Burned again - unit numbers deleted from confirmations

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

I am making assumptions based on what I own and people I know. Perhaps there is a much larger percentage of fixed week/fixed unit owners than I believe there to be.

I myself own one fixed week/fixed unit deeded timeshare but, a couple of years ago we had the opportunity to convert that week into a points based exchange system so, every year we give that week up for points and it goes into a pool of floating weeks. All other weeks owned by us are floating weeks. For that matter, I don't know of anyone who owns a timeshare (and it's not really that many people) who own a fixed week/fixed unit. One owns with HGVC, one owned some sort of floating week at Vistna, One owned points with Wyhndam and another owns points with Bluegreen.

We've done several exchanges over the years through I.I. and a couple with RCI. Very few have ever had a unit number attached to the reservation. The few times it did have a unit number that was the unit we recieved.

Now, we do mostly internal exchanges. For next year I have only one exchange that is outside of any system and, that exchange did not come with a unit number. I know the resort and the weeks there are floating.

So, my opinion, which tends to be wrong every now and again, is colored by the experiences we've had and other owners we know. To me it's just an expectation of timesharing. Where I own, because of the type of ownership, never deposits a specific week or unit. Where I exchange into rarely gives me a specific unit number. When we do internal exchanges, we understand that there is no expectation of a specific unit number and we understand that we are in line behind owners of that resort staying on their own time but ahead of exchangers exchanging in from outside that system. It's just the way it is with what we own and what we've learned to expect.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

I am making assumptions based on what I own and people I know. Perhaps there is a much larger percentage of fixed week/fixed unit owners than I believe there to be.

Although the trend recently has certainly been toward flaot/club style ownership that would preclude a fixed unit assignment that isn't true for older ownerships. I'd bet at least 50% of the total timeshares out there are fixed rather than club/float use times. For a long time a float type was considered basically a rarity. It changed in the early 2000's but is far from the dominant type of ownership/trade yet.

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

I have an exchange at Bouganvillas in Puerto Vallarta, Iconnections checked on unit number for me and everything and in correspondence with them regarding internet and such they told me that most likely the room will not be what is on the RCI slip, they have right to change the units etc........so far I have not had good responses to them, nothing clear cut, the fees for Nov AI if choose to use may change between now and then...no responses back, had to send many emails, I am wondering if I should just cancel the exchange and try somewhere else. I just wanted to go there as it is one place in PV we have not been to and many folks seem to like it.....but they are owners and it appears owners are treated a lot differently than exchangers, a lot...

I also feel that a fixed week/unit, that an owner has given up to an exchange company, should go to an exchange member as this is how exchange companies originally were set up. However, the resorts feel now that they have the right to change it and rent the best units out. It is unfair but many resorts seem to do this now.

If I were in your place, i would call the office and talk to them. I always go to the office, if I have questions, and talk to them in person when we are there. We go anyway just to say hello as we got to know them and they know us too since we come here every year. I have sent several resale buyers to them too and the transfer was made right in the back office. Since you speak Spanish, you have an advantage because they like it if you speak their language even if it is broken Spanish. Do you want me to call for you to find out if you can keep your nice view unit? It isn't even that busy so I don't see why not.

On the other hand, there are several nice timeshare resorts not far from the Buganvilias and there is one even closer to the Malecon and there is Lindo Mar in Conchas Chinas with spectacular ocean views.

There is free Wi-Fi for the owners and it will work great with your iPad but it wasn't working well everywhere and they were still tweaking the system in January. I rented an iPad and it worked well in our unit. I don't know if it is free for exchangers and I am going to call them anyway to find out as I am curious. I feel that it should be free for exchangers too because they already paid for it at their home resort. I will let you know. I am glad that we bought for use mainly.

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

That depends a whole lot on the location. All owners on the OBX have fixed unit and week numbers, and what is deposited is what the exchanger gets. If RCI refuses to give unit numbers, it is them, not the resorts playing games.

That is also true of my UK resort and the other resort in Europe I previously owned at.

Where this would really stink if I still used RCI is that there are a number of resorts in Europe based on a historic manor house, but with newer construction also in other buildings. To me I ONLY want the units in the manor house, although which I do not care. Switching me to a modern building would make me really angry.

Good thing that DAE does not play this shell game with members.

The problem with this line of thought is that very few owners actually own a specific unit number. Most resorts today are of the floating type rather than the fixed week/fixed unit. Therefore, when they give up a week, they do NOT give up a specific unit.

Of the seven timeshares I own, only one is a fixed week/fixed unit, and even that one has been converted to a points based system where I give up that week to the system in exchange for points (DRI's THE Club system). So the reality is, I never give up a specific unit that you could agree to exchange into.

Most resorts, whether we like it or not, have a hierchy for room placement. Owners, exchangers and renters. While I might not like it, I understand it. When I check into one of my floating weeks, I expect that, as an owner of that resort, I'll be placed above exchangers and/or renters on the pecking order for views. The reality is that is what happens. When I stay at my home resorts, I tend to get what I ask for depending upon how many other owners are staying on their time and the pecking order amongst those owners. When I exchange, I don't always get a bad view but, I rarely get one of the prime views.

This is where owning in systems helps a timeshare owner when exchanging. The system members have higher standing than non-system members. Sometimes you can even exchange for a specific view, but rarely (probably never) a specific unit number. When exchanging within a system we've always had decent views. When exchanging outside the system, sometimes it's a decent view, sometimes it's the back of a concrete well, the parking lot or close to the dumpsters where we get to listen to trash trucks in the early morning. It's why nearly all of our timeshares are in some sort of system now or, they're timeshares we use for personal use. There is but one exception and, I'm particular about the resorts I'll exchange to with that unit. I almost always exchange into a resort we know and a shoulder or off season week. That seems to lessen the chance of a horrible room location.

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

Pam, I called the office and found out the following. Wi-Fi is not free for exchangers. I had no idea. The rates are as follows:

1 hour - 75 pesos
1 day (24 hours) - 150 pesos
1 week - 700 pesos

Also, they may not honor the reservation numbers that are on the confirmation. She recommended contacting them a week before arrival if you are still going there.

Internet wasn't free for the owners even at the Grand Velas and their fees were higher yet. The fees that both resorts are charging are their business rates at the hotel.

Good news is that there are many places in the mall or around town in restaurants where you can sit down and have a cup of coffee and use free Wi-Fi as they will give you a log-in code.

http://vallartablog.com/puerto-vallarta-wi-fi-hotspots/

Boingo | The Worldwide Leader in Wi-Fi Software and Services

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

I agree with Carolinian, it must be largely RCI motivated - turns out that FOUR of my confirmations had units assigned but are now all generic.

I bet that RCI is busy "selling" it to the resorts, though.

I put up a poll just to check the membership at large.

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

Well, you know, it is their business and they can operate it however they want. Just because they did something one way 20 years ago, or even last week . . .

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Well, you know, it is their business and they can operate it however they want. Just because they did something one way 20 years ago, or even last week . . .

I wrote to customer service, let's see what they say

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

I've always been a unit number guy, cuz of familiarity with resorts, to avoid stuff like dumpster view, but, we've got three confirmations right now, and none with unit numbers.

But I'm not whining.

Hey at least I've got something!!!

Some folks around here don't like it when I whine, cuz stuff I don't like doesn 't count, cuz they are happy and that's all that's really important to them.

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

I bet that RCI is busy "selling" it to the resorts, though.

Or, they just decided to change the format of the confirmation for some other random reason. But, yes, the unit numbers no longer appear on the confirmations. That doesn't mean they are gone, necessarily, just that they are not in the auto-generated form. Call RCI to see if there is still a specific unit listed on their records of the confirmation(s). It's not quite as helpful as a written record, but it could perhaps give you some peace of mind.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

I don't have a problem with the resorts that assign floating units to owners on check-in doing the same for exchangers.

But if an owner deposits a specific unit, that unit should be available for exchange. Invariably, letting the resort choose to keep the nicer units for rentals, other owners, etc. and depositing the less attractive units for exchange is not fair to exchangers. It will ultimately hurt the resort owners in terms of trading power and reviews, but it will take a while to catch up. It definitely hurts the exchange system.

I will rehash a perspective I've posted several times related specifically to bulk banking, but the philosophy does come into play in the discussion as well.

******

For many resorts the primary order of business is trying to satisfy returning owners. For a resort with this philosophy, a possible hit in trade power because of tweaks done in the interest of returning owners, is perfectly fine. Because the number one goal is satisfaction of returning owners.

Other resorts may choose to treat owners and exchangers evenly. That would reflect a resort operating philosophy that places more emphasis on meeting the interests of owners who want to trade.

Both approaches are equally valid. I think it's wonderful that there is freedom for resorts to take whatever stance they believe will work best for their situation.

******

A specific illustration of what I'm referring to here is the issue of whether a floating week resort will allow an owner to reserve a specific week/unit and deposit that specific reservation with an exchange company. Some resorts will allow that; other resorts will not and instead require the owner to accept one of the resorts bulk-banked weeks.

The latter case makes perfect sense as an operating strategy if the goal of the resort is to be able to say "Yes!!" to as many owner reservation requests as they possibly can. In that case, the resort will do what they can to maximize the number of units available to returning owners during the periods of highest demand. Of course, that means that exchangers are shifted to periods of lower demand, which wills reduce the exchange power for owners.

Owning at one resort that operates with that philosophy, I love it!!! I don't care one whit that there might be a loss in trade power, because I own the property so that I can visit. It's far more important to me that the resort be able to accommodate my reservation requests than it is to get maximum trade power.

******

Please note the above only refers to floating week arrangements. Where an owner has a fixed week, that is always the week that should be provided to the exchanger.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

One of my confirmations is at a resort that, I believe, is trying to maintain flexibility (as in keep the best units) for owners taking advantage of bonus time. Sure, it's great for the owners.

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Or, they just decided to change the format of the confirmation for some other random reason. But, yes, the unit numbers no longer appear on the confirmations. That doesn't mean they are gone, necessarily, just that they are not in the auto-generated form. Call RCI to see if there is still a specific unit listed on their records of the confirmation(s). It's not quite as helpful as a written record, but it could perhaps give you some peace of mind.

It could be a glitch, we'll see. RCI phone-rep still sees the unit #s but can't generate in writing. But I believe that at least one of the resorts is trying to switch out of confirmed units.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

One of my confirmations is at a resort that, I believe, is trying to maintain flexibility (as in keep the best units) for owners taking advantage of bonus time. Sure, it's great for the owners.

And isn't it great that people who are mostly interested in buying a resort to use can own at resort that places first priority on meeting owner requests, while people who want to use a resort to trade can own at resorts that try to preserve trading power?

Celebrate diversity; don't bemoan it.

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

Although the trend recently has certainly been toward flaot/club style ownership that would preclude a fixed unit assignment that isn't true for older ownerships. I'd bet at least 50% of the total timeshares out there are fixed rather than club/float use times. For a long time a float type was considered basically a rarity. It changed in the early 2000's but is far from the dominant type of ownership/trade yet.

This is likely true but, in the past few years, developers have actively been churning current owners to join "clubs" that convert those fixed weeks into what amounts to floating weeks. Oddly enough, Westgate hasn't seemed to catch onto this style profit making.

I guess a lot of my perspective comes from owning at resorts, or in resort groups, that we intend to use. I've always used the philosphy to own where we want to go. Exchanges, while important, are secondary. As we can see from this discussion, exchanging is something that's in constant motion. It changes from one day to another and can't be relied upon to remain the same.