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Poking around the new RCI search system, looking at east coast beaches, Florida, Europe, and the Caribbean, several things are evident:
1) the majority of weeks availible now have a cash or exchange option.
2) cash prices are low, often with cash prices in the ballpark of maintenance fee plus exchange fee, but sometimes much much less even for good weeks.
3) even for sold out Weeks resorts, the number of weeks in the ''exchange only'' category is often a distinct minority, and usually not the better weeks.
4) the cash only weeks are often the more desirable weeks and more desirable resorts, even if the resort is sold-out Weeks only and the HOA does not bank association weeks.
It appears that this is a major transitioning as RCI moves from an exchange system to a rental system. Owning multiple weeks, especially with medium to high m/f to use for exchange is no longer a viable RCI option. At least for the immediate future, using their cash option is attractive. The best stance is to own one RCI week to access the system, but I suspect there are rental portals out there with the same or better prices where one does not even have to do that. Until someone finds the non-member rental portals with the same price, it has suddenly become worthwhile to renew RCI membership for the short term. Eventually they will probably raise the prices and then RCI will be worthless in terms of paying to be a member.
There are still some places where exchanging saves some money or is a break even proposition, but owning weeks to exchange with RCI is no longer a viable proposition going forward.
I expect many owners looking at RCI and seeing their rental weeks, even in better periods in some cases, priced below m/f's is going to cause some consternation to be expressed to HOA's. Their multi-week owners who trade will probably start downsizing as a result of RCI's moves, dumping even more weeks out on a saturated resale market.
While shortterm there are benefits we can reep as individuals, what RCI has done is to further kick the ownership/exchange model of timesharing in the teeth. Resorts whose membership base in heavily exchange-oriented and are RCI affiliated are going to be the most vulnerable.
1) the majority of weeks availible now have a cash or exchange option.
2) cash prices are low, often with cash prices in the ballpark of maintenance fee plus exchange fee, but sometimes much much less even for good weeks.
3) even for sold out Weeks resorts, the number of weeks in the ''exchange only'' category is often a distinct minority, and usually not the better weeks.
4) the cash only weeks are often the more desirable weeks and more desirable resorts, even if the resort is sold-out Weeks only and the HOA does not bank association weeks.
It appears that this is a major transitioning as RCI moves from an exchange system to a rental system. Owning multiple weeks, especially with medium to high m/f to use for exchange is no longer a viable RCI option. At least for the immediate future, using their cash option is attractive. The best stance is to own one RCI week to access the system, but I suspect there are rental portals out there with the same or better prices where one does not even have to do that. Until someone finds the non-member rental portals with the same price, it has suddenly become worthwhile to renew RCI membership for the short term. Eventually they will probably raise the prices and then RCI will be worthless in terms of paying to be a member.
There are still some places where exchanging saves some money or is a break even proposition, but owning weeks to exchange with RCI is no longer a viable proposition going forward.
I expect many owners looking at RCI and seeing their rental weeks, even in better periods in some cases, priced below m/f's is going to cause some consternation to be expressed to HOA's. Their multi-week owners who trade will probably start downsizing as a result of RCI's moves, dumping even more weeks out on a saturated resale market.
While shortterm there are benefits we can reep as individuals, what RCI has done is to further kick the ownership/exchange model of timesharing in the teeth. Resorts whose membership base in heavily exchange-oriented and are RCI affiliated are going to be the most vulnerable.
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