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Hi. New member who is not resident in the US, so please excuse the dumb questions.
A brief(?) history - I bought 2 weeks at The Fountains in 1998 (formerly Oasis Lakes when built and owned by a joint venture by a US/UK consortium). When BG bought the JV, I bought further points to convert my deeded weeks to points, but the reality was that this purchase was a sales gimmick which did not achieve what I believe was represented. I bought further points at a later date and this now gives me proper BG points status. This is all water under the bridge and I am happy with BG and the product. My family love to holiday in the US and BG provide an excellent means of doing this. I own 84,000 points issued bi-annually and it was my intention to rent any additional points to at least cover the maintenance fees. BG rented my points on my behalf last year, but quite frankly, the process was haphazard and slightly amateur. Confirms were for 2 nights in the main and the majority were re-booked to my account before confirmation. Not surprisingly, BG have now abandoned their rental programme.
The issue - for the next couple of years my family and I will be unable to use my points (the cost of flights alone prohibit this) and I ask for advice on how to utilise them, to maximise rental income so that we can afford to use them more in the future. I am a preferred gold member so I believe I have some leeway in booking. I have no idea what resorts are most popular. I know that demand in the school holiday season is high but I don't know when that is in the US, and I am told that demand is also high for major sporting events but again, I don't know what or when they are. Similarly, I have little idea how the timeshare rental market works in the US - who are the reputable brokers, what success rate they have and how, and how much, do they charge for their services.
You can guess that I did not join BG to rent out points but unfortunately I find myself in this position. Being so distant (Scotland) doesn't help, so I turn to fellow owners for their advice.
Thanks
A brief(?) history - I bought 2 weeks at The Fountains in 1998 (formerly Oasis Lakes when built and owned by a joint venture by a US/UK consortium). When BG bought the JV, I bought further points to convert my deeded weeks to points, but the reality was that this purchase was a sales gimmick which did not achieve what I believe was represented. I bought further points at a later date and this now gives me proper BG points status. This is all water under the bridge and I am happy with BG and the product. My family love to holiday in the US and BG provide an excellent means of doing this. I own 84,000 points issued bi-annually and it was my intention to rent any additional points to at least cover the maintenance fees. BG rented my points on my behalf last year, but quite frankly, the process was haphazard and slightly amateur. Confirms were for 2 nights in the main and the majority were re-booked to my account before confirmation. Not surprisingly, BG have now abandoned their rental programme.
The issue - for the next couple of years my family and I will be unable to use my points (the cost of flights alone prohibit this) and I ask for advice on how to utilise them, to maximise rental income so that we can afford to use them more in the future. I am a preferred gold member so I believe I have some leeway in booking. I have no idea what resorts are most popular. I know that demand in the school holiday season is high but I don't know when that is in the US, and I am told that demand is also high for major sporting events but again, I don't know what or when they are. Similarly, I have little idea how the timeshare rental market works in the US - who are the reputable brokers, what success rate they have and how, and how much, do they charge for their services.
You can guess that I did not join BG to rent out points but unfortunately I find myself in this position. Being so distant (Scotland) doesn't help, so I turn to fellow owners for their advice.
Thanks
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