Bad Exchange, no bueno !

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

Hi Mark
We just got back from the Mayan Palace Regency in Mazatlan. I took this week as an exchange and feel I was hosed. The unit assignment for SFX exchangers seemed low priority. My view was the lobby roof. I could only tolerate this for a few days and ended leaving and then going to a different resort where I was given a fantastic view.

I don't know how you can expect serious vacationers to accept this. I now wonder if all exchange SFX does is for inferior inventory.

Bill

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Bill I think you the problem is with Mayan resort not SFX. I know from my own experience that Mayan palace does not always have the best views. Even their own owners complain about it. But I bet you if you had bought there that day that they would have found you the best room in the house.

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

SFX has nothing to do with the unit assignment.

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

When I made this reservation the lady at SFX said that SFX pulls pretty good rooms at this resort. I was fairly confident I would get a decent room and even though the room was decent the room location really sucked. I asked nicely for two days to move. I saw plenty of people move out on Sat and Sun so I know there was inventory available. I finally gave up and went else where for the rest of the week. It may have been Vida but Im thinking that Vida doesn't give SFX exchanges any priority or consideration. The only room worse than mine was the one next to mine.

I could have went to Emerald Bay with RCI but was told by SFX that it was much farther from Mazatlan. After driving around I find its maybe a mile or two from the Mayan property.

So someone tell me about a good SFX exchange they made. This was my first and the experience blows.

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

Bill, lots of these big developers give exchangers the crappy rooms not just Mayan.

I've had Marriott staff tell me at Ocean Pointe that an exchanger will never get a room with a view.
They said they reserve the best rooms for their owners.
Fair enough and lesson learned, I'll not exchange in there anymore.
Now I'll take Oceana Palms which is also a Marriott but has no bad rooms.
So it depends on how big the resort is and how it is laid out.
Oceana Palms is a high rise and all rooms have either a direct or side ocean view.
Ocean Pointe has lots of parking lot and tree views because it's a low rise.
Someone is going to get assigned those rooms. Won't be me anymore.

Smaller independent resorts tend to put you in the unit that the owner deposited.
I know this because at my favorite little beach place I've seen exchangers get better
rooms than I and we were both on an RCI exchange.

So every resort does room assignments different you just gotta find out how the one
you are considering does it before taking the exchange.
A phone call to the front desk will say a lot.

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

Smaller independent resorts tend to put you in the unit that the owner deposited.
I know this because at my favorite little beach place I've seen exchangers get better
rooms than I and we were both on an RCI exchange.

It depends whether the resort is a fixed week or floating weeks resort. With a fixed week resort, the owner deposits the specific unit that they own whereas floating week resort owners do not own a specific week/unit. They just own a floating week of a specific unit type.

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

That is one of the things I like a lot about the WorldMark reservation system. If you are going to have a unit with no view or a poor view they let you know prior to booking; even when the resort assigns the units at check-in.

ie. Unit Description: One Bedroom - Less Desirable Location: King in master, queen murphy bed in living area. Stairs are required to access unit. Unit location may be less desirable, it is located under a stairwell and has minimal natural light.



I do not believe that SFX had any power of decision on where you were placed. This is almost always at the resort's discretion. Some resorts are more notorious than others for putting exchangers is less desired locations and it does truly depend on time of year occupancy.

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

When I made this reservation the lady at SFX said that SFX pulls pretty good rooms at this resort. I was fairly confident I would get a decent room and even though the room was decent the room location really sucked. I asked nicely for two days to move. I saw plenty of people move out on Sat and Sun so I know there was inventory available. I finally gave up and went else where for the rest of the week. It may have been Vida but Im thinking that Vida doesn't give SFX exchanges any priority or consideration. The only room worse than mine was the one next to mine.

I could have went to Emerald Bay with RCI but was told by SFX that it was much farther from Mazatlan. After driving around I find its maybe a mile or two from the Mayan property.

So someone tell me about a good SFX exchange they made. This was my first and the experience blows.

We have stayed 10 weeks at the Grand Mayans in Riviera Maya and Nuevo Vallarta on exchanges with SFX. When we checked in, the resort was very good at giving us the unit location that we wanted. We got ocean view at Nuevo Vallarta during Easter week and the week after. NO, we did not attend any sales presentations.

Did you request a unit location when you checked in?

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

Yes, I did request an ocean view at check in. The receptionist had to ask a manager who obviously said no. The receptionist said that as people checked out that I might be able to get a different room and that the room I was getting now was as good as any of them amenity wise. So people did check out at 11 and I could see them as they left because my view was the lobby. Saturday they told me the same thing so on Sunday as many people left I went down and asked if they were going to move us and the answer was a smiling faced maybe tomorrow.

We packed and left. We ended up at the VI Torres down the street where we had an excellent ocean view.

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

Vida is known for giving exchangers (from any company) and even owners exchanging back in bad views. There was someone who exchanged in I think through II but it might have been SFX and reported OY that they got a unit right next to construction with jack hammers going from 8am to 6pm almost everyday. I think after the 4th or 5th day with daily complaints to everyone, they were moved.

That being said I sent guests to Mayan Palace in Nuevo Vallarta through RCI and they said they had a great unit with a great view.

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

Reality of getting best view units...

Bill - Thank you for your post, and sharing your concerns. We are sorry to hear of your experience. I would like to start by stating every post in response is very accurate and well written. I could not really express it much differently, than what other responses have been. But here are my words on this issue...

Through all exchange companies, every week there are thousands of timeshare owners around the world checking into a resort. Thousands of them have units with good views, and thousands of them with bad views! "No exchange company" has any control over which unit you are assigned by the front desk when you are checking in. It would have not been any different had you exchanged in via RCI, I.I. DAE etc. (The only real exception would be if you are exchanging into a fixed week, which is an extreme rarity in the timeshare world).

The general rule is; Owners get assigned the "best" units first (as they should). When all the "best" units are assigned (booked). Then Owners still have a priority, but logistically they can only be booked into what is left available, which means the lesser desirable units with lets say no or limited views. Then what is left... gets assigned to "exchange guests". And that typically (although not always) means the lesser desirable units with no or bad views. This is an industry norm.

There are numerous occasions an exchange guest will get a great unit with a great view. In this instance, those units weren't completely booked by Owners (whom have first priority). You have a better shot of a good view unit if you are not traveling in prime demand seasons. As those seasons have the highest demand, and are booked by Owners first.

We have almost no demand for Mazatlan. That particular week, you were the only SFX member that was booked into that resort, which means practically all the other "no view units" were occupied by members of RCI. Point being, this is not an SFX issue, it is an issue for the reasons explained above. Which ultimately means its the way resorts run the system. Everyone wants an ocean view unit.... the reality is there is a limited supply.

Regardless of which exchange company you use in the future, when you run into this situation again, the best strategy is to politely ask the front desk if you can be reassigned to another unit. If they have availability, in most cases they will oblige.

I hope this insight shared by me, and others, give a better understanding.

Thanks,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

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

Yes , all of this info is helpful. I guess my new strategy will be to examine the resorts I exchange into more carefully. btw, I was very polite and didn't push the issue while they gave all of the room assignments out on the following Sat and Sunday. I also know that there were rooms available but the resort chose to do nothing.

The problem I am having with the reasoning is that for me to get this unit, an owner of this unit had to put it up for exchange. In other words the unit should have the same priority as an owners unit as it was an owners unit. I can see giving people buying left over inventory from something like RCI getaways crappy rooms but not so much an exchange.

Mark, thanks for letting me vent a bit as I wanted SFX to know how I felt about this.

Bill

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

Yes , all of this info is helpful. I guess my new strategy will be to examine the resorts I exchange into more carefully. btw, I was very polite and didn't push the issue while they gave all of the room assignments out on the following Sat and Sunday. I also know that there were rooms available but the resort chose to do nothing.

The problem I am having with the reasoning is that for me to get this unit, an owner of this unit had to put it up for exchange. In other words the unit should have the same priority as an owners unit as it was an owners unit. I can see giving people buying left over inventory from something like RCI getaways crappy rooms but not so much an exchange.

Mark, thanks for letting me vent a bit as I wanted SFX to know how I felt about this.

Bill

Hi Bill - thank you for your reply. It's okay to vent and let us know how you felt about this.... It gives us an opportunity for an explanation that in turn helps you and other viewers.

.............."The problem I am having with the reasoning is that for me to get this unit, an owner of this unit had to put it up for exchange. In other words the unit should have the same priority as an owners unit as it was an owners unit. I can see giving people buying left over inventory from something like RCI getaways crappy rooms but not so much an exchange".

I understand your thoughts, unfortunately it doesn't work that way. For example.... In Mexico, as a timeshare owner, you do not own a week in a unit. You own a week of "time" (in a certain season and unit size) in the resort that is bookable in advance, and subject to availability. As such, you are either using your time at that resort, and as an owner of that time, typically will be assigned a "better view" unit (if available). OR..... you decide to exchange your time elsewhere, in which case a unit with the lesser desirable views will be deposited with an exchange company, which may eventually be booked by an inbound exchange guest. The general rule will still be (especially in prime demand time) that owners will get the better view units over exchange guests. If you are traveling in the lesser demanded time of the year, then there is a more likely chance a number of the better view units have not been booked by owners, and the resort may assign one of those better view units to you.

It's probably no different at the resort where you own (assuming it's not a fixed week resort). You would have priority on the better view units over an exchange guest.

My explanations are general system wide, but there are always exceptions... Look at it this way.... As nice as it is to get an ocean-view unit, in the big picture, I feel in most instances a non-ocean view shouldn't equate to a bad experience, as you have to consider multiple facets that make up the whole picture of a great vacation (location, weather, service, food, attractions, service etc).

Hope this helps...

Best,
Mark @SFX
Member Communications

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

Yes , all of this info is helpful. I guess my new strategy will be to examine the resorts I exchange into more carefully. btw, I was very polite and didn't push the issue while they gave all of the room assignments out on the following Sat and Sunday. I also know that there were rooms available but the resort chose to do nothing.

The problem I am having with the reasoning is that for me to get this unit, an owner of this unit had to put it up for exchange. In other words the unit should have the same priority as an owners unit as it was an owners unit. I can see giving people buying left over inventory from something like RCI getaways crappy rooms but not so much an exchange.

Mark, thanks for letting me vent a bit as I wanted SFX to know how I felt about this.

Bill

for me to get this unit, an owner of this unit had to put it up for exchange

Definitely a false statement, almost 100% guaranteed in this instance.

SFX is an exchange company. They are not a small exchange company. SFX is a large exchange company that carries a lot of Mexico.

Many exchange companies have relationship with developers for inventory. One of the developers would be Mayan Palace and Grand Mayan and Grand Bliss resort variety.

I have no way of checking SFX's inventory. I am not a member but I can use RCI ( another large exchange company with developer relationships) to illustrate this case . Current inventory:

Mayan Palace Regency Mazatlán (#A381)
Mazatlán, Sinaloa 81110, Mexico map resort

Rating: (14)
Check-In Date Range
07-Mar-2015 - 13-Dec-2015
Hotel 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom
212 available units

AND

MAYAN PALACE REGENCY MAZATLAN LG (#C374)
MAZATLAN, Sinaloa 81110, Mexico map resort

Check-In Date Range
10-Apr-2015 - 30-Dec-2016
Hotel 1 Bedroom 2 Bedroom
339 available units

This inventory at times is supplemented with owner deposits but the vast majority is developer weeks.

my new strategy will be to examine the resorts I exchange into more carefully

Very good idea. Research, particularly with timeshare BBS boards, would have told you that this particular developer is pretty consistant in placing exchangers in the not so great units. Especially at high occupancy times of the year. Because the people that bought use them or rent them then and the developer, bless their pointy little hearts, are also renting.

Again, your placement was exclusively the resort and not the exchange company.

We all have a story similar to yours with a resort/developer and an exchange company. Mine was many, many years ago at Orange Lake Country Club with RCI. You get burned, you get smart and do your homework.

[Pat H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pat H]

Bill, what did you give SFX in exchange?