Ongoing, Online & The 14-Day Window

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Every five years or so, I guess, something meaningful seems to come out of my daily online search for January in SW FL. In 2004, for instance, I was able to document the first falling off of availability.

For 12 years, since RCI.com began, there has been considerable discussion concerning the relative merits of Ongoing Searches v. Online Searches, and a small part of that discussion is what happens at 14 days before checkin (search date). Some contend that the Ongoing Search continues, so they are still first in line, and some contend that at 14 days it is a free-for-all.

Reference my SW FL January thread for posts since 12/4/09:

http://www.timeshareforums.com/forum...-beach-25.html

On that date I started an Ongoing Search for 1/8 & 9/2010.

Today it is 14 days before the relevent check-in date, 1/9/2010.

In that thread I have been following the 14-day window, and at 14-days out for each of the check-in dates since 12/4, stuff has appeared that was not there before.

Today, stuff appeared online for 1/9/2010, three resorts in my search area. The Ongoing Search did not match to any of them, or any others.

I have received no notification from RCI that my Ongoing Search has been discontinued, and when I view it online, it is still in place. So, if I did not know what I know, or do what I do, if I just followed blindly along as instructed, I would assume that nothing is available for 1/9, or other Ongoing Searches were ahead of me.

Here's what I know.

***Something occurs at the 14-Day Window that allows stuff to be seen online that was not there before.

***That stuff does not, or does not always, match to Ongoing Searches, so you cannot rely on Ongoing Searches.

***You (still) cannot rely on what RCI Guides tell you.

***Searching any method, because RCI's computers are involved, is a crapshoot.

***In any situation, it is better that you be searching yourself, or also be searching yourself, instead of just sitting on your duff waiting for a phone call or email.

***It is fruitless to speculate about things, or argue with folks about something, when you can find out the answer yourself. (The same line of logic for Online Searching.)

One of the reasons I started the Ongoing Search was to answer this question, and now I have.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

To help this lively discussion along , let me repeat:

Today, stuff appeared online for 1/9/2010, three resorts in my search area. The Ongoing Search did not match to any of them, or any others.

I have received no notification from RCI that my Ongoing Search has been discontinued, and when I view it online, it is still in place.

Is it not the purpose of Ongoing Searches to match to stuff that is available, so that folks do not have to do what I am now doing . . . logging on to RCI.com every hour or so to see what's available, if anything?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I am also trying to save ourselves an exchange fee, by trying to wait to take something we really want, rather than something we don't want, just to have something, that we would wind up giving up for something better, if something better shows up, which would require another exchange fee.

For our Week 2, 2008, we switched twice, so it took 3 exchange fees.

So, one decision now is whether to take a crappy place not far from an area we like vs. a nice place in an area we don't like.

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

Unfortunately, this is not new. In 2005 I had a search going for Oregon and when I went online and did a "search now" I found exactly what I was looking for and what should have matched my search. This was long before the current website enhancements and had nothing to do with the 14 day window. There was another instance as well, although I do not remember the details.

I think sometimes, when you get a hit and turn it down, the computer blocks some matches to your ongoing search. I have nothing to base this on, it is just a theory.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I know what you are saying, that Ongoing Searches are not reliable. I have been encouraging people to use RCI.com since I first started on these forums, both because Ongoing Searches are not reliable and because it is a great educational tool.

I have taken a lot of criticism for it, even from RCI employees.

The last such instance of that was just a month or so ago, when one of them blamed me for not getting our January Week because I had not started an Ongoing Search. She said that to deflect my inquiry into what happened to the 60% of SW FL exchanges that disappeared on 5/30.

This is the first time I have not gotten both of our January weeks, and it is not because of search method. I have both our weeks for 2011 and I got them online. We have done over 100 exchanges and I have gotten all them online since that was possible to do.

The Guide that started this Ongoing Search told me it would continue inside the 14-Day Window.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Notification Email

RCI has spent gazillions on Website enhancements. Yet the system still does not work.

One thing that would actually help would be what so many other companies/websites do, have Notification Emails. Tell em what you're looking for and when something gets deposited, you get an email.

Hey, wait, that's an Ongoing Search isn't it?

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

I know what you are saying, that Ongoing Searches are not reliable. I have been encouraging people to use RCI.com since I first started on these forums, both because Ongoing Searches are not reliable and because it is a great educational tool.

I have taken a lot of criticism for it, even from RCI employees.

The last such instance of that was just a month or so ago, when one of them blamed me for not getting our January Week because I had not started an Ongoing Search. She said that to deflect my inquiry into what happened to the 60% of SW FL exchanges that disappeared on 5/30.

This is the first time I have not gotten both of our January weeks, and it is not because of search method. I have both our weeks for 2011 and I got them online. We have done over 100 exchanges and I have gotten all them online since that was possible to do.

The Guide that started this Ongoing Search told me it would continue inside the 14-Day Window.

They aren't foolproof but they do work. I prefer to have one in place to cover inside that critical 14 day window as well as to search myself each day until that is no longer possible.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

They aren't foolproof but they do work. I prefer to have one in place to cover inside that critical 14 day window as well as to search myself each day until that is no longer possible.

But you know what you know. The other five million don't.

Then when people discourage searching online, as a safeguard and for the knowledge you learn from it, the other five million still don't know what they need to know.

Frinstance, after confirming an exchange, how many keep searching to see what they missed out on?

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

To wrap this up, I just took something for our second week.

The Ongoing Search did not match to it, so I had to do a new exchange for it.

Details will be in my SW Fl in January Thread.

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

To wrap this up, I just took something for our second week.

The Ongoing Search did not match to it, so I had to do a new exchange for it.

Details will be in my SW Fl in January Thread.

I think you gave up too soon. I hope you left the on-going search running.

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

I am also trying to save ourselves an exchange fee, by trying to wait to take something we really want, rather than something we don't want, just to have something, that we would wind up giving up for something better, if something better shows up, which would require another exchange fee.

For our Week 2, 2008, we switched twice, so it took 3 exchange fees.

So, one decision now is whether to take a crappy place not far from an area we like vs. a nice place in an area we don't like.

Since your strategy seems to be to take something and hope for something better, do you buy the vacation protection insurance? It seems that way it only costs you $69 (ins.) to make the switch instead of $164 (exc. fee). Plus you have 14 days to cancel the insurance. RCI credits the exchange fee to your account - how hard is it to use that credit? Can it be used online?

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

Our Florida Ongoing Search do not work 14 days or less

When someone has an ongoing search - Aren`t you still able to go in and adjust the search whenever you are online and then select something else if it shows available (if nothing else
is available - you would then just keep original search in place) that way you do not have
to pay another fee. Saves time and a call to a vacation guide to request (search) refund.

[Jya-Ning Silver Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Jya-Ning]

I think they have very stange way to manage on-going search. If you deposit generic, like 28k, 70k, 105k Wyndham points, and put them to on-going search at the same criteria with 28k first request, 70k 2nd, 105k last, you will not get 28k match, 70k match. And sometimes, you will see someone post sighting but your on-going search still there.

I believe they put a lot of restrictions on the automatic search, just like the mysteric "trdaing power", at 45 days, some of the restricts is still there.

If assume they only have say 4 to 5 level of the trading power, I will assume on-going search add your power by 1. And if there is some special restriction imposed by RCI for some strange reason, it will not be removed even at 45 days within, and not at 14 days. So, if there is 1 in 4 or 1 in 5, you will still be excluded.

Exchange and renting is very different.

In Exchange, RCI is serving the big developers, the big HOAs, we are the last one on the list. If they think they need to open the exchange for this particular group of people, they will do that. If they think they need to exclude this particular type of group (since they will not buy more), they will do that also. The exchange company has not cost associate with it, they may concern if they can make one or 2 more deal, but those is very small compare to the developer or HOA can controlled.

In renting, any opportunities matter.

Jya-Ning

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I think you gave up too soon. I hope you left the on-going search running.

Actually, for reasons unrelated to things we normally talk about, what we got is what I was hoping we would wind up with, something at one of the (only) two very small resorts in the area.

A two-bedroom is icing on the cake.

So, really, it is a needle-in-the-haystack sorta thing.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Since your strategy seems to be to take something and hope for something better, do you buy the vacation protection insurance? It seems that way it only costs you $69 (ins.) to make the switch instead of $164 (exc. fee). Plus you have 14 days to cancel the insurance. RCI credits the exchange fee to your account - how hard is it to use that credit? Can it be used online?

Even if insurance reimburses an exchange fee, which I am doubtful it does for an intentional cancellation, I have never bought it.

I/we have always been OK with paying another fee to get a better place.

Like cancelling a Motel 6 to get the Hilton, we expect to pay more.