Would this strategy work on a direct exchange

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

So here is the situation. An offer was made to exchange my Westgate Palace 2BDRM for a STW 2BDRM on another website from a Starwood Owner and they are looking for a July 1st week 2013. I checked and it is available but there is a small upgrade fee because it is a holiday week. That's fine, I am not worried about that it's just that my 2013 plans or pretty much done and I wouldn't be able to use the week they give in return.

I had mentioned to them that since they are a Starwood Owner they have preference with II and I would prefer a week in Atlantis instead. I already agree, that it makes no sense for her to deposit her week and pay the exchange fee and take my week when they could probably get a better week trading directly through II. So that idea of course was shot down.

They are now offering to do a direct exchange, but suggested that I then deposit the week they give me. They obviously worried that if they deposit their week, and then cannot get the Atlantis week that I want (or any for that matter) that they may get shafted.

My question is would it retain the Starwood preference? Can I deposit somebody elses week like this? Even if it does not have preference, it would still more than likely have greater trading power then my WG week correct? I am guessing that she would book hers, and then I would call to deposit it. If I do that, how long is it good for? I most likely would not be able to utilize this until at least 2014.

Alternatively, if I say get another summer week, I can still rent out the week she gives me correct?

Hopefully this all makes sense.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Quick answer. She can do a request first with her 2013 week in II. If u are opent to going to Atlantis August thru Jan/early Feb and take a 1br u should be okay.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

You can not deposit her week in your II account.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Thanks Pat. So it would probably be better for me to do the direct exchange, and then rent out whatever week she gets for me in return. I'd like to trade July 1 for the same, but it may be too late to get that week at SWT. I am gathering that is why they are looking for something else, instead of just trading in to Sheraton Vistana. Either that, or does not want to pay the exchange fee. In either case I would definitely say this is a trade down for her. I just wish that I could utilize the week in 2013!

Is there a time late in the year, say October where it would still be viable and an enjoyable vacation? I've never been to MB but always wanted to go. Judging by the TDI other than summer, it is very easy to get in at other times of the year. I may not even be able to get the summer week that I would want to rent, and getting something outside that zone would not net me profit. I know that Spring Break can sometimes be desirable but can I look for a week in 2014 with a 2013 week like that?

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Thanks Pat. So it would probably be better for me to do the direct exchange, and then rent out whatever week she gets for me in return. I'd like to trade July 1 for the same, but it may be too late to get that week at SWT. I am gathering that is why they are looking for something else, instead of just trading in to Sheraton Vistana. Either that, or does not want to pay the exchange fee. In either case I would definitely say this is a trade down for her. I just wish that I could utilize the week in 2013!

Is there a time late in the year, say October where it would still be viable and an enjoyable vacation? I've never been to MB but always wanted to go. Judging by the TDI other than summer, it is very easy to get in at other times of the year. I may not even be able to get the summer week that I would want to rent, and getting something outside that zone would not net me profit. I know that Spring Break can sometimes be desirable but can I look for a week in 2014 with a 2013 week like that?

Sorry, posted on the run!

How I am reading this is....

You will give her a Westgate July 4 week for a Starwood week in return.

You can not use a Starwood week until 2014.

Your option would be to have her make a Starwood internal reservation using StarOptions for 2013 and you either use or rent out the week...
OR
Have her put in for a summer/Fall 2014 exchange for Harborside thru II using her 2013 week.
A 2013 Starwood week is good thru June 30, 2015 in II and is considered a request first...so if the Harborside does not match, it is still 'good'.
You will not (99%) have a problem getting an II Harborside exchange using a Starwood week as long as you are open for the August thru Nov/December time frame. I have been going in the fall for many years and always enjoy my time there, the weather and the water is warm and it is back to school time so not too crowded.

It would also be nice to visit Myrtle Beach in the fall - be aware that the Sheraton Broadway Plantation is not on the ocean/water. JUST re-read your post - the best weeks for rental would be 23-33....outside of that, not so much.

The other option that is a sure bet SVN II exchange is Hawaii - and with the lead time of 2014, should not (99%) be difficult with an ongoing request.

EDIT - remember that you can rent a week your trade partner gets from Starwood using StarOptions but not an exchange made thru II.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

I gathered your post was a quick one! I think the issue for the other party is paying the exchange fee. If we go direct, she does not pay one so although it is a down trade she gets the week she wants and pays nothing OOP. Otherwise she could just pay the exchange fee, and trade into the Vistana's and AFAIK get a better property.

My thought process is to pay the exchange fee for them, and then have them put in the request first for November 2014 which will be my birthday leaving the Starwood property in their account. My only alternative is having her reserve a summer week and renting it which will at least cover my MF's of which I am less likely to do trying to rent out my own Orlando Westgate week.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Many Starwood owners are not familiar with the II exchange process - SVN doe NOT encourage owners to use this route, looking down on the whole thing.
They have done there best to make the whole experience a bad one by no lomger allowing owners to reserve and deposit a week - it is all 'generic' deposits - I used to be able to deposit July 4 Myrtle Beach for a TDI of 150 - now, it is a 'combo' deposit of weeks 9-43 trade power - you get the drift....

Anyway, if you can pursuade the person to do the II exchange, you can have a nice Atlantis/Hawaii/Westin Lagunamar trip.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

I am going to try getting the other person to book the July 1st / 4th week first and then see what other possibilities are available in the summer. Obviously the July 1st / 4th will have the greatest rental potential, despite II giving it the same TDI as everything else. I know the 2013 week will NOT be utilized but if I failed to rent it I could at least get to SC and forgo my trip to NS (although the wife wouldn’t like it).

My concern with going the other route is that we already have a non TS cruise trip tentatively planned for winter 2014, and a trip to Alberta in the summer. We generally go to NS one week a year so trying to fit another trip which includes flights may be over my budget both financially and vacation wise. Postponing as far as 2015 winter would be a risky proposition for Atlantis. It may work for Hawaii or Lagunamar so I would probably go those properties instead.

Perhaps I plan to far ahead?

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

You need to take more vacations

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

Oh to be a 25 year veteran with 6 weeks of vacation time! Some would say I travel entirely too much already, including myself sometimes.

You need to take more vacations

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

Oh to be a 25 year veteran with 6 weeks of vacation time! Some would say I travel entirely too much already, including myself sometimes.

You can never travel too much.

Life's short. Enjoy the traveling while you can cause there may come a day when you won't be able to do it anymore.

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

Thanks Pat. So it would probably be better for me to do the direct exchange, and then rent out whatever week she gets for me in return.

The reason for a direct exchange is for trading use for use without an intermediary. If I did a direct exchange, I would NOT be letting the other party rent out my week, which is what you want to do. First, you're not the owner so you wouldn't be allowed to add the rentor/guest. You would have to have the owner do it. Second, the potential liability opens up a huge can of worms for both you and the other owner. Third, assuming you got past the first two, if the rentor wanted to check the ownership before going through with the rental, they would find out you're a third party.

[gandalf252002 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close gandalf252002]

I don't think this individual would be conscerned about me renting out her week, or is that knowledgeable but you make a very valid point, but that would be a whole other story as this will likely become irrelevant.

When the proposal was first made, I thought it was 2BDM for 2BDM. Now I find out that they want to give me a 1 BDRM for my 2 BDRM. Even at that they are hedging their bets and still putting in a request with II and would Atlantis to the search and then will trade with me if they cannot get something else.

I would rather have forced myself to try and use it, but don't think this person is commited to any one strategy and I'm not taking any chances. Even after I said that travelling in 2013 was not going to be possible, they said they would try and get me Dec 10. Gut feeling tells me its not worth it, so I'll pass and wait for my CMV to come in. There are other ways to get to Atlantis and I would like to try and help this person out.

Perhaps I'll just recommend that they rent out their week and I'll make a reservation at mine and they can pay me cash!

The reason for a direct exchange is for trading use for use without an intermediary. If I did a direct exchange, I would NOT be letting the other party rent out my week, which is what you want to do. First, you're not the owner so you wouldn't be allowed to add the rentor/guest. You would have to have the owner do it. Second, the potential liability opens up a huge can of worms for both you and the other owner. Third, assuming you got past the first two, if the rentor wanted to check the ownership before going through with the rental, they would find out you're a third party.

[SOS8260456 Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close SOS8260456]

Gandolph (currently watching Lord of the Rings-so I like your userid)

We had a similiar situation this past Easter. We gave up a prime Ocean City summer week for an Easter week at Sheraton Vistana Resort. While it seemed like a downtrade for us, when we decided to head to Orlando it was last minute and availability was in very short supply, actually non-existant. Our vacation came first and after our vacation, I started to worry about what would happen if she had to cancel her summer vacation for whatever reason. I honestly did not know how we would have handled it. We did not do any kind of signed contract and I think that we should have. Something detailing what would happen in the event that one party cannot take advantage of their portion of the direct exchange.

The purpose of the direct exchange is to get an exchange without paying extra fees, but to also get an exchange using timeshares that you have already paid the fees on, so that you have no additional money out of pocket.

Your situation sounds similiar to ours. They have a week with a technically higher demand, but you have a unit with currently a low supply. I think alot also has to do with maintenance fees. If they are getting you a Harborside using Harborside's options that have extremely high maintenance fees compared to practically anything else, then I think they should rent their own unit out and then rent from you. But if they are using Starwood options from a property that has maintenance fees that may be comparable to yours, then you may be able to get this to work. Where I see a problem is looking to make a profit from what ever week you exchange from each other.

If the other party could not have used our summer week, I am not sure that I would have allowed them to rent it. I probably would have taken it back and rented it ourselves. Then either tried to find them another comparable exchange from what we own or in the end maybe tried to give them a reasonable compensation. On the other hand, if they were dealing with an exchange company and they could not use the week, then they may have been totally out of luck and not received any compensation. Also, if they cancelled last minute with me, I would be out of luck, as it would be too late to deposit the week and possibly too late to get a renter for it.

Those were all the thoughts that went through my mind AFTER we took our portion of the exchange. As you know AFTER is not a good time to be addressing those issues. I think if you make out a detailed written agreeement that covers all possiblities then you should be able to work it all out. After all, it is just like a rental, only the two parties are not using cash for the transaction.

I know I am probably rambling, but hope some it helps. Good luck!

Hey, if all else fails, I am looking for a Harborside direct exchange for May 2014, we could do a 3 way - oooh sounds kinky!