Weeks Enhancements

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

45-Day Window No More

No more based on what I'm seeing.

Desireable stuff the first week of January appears to cost full value (two deposits for us).

More evidence of a shortened 45-Day Window. More like 14-Day, or less:

1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 10-Dec-2010 Fri 17-Dec-2010 Exchange Fee 6
1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 17-Dec-2010 Fri 24-Dec-2010 Exchange Fee 15
1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 31-Dec-2010 Fri 07-Jan-2011 Exchange Fee 12
- - - - - -
Hotel 2 (2) Sun 05-Dec-2010 Sun 12-Dec-2010 Exchange Fee 7
Hotel 2 (2) Fri 10-Dec-2010 Fri 17-Dec-2010 Exchange Fee 11
Hotel 2 (2) Sat 11-Dec-2010 Sat 18-Dec-2010 Exchange Fee 11
Hotel 2 (2) Thu 16-Dec-2010 Thu 23-Dec-2010 Exchange Fee 11
Hotel 2 (2) Fri 24-Dec-2010 Fri 31-Dec-2010 Exchange Fee 17

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

If you have a poor trader, now you have the option to trade up. If you have a strong trader, you will get the same exchange + something back.

So if you have a good exchange, what is the "+ something back" you get?

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

So if you have a good exchange, what is the "+ something back" you get?

TPU credit.

For instance, if you use a 40 to get a 6, you get 34 back.

or . . .

A devious method to get 6 exchange fees from one deposit, and try to move something has been a problem since the beginning, excess inventory.

Most of that 6 TPU last minute stuff is also available via Last Call, for no deposit, and a few bucks more than an exchange fee.

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

Perhaps.

It seems like the offering at less than maintenance fee is an admission of the general scam of timesharing, that the true market value of one week is less than annual fees, not to mention what it costs to buy in the first place.

Point of reference, I just reserved and paid $447.47 (taxes INCLUDED) for a 2 BR 8/8 lockout at Vacation Village at Parkway (#4940). That is about half of the annual maintenance fee. It does make you think.

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

All of the unraveling began many years years ago, and it began with what to do with excess inventory. That came about because of an inherent problem in timesharing . . . that all weeks and all resorts are not equal . . . and the failure of the industry to deal with that honestly and openly (disclosure).

But, as long as excess inventory was offered only to timeshare owners/RCI subscribers, the eroding of the system was contained, even when it was offered at less than maintenance fees.

When the improper offering of Spacebanked weeks spread to non-excess inventory, and to non-owners/non-RCI subscribers, it was the beginning of the end of a good concept. The leak in the dike has turned into a flood where non-owners can spend a week in a timeshare resort for less than a maintenance fee, more often than not, by clicking a mouse.

The industry has had almost 40 years to clean up it's act, and it is more problematic today than ever before.

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

I just purchased a 2 BR/2B Oceanfront in Ft. Lauderdale for $400.00.
This includes the purchase price, resort transfer fee, closing cost and the 2011 fees already paid by seller. I am using the unit in January 2011.
This is less than half the cost of the $880.00 annual MF this resort charges.
If I don't want to keep it after my vacation, I can deed it back to the resort for no charge.
With the huge amount of resales on the market, why buy weeks and deposit into RCI and pay RCI when you can find the vacation/resort for sale that you want?

EDIT: In case I wanted to keep unit for and pay the $880. MF. Here is the TP values. if deposited.
I just completed the calculation for point value for 2012.
If I deposit both units together I earn a TP of 26
If I deposit the 1BR/1B unit alone I earn a TP of 23
If I deposit the Studio unit alone I earn a TP of 19
So, for this unit, never deposit the lockout as a single unit for a TP of 26 when you can deposit individually for a TP of 42
BIG difference.

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

I just purchased a 2 BR/2B Oceanfront in Ft. Lauderdale for $400.00.
This includes the purchase price, resort transfer fee, closing cost and the 2011 fees already paid by seller. I am using the unit in January 2011.
This is less than half the cost of the $880.00 annual MF this resort charges.
If I don't want to keep it after my vacation, I can deed it back to the resort for no charge.
With the huge amount of resales on the market, why buy weeks and deposit into RCI and pay RCI when you can find the vacation/resort for sale that you want?

Because most resorts won't take deedbacks at no charge.

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

RCI does seem to be monitoring comments on the way its system is designed and responding to those.

I have commented several times on the mindlessness of grouping all units from week 11 to 21 inclusive on the OBX for the same trading power as RCI did when they rolled out the system. An honest system would raise each week from 11 to 24 incrementally, not use grids in the first place. However, RCI did make a minor improvement by inserting a new grid grouping for weeks 19-21. That is at least an improvement, but they still have a long way to go. Their grid grouping in the Fall is equally squirrelly, and if they insist on grids, they need at least two more breaking points in the spring.

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

RCI does seem to be monitoring comments on the way its system is designed and responding to those.

& taking names!

Seriously, yeah, I have mentioned that . . . that there have been times of working together. I have mentioned that my request to combine deposits started a5-20 years ago. Even now there are things that are not working that I am telling them about, & they are acknowledging.

Over the years we'all have learned that it takes a whole lot of commenting to evoke change.

& again, the current major changes are designed to address problems that have been there from the beginning.

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

& taking names!


& again, the current major changes are designed to address problems that have been there from the beginning.

. . . or so the party line goes.

Many of the changes have nothing to do with ''problems''. Restricting internal trades had nothing to do with problems. Changes in trading power that have undervalued areas from the UK to SA have nothing to do with problems. REducing the time period that deposits are likely to be made has nothing to do with problems. Ending the flexibility of trading within a band or range had nothing to do with problems. The list could go on.

Indeed the new system has created a lot of problems.

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

Some posts OY seem to indicate that RCI is still ringfencing a certain amount of European deposits which are availible only for exchange to European members. This has been an RCI policy for years, and one of the things I noticed when I changed my membership to the European office was that suddenly there was a lot more inventory in places like Italy than I had seen the day before when I went through a North American RCI membership. There are reports OY of European members seeing inventory that North American members cannot see.

Given the padding of values certain places in the US, and the underpointing of some European areas that have a much better supply / demand curve like the UK, keeping this policy is major for European members. Given the other policies that bit the dust in the new regime, it is helpful to European members that this one did not.

Now, if they had only gotten rid of that annoying and assinine downward quality filter . . .

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

I was gonna change my wording here:

"the current major changes are designed to address problems that have been there from the beginning."

But I'm not gonna.

Granted, some of the changes don't address problems that have been there from the beginning (all weeks are not equal), but, if those problems had not been there, had been dealt with properly, openly, honestly a long time ago, the system would not now need tweeking . . . after nearly 40 years.

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

An idea just came to me, one I have not thought over, so I know it will be full of holes, but when it comes to who gets what in the Weeks program, what was wrong with First Come, First Served?

Whoever deposited first and requested first got what they wanted. The answer to those who lost out was simple . . . do it sooner.

Is that not the way floating resorts assign weeks?

It works for everything, too. Ever hear, "Sorry, we're sold out?"

Now it's bassackwards. Deposit first, search first . . . you don't get it because it's been reserved for the hoyty toyty folks. Search late, maybe get it.

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

That is essentially the business model of DAE. If someone had presented that as a theory, I would have probably said that it would not work, but in fact DAE has proven that it does work.

An idea just came to me, one I have not thought over, so I know it will be full of holes, but when it comes to who gets what in the Weeks program, what was wrong with First Come, First Served?

Whoever deposited first and requested first got what they wanted. The answer to those who lost out was simple . . . do it sooner.

Is that not the way floating resorts assign weeks?

It works for everything, too. Ever hear, "Sorry, we're sold out?"

Now it's bassackwards. Deposit first, search first . . . you don't get it because it's been reserved for the hoyty toyty folks. Search late, maybe get it.

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

The changes really have nothing at all to do with helping the member. They are all designed to help RCI make more money in the short term. As usual with companies like this they consider short term profits over long term stability, and if they kill the timeshare system in the process they will just worry about that when it happens.

I was gonna change my wording here:

"the current major changes are designed to address problems that have been there from the beginning."

But I'm not gonna.

Granted, some of the changes don't address problems that have been there from the beginning (all weeks are not equal), but, if those problems had not been there, had been dealt with properly, openly, honestly a long time ago, the system would not now need tweeking . . . after nearly 40 years.