Sunterra trust vs deeded resale

[ernda Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ernda]

OK, I understand that buying a deeded resale Sunterra unit may require a fee of (maybe) 2995 to get that unit in the Club and get the yearly sunoptions. I see resales on some sites for the newer Sunterral trust. If you buy those do you still have to pay a fee to Sunterra to get the points or do you get the yearly point allocations (and MF's) transferred to you (taht is, after all, all you are buying). If I bought one of these trust resales would the points simp-ly add to the yearly points I get for my deeded Kaanapali unit to use as I do now or are there restrictions?

Speaking of Hawaii, do I understand correctly that new buyers into the trust there get to make reservations 13 months in advance while I get only 12 months as a deeded owner? If so I can see eventually never (or seldom) being able to get space at my "home resort". Doesn't seem---what"s that 4 letter F-word again? Oh yeah----FAIR!

Thanks again. Sure glad I found this site.

[Eileen A. Member Find all posts View Profile Close Eileen A.]

Ernda,

Search previous Sunterra treads. It will be very helpful to you. Spence is a Sunterra expert so he will probably answer as well. But I will do my best to explain.

The Trust points are only good at 19 or possible 21 properties. This does not include Hawaii. I believe they call the "Florida Trust". I think there is also a "Hawaii" Trust with Maui and Kauai but this is probably not what you are seeing for resale. If you bought the Trust points you could not use in Hawaii unless you brought it into Club. This is either with the $2,995 conversion or buying more points with Sunterra.

Here's what I'm doing. I own a deed at Sunterra Maui purchased from Sunterra. I just purchased the following resale. A deed at Villa Mirage worth 30,000 points when converted. Also 3,000 trust points purchased from the Holiday Group. I'm going to purchase 2,000 more points from Sunterra and they will then bring my total 33,000 pts into Club.

As an owner at Maui, I have the 13 month priority and will be able to book using all my Sunoptions.

I may have given you more information then you wanted. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Eileen A. Member Find all posts View Profile Close Eileen A.]

I re-read your question. I may have mispoke. I thought I had 13 months as a deeded owner at Maui but it may be only 12 months.

Maybe Spence can answer that question for us??

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I re-read your question. I may have mispoke. I thought I had 13 months as a deeded owner at Maui but it may be only 12 months.

Maybe Spence can answer that question for us??

Your Maui (Ka`anapali) week is going to fall into one of three categories:

1. A deeded week, not affiliated with Club Sunterra.
   
   You can reserve at Ka`anapali 12-months in advance in accordance with the reservation rights incumbent with your ownership. To use your week at any other Sunterra resort, you have to reserve through an exchange company.
   
   
2. A deeded week affiliated (not converted) with Club Sunterra.
   
   You can reserve at Ka`anapali 12-months in advance, using the SunOptions you received for affiliating your week with Club Sunterra. You can reserve at any other Sunterra resort (including Po`ipu) 10 months in advance.
   
   
3. A Club Sunterra Hawai`i Trust ownership.
   
   This is the situation when you either buy a Trust ownership directly or you convert your deeded Ka`anapali week to Club Sunterra. When you convert a deeded week, you give up your deed, transferring legal ownership of the deed to the trust in exchange for an ownership interest in the Club Sunterra Hawai`i trust.
   
   You can reserve at the Hawai`i Trust resorts (Ka`anapali and Po`ipu) 13-months in advance, using SunOptions associated with your Trust ownership. (SunOptions associated with non-Trust ownerships can't be used in the 13-month window.) You can reserve at any other Sunterra resort 10 months in advance.

***

As I understand Club Sunterra, the exact same rules apply for other Sunterra properties in North America, substituting the Club Sunterra Vacation (CSV) Trust for the CSV-Hawai`i Trust. In all cases, SunOptions that arise from a trust ownership may be used to reserve any properties in that Trust 13-monts in advance. I.e., the 13-month window is not unique to Hawai`i - it's a general feature of the Sunterra Trust arrangement.

[Eileen A. Member Find all posts View Profile Close Eileen A.]

Thanks T.R. My Maui falls into #2. Does this mean I gave up my deed. I don't think so but not quit sure. If I want to take my deed out of Club can I? I find it is helpful to be able to book Maui 12 months out and use my other points I have in the "Florida Trust" as well. I appreciate your expertise. Thanks!

Eileen

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

Speaking of Hawaii, do I understand correctly that new buyers into the trust there get to make reservations 13 months in advance while I get only 12 months as a deeded owner? If so I can see eventually never (or seldom) being able to get space at my "home resort". Doesn't seem---what"s that 4 letter F-word again? Oh yeah----FAIR!

You need to understand that the Hawaii Trust owns a certain amount of inventory, those owners in that Trust can only reserve the Trust's inventory 13months out, not the inventory from deed owners who have given the rights to their use to the Club. How Sunterra keeps all this straight, or if they do, I don't know, but that's the way it's supposed to work.

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

Thanks T.R. My Maui falls into #2. Does this mean I gave up my deed. I don't think so but not quit sure. If I want to take my deed out of Club can I? I find it is helpful to be able to book Maui 12 months out and use my other points I have in the "Florida Trust" as well. I appreciate your expertise. Thanks! Eileen

You gave Use Rights up on an annual basis, not your deed.

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

I re-read your question. I may have mispoke. I thought I had 13 months as a deeded owner at Maui but it may be only 12 months.
Maybe Spence can answer that question for us??

My understanding is that you have 12months.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

This is how I think Sunterra keeps everything straight.

Every week is assigned an owner. An accounting is kept for the number of weeks that are owned by each owner. When an owner affiiliates their week with Sunterra, for reservation purposes, that gets counted as a Club Sunterra non-trust week. When an owner gives up their week to the Trust, then the Trust shows on the books as the owner.

For practical purposes, the reservation system sees Sunterra Trust and Club Sunterra (affiliated) as simply two distinct owners of multiple weeks, identical with every other owner who owns mulitple weeks.

When an owner makes a reservation, the reservation systems checks to see how many weeks the owner has available to use. The owner can reserve tup to as many weeks as the system shows the owner is entitled to reserve. After a reservation is made, the availability of weeks in the owner's account is debited accordingly.

When a reservation is made using Trust-owned SunOptions, that reservation is debited against the Trust-owned inventory. When a SunOptions reservation is made by an affiliated weeks owner, that reservation is debited against the Club Sunterra non-trust inventory. When a non-Club Sunterra owner makes a reservation the reservation is debited against that owners inventory. When the inventory in any ownership account goes to zero, no more reservations cn be made in that account.

In that way, everything is kept straight and no one (theoretically) is going to be able to reserve more units than their particular ownership category has rights to reserve.

***

The issue that comes up is how much of the inventory can the Trust owners see at that 13-month window? Po`ipu reservations has been clear with me that Trust owners can make a space reservation at 13 months, but can't request a specific unit until 12 months out. But if that reservation is both a check-in date and a view category and there is no limit on the number of reservations that can be made for any period (other than the limit based on the number of units owned by the Trust), then Trust members are getting an unfair first crack at prime time bookings.

Another piece I wonder about is at what point Trust inventory makes it into the general pool?