Exchanging with II - Beginner

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

Hello Everyone,

I am new with II and Timeshares. We recently purchased a TS with Welk Resort - San Diego. We exchanged our points for a 1 bedroom thru II.

We want to go to Oahu, Hawaii anytime in the summer (6/12-8/21/09) and we want to stay at Marriott - Ko Olina Beach Club. The problem we have is that we need a 2 bedroom. I can not do the exchange online since it is only allowing me to put in a request for a 1 bedroom. II told me that I need to keep calling in and hopefully there is a 2 bedroom available.

Do you think I have a good chance of getting a 2 bedroom at this resort? I was thinking of putting my request in for the Marriott Waiohai Beach Club in Kauai which has nothing but 2 bedrooms. However, the airfare will be alot more for me to fly to Kauai then to Oahu.

Any suggestions?

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

This will be a tough exchange - you need a back-up plan!

Hello Everyone,

I am new with II and Timeshares. We recently purchased a TS with Welk Resort - San Diego. We exchanged our points for a 1 bedroom thru II.

We want to go to Oahu, Hawaii anytime in the summer (6/12-8/21/09) and we want to stay at Marriott - Ko Olina Beach Club. The problem we have is that we need a 2 bedroom. I can not do the exchange online since it is only allowing me to put in a request for a 1 bedroom. II told me that I need to keep calling in and hopefully there is a 2 bedroom available.

Do you think I have a good chance of getting a 2 bedroom at this resort? I was thinking of putting my request in for the Marriott Waiohai Beach Club in Kauai which has nothing but 2 bedrooms. However, the airfare will be alot more for me to fly to Kauai then to Oahu.

Any suggestions?

Hi and welcome to TS Forums

For a new TS owner, you have a very good idea of how II works - they are quality conscious and VERY size conscious - so yes, you can not put in an ongoing request for a 2BR unit using your 1BR unit at resorts that have 1BR units.

And YES, you can put in a request using your 1BR for a resort that ONLY has 2BR and you might get a match. This usually occurs when you are using a high season 1BR to trade into a mid or low season 2 or 3BR. And you can not count on this happening except in areas where there are MANY TS - Orlando, Branson, Williamsburg come to mind.

Do you have a good chance of getting this trade??? I would think not and here is why. When a Marriott owner deposits a unit, only another Marriott week can exchange into that unit for 24 days. That initial deposit would have to sit online and not be taken by another Marriott owner for 24 days - PLUS because this is a resort that has lock/offs, MANY owners do just that - lock off and deposit each side separately or lock/off and rent or lock/off and stay in Hawaii for 2 weeks - making the likelihood of a 2BR deposit very low.

So these are unfortunately the biggest obstacle you face - plus the fact you want to travel during school vacation time.

Are there any other resorts you might consider beside Marriott - because the larger the number of resorts and the more dates you have - the better your chances.
AND - with the current economy, you NEVER know what will be sitting online or will be canceled opening up the possibility of your exchange.
I do think that your home resort has the quality to exchange into Marriott properties - but you are asking for a tough exchange.

[tonik Member Find all posts View Profile Close tonik]

Trading with II

Would you not have a better chance with RCI? I know I traded my studio unit in Vero Beach (Hospitality Level, week 35) for Orlando and when I was looking, there were many 2 bedrooms elsewhere (as I know Orlando is saturated with tm's).

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

Would you not have a better chance with RCI? I know I traded my studio unit in Vero Beach (Hospitality Level, week 35) for Orlando and when I was looking, there were many 2 bedrooms elsewhere (as I know Orlando is saturated with tm's).

OP was looking for specific Marriott weeks - which currently trade with II not RCI.
I do not know if Lawrence Welk trades with RCI - some resorts are dual affiliated and in this case where OP wants a 2BR for a 1BR deposit - RCI WOULD be a better choice as they do allow trading up in size.

[tonik Member Find all posts View Profile Close tonik]

Lawrence Welk

Lawrence Welk does trade with RCI as I have been looking in that region; however, not sure about the certain Marriott that the poster wanted.

I am actually looking to trade in Lake Tahoe, and with my beachfront studio unit, it would let me trade for the Lawrence Welk but they only had a 1 bedroom available in Aug-Oct.

Sorry, I am new at this too so not very informed. Trying to figure out now if I want to deposit the June 21st 2 bedroom resort on cocoa beach to see if more will show up. Not sure so I am afraid to do that.

Hopefully, the original poster will get what she wants but I heard from my boss who has been trading for a long time that he did not like II as much as RCI as the trading power was much less. Please correct me if I am wrong.

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

Hello Everyone,

I am new with II and Timeshares. We recently purchased a TS with Welk Resort - San Diego. We exchanged our points for a 1 bedroom thru II.

We want to go to Oahu, Hawaii anytime in the summer (6/12-8/21/09) and we want to stay at Marriott - Ko Olina Beach Club. The problem we have is that we need a 2 bedroom. I can not do the exchange online since it is only allowing me to put in a request for a 1 bedroom. II told me that I need to keep calling in and hopefully there is a 2 bedroom available.

Do you think I have a good chance of getting a 2 bedroom at this resort? I was thinking of putting my request in for the Marriott Waiohai Beach Club in Kauai which has nothing but 2 bedrooms. However, the airfare will be alot more for me to fly to Kauai then to Oahu.

Any suggestions?

When you own a high value 2 bedroom unit which " locks-off ", most owners deposit only the unit as 2 seperate weeks ( 1 bd & studio) So II will have very few 2 bd units to give to anyone.

The best way to get a 2 bed unit at a resort like this is to do 2 trades. one trade for the 1 bd unit and a second trade for a studio unit. Then call Marriott and ask them to put the weeks together for you. ( like asking a hotel for adjoining rooms)

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

I have found II to be MUCH more size particular than RCI. With my Myrtle Beach week I used to split my LO unit and get 2br almost always, even with ongoing searches. II doesn't allow that. II also seems to have more exclusive periods for owners of a group of resorts, Marriott and Starwood being examples.

II however, seems to be a little less particular about timing of deposits than RCI. With RCI a LOT of your power is influenced by how early you deposit. Less so with II. They both use proprietary calculations though so no one really knows.

You can maximize your trading power by booking the highest demand week you can, for floating weeks owners, and by depositing EARLIER. I deposit my RCI weeks AT 12 months out which is as early as I can with my resort. I think that is why I get a lot of 2br for my 1br deposits.

You can not influence the other trading power factors - resort, region, demand, exchangers feedback, unit size, resort recognition (II 5*, RCI Gold Crown). That is mostly determined when you purchase or by someone else. You can control when you deposit and that makes a BIG difference with both exchange companies. Yes, I do have to prepay my MF when I deposit a yr early but since I do it every yr I am always ahead so after the first time it makes no difference to me. Occasionally I have to pay the difference between the estimated and the actual at invoice time but that is usually less than $50 and a couple of times I have even gotten a credit because they over estimated!

I hope this helps. Feel free to PM if I can help more!

Captron