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Take a location that is one of the most difficult to trade into in timeshare anywhere in the world any time of the year, and add a major international event like the Olympics scheduled in that area. Common sense would tell you that the trading power of timeshares in that area would skyrocket during that event, would it?
Well, not so with the London Olympics in 2012, at least as to the numbers of TPU's or points lite awarded by RCI for deposits.
Allen House, right in central London, for example is given only 46 points lite for a deposit during the Olympics for a 1BR or 51 points lite for a 2BR. For the 1BR, this is the same for that week in 2013 when the Olympics are not in town, and only 2 points lite different for the 2BR.
Given that Hever Hotel and Country Club and Brantridge Park appear to no longer be with RCI (Brantridge had wound up and sold to a new developer but had then reappeared in the RCI directory; now its ID comes up as invalid), the only RCI resort outside London that would be close enought to use as a base for the Olympics would be Broome Park. For the weeks of the Olympics, RCI only gives 27 points lite for a 1BR deposit or 28 points lite for a 2BR deposit. The 1BR is the same as for non-Olympic year 2012, and the 2BR is only 1 point lite different.
London is an extremely difficult trade any time. I don't ever think I have ever seen a London week availible online at RCI. In comparision, New York in the US is relatively plentiful, with 44 different weeks presently availible at Manhattan Club, for which RCI charges 58 points lite for a studio or 60 points lite for a 1BR, even in the dead of winter. So if you gave RCI your 2BR Allen House week during the Olympics, they would not even give you enough points lite to get you a trade into a Manhattan Club studio in February. Two Broome Park 2BR's during the Olympics would still leave you without enought points lite to get one studio in Manhattan Club in February.
Let me give another comparision. An RCI employee who used to post on several timeshare sites identified Vacation Village at Parkway in Orlando as the resort in the whole RCI system with consistently the most oversupply. RCI gives 49 points lite for a deposit of week 52 there of a 1BR, more than it gives for deposit of a 1BR at Allen House during the Olympics and nearly twice what it gives for a deposit of a 1BR at Broome Park during the Olympics. While week 52 is New Years, it is not that rare at Vacation Village at Parkway. RCI currently has them availible to trade into, and for a lot less than they give for the deposit. They are presently availible to trade into for only 19 points lite, far less than the 49 that the owners were awarded to deposit them. One could compare what such an owner of one of these overvalued weeks could trade into during the Olympics, but that would only be theoretical since RCI almost certainly would use any deposits they receive for those Olympic weeks to rent out for big bucks to the general public, not offer them to RCI members for exchange.
Any timesharer who runs comparisions like this can quickly see that RCI's valuation schemes are very discriminatory against UK owners. It only makes sense to use exchange companies which treat UK owners more fairly.
If 60 is the top of the valuation scale, then any week close enough to use for the London Olympics should certainly be worth 60 points lite. Heck, there are weeks in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at resorts so far from the actual beach that it is necessary to get in a car and drive to the beach which get 60 points lite for a deposit.
Well, not so with the London Olympics in 2012, at least as to the numbers of TPU's or points lite awarded by RCI for deposits.
Allen House, right in central London, for example is given only 46 points lite for a deposit during the Olympics for a 1BR or 51 points lite for a 2BR. For the 1BR, this is the same for that week in 2013 when the Olympics are not in town, and only 2 points lite different for the 2BR.
Given that Hever Hotel and Country Club and Brantridge Park appear to no longer be with RCI (Brantridge had wound up and sold to a new developer but had then reappeared in the RCI directory; now its ID comes up as invalid), the only RCI resort outside London that would be close enought to use as a base for the Olympics would be Broome Park. For the weeks of the Olympics, RCI only gives 27 points lite for a 1BR deposit or 28 points lite for a 2BR deposit. The 1BR is the same as for non-Olympic year 2012, and the 2BR is only 1 point lite different.
London is an extremely difficult trade any time. I don't ever think I have ever seen a London week availible online at RCI. In comparision, New York in the US is relatively plentiful, with 44 different weeks presently availible at Manhattan Club, for which RCI charges 58 points lite for a studio or 60 points lite for a 1BR, even in the dead of winter. So if you gave RCI your 2BR Allen House week during the Olympics, they would not even give you enough points lite to get you a trade into a Manhattan Club studio in February. Two Broome Park 2BR's during the Olympics would still leave you without enought points lite to get one studio in Manhattan Club in February.
Let me give another comparision. An RCI employee who used to post on several timeshare sites identified Vacation Village at Parkway in Orlando as the resort in the whole RCI system with consistently the most oversupply. RCI gives 49 points lite for a deposit of week 52 there of a 1BR, more than it gives for deposit of a 1BR at Allen House during the Olympics and nearly twice what it gives for a deposit of a 1BR at Broome Park during the Olympics. While week 52 is New Years, it is not that rare at Vacation Village at Parkway. RCI currently has them availible to trade into, and for a lot less than they give for the deposit. They are presently availible to trade into for only 19 points lite, far less than the 49 that the owners were awarded to deposit them. One could compare what such an owner of one of these overvalued weeks could trade into during the Olympics, but that would only be theoretical since RCI almost certainly would use any deposits they receive for those Olympic weeks to rent out for big bucks to the general public, not offer them to RCI members for exchange.
Any timesharer who runs comparisions like this can quickly see that RCI's valuation schemes are very discriminatory against UK owners. It only makes sense to use exchange companies which treat UK owners more fairly.
If 60 is the top of the valuation scale, then any week close enough to use for the London Olympics should certainly be worth 60 points lite. Heck, there are weeks in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina at resorts so far from the actual beach that it is necessary to get in a car and drive to the beach which get 60 points lite for a deposit.
Not at all the response I was expecting. I figured there had to be a logical explanation but I guess this time I was wrong. Guess maybe I am learning more than I thought!
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