Ins and outs of Interval. It is what it is.

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

I believe you are wrong. I searched yesterday with two resorts with a phony number that I haven't paid maintenance fees for or deposited either. One was a Marriott (MM1) and the other one was Laguna Surf (LAS). I know that I have to pay maintenance fees for LS, if I deposit but not for the Marriott, I believe. Am I right Pat?

It's all very confusing for me too as we seldom exchange but I still like to know how to do this myself. In the past, we have always called the exchange companies if we made an exchange.

Yes, you are correct.

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

I believe you are wrong. I searched yesterday with two resorts with a phony number that I haven't paid maintenance fees for or deposited either. One was a Marriott (MM1) and the other one was Laguna Surf (LAS). I know that I have to pay maintenance fees for LS, if I deposit but not for the Marriott, I believe. Am I right Pat?

It's all very confusing for me too as we seldom exchange but I still like to know how to do this myself. In the past, we have always called the exchange companies if we made an exchange.

I know one thing and that is that many people here know more than most people in the timeshare business and they share their information freely and are very helpful answering questions too.

Welcome to TS4MS, if you like to fit in.

I search all the time using my Marriott weeks as well as other weeks we own(or points as the case may be) without paying MF's or depositing the week with Interval. I find it's part of the fun of owning timeshare. I like to see all the places we can go with what we own. It also gives me ideas for exchanges we might like to make in the future.

[Justjean Member Find all posts View Profile Close Justjean]

Now no number required? Extra week?

This is so weird. I went back to check the browsing procedure as instructed and now no registration number was required. [?] They also listed an unredeemed week that I think I don't deserve. It is week 46 of 2009 - two weeks before the week we own which I recently booked [which was week 48 of 2009.] I clicked on it anyway and they did not ask for a reservation number.

What do you suppose is going on? By way of history, I had deposited a Westgate week a few weeks ago with the intention of getting a Disney week. When I found out that was impossible, I asked Westgate to restore my Branson week. They said they would, but it was just a one time deal. About a week later, I decided I would just go to one of the other Florida resorts [I wanted the extra bedroom I knew I could get] and ate humble pie and asked Westgate to go ahead and deposit my week afterall. They noted that my history showed I had just recently deposited with II but had it taken back... none-the-less "just this once" they would redeposit.

Did they wind up giving me an extra week? I hesitate to contact them about this as I don't want things to get loused up as regards the arrangements I do have. Will the system catch it eventually and resolve?

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

This is so weird. I went back to check the browsing procedure as instructed and now no registration number was required. [?] They also listed an unredeemed week that I think I don't deserve. It is week 46 of 2009 - two weeks before the week we own which I recently booked [which was week 48 of 2009.] I clicked on it anyway and they did not ask for a reservation number.

What do you suppose is going on? By way of history, I had deposited a Westgate week a few weeks ago with the intention of getting a Disney week. When I found out that was impossible, I asked Westgate to restore my Branson week. They said they would, but it was just a one time deal. About a week later, I decided I would just go to one of the other Florida resorts [I wanted the extra bedroom I knew I could get] and ate humble pie and asked Westgate to go ahead and deposit my week afterall. They noted that my history showed I had just recently deposited with II but had it taken back... none-the-less "just this once" they would redeposit.

Did they wind up giving me an extra week? I hesitate to contact them about this as I don't want things to get loused up as regards the arrangements I do have. Will the system catch it eventually and resolve?

No, you do not have an extra week. What interval shows online as available is not always accurate. Even when I deposit and exchange my Grand Regency week Interval still shows that week as unredeemed. In the exchange agreement you acknowledge that the exchange is not complete until Interval confirms the availability of the week you're attempting to exchange.

If you were trying to trade a Westgate Branson Woods week for a Disney week, IMHO you'd have likely been dissapointed anyway. Branson typically doesn't have that sort of exchange power and Westgate isn't on par with Disney quality. Keep in mind that exchanges are typically like for like. You'd have been taking a significant step up in quality going from Westgate to Disney. I'm positive the salesman told you that Branson was one of the top requested destinations and that Branson Woods was the top requested resort in Branson but, timeshare salesmen lie.......a lot. We go to Branson 2 or 3 times per year and occasionally take one of the tours. Without fail they all try to tell us that Branson will exchange for any resort, any time and anywhere. It's a lie. Branson trades decent but, it's average at best. It's won't pull the top resorts during peak season in many instances.

Branson doesn't to bad when exchanging so long as you select a good week. With Branson, that means a summer week. Week 22 is about as strong a week as you can get in Branson. Most of the July weeks do very well also. We own two resorts in Branson, one of which trades through Interval. It's done reasonably well when I've searched with it and, this past month we exchanged that 1 bedroom week 22 unit for a 2 bedroom July week at The Ridge Tahoe in Lake Tahoe. To be honest, I was very surprised that this particular week would pull the resort, week and unit size (went from 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom) that it did. Needless to say, I'm very happy with that exchange and with Interval as an exchange company.

FWIW, when you deposit a week, ordinarly that week now belongs to the exchange company and anyone who wants to exchange into you week can do so. You were fortunate to get it back. I wouldn't plan on being so fortunate in the future. That should tell you something about the over supply situation in Branson for the particular resort and week you deposited. Essentially, it doesn't appear to be that high of a demand week. Otherwise, you probably wouldn't have been able to get it back.

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

The drawbacks are that you have to commit your week first in order to browse .

You are wrong, With RCI you have to deposit a week before searching, II lets you search first without making a deposit and thats one thing we prefer with II.
We search first all the time with no problem.

[bezerk Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close bezerk]

Gold membership is useful IF u book getaways (more then 2 a year) and if you are interested in the new short stay/split week program.
Otherwise, no, not worth it.


What studio - resort and check-in date please - do you have and how far before check-in date did u deposit?
This will help us to assess how successful u wil be in your II trading.

Grayfal..thanks..think for now I'll just stay basic and not upgrade to the Gold then. I would be using my unit but in light of my health issues this year I am having to deposit, cancel, etc. many vacations, but this shall pass. I would most likely not use any extra vacations least not now....already probably have too many timeshares and weeks of vacation. I appreciate your input.

I deposited into II, a studio week at Paradise Village in Nuevo Vallarta Mexico. It was booked for me for July but I was forced to cancel, so they said to deposit into II and they gave me a further out date in Sept I believe, so at least that gives me two years to do something with it...
I am pretty positive I deposited it in the end of May, the last few months have been a kind of blur, so just giving you guesstimats, as too lazy to look it up now LOL.

Thanks again....

[Justjean Member Find all posts View Profile Close Justjean]

bait and switch?

Dougp....

Went to your site and looked at your photos of Branson. We've had the timeshare for 3 years but never stayed there yet. Figured we could at least travel there if push came to shove with the gas situation and mostly wanted it to trade even though they don't recommend it.

I want to ask if the pictures you took were from one of the older buildings or what? This is not the same timeshare we saw by a LONG shot. I am apalled. There are some similarities, but the window treatments, carpet, bedspreads, countertops, cupboards, furniture and detailing are not the same at all. What does that leave?

Is this the exception or does this happen all the time, getting less than the model one was shown with no one wanting to seem the fool by complaining?

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

Dougp....

Went to your site and looked at your photos of Branson. We've had the timeshare for 3 years but never stayed there yet. Figured we could at least travel there if push came to shove with the gas situation and mostly wanted it to trade even though they don't recommend it.

I want to ask if the pictures you took were from one of the older buildings or what? This is not the same timeshare we saw by a LONG shot. I am apalled. There are some similarities, but the window treatments, carpet, bedspreads, countertops, cupboards, furniture and detailing are not the same at all. What does that leave?

Is this the exception or does this happen all the time, getting less than the model one was shown with no one wanting to seem the fool by complaining?

Let's start with Westgate. Westgate is considered by most to be one of the least ethical compaines in the timeshare world. Don't get me wrong, almost every developers sales force will exagerate (some would say lie) about the benefits of owning and about their own system but, Westgate will take it to extreme's.

The pics on my Webshots page are of one of the quad plex units by the small pond not far from the new tower. I'm sure you were shown the newer tower which should have nicer amenities. However, when you exchange your unit, Westgate is most likely putting one of the older units into the exchange system with Interval. There's two ways to look at this. One is that the nicest units are saved for those that own at Branson Woods or with Westgate and have exchanged end. Other exchangers get the older units. The other way to look at it is you bought something new, fancy and nicer but, when you exchange Westgate gives up something less than what you paid for, potentially lowering you exchagne value.

The older units were not built by Westgate. This resort was once owned by a developer named Grandvista. Grandvista sold out their timeshare's to Westgate in order to focus on developing the new Branson Landing. Essentially, Grandvista got out timeshare development by selling out to Westgate. Thus, the two very different styles of buildings. Most timeshares built by Westgate will be on the lines of the tower at Branson woods.

As I mentioned earlier, timeshare salesmen lie. It is VERY common to get less than what they show you. They'll show you the very best but, if you baulk at the price they'll come down on price (and quality or quantity) but fail to tell you that what they're now pricing out is different from the program you'd been shown. Diamond Resorts International does this when they show their 2 bedroom deluxe units but only sell enough points in one of their trusts to reserve a standard studio unit (best example I can think of off the top of my head). It's up to the consumer to pay attention to what they're buying and what's being sold. That's why all states have a cooling off period written into the contract where a buyer can cancel the contract within the time period set by that state (minimum of 5 days and up to 10 days for some states).

You really need to stick around and spend some time on this website. There is much to learn. You're likely to find you've been sold a bill of goods compared to what you thought you bought. Most, if not all, of us have been there. Even though we might get taken the first time, as a general rule we've all found timesharing to be a great value for our vacation needs. Presently we own 7 timeshares and, for the most part, that's the only way we vacation.

Branson is not a bad place to own. Two of the timeshare's we own are in Branson and, one of the sytems we own in has a resort in Branson that we use (Suite's at Fall Creek). One of the weeks we own (Grand Regency) was purchased resale off E-bay for $285. Unfortunately I didn't do enough research and I could have probably found that week for $1 or even for the cost of closing and title transfer. Still, we've received more than $285 worth of value for it.

Branson is a very seasonal destination with summer months being the strongest in demand. If you can get Westgate to deposit a summer week for you, you'll do reasonably well exchanging you're week. As I mentioned earlier week 22 is about the strongest week on Interval's demand index for Branson. We recently reserve our 1 bedroom unit at Grand Regency for that week and were able to exchange it for a two bedroom unit at The Ridge in South Lake Tahoe. That's a move up in size and a move up in quality. Grand Regency is only a preferered rated week where The Ridge is a premier rated resorts. The demand index for both weeks was about equal as I recall. So, exchaning up in size, quality and season can and does happen. But it usually happens with manual online searches rather than allowing Interval to do the searching for you.

If I'm not mistaken, Westgate will try to pick the week for you that is to be deposited. If you can avoid it, DON'T let them do this. Look at Interval's demand index and choose the week you want to reserve and deposit. Reservationist will try to tell you that any red week will trade as well as any other red week. One look at Interval's travel demand index for Branson will show you that this is not true. Weeks 13 thorugh 21 are rated and less than average on the demand index but, they're still red weeks. Weeks 32 through 42 are slighty better than average (105 with 100 being average) but, week 22 through 31 are the stongest demand weeks with a rating of 115 to 130. When trying to exchange in Interval's like for like system, demand index figures in right along with resort quality and unit size/sleeping capacity. If you purchased to exchange keep this in mind and don't let Westgate try to tell you the week 50, which is still a red week, will be as strong as week 22 which is the strongest on the travel demand index.

Any of us on this forum are more than glad to dole out our advice. Many of us on this site have been timesharing for many years. We've all had to spend time learing how best to manage our timeshare ownerships in ways that fit our needs best. My wife and I are planners and will book vacations out 12 to 13 months in advance. I already have our 2010 vacations planned out and I'm already comtenplating where to go in 2011, what resorts I'll use to get there and which ones I'll lock out for multiple weeks from one ownership.

But you don't have to be a planner. There are many that do last minute exchanges and get great value by doing so. Sometimes Interval will offer an accomadation certificate for your deposit (extra weeks vacation). They give these out when the demand is high enough but the inventory isn't that high. I've found the best value for an AC can be in making last minute exchanges when most of the exchange restrictions have been taken off. A last minute exchange with any week can often get you a great exchange but, you do have to be flexible and choose from what's available at that time. Sort of like shopping from the sale rack in a clothing store. You're picking from what's left over but, often there are some GREAT weeks if you can just be flexible in your thinking of where you want to go.

[Justjean Member Find all posts View Profile Close Justjean]

More ins and outs

Is there any way to get Westgate to assign a better week upon deposit? At the inception of our contract we were told what was "available" which was week 48. We were assured that not only was it a red week but that it was popular because some people love the idea of vacationing over Thanksgiving.

Second question: We were also told it was a floating week. So how does that work?? Does it mean we can ask to reserve a better week?

Second question. Does Interval really take into account the quality of one's resort? I have read some saying they have a great week and a great resort but rarely get a good situation offered by II. How does one find out how a resort is rated?

[Lisa P Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lisa P]

I have a couple weeks at an "unbranded" silver pineapple resort with a pretty decent supply/demand curve, and got great value out of my II exchanges. However, I mostly used it for Disney, so I'm on the fence about whether to renew or not, as my II-affiliated weeks are also all affiliated with RCI (where I have a "free" RCI account with my Wyndham pionts ownership.)

In the same boat. With no current deposits in II and our last II exchange scheduled for next winter, I'm trying to decide whether to cancel our II membership after that or keep it for the possibility of wanting to deposit a week with them next year.

How do you "browse" through what is available without depositing your week?

It's only possible to do a "search first" look, if you've already listed your ownership at the resort with II at some point already. This generally requires an "add a resort ownership" fee or making a first deposit with II from that resort. Otherwise, II has no idea that you own from that resort and there's no mechanism for them to give you the ability to search. Once you've listed the ownership with II or you've made a past deposit to II from that resort, you may use the methods discussed elsewhere in this thread to "search first."

All I'm saying is if you own what everyone wants you get whatever you want.

Not necessarily and this is a common misconception (and salesperson's tip) that leads many owners to disappointment after they paid the big bucks for a premium week, thinking that II/RCI exchanging would be as easy as making a hotel reservation. It takes a strong week, yes, but it also takes available inventory. If the desired week does not get deposited, you can't get what doesn't exist. A big problem, even for top week owners, who want to trade into a New Year's 2BR week in a ski-in/ski-out high-end resort or July 4th beachfront 2BR at a resort that doesn't allow deposits of their most popular weeks with the external exchange companies and keeps them all for their resort/system owners. It's just not that cut-and-dried.

[Lisa P Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lisa P]

Is there any way to get Westgate to assign a better week upon deposit? At the inception of our contract we were told what was "available" which was week 48. We were assured that not only was it a red week but that it was popular because some people love the idea of vacationing over Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving week is usually week 47. Sorry, but that's not a strong week in Branson, or nearly anywhere.

We were also told it was a floating week. So how does that work?? Does it mean we can ask to reserve a better week?

The question is, what weeks are within your allowable floating season? Normally, you may ask to reserve any week within your float season. However, Westgate has been known as one of the companies which will allow you to reserve what you want for your own use but then swap it for another week when you ask them to deposit it. Let us know the range of weeks in your float season and we may be able to make suggestions for the best to request for exchange or renting it out.

Does Interval really take into account the quality of one's resort? .... How does one find out how a resort is rated?

Yes. A significant part of it is the award rating. Look up your resort in II's online Resort Directory. If it has a gold or silver award, the emblem will appear next to the resort name. These award ratings matter with both II and RCI but much more with II.

[Justjean Member Find all posts View Profile Close Justjean]

Thank you Lisap

Thank you Lisa P. I found my resort and it has sort of gold palm symbol by it. Some resorts have more than one of these. What does that mean?

I also saw silver pineapples. Is that a lesser or more informal resort?

Are there other symbols as well? What does it mean if there is no award mark at all?

[Justjean Member Find all posts View Profile Close Justjean]

Another on floating weks

I believe we were told all of Westgate Branson Woods is Red and that the whole thing is floating except for those who pay a premium for a specifc building for a specific week at the start. If this is the case, can I ask for or insist upon ANY week if I ask early enough?

If so, do I then ask to reserve a week that has high trading power? If I ask well in advance will they be truthful with me as to what is available? Will they honor a request to put that specific week up for exchange?

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

Thank you Lisa P. I found my resort and it has sort of gold palm symbol by it. Some resorts have more than one of these. What does that mean?

I also saw silver pineapples. Is that a lesser or more informal resort?

Are there other symbols as well? What does it mean if there is no award mark at all?

The gold palm is the symbol for premier, which is the top rating Interval gives to resorts. The silver pineapple is a preffered resort. For the most part, IMHO this has more to do with the number of amenities that a resort offers than quality of accomadations. Over the years we've seen a lot of variation in resorts with the same rating. The one constant has been the number and types of listed amenities. Amenities such as onsite pools, hot tubs, convenience store, 24 hour desk, restaurants, laundry facitilities and fitness centers.

There are basically three levels premier, silver and nothing. Most Westgate resorts have enough amenities to qualify as premier and, for the most part, Westgate resorts are quality resorts. The should trade reasonably well if you have a resort in a high demand area and you are given a decent week to reserve. As mentioned above, Westgate has been reported to have this nasty habit of giving owners lessor demand weeks when they deposit for exchange. While most timeshare's don't have a great reputation, Westgate is generally consider to be one of the worst for shafting it's owners. You have to watch what they do and demand what you have coming to you. If your float season includes summer weeks and you want to reserve and deposit a summer week, you may have to fight with Westgate to get them to deposit a summer week rather than a November week. Of course they'll give you the song and dance that any red week has the same exchange power, which is a lie. Anyone can look at Interval's travel demand index and see that's not true.

You probably should spend some time with your Interval International resort directory and read through the first 20 or so pages. It explains how Interval works, how they rate resorts, how to exchange and what things they look at when considering who gets what exchange. It will answer a lot of your questions.

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

I believe we were told all of Westgate Branson Woods is Red and that the whole thing is floating except for those who pay a premium for a specifc building for a specific week at the start. If this is the case, can I ask for or insist upon ANY week if I ask early enough?

If so, do I then ask to reserve a week that has high trading power? If I ask well in advance will they be truthful with me as to what is available? Will they honor a request to put that specific week up for exchange?

Branson is not all red time. The first 12 or 13 weeks are slow season and I believe are rated as either yellow or green weeks.

In a float week system you can reserve any week that has availabilty. When reserving a week in a float system for exchange, it's always best to reserve the highest demand week necessary to get the exchange you want. Since most of us don't know for sure how much trade power it will take to get specific exchanges, the general rule of thumb is to reserve the strongest week available. In Branson, that's week 22. I don't know why but that's how Interval has it rated.

Some resorts try to convince you that any red week is as stong as the next. You may have to be insistant to get the week you want deposited. If they argue with you, have them look up Interval's demand index and explain why one week would be rated stronger than the week they're trying to force you to take. You may not have any problems as all and they may reserve and deposit the week you request. Others were reporting a couple of years ago that Westgate was trying to change the rules and not allow owners to deposit the week the requested. I don't know if that remains true or not.

Will they be truthful or honor your request? It's impossible to say until you make the request and see what they do.