise to give you XXX points for your week AND tell you what those points are worth. That system, unlike the unknowns of weeks, works perfectly.

I'm not in RCI Points, and don't plan to be. I WANT CASH!

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

It is very obvious you have never been in a points system when you say these things as it is a different operation entirely than the weeks "grab it or its gone 18-24 months out" world. You should relax and join a kinder, gentler request and fulfillment process in a good points based exchange system.

I would have to agree with this statement. It's too bad that many who criticize point systems have actually never experienced the good and bad of those systems. They are really missing out.

As an example, just this past week, here is what I booked in Bluegreen. Many weeks owners would probably be willing to put in a request 3-4 years in advance of check in to get these weeks:

1) July 22-29 in a 2 bedroom, 2 bath unit at Lodge Alley Inn.

2) Feb 17-24 in a 2 bedroom ocean view unit in La Cabana Beach and Racquet Club in Aruba.

3) Aug 11-18 in a 2 bedroom Cabin at Big Cedar.