SFX won't accept week 22 Hyatt High Sierra?

[Heathpack Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heathpack]

Hi- just found this forum and glad for the opportunity to ask a question to SFX. We are new owners in the Hyatt system and about 6 months ago called SFX to see if they would accept our week- week 22 at Hyatt High Sierra.

The woman I spoke with on the phone said ya'll would not accept that deposit. SFX not interested in Tahoe in May.

Is this correct? Week 22 typically includes Memorial Day weekend and when it does not, the week falls in June.

It surprised me that the agent was so immediately dismissive, but really it was no skin off my nose. At the time, I was looking to exchange into one of the Carribbean catamaran or British narrowboat exchanges, which (I learned in the same call) SFX does not handle. So in the end, accepting our week did not matter, but I have been wondering about this for the future.

Thanks,
H

[PHILL12 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close PHILL12]

If you own at the Hyatt in Lake Tahoe it is true those months not the best in Lake Tahoe. We go up sometimes to our Ridge Tahoe for Memorial week and its slow except the weekend itself but nice. One year we had great weather and one memorial week we woke up to snow so you just never know what to expect.

You probably belong with II and I doubt they would ever turn you down plus if you want you could use the request first like we do. I always wanted to try the Hyatt but we are not North Shore lovers.
We always stay at our condo July 4th week South Shore side and make couple trips over for lunch and a little gambling but that is about it.

Hyatt's are one of the best resorts of Lake Tahoe if you like North Shore and want to be close to the lake.

PHILL12

[Heathpack Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heathpack]

You probably belong with II and I doubt they would ever turn you down plus if you want you could use the request first like we do.

PHILL12

Thanks Phill12,

Yes we are II members and we have our first trade lined up already into Marriott's Ko'Olina in Oahu for this coming March. We are also pretty happy with the Hyatt internal trades we've been able to get this year. And we are working on a private exchange for next year. Plus, we could always use the week in Tahoe and have a great time.

So the SFX thing is not a big issue for us, as we have plenty of other good options.

I would expect SFX would know very well what weeks work for them and which do not- however, when I called the agent seemed to be in a rush and was short to the point of seeming irritated by my call. So that left me wondering if I'd perhaps gotten bad information.

This forum seems like a good place to hear straight from the horse's mouth. Then I will know for sure if SFX is not an option for us down the road.

H

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

I think that Hyatt does not permit deposits into SFX, so the actual week you offered is not the issue here. I am also a Hyatt owner, and remember reading this a couple of years ago.

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

I am sure we'll hear from Mark on this. SFX is careful about choosing high demand weeks most likely to meet their members' needs. But I also know they have in the past been staunch advocates of owners' right to choose their own exchange company, something vital to the concept of timeshare as far as I'm concerned. I am curious to know whether it's true that Hyatt has made it difficult for owners to deposit with independent exchange companies. If so, I believe the owners are being deprived of their inherent rights. Maybe it's harder with a points based "club" type system than with outright deeded weeks.

Hopefully Mark will chime in after the weekend.

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

I think that Hyatt does not permit deposits into SFX, so the actual week you offered is not the issue here. I am also a Hyatt owner, and remember reading this a couple of years ago.

Really? Hmmmm, I didn't think that they would have the right to tell you where or where not you could deposit your week.

[Heathpack Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heathpack]

Hmm, not sure about "the Hyatt owners can't deposit with SFX part." I never looked into beyond this one call to SFX.

However, I do recall my phone conversation starting with me saying I have a Hyatt to deposit and her asking which week and resort. It seemed pretty clear to me that the "week 22 Tahoe" part was the deal breaker.

I did also ask how it would work with a Hyatt- could you reserve a prime week with points and deposit that with SFX and agent said, "no, you can only deposit your deeded week."

So unless that conversation was completely wonky, it certainly sounded like SFX would take some Hyatt weeks. I'm sure we will hear soon straight from the horse's mouth.

H

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

If it is a point based system (which I beleive it is) why is OP reserving week 22 rather then a more in demand summer or ski week to deposit???
Just curious - II would also place a higher trade value on a week 25-34 as well.

[Heathpack Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heathpack]

If it is a point based system (which I beleive it is) why is OP reserving week 22 rather then a more in demand summer or ski week to deposit???
Just curious - II would also place a higher trade value on a week 25-34 as well.

With Hyatt, everyone owns a deeded week (in our case week 22 at High Sierra). If you decide not to use your own week, you may release it to club use and then you are alotted a certain number of points based on your owned resort and season. You can then use those points to reserve other HVC properties or you can deposit them with II. If one deposits into II, it is the points that are deposited. As best I know, eeek of origin does not matter- a point is a point to II.

When one deposits into SFX, it is the deeded week that is deposited. Or at least that was my understanding vis a vis SFX.

H

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

With Hyatt, everyone owns a deeded week (in our case week 22 at High Sierra). If you decide not to use your own week, you may release it to club use and then you are allotted a certain number of points based on your owned resort and season. You can then use those points to reserve other HVC properties or you can deposit them with II. If one deposits into II, it is the points that are deposited. As best I know, eeek of origin does not matter- a point is a point to II.

When one deposits into SFX, it is the deeded week that is deposited. Or at least that was my understanding vis a vis SFX.

H

Thanks for the clarification...maybe that is the 'rub'- that week 22 was not in their usual range of accepted weeks and Hyatt does not allow u to 'chose' what u deposit into exchange companies if it is not your deeded week.

Our friend Beaglesmom3 is a Hyatt owner with a 2BR in Puerto Rico and I know she breaks that into 3 studio deposits in II because the points allotted to her allow this.
I own Wyndham Points and when I deposit in II it is also points....but if I wanted to deposit with SFX, I would need to reserve a Wyndham week with my points and then give SFX that reservation as a deposit. It does not have to be my deeded ownership.

Point system can be good (Star wood, Wyndham, DVC) but they each have a WHOLE BUNCHA RULES that u have to live by - it sure can get complicated.

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Hi- just found this forum and glad for the opportunity to ask a question to SFX. We are new owners in the Hyatt system and about 6 months ago called SFX to see if they would accept our week- week 22 at Hyatt High Sierra.

The woman I spoke with on the phone said ya'll would not accept that deposit. SFX not interested in Tahoe in May.

Is this correct? Week 22 typically includes Memorial Day weekend and when it does not, the week falls in June.

It surprised me that the agent was so immediately dismissive, but really it was no skin off my nose. At the time, I was looking to exchange into one of the Carribbean catamaran or British narrowboat exchanges, which (I learned in the same call) SFX does not handle. So in the end, accepting our week did not matter, but I have been wondering about this for the future.

Thanks,
H

Heathpack - thank you for your post. You own at a great resort. If your deposit does fall over the Memorial Day Holiday weekend, we most certainly would have accepted it. Unfortunately (other than the Holiday weekend), the month of May and through June 15, there is almost no demand for Lake Tahoe, which means you would not have had enough trading power to exchange for a catamaran or houseboat.

Even if you had deposited a prime time week, it usually is very difficult to get an exchange into these two properties, as their availability is extremely limited, and demand extremely high with all exchange companies.

Sorry we were unable to help you in this particular instance.

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I think that Hyatt does not permit deposits into SFX, so the actual week you offered is not the issue here. I am also a Hyatt owner, and remember reading this a couple of years ago.

Hi Calgal - thank you for your post. As an individual Owner of your time, you have the "legal right" to request the service of any exchange company you want.

Under the Sherman Act and other various Anti-Monopoly laws, service is "distinct and separate" from product. To force you into being serviced by only one servicing entity violates these laws. Specifically it creates an unlawful "Tying relationship", in addition to a host of other Federal and State anti-competative practices. It's like when you buy a car from a dealership, it is unlawful for them to say, "you can only bring it back to the dealership for service".

When it comes to service of any product, you have the legal right to choose.

Sometimes once in a while we run into resort reservation staff telling their Owners they can only use their affiiated exchange company. We politely send them a legal notification about the breach of certain laws, and what their Owner's Rights are... and they immediately comply. This usually is the result of relatively new employees who really don't know or understand these basic rights.

Hope this helps...

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

I am sure we'll hear from Mark on this. SFX is careful about choosing high demand weeks most likely to meet their members' needs. But I also know they have in the past been staunch advocates of owners' right to choose their own exchange company, something vital to the concept of timeshare as far as I'm concerned. I am curious to know whether it's true that Hyatt has made it difficult for owners to deposit with independent exchange companies. If so, I believe the owners are being deprived of their inherent rights. Maybe it's harder with a points based "club" type system than with outright deeded weeks.

Hopefully Mark will chime in after the weekend.

Hi Glitter.... Mark chiming in here and thank you for your post.

You are absolutely correct. Owners have the right to request the service of any company they want, regardless of the resorts formal affilation agreement.

I have addressed this in a post to Calgal. But the bottom line is "The Sherman Act, and the Clayton Act" These are the Federal Anti-trust laws that protect these rights.

You will also find that each State has it's own Anti-Trust, Anti-Competative Laws that are very aligned with the Federal Statutes.

Hope this helps...

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

[Mark @SFX Industry Representative Find all posts View Profile Close Mark @SFX]

Hmm, not sure about "the Hyatt owners can't deposit with SFX part." I never looked into beyond this one call to SFX.

However, I do recall my phone conversation starting with me saying I have a Hyatt to deposit and her asking which week and resort. It seemed pretty clear to me that the "week 22 Tahoe" part was the deal breaker.

I did also ask how it would work with a Hyatt- could you reserve a prime week with points and deposit that with SFX and agent said, "no, you can only deposit your deeded week."

So unless that conversation was completely wonky, it certainly sounded like SFX would take some Hyatt weeks. I'm sure we will hear soon straight from the horse's mouth.

H

Hi Heathpack - thank you for your post. There appears to be somewhat of a misunderstanding. We have many Members who own at Points-Based resorts who use our services. Although technically you cannot deposit your Points, you can reserve a weeks worth of points, and deposit that reservation which would be 7 nights (A week equivalent).

Hope this helps,

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

[Heathpack Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Heathpack]

Hi Heathpack - thank you for your post. There appears to be somewhat of a misunderstanding. We have many Members who own at Points-Based resorts who use our services. Although technically you cannot deposit your Points, you can reserve a weeks worth of points, and deposit that reservation which would be 7 nights (A week equivalent).

Hope this helps,

Thanks,
Mark @sfx
Member Communications

Yes, it does seem like there was some sort of miscommunication. At the time I called SFX, I was holding a 2009 week 51 reservation at Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel- although just a 1BR, this was Christmas week. I was told that it could not be deposited with you all, only the deeded week. This was wrong? It could have been deposited?

Hmm, too bad as well about the week 22 miscommunication. I was inquiring about 2010, and week 22 includes Memorial Day in 2010.

However, maybe it was our interest in the boats that got the conversation so off-kilter. But I was also told that you all don't deal with any of the sailboat or narrowboat timeshares- it sounds like maybe this is not the case, either?

H