No More Laguna Surf for Preferred Status Exchange Members!

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

This is news as of Thanksgiving. Fairfield Mgmt manages a number of resorts, including Laguna Surf. Apparently after the last annual meeting, owners at Laguna Surf, who have had trouble booking their own resort, had their HOA meet with FF management. As a result, effective 2007, non-Laguna Surf owners will not be able to exchange into LS via the PSE program.

I found this out the hard way as I tried to book as week for next fall. This was't news earlier but has happened recently!

If I were a Laguna owner, I can see the desire for some protectionism to be able to book at my own resort. As a PSE member, I'm choked about this as part of my reason for buying was access to this resort. I can see some restriction made for owners on the ocean view units but I would say the streetside units should be made available for non-owners. A lot of the owners don't like the street-side units anyways and don't book them so make them available for those that want to stay there regardless of that fact.

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

Wow, that makes sense for Laguna Surf owners. After visiting Emmy at her unit this year, I can understand the appeal of this resort. That view was unbelievable. I want to own a unit there.

As a side note, this is the problem with weeks based exchange systems. Clearly, there became a supply and demand imbalance with Laguna Surf relative to the other resorts with PSE privileges. And, since it's one for one, there is no way to adjust price for the supply and demand.

What they should do is still allow it, but raise the price to exchanging into the resort. This way if an owner decides to trade out, then they will be compensated for it and will do it willingly. And, those who came in paid what they thought was a fair price. So, everyone is happy.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

As a result, effective 2007, non-Laguna Surf owners will not be able to exchange into LS via the PSE program.

I found this out the hard way as I tried to book as week for next fall. This was't news earlier but has happened recently!

If I were a Laguna owner, I can see the desire for some protectionism to be able to book at my own resort. As a PSE member, I'm choked about this as part of my reason for buying was access to this resort. I can see some restriction made for owners on the ocean view units but I would say the streetside units should be made available for non-owners. A lot of the non-owners don't like the street-side units anyways and don't book them so make them available for those that want to stay there regardless of that fact.

Gordon this really ticks me off!

Laguna Surf is the closest timeshare to my dad not even a mile. And so a PSE in-house exchange was a great perk for us.

Are you SURE? Technically you can't in-house until 10 months out. That would give the owners 2 MONTHS to make their reservations. PSE should not be an issue for the owners because of that fact.

I will have to call and check this out for myself. There were plenty of street side July available to PSE members when I last checked in. When was that? September-ish?

I certainly hope that if this is truly the case that Laguna Surf owners will not be trading into OUR resorts either.

Jim

PSE allows us to exchange at NO FEE within our group. We paid for that priviledge upfront when we first bought our resorts.

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

Are you SURE? Technically you can't in-house until 10 months out. That would give the owners 2 MONTHS to make their reservations. PSE should not be an issue for the owners because of that fact.

I will have to call and check this out for myself. There were plenty of street side July available to PSE members when I last checked in. When was that? September-ish?

I called and talked with 2 PSE guides last week and 1 guide this week. I didn't get a chance to talk with the manager as he was at the resort meeting with the HOA. This is a very recent development (around Thanksgving) as the annual meeting was held recently and the board wanted to meet with the mgmt company to deal with this issue. As such, no exchanges. I was told by the guide they could be fired for allowing a non-owner in. I asked them what about all the non-owners that have already been confirmed in but I didn't get any answers. You must have manager approval to get in.

I had called earlier this month to get ready to book my week and nothing had been mentioned to me then about this development. I guess this all came to a head last week. The property manager that looks after Laguna isn't back until the end of this week so I won't be able to get any answers then. I checked with Emmy but she hadn't heard anything on her end as an owner. She's away now and won't be able to check until she gets back.

I'm quite disappointed in this. I understand what they're trying to do but I don't agree with it. There has to be a better way. It's more react first and then we'll solve the problem later.

[I-DE-HO Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close I-DE-HO]

PSE allows us to exchange at NO FEE within our group. We paid for that priviledge upfront when we first bought our resorts.

When I bought at The Park Regency, part of the PSE system, I didn't have to pay a fee for joining. This was about 4 yrs. ago. I wonder why?

Phil

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

I missed this post completely because I was in Mexico. This week, I spoke with our President of the HOA because I had an email from him and wanted to talk to him and ask him about this too because Gordon and I had corresponded about this.

The new rule is that PSE exchanges are going to be balanced. For every exchange requested by a LS owner to another PSE resort, LS will allow a PSE exchange to our resort. This way we won't have problems with availability for LS owners here. This is how I understood it. Right now there were more requests for going out so there are exchanges available for PSE exchanges coming in but this keeps changing constantly.

Once a reservation has been made, it is firm and you will not have to worry that it will be canceled on you like with the MP.

If you have any questions, contact me and I will give you the email and phone number of the President himself and you can talk to him. Our HOA board does a very good job for us all.

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

What they should do is still allow it, but raise the price to exchanging into the resort. This way if an owner decides to trade out, then they will be compensated for it and will do it willingly. And, those who came in paid what they thought was a fair price. So, everyone is happy.

Boca, if they raise the prices for bonus time that would hurt us too. Many local LS owners take advantage of this perk because it is quite reasonable to stay here. It is almost impossible to end up on the ocean side so we have never used bonus time yet. We certainly would if it were available.

Let me give you another tip. There is a very large project next to us with stunning ocean views. Here is their web site and rates are very reasonable right now as I just looked. I don't know if all the units overlook the ocean or not. There are many ocean view rentals on this beach as we walk by them and see the signs. There is a very charming bed & breakfast place too but I would have to get the name again. We visited our friends there.

[PRASADV1 Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PRASADV1]

What is PSE?
Prasad

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

Preferred Status Exchange. When we first bought Laguna Surf in 1983, the developer went bankrupt after it was built and LS was taken over by the Glen Ivy Group. They had about 20 resorts and we could exchange into each one of them free of charge if there was room available or book bonus time at a special rate.

The resorts were managed by RCIM which was a property management company by RCI, I believe. They were located in southern CA then. It became Fairfield later and now it is Wyndham Management. Here is a very old link from the original RCIM group. Here is some more old history.

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

What resorts in PSE

Preferred Status Exchange. When we first bought Laguna Surf in 1983, the developer went bankrupt after it was built and LS was taken over by the Glen Ivy Group. They had about 20 resorts and we could exchange into each one of them free of charge if there was room available or book bonus time at a special rate.

The resorts were managed by RCIM which was a property management company by RCI, I believe. They were located in southern CA then. It became Fairfield later and now it is Wyndham Management. Here is a very old link from the original RCIM group. Here is some more old history.

Correct me if I am wrong but only a select group of original resorts belong to PSE not all resorts managed by RCIM/Fairfield/Wyndham.

What resorts are in PSE?

Short

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

What resorts are in PSE?

These are the charter and member resorts:

Club Lakeridge - Reno, Nevada
Havasu Dunes - Lake Havasu City, Arizona
Heidelberg Inn - June Lake, California
Inn at Silver Lakes - Helendale, California
Laguna Surf - Laguna Beach, California
Pacific Fantasy - Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii
Park Regency - Park City, Utah
Plaza Resort & Spa - Palm Springs, California
Pono Kai - Kapaa, Kauai, Hawwaii
San Luis Bay Inn - Avila Beach, California
Vista Mirage - Palm Springs, California
Dolphin’s Cove Resort - Anaheim, California
The St. George's Club - St. George, Bermuda

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Correct me if I am wrong but only a select group of original resorts belong to PSE not all resorts managed by RCIM/Fairfield/Wyndham.

What resorts are in PSE?

Short

The following resorts have been members of Preferred Status since prior to Jan. 1994:

Laguna Surf, Laguna Beach, CA
Pono Kai, Kapaa, Kauai, HI
Pacific Fantasy, Kapaa, Kauai, HI
Plaza Resort & Spa, Palm Springs, CA
Inn at Silver Lakes, Helendale, CA
Park Regency, Park City, UT
San Luis Bay Inn, Avila Beach, CA
Havasu Dunes, Lake Havasu, AZ
Vista Mirage, Palm Springs, CA
Heidelberg Inn, June Lake, CA
Club Lakeridge, Reno, NV (limited Preferred Status privileges)

as of January 2004 these additional resorts were availabe for Network Exchange for $59/week. Preferred time is also available :

Branson Yacht Club - Branson, MO
Cedar Ridge at the Woods Resort - Branson, MO
Emerald Point Resort - Hollister, MO
Painted Mountain - Mesa, AZ
Vacation Suites at Tunica - Tunica MS
Dolphins Cove - Anaheim, CA

[penguinpower Member Find all posts View Profile Close penguinpower]

Well heck, I own at the Heidelberg Inn and didn't know I was part of a Preferred Status thingie.

Now that I know--what the heck do I do with it???

Donna V.

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

You can try to make an exchange to the resorts that are listed here and it won't cost you an exchange fee or you can book bonus time at one of these resorts too if there is availability. We made one exchange to your resort many years ago and enjoyed our week as it was in the winter with lots of snow. I believe that the exchanges are still free today.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Well heck, I own at the Heidelberg Inn and didn't know I was part of a Preferred Status thingie.

Now that I know--what the heck do I do with it???

Donna V.

Donna we paid a one time $200 fee to maintain the PSE membership when we bought our weeks.

Call 800-647-8001 to see if you are part of the program.

If so you can exchange to any of the resorts at 10 months out at no cost.

We have been to Desert Breezes <no longer part of the group>, Pono Kai, Laguna Surf and San Luis Bay Inn and enjoyed them all.