Must Read Post From An Insider on Timeshare Talk!

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

Just found out that within the next 2 years RCI weeks will be changing. From what it sounds like, they will tell you what your week will be worth monetarily. This will go into your account when you bank. Then you will be able to search to find other vacations. So if they give you 500 dollars for your week but the week in Hawaii you want is 1000 dollars for a week, you would just pay the difference.


WOW! Is this what RCI is doing To the Weeks members?


One way or another they will get the Weeks Owners to become part of their Points Program.



http://www.timesharetalk.co.uk/forum...ID=2880&#12127

Walt

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

Just found out that within the next 2 years RCI weeks will be changing. From what it sounds like, they will tell you what your week will be worth monetarily. This will go into your account when you bank. Then you will be able to search to find other vacations. So if they give you 500 dollars for your week but the week in Hawaii you want is 1000 dollars for a week, you would just pay the difference.


WOW! Is this what RCI is doing To the Weeks members?


One way or another they will get the Weeks Owners to become part of their Points Program.

http://www.timesharetalk.co.uk/forum...?TOPIC_ID=2880

Walt

I think that's cool. If you don't agree with what RCI is offering you, you go out and rent your week yourself and use the money for an exchange..

If their value grid gets outdated, you can deposit with the them if it overvalues your week, or keep it yourself if it undervalues your week.

Of course, the values offered by RCI will almost always be less than what a week is worth on the open market, since you would be paying for the covenience of not having to rent your week yourself.

But this gives more info and more options to owners, which is good.

[coatrack Member Find all posts View Profile Close coatrack]

What will this do to flexchanging?

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

Like the Points Program without the Conversion Fee!

I think that's cool. If you don't agree with what RCI is offering you, you go out and rent your week yourself and use the money for an exchange..

If their value grid gets outdated, you can deposit with the them if it overvalues your week, or keep it yourself if it undervalues your week.

Of course, the values offered by RCI will almost always be less than what a week is worth on the open market, since you would be paying for the covenience of not having to rent your week yourself.

But this gives more info and more options to owners, which is good.

It is like the Points Program without the Conversion Fees. I wonder how the Points Owners feel about this?

But, I also can not believe that RCI will not want their $199 Conversion Fee even without a Conversion.

Walt

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

I wouldn't put a whole lotta faith in some rumor on a board.

While I'm certain there are more changes in store for RCI Weeks members, it's going to be a while until we hear it from RCI. That's when we'll know the reality of it.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

If this is true, then RCI is smarter than I thought. They are doing exactly what I would have done. They are going to turn their company into a rental exchange company. They have properly concluded that weeks exchange is not a sound concept in the way that it's currently done.

Remember, I have been saying for a while now that RCI needs to decide if it's an exchange company, a points company or a rental company. By offering you a value for your week upfront, they are giving you something with value upfront that you can turn into a product or service or (I hope) cash. This makes them a rental company. Carolinian's vision of Rentals Condominiums International is right on the mark.

Doing this eliminates the conflict of interest in exchanging because they are in essence just renting your week from you by paying you up front. So, if they rent it, then there is NO conflict of interest.

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

Boca:

RCI probably read too many posts from you and Perry. Now, we will see if they copycate any of the method posted in Tug.

Jya-Ning

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

We have already seen from RCI Points that RCI ranks somewhere between the Keystone Cops and the Three Stooges in getting valuations right. Add to that the liklihood that they will not be dynamic. The result will be a huge boost for the independents. Everybody with an overvalued week will stay in the system. Those with undervalued weeks will bail out and look for greener pastures. Those whose weeks are correctly valued will likely stay in for a while until they figure out that those with the overvalued weeks are grabbing anything decent, and then they will depart, too. It may be that this is RCI's exit strategy for the Weeks program.

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

If RCI does implement such a system, it will be interesting to see how they determine the worth of the various timeshares.

Would they conclude that all gold star 1 or 2 bdrms, etc., were worth a certain amount? Or would they use demand for each timeshare from the previous year? Would they consider actual week in a season, or perhaps the view, or size of the unit?

I bet no matter what they would use to determine the value of the timeshare, some people would be unhappy.

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

As long as they are bound by the space and time limitations of a paper and ink publication format, it is not possible for them to have a fair system, because it will have to be based on overaveraging, like RCI Points values, and will not be dynamic.

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

Carolinian,

You posted your comments as I was typing mine. How they determine the value of each timeshare will be a major issue.

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

I wouldn't put a whole lotta faith in some rumor on a board.

While I'm certain there are more changes in store for RCI Weeks members, it's going to be a while until we hear it from RCI. That's when we'll know the reality of it.

I couldn't agree more. It is just a rumor.

What would RCI do for those TS companies which bulk bank and charge all their members a set fee/points for a week? Companies like HGVC and Club Intrawest?

[brucecz Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close brucecz]

I think Boca is a unpaid idea person for RCI. They better pay him as I am going to bill him for that $26 per week charge idea of Boca's that RCI now charges to deposit a week into our RCI Poinrs acount.

Boca, you now owe me $1,066 for the 41 weeks we have put into RCI points so far this year.

Bruce

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

But What If It Is True?

I couldn't agree more. It is just a rumor.

What would RCI do for those TS companies which bulk bank and charge all their members a set fee/points for a week? Companies like HGVC and Club Intrawest?

Maybe it True, maybe not. Maybe it is only an idea at this time. Maybe RCI is just trying to find out what we think of this idea. But is it possible? Why not?

Walt

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

So blue weeks go to independents?

We have already seen from RCI Points that RCI ranks somewhere between the Keystone Cops and the Three Stooges in getting valuations right. Add to that the liklihood that they will not be dynamic. The result will be a huge boost for the independents. Everybody with an overvalued week will stay in the system. Those with undervalued weeks will bail out and look for greener pastures. Those whose weeks are correctly valued will likely stay in for a while until they figure out that those with the overvalued weeks are grabbing anything decent, and then they will depart, too. It may be that this is RCI's exit strategy for the Weeks program.

So what you are saying is RCI will send all their blue weeks over to the independent exchange companies. RCI will be left with the cream of the crop weeks without violating their contract with resorts to take all level of weeks.

And this will be bad for RCI how?

RCI will be transfering their take all weeks problem to others. Somehow this seems like a smart move for RCI.

Short