Using Independents for exchange

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

Quoted from a post from Mark on Ask SFX Forum

Sunterra advised us, they will only allow their members to deposit a week where the member has their actual ownership. This may be a recent change in their rules. Most multi-site resorts will allow their members to deposit any week from any of the sister-resorts within the network.

I have wondered how to use my Clubsun options to do an exchange with an independent exchange company. It looks like this is the rule since Clubsun refused this would-be depositer when he tried to deposit Hawaii & Polo Towers units for exchange with SFX. It's more restrictive than I thought.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Quoted from a post from Mark on Ask SFX Forum


I have wondered how to use my Clubsun options to do an exchange with an independent exchange company. It looks like this is the rule since Clubsun refused this would-be depositer when he tried to deposit Hawaii & Polo Towers units for exchange with SFX. It's more restrictive than I thought.

Hi Barndweller - On Monday I will call a senior management contact at Sunterra to recofirm whether or not this information is correct. Historically within the industry, the golden rule has been you cannot deposit what you don't own. However, over the years most multi-site developments have "relaxed" that rule to allow their members to reserve and deposit any week within their system.

By Tuesday I will post what I have confirmed.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I would think that it would make since that you can only deposit with an independant you deeded ownership. Otherwise, there could be a run on popular destinations like Hawaii just for exchanging purposes creating a lose of units for club members. What good would membership in a club be if getting into certain resorts to actually stay at those resort would be greatly hindered by those who only wanted to boost their trading power by using a resort they do not own, do not pay MF's on, have not paid any SA's that may have been due over the years and do not vote on/for the HOA.

This would only discourage owning at the more expensive resorts, both in price and MF's and encourage owning at the least expensive resort that would get the job done.

Presently I.I. has an agreement with Sunterra that states a certain number of points will gain a particular size/quality unit. Would it be possible for SFX to arrange such an agreement with Sunterra whereby SunOptions points could be used in exchange rather than having to reserve a specific unit style and week, then deposit that week with SFX?

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

I agree with the Sunterra rule also! Fortunately my deeded units are ones I have deposited with SFX in the past so I know they will accept them & grant bonus weeks if reserved in peak times. That of course is the hard part, getting those peak times & being willing to fork out the sunoptions. I'm not quite sure what the would-be depositor was trying to gain. Maybe the bonus weeks??

It would behoove (sp?) SFX to pursue an arrangement with some of the points mini-systems. Hyatt, Sunterra, Bluegreen, Hilton, Worldmark come to mind. All are higher end or have high demand locations. Let's hope Mark puts our "suggestion" forward if it hasn't already been considered. Sure would be a major selling point for membership with SFX. HINT HINT HINT!!

[zdxlc9p6 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zdxlc9p6]

I own 5 Hilton's and have had no problems reserving HGVC weeks to deposit with SFX. If it ain't broke, don't fix it (at least HGVC).

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I agree with the Sunterra rule also! Fortunately my deeded units are ones I have deposited with SFX in the past so I know they will accept them & grant bonus weeks if reserved in peak times. That of course is the hard part, getting those peak times & being willing to fork out the sunoptions. I'm not quite sure what the would-be depositor was trying to gain. Maybe the bonus weeks??

It would behoove (sp?) SFX to pursue an arrangement with some of the points mini-systems. Hyatt, Sunterra, Bluegreen, Hilton, Worldmark come to mind. All are higher end or have high demand locations. Let's hope Mark puts our "suggestion" forward if it hasn't already been considered. Sure would be a major selling point for membership with SFX. HINT HINT HINT!!

Barndweller - what makes you think we don't already have these relationships.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I would think that it would make since that you can only deposit with an independant you deeded ownership. Otherwise, there could be a run on popular destinations like Hawaii just for exchanging purposes creating a lose of units for club members. What good would membership in a club be if getting into certain resorts to actually stay at those resort would be greatly hindered by those who only wanted to boost their trading power by using a resort they do not own, do not pay MF's on, have not paid any SA's that may have been due over the years and do not vote on/for the HOA.

This would only discourage owning at the more expensive resorts, both in price and MF's and encourage owning at the least expensive resort that would get the job done.

Presently I.I. has an agreement with Sunterra that states a certain number of points will gain a particular size/quality unit. Would it be possible for SFX to arrange such an agreement with Sunterra whereby SunOptions points could be used in exchange rather than having to reserve a specific unit style and week, then deposit that week with SFX?

Hi Doug - Whether you have a deeded interest or just club points, in a multi-site development you "generally" can request your week of use at any of the properties to either use or deposit with an exchange company. One way or the other whether you have a deeded or points based interest, does not put a brake on the best locations being requested.

Even forgeting external exchange... do you not think out of all the Sunterra properties, the properties in Hawaii are the most requested and probably the most difficult to get just from within the membership? The whole product is sold as a product to use or exchange, and historically around 70% of all timeshare owners trade their time, which is the propensity of the product.

.........."Presently I.I. has an agreement with Sunterra that states a certain number of points will gain a particular size/quality unit. Would it be possible for SFX to arrange such an agreement with Sunterra whereby SunOptions points could be used in exchange rather than having to reserve a specific unit style and week, then deposit that week with SFX?".......

Doug, as far as I know, it may not be any different with us. When a points member wants to bank their week with us, they have to use a predetermined number of points for the unit deposited. I will post clarification on this issue early next week.

Hope this helps....

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

Mark

Thanks for responding on the Sunterra Forum, as this issue is probably most important to us over the SFX alone community. And . . . if worked out favorably with Sunterra Management, you might just get a whole lot of new members at SFX!!!

I want to clarify my reasoning, as a previous person questioned why i would be doing this . . .

I have no need for points, bonus weeks, or to play some game. I am a platinum CS member with more than enough points.

However, Sunterra and II do not have access to some locations. SFX does. I want to go to Maine in the summer, and I want to ski in the Berkshires of MA in the winter. Neither are in CS or II. SFX has access to both. There are also hard to get locations and weeks. SFX may have a better chance if traded for a like property.

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

Dave
Please don't take offense at my comment. I was just curious about where you were trying to exchange with your deposits since they are resorts that are not the most effecient use of Sunoptions. I'm a novice at points usage so I'm always curious how others get the exchanges they are after. Your reasoning makes sense since those resorts you tried to deposit are desired by SFX exchangers.

I too have been thinking about booking something with my Sunoptions & depositing it with SFX for exchanging in the future. It makes sense to book something for exchange that is highly sought after to maximize trading power but I still want to make maximum use of my points at the same time. And I am interested in getting bonus weeks, especially if I've used a lot of options to book something prime to deposit.And now it seems we can only book our deeded units for exchange purposes.

Do you feel SFX would have good availability in the eastern US? I was under the impression that they specialize more in the west & Mexico & Hawaii. I'm also interested in locations outside of the west so I hope you are successful. Please keep us posted on how this works out for you.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Dave
Please don't take offense at my comment. I was just curious about where you were trying to exchange with your deposits since they are resorts that are not the most effecient use of Sunoptions. I'm a novice at points usage so I'm always curious how others get the exchanges they are after. Your reasoning makes sense since those resorts you tried to deposit are desired by SFX exchangers.

I too have been thinking about booking something with my Sunoptions & depositing it with SFX for exchanging in the future. It makes sense to book something for exchange that is highly sought after to maximize trading power but I still want to make maximum use of my points at the same time. And I am interested in getting bonus weeks, especially if I've used a lot of options to book something prime to deposit.And now it seems we can only book our deeded units for exchange purposes.

Do you feel SFX would have good availability in the eastern US? I was under the impression that they specialize more in the west & Mexico & Hawaii. I'm also interested in locations outside of the west so I hope you are successful. Please keep us posted on how this works out for you.

Barndweller - you bring up some good questions, but I am surprised at your comment " I was under the impression that they specialize more in the west & Mexico & Hawaii".

What on earth lead you to have this impression? We have booked thousands of people over the years all over the Northern American Continent, Caribbean, Europe, Australia, Thailand and even China. Subject to availability, we can access any "quality" resort in any timeshare you see listed in any system.

As to the depositing of deeded weeks only from Sunterra properties, there needs to still be clarification, which hopefully will be by this coming Tuesday.

Hope this helps...

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Mark

Thanks for responding on the Sunterra Forum, as this issue is probably most important to us over the SFX alone community. And . . . if worked out favorably with Sunterra Management, you might just get a whole lot of new members at SFX!!!

I want to clarify my reasoning, as a previous person questioned why i would be doing this . . .

I have no need for points, bonus weeks, or to play some game. I am a platinum CS member with more than enough points.

However, Sunterra and II do not have access to some locations. SFX does. I want to go to Maine in the summer, and I want to ski in the Berkshires of MA in the winter. Neither are in CS or II. SFX has access to both. There are also hard to get locations and weeks. SFX may have a better chance if traded for a like property.

Hi Dave - Let me add to that. It's not just a question of accessing more locations, I would say it's more about accessing high quality resorts in the same areas giving you more choices, more options, and if there are more resorts you can access in the same areas you want to travel to, then there is more critical mass for exchange possibilities thus possibly increasing your likliehood for exchange.

If there are only 2 resorts in a given area that are in the other companies you mention, and via SFX there are 5 more (because via SFX you can request resorts listed in both RCI & I.I. and not be restricted to just what's in I.I.'s directory), then there are possibly greater odds of you getting an exchange.

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

Mark's Reply to the Big Question - NO GO!

Dave - here is clarification with regards to Club Sunterra's SunPoints and SFX.

Here is our understanding of Club Sunterra's Sun Options Points. When you own Points in their system, at this time, you may only request and reserve space (subject to availability) internally within their system which includes certain Sunterra Resorts and other inventories Club Sunterra accesses through various resources.

One of those resources is Interval International. However, you are not actually making an exchange through Interval International. Club Sunterra has a pool of hundreds of thousands of points (currency) with which they access space to fulfill their Member's requests. Interval International is one of several resources they access with their points, but no actual exchange is made by you personally with I.I. Club Sunterra is essentially a system you buy into to only use the space they access through their network, through points-acquisition.

This is unlike a conventional timeshare exchange, whereby you can reserve and deposit a week, and exchange for another week in the pool. Or, if you own a Points system that allows "external" exchanges, you would reserve a weeks worth of points and deposit them with the external exchange company for a week of exchange. Best described Sun Options is an "internal" exchange system only, that uses their points currency to acquire space through various resources for request fulfillment.

Please note that Sunterra Owners of deeded interests still may use SFX Preferred Resorts for their exchanges. We hope this explanation clarifies the different structures, and again thank you for your interest in SFX Preferred Resorts.
__________________
Thank you,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

SFX Preferred Resorts
SFX Preferred Resorts the San Francisco exchange company

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

The Simple Answer is NO!

Mark

Very sorry to hear that, but thank you for the research and for working on our behalf. I and many other Club Sunterra members are very saddened to learn that we CAN NOT use SFX or any other exchange then II and of course internally with CS.

I think I read your statement to also say that ONLY NON-CLUB Sunterra property owners can join and exchange with SFX. That would mean that even us hybrid deed-holding club members CAN NOT. After all, we have assigned our deeds for now directly to Sunterra.

Thank you very much for your help. I will no longer be such a bother.

DWMantz

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Mark

Very sorry to hear that, but thank you for the research and for working on our behalf. I and many other Club Sunterra members are very saddened to learn that we CAN NOT use SFX or any other exchange then II and of course internally with CS.

I think I read your statement to also say that ONLY NON-CLUB Sunterra property owners can join and exchange with SFX. That would mean that even us hybrid deed-holding club members CAN NOT. After all, we have assigned our deeds for now directly to Sunterra.

Thank you very much for your help. I will no longer be such a bother.

DWMantz

Hi David - No bother at all. This is all part of the online timeshare community. Your input and feedback is invaluable. We are waiting for further clarification regarding those who are holding deeds with access to points. Should know by tomorrow.

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

Perhaps these are other problems with the Sunterra system that could be addressed through such sources as Sunterrafied and Home