I found this interesting.

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

We are going to the Wyndham Mauna Loa Village #4908, located in Kailua-Kona on Jan 6-20, 2012. We were looking for another unit for our son and his family several months ago and finally rented from Trading Places.

So I have been watching for any RCI exchanges just to see it any units became available for several months. I have not seen any.

Today I did a search for Jan 2012. This is what I found.

Unit Type Max Occup
(Privacy) Kitchen Check-In Date Check-Out Date Price Exchange Trading Power

1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 06-Jan-2012 Fri 13-Jan-2012 USD 1,189.99

2 Bedrooms 6 (4) Full Fri 06-Jan-2012 Fri 13-Jan-2012 USD 1,839.99

1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 13-Jan-2012 Fri 20-Jan-2012 USD 1,189.99

2 Bedrooms 6 (4) Full Fri 13-Jan-2012 Fri 20-Jan-2012 USD 1,839.99


2 Bedrooms 6 (4) Full Fri 20-Jan-2012 Fri 27-Jan-2012 USD 1,839.99


1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 27-Jan-2012 Fri 03-Feb-2012 USD 1,189.99


2 Bedrooms 6 (4) Full Fri 27-Jan-2012 Fri 03-Feb-2012 USD 1,839.99


So What ever happen to Last Call Vacations?

What happen to Exchanges?

And what do you think the chances are that these units will rent for these prices at such a late date?

Walt

[slip Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close slip]

I just joined RCI and I noticed the same thing. I didn't make a deposit yet but
when I look at availability, most of the units are rentals not exchanges. I don't
exchange much and I've made deposits with Platinum Interchange. They have
the inventory I will mostly need but RCI definitely has more inventory but
after you take out the rentals I'm wondering if their inventory is better. I may
have an extra week availible to deposit but I don't think I'll renew my RCI. I'll just stick with
Platinum Interchange.

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

We are going to the Wyndham Mauna Loa Village #4908, located in Kailua-Kona on Jan 6-20, 2012. We were looking for another unit for our son and his family several months ago and finally rented from Trading Places.

Walt

Just curious what did Platinum charge for the rental and was the unit available at Platinum for exchange also?

I've been renting from Wyndham megarenters when I want something in Wyndham and it works out pretty cheap. Might be an option you could keep in mind. There are also lots of Wyndham rentals on ebay at good prices. Nice thing about ebay is that there are lots of presidential units on there.

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

1 bedroom rental

The 1 bedroom rental from trading Places was $825.00

Walt

Just curious what did Platinum charge for the rental and was the unit available at Platinum for exchange also?

I've been renting from Wyndham megarenters when I want something in Wyndham and it works out pretty cheap. Might be an option you could keep in mind. There are also lots of Wyndham rentals on ebay at good prices. Nice thing about ebay is that there are lots of presidential units on there.

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

I've come to the conclusion that RCI is in the business of making money. They are not in the business of providing a service to timeshare owners. They will take timeshare owners deposits for those who want to give their weeks to RCI but, they'd rather make money than provide the service of exchanges.

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

Exchange vs Rentals

I just did a search with a value of 54 Exchange Trading Power for 2 years out. I should be able to see all that is available with this number.

I see 1111 units availabe for exchanges in Hawaii.

I see 1213 units available for Extra Vacation Only (Rentals).

For Last Call I see no units available.

I still see the same unit of units available for rent at the same price at the Wyndham Mauna Loa Village as my first post with no exchages available.

Whatever happen to the 45 day window?

Wasn't that part of the Class Action settlement?

Walt

I've come to the conclusion that RCI is in the business of making money. They are not in the business of providing a service to timeshare owners. They will take timeshare owners deposits for those who want to give their weeks to RCI but, they'd rather make money than provide the service of exchanges.

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

The ''settlement'' in the class action can better be termed a surrender or a sellout. The crooked lawyers who were supposed to represent the plaintiff class took a huge payout for themselves in legal fees while accomplishing absolutely nothing for their clients. There was no meaningful injunctive relief to change dishonest and unfair practices, only meaningless trinkets. They are a disgrace to the profession. Worst of all, they did this BEFORE they even did discovery to be able to ascertain the strength of their case.

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

I just did a search with a value of 54 Exchange Trading Power for 2 years out. I should be able to see all that is available with this number.

I see 1111 units availabe for exchanges in Hawaii.

I see 1213 units available for Extra Vacation Only (Rentals).

For Last Call I see no units available.

I still see the same unit of units available for rent at the same price at the Wyndham Mauna Loa Village as my first post with no exchages available.

Whatever happen to the 45 day window?

Wasn't that part of the Class Action settlement?

Walt

The 45 day window became a 14 day window a few years back. Ever since this last iteration there are very few things that come up even at the very last minute at a heavily discounted TPU rate.

RCI is hand-picking what goes in that window. There were a few OLCC XMAS 2011 units last week that were still asking 26-30 points days prior to check-in. I guess when the initial ask is 40-45 points the argument could be made that it is discounted.

Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort - East Village (#8896) 2 check-in nights available
Kissimmee, FL 34747
USA

map resort
Available Unit Size
2 Bedroom
3 Bedroom
Check-In Date
22-Dec-2012
Exchange Trading Power Range
40 - 45

Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort - North Village (#8897) 1 check-in day available
Kissimmee, FL 34747
USA

map resort
Available Unit Size
2 Bedroom
Check-In Date
22-Dec-2012
Exchange Trading Power
40

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

2 Units Are Gone for Jan 2012.

The 2 units of Jan 6th for 2012 are gone.

There are 175 units available for rent and exchanges from Jan. 13, 2012 to Oct. 19, 2013.

There are rentals for all the months of 2012. But there are only 4 exchanges from Nov. 23, 2012 to Dec. 31, 2012.

Then there are both Rentals and Exchanges for just about every week in every month from Jan. 2013 to June 15, 2013.

And from June 22, 2013 to Oct. 19, 2013 there are exchanges only.

Seems strange to me.

Walt



Unit Type Max Occup
(Privacy) Kitchen Check-In Date Check-Out Date Price Exchange Trading Power

1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 13-Jan-2012 Fri 20-Jan-2012 USD 1,189.99

2 Bedrooms 6 (4) Full Fri 13-Jan-2012 Fri 20-Jan-2012 USD 1,839.99

2 Bedrooms 6 (4) Full Fri 20-Jan-2012 Fri 27-Jan-2012 USD 1,839.99

1 Bedroom 4 (2) Full Fri 27-Jan-2012 Fri 03-Feb-2012 USD 1,189.99

2 Bedrooms 6 (4) Full Fri 27-Jan-2012 Fri 03-Feb-2012 USD 1,839.99

[ttt Member Find all posts View Profile Close ttt]

I've come to the conclusion that RCI is in the business of making money. They are not in the business of providing a service to timeshare owners. They will take timeshare owners deposits for those who want to give their weeks to RCI but, they'd rather make money than provide the service of exchanges.

Absolutely correct.
RCI also rents through travel agents, so those overpriced rentals have a good chance of renting.

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

Approach was wrong from the start

The ''settlement'' in the class action can better be termed a surrender or a sellout. The crooked lawyers who were supposed to represent the plaintiff class took a huge payout for themselves in legal fees while accomplishing absolutely nothing for their clients. There was no meaningful injunctive relief to change dishonest and unfair practices, only meaningless trinkets. They are a disgrace to the profession. Worst of all, they did this BEFORE they even did discovery to be able to ascertain the strength of their case.

I hate to be proven right in this case but all along I argued that a class action suit was never the answer to the RCI "problems". I know Steve feels it was a problem with this law firm now but prior to the outcome he was touting the good they could do & how they would win victories for members.

The reverse basically occurred. I think a couple good things did come out of it but those were overwhelmed by the numerous negatives and horrendous cost (which the members ultimately pay). Now we are left with the unwanted blessing of the most destructive practice of RCI. They can now freely redirect the deposits of owners to rentals hurting both trades and overall rental values. Far more harm than good and easily predictable no matter what firm did the dirty work.

It is now up to the membership - and really always was - to force RCI to change by withholding the inventory they must have to continue this ripoff. As we've all seen any lawsuits usually end up in unintended (for the members/owners) outcomes that hurt far more than they ever help.

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

I hate to be proven right in this case but all along I argued that a class action suit was never the answer to the RCI "problems". I know Steve feels it was a problem with this law firm now but prior to the outcome he was touting the good they could do & how they would win victories for members.

The reverse basically occurred. I think a couple good things did come out of it but those were overwhelmed by the numerous negatives and horrendous cost (which the members ultimately pay). Now we are left with the unwanted blessing of the most destructive practice of RCI. They can now freely redirect the deposits of owners to rentals hurting both trades and overall rental values. Far more harm than good and easily predictable no matter what firm did the dirty work.

It is now up to the membership - and really always was - to force RCI to change by withholding the inventory they must have to continue this ripoff. As we've all seen any lawsuits usually end up in unintended (for the members/owners) outcomes that hurt far more than they ever help.

Having seen this come full circle, I agree 100% with the last paragraph. It's up to the owners to vote with their feet. Only when people realize they have a choice and stop giving inventory to RCI will RCI be forced to make changes that reflect the needs of it's members.

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

I hate to be proven right in this case but all along I argued that a class action suit was never the answer to the RCI "problems". I know Steve feels it was a problem with this law firm now but prior to the outcome he was touting the good they could do & how they would win victories for members.

The reverse basically occurred. I think a couple good things did come out of it but those were overwhelmed by the numerous negatives and horrendous cost (which the members ultimately pay). Now we are left with the unwanted blessing of the most destructive practice of RCI. They can now freely redirect the deposits of owners to rentals hurting both trades and overall rental values. Far more harm than good and easily predictable no matter what firm did the dirty work.

It is now up to the membership - and really always was - to force RCI to change by withholding the inventory they must have to continue this ripoff. As we've all seen any lawsuits usually end up in unintended (for the members/owners) outcomes that hurt far more than they ever help.

Having seen this come full circle, I agree 100% with the last paragraph. It's up to the owners to vote with their feet. Only when people realize they have a choice and stop giving inventory to RCI will RCI be forced to make changes that reflect the needs of it's members.

What is happening from a deposit standpoint is a direct result of the settlement. Undeniably the largest timeshare concentration is Orlando and it goes to follow that is the largest sector of timeshare owners.

For years these people got no value from a deposit, understandably so from a supply & demand viewpoint as well as our own grassroot knowledge.

NOW these Orlando owners are getting hefty points for deposits, specifically holiday weeks and if they fool around enough with the deposit calculator they can figure that out.

I'm still seeing our "tiger" independent deposits and those are also getting richly rewarded.

The majority of deposits that I am spotting on-line are definitely developer deposits ( which always happened) and I'm sure the mega-concentration areas. People that got "dissed" in the new system are not depositing and that is unfortunate because I like those little places.

We are all in agreement that RCI does not at any time have exchangers as their top priority. I think ( and have seen already in insurance costs and who ever dreamed up the $99 combo charge certainly got promoted ) that there will be less of them and to maintain bottom line there will be price increases for services, etc until attrition makes this portion of their business a complete joke.

The rentals to and through other sources is much more productive, uses less "bodies" in call centers and minimizes customer service needs.

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

Another Thing I Find Interesting

In the past, I would get several telephone calls over several months from RCI about my vacation ongoing search.

The number of calls would increase as my search date became nearer.

To this date, I have had no phone calls from RCI.

Increase fee with less exchanges and less service!

Walt

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

...RCI.

Increase fee with less exchanges and less service!

Walt

This is what we have come to expect from RCI