The 80 /20 Rule and availability of weeks...

[Bourne Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bourne]

Mark,

All of us who like SFX and have had great exchanges know about the 80 / 20 rule that you have mentioned multiple times....

For the sake of discussion, the 20% prime weeks are snapped up by existing requests as soon as they become available...

Would it be safe to say that SFX is a lean mean exchanging machine.

i.e. it does not have floating inventory lying around outside of the Sell off list. Or maybe a handful more...and that is the reason we cannot be provided a search feature online.

[katie Member Find all posts View Profile Close katie]

I think most folks understand that the 20% is snapped up by existing requests.

I think what folks are trying to determine (at least I am) which requests would have a better chance with SFX than the other exchange companies.

Unlike RCI and II, I don’t know which resorts/developers are supplying SFX with bulk bank space. So I can’t really tell if SFX normally gets about 2 units per year at destination A vs 50 units per year at destination A.

I personally would like to take advantage of the areas that SFX has plenty of availability vs being unhappy because I didn’t know my request had a snowball's chance in hell because the number of requests exceeded the number of weeks available.

From what I can tell, SFX is probably a very good choice if I want to
- go to Mexico (since they offer Mexico bonus weeks)
- stay at the Hilton Club in NY (RCI doesn’t seem to get many deposits; TUG members claimed they got weeks from SFX)
- stay at one of the HGVC resorts (per their website SFX was contracted by HGVC; TUG members claimed they got weeks from SFX)
- travel during prime weeks from Jan to Oct (since those who want to take advantage of the 3 for 1 offer normally will most likely (1) deposit during the fall of the previous year (2) deposit a Prime week to qualify for the bonus (3) deposit up to a year in advance)

[katie Member Find all posts View Profile Close katie]

more thoughts as I try to figure out the best use of SFX (at least for me) .....

Maybe I’m wrong but I also won’t make the following requests with SFX

• Destination A for a single holiday week
  Everyone knows holiday weeks are snapped up by owners; I don’t expect holiday weeks that are hard to get in RCI and II to be available in SFX; SFX bulk bank space holiday weeks are unknown; I also don’t expect owners to go out of their way to snag a holiday week to deposit into SFX since the website indicates that the bonus week promotion requires any prime, major event or holiday week deposit
  
• Destination A for a specific week
  Again not knowing if SFX has two units or 50 units, I plan to make requests with SFX where my travels plans are the most flexible and I can specific most of the prime week period as my travel dates to increase my chances of a hit; This doesn’t mean that if I know I have to be in at Destination A for a specific week that I won’t make a request with SFX. Just that I won’t have high expectations that my request would be met or disappointed if a match wasn’t found.

I haven’t made a deposit with SFX but these are my thoughts (right or wrong) on how I plan to use SFX in the future.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

In the past I have been able to speak with an SFX rep to get an idea of how realisitic a request may be. I was told, for instance, that I probably wouldn't get my request for Washington DC because they get so few deposits. However, I was told that my request for Big Island was very likely to be filled. In fact, within a week, I was confirmed for a 2 BR exchange and had a choice of weeks and resorts. They will always make the statement that nothing is guaranteed, but they may give some guidance on what is more or less likely.

About 2 weeks ago, I put in a request for a bonus week for a number of locations for Thanksgiving week. I had a bonus week that a friend wanted to use. SFX, quickly filled that request with a nice place in San Francisco. My friend (and I) were very pleased that it worked out so well for them.

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

Katie very nicely done.

I like to help people on these forums and elsewhere but without some basis it is very difficult for me to recommend SFX to people for precisely the reasons you have so eloquently stated in you posts.

[3kids4me Super Moderator and Super Mom Find all posts View Profile Close 3kids4me]

Katie...great post...

I still can't figure out how SFX is better than RCI given the constraints. We always travel during school vacation and summer weeks. Now it isn't easy to get exchanges during that time but you can always go to Orlando within RCI. I may not get it yet, but I'm not seeing where there is any benefit to using SFX for travel when you have kids.

As for "off season"...well there is lots of availability in RCI then anyway.

So I'm trying to figure out what one can get from SFX that is better than RCI. Do they have more inventory in Europe during shoulder season? Do you use SFX to get around the one in four restriction that RCI has? Maybe SFX is not for me specifically, but who is it for and in what situation?

Sharon

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

Mark @sfx

This is a very good thread. Lots of interesting thoughts, points of view and questions. I would like to let this run for around a couple more days to see what others post before I respond.

Many thanks...

[funtime2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close funtime2]

Katie---- I too would like to thank you for putting in words how I feel. You have stated the issues in a non threating but inquiring way. I live in the southern east coast. When I look at the SFX directory I am happy almost excited with what I see for resorts, but if I am not able to exchange for any of these because there is only 1 or 2 available in a year then this is just a pretty picture. I want something that I can use instead of wishing upon a star.
Mark, I do understand the 20/80 rule and the trade secret issues, but it would be nice if we as members could make a more informed request so we are not hoping for something that has a snowball's chance in mid summer.

[katie Member Find all posts View Profile Close katie]

Thanks for the kind words and for sharing your experiences and thoughts.

I had to determine if I was going to use any of my SFX platinum benefits before my membership expires. So, I had to take the next step and come to some conclusions on how I was going to use SFX in the future.

I’m looking forward to Mark’s response.

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

I am not an SFX member, but I have considered depositing with them in the past.

After reading through some of the recent threads, it seems to me that a lot of the questions potential depositors have regarding likelihood of a potential exchange could be resolved if SFX had an online searchable database of past exchanges. The database would need to include the deposited week, the exchanged week, and the timing parameters. Since SFX claims that their exchanges are mostly all "like for like" due to their only accepting higher end weeks, it doesn't seem like they'd be divulging anything proprietary to publish past exchanges.

So why isn't this a good idea?

Jim

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

Katie,
Thanks for starting this thread and as others have said for putting forth the concerns and questions that many of us have about SFX in a manner that is non confrontational.
Mark, you have been very helpful and the time you spend on this board is appreciated. That being said the questions and concerns that Katie puts forth are very important to many of us and hopefully you will be able to find a way to give us a little better glimps of what we can expect from your company in a way that doesn't "give away the store" so to speak.
thanks again to Katie for this well crafted posts and to Mark for continuing to be here to answer questions and help folks out.

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

Mark,

All of us who like SFX and have had great exchanges know about the 80 / 20 rule that you have mentioned multiple times....

For the sake of discussion, the 20% prime weeks are snapped up by existing requests as soon as they become available...

Would it be safe to say that SFX is a lean mean exchanging machine.

i.e. it does not have floating inventory lying around outside of the Sell off list. Or maybe a handful more...and that is the reason we cannot be provided a search feature online.

Bourne - thank you for your post. In a sense, your comments are close to correct. We created a network of strategic alliances, that allowed us to create a system of the highest demand inventory. Some people may refer to it as a "mini-system" that created a cross-over platform between Crown and 5Star rated resorts, eliminating the borders between the two major systems.

Our vacation bank never sits empty, there is a constant ebb and flow of inventory 24/7. There is always a constant demand for this space, we do not have leftovers in Palm Springs for August, or Rhode Island in January.... So, lean in that sense is about right. On the other hand, if a member wanted Palm Springs in August, we certainly have access to it.

Thanks,

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

I think most folks understand that the 20% is snapped up by existing requests.

I think what folks are trying to determine (at least I am) which requests would have a better chance with SFX than the other exchange companies.

Unlike RCI and II, I don’t know which resorts/developers are supplying SFX with bulk bank space. So I can’t really tell if SFX normally gets about 2 units per year at destination A vs 50 units per year at destination A.

I personally would like to take advantage of the areas that SFX has plenty of availability vs being unhappy because I didn’t know my request had a snowball's chance in hell because the number of requests exceeded the number of weeks available.

From what I can tell, SFX is probably a very good choice if I want to
- go to Mexico (since they offer Mexico bonus weeks)
- stay at the Hilton Club in NY (RCI doesn’t seem to get many deposits; TUG members claimed they got weeks from SFX)
- stay at one of the HGVC resorts (per their website SFX was contracted by HGVC; TUG members claimed they got weeks from SFX)
- travel during prime weeks from Jan to Oct (since those who want to take advantage of the 3 for 1 offer normally will most likely (1) deposit during the fall of the previous year (2) deposit a Prime week to qualify for the bonus (3) deposit up to a year in advance)

Hi Katie - thank you for your post.

........Unlike RCI and II, I don’t know which resorts/developers are supplying SFX with bulk bank space. So I can’t really tell if SFX normally gets about 2 units per year at destination A vs 50 units per year at destination A.

Katie - I certainly understand your point of view, however the reality is whatever number of deposits you see sitting around with other exchange companies has absolutely no relevance or correlation to any "future" deposits that may come in the following year, as there is no consistency in deposits. One year members from a resort may deposit 1,000 weeks with them, and the following year in might be 49. Not everyone exchanges every year... last year maybe there were 1000 deposits and only 300 requests. This year there may have been 250 deposits from that resort, but perhaps 5,000 requests. It may give you some degree of comfort seeing space sitting around, but it really tells you nothing other than the past, and has not bearing on the future for availability.

................I personally would like to take advantage of the areas that SFX has plenty of availability vs being unhappy because I didn’t know my request had a snowball's chance in hell because the number of requests exceeded the number of weeks available.

Excellent point. When you place a request with us online, during the process you are advised of any known difficulty factors. If move forward and finalize the request, when it goes through processing with an agent overview, if we think the odds are obviously not favorable... like a 3 bedroom unit in London during the Wimbledon tournament , the agent will communicate with you and advise accordingly.

We clearly do not want to waste your time (and ours) spending valuable time/money looking for something that is high-risk for no return. We want results just as much as you do.

...............From what I can tell, SFX is probably a very good choice if I want to
- go to Mexico (since they offer Mexico bonus weeks)
- stay at the Hilton Club in NY (RCI doesn’t seem to get many deposits; TUG members claimed they got weeks from SFX)
- stay at one of the HGVC resorts (per their website SFX was contracted by HGVC; TUG members claimed they got weeks from SFX)
- travel during prime weeks from Jan to Oct (since those who want to take advantage of the 3 for 1 offer normally will most likely (1) deposit during the fall of the previous year (2) deposit a Prime week to qualify for the bonus (3) deposit up to a year in advance)

Yes... but what I don't understand is why limit the above to just those locations, when we do very well in every area in our directory. Of course some areas better than others. Obviously its easier to get an exchange into an area that has 20 resorts vs. an area with only 3 resorts.

We have been in business for 16 years, and currently have over 115,000 Members. In a recent independent audit, we had just over a 92% fulfillment rate for all bookings in 2006. (This does "not" mean there is a 92% chance of you receiving a specific exchange in the future). We must be doing something right.

Hope this helps...

[Bourne Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bourne]

Make sense.

To be more specific, you have access to those mid/low demand weeks that members may request for.

These weeks stay in other "systems" that you have strategic alliances with. You can "dip" into those systems for any kind of week when required in exchange for weeks/$$$.

The beauty of the model is that SFX does not write off any weeks that would otherwise expire. Or to correctly put it, it minimizes the amount of inventory that can potentially exipre without usage.

Now that I think of it, that 3rd Mexican bonus week is also a money making machine instead of a marketing expense. A large % of all exchanges are limited to certain chain of resorts and it technically is a rental outlet for them through SFX for excess inventory.

In all, the model makes sense for me and SFX too. Listed below are my exchanges with SFX. I am a happy customer.
1. Mid Feb Mayan Palace Acapulco
2. March End Westin Scottsdale
3. Summer Big Island - Holua at Mauna Loa
4. Feb Grand Mayan Acapulco
5. Christmas Week Morritts Grand

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

more thoughts as I try to figure out the best use of SFX (at least for me) .....

Maybe I’m wrong but I also won’t make the following requests with SFX

• Destination A for a single holiday week
  Everyone knows holiday weeks are snapped up by owners; I don’t expect holiday weeks that are hard to get in RCI and II to be available in SFX; SFX bulk bank space holiday weeks are unknown; I also don’t expect owners to go out of their way to snag a holiday week to deposit into SFX since the website indicates that the bonus week promotion requires any prime, major event or holiday week deposit
  
• Destination A for a specific week
  Again not knowing if SFX has two units or 50 units, I plan to make requests with SFX where my travels plans are the most flexible and I can specific most of the prime week period as my travel dates to increase my chances of a hit; This doesn’t mean that if I know I have to be in at Destination A for a specific week that I won’t make a request with SFX. Just that I won’t have high expectations that my request would be met or disappointed if a match wasn’t found.

I haven’t made a deposit with SFX but these are my thoughts (right or wrong) on how I plan to use SFX in the future.

Hi Katie - thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

............[*]Destination A for a single holiday week
Everyone knows holiday weeks are snapped up by owners; I don’t expect holiday weeks that are hard to get in RCI and II to be available in SFX; SFX bulk bank space holiday weeks are unknown; I also don’t expect owners to go out of their way to snag a holiday week to deposit into SFX since the website indicates that the bonus week promotion requires any prime, major event or holiday week deposit

Excellent comment - Major Holiday weeks are the highest demanded weeks of the year, therefore the least available with "all exchange companies". The exchange model is built with Flexibility being the key component for good results. Although we book a number of members for major Holiday weeks, and do get deposits for those periods, you certainly can place requests for those weeks but we do our best to strongly encourage members to have a Plan B... add alternative acceptable travel dates.

.............Destination A for a specific week
Again not knowing if SFX has two units or 50 units, I plan to make requests with SFX where my travels plans are the most flexible and I can specific most of the prime week period as my travel dates to increase my chances of a hit; This doesn’t mean that if I know I have to be in at Destination A for a specific week that I won’t make a request with SFX. Just that I won’t have high expectations that my request would be met or disappointed if a match wasn’t found.

Again, another very good comment -

Katie, if we depended purely on Member deposits, then not knowing if we get 2 deposits or 50 becomes a significant factor in your consideration. However, we have multiple resources for space, Member deposits being only one of them. For obvious reasons, unfortunately I cannot disclose what the other resources are. Some may be obvious... others not so obvious. Keep in mind, SFX manages a network of "Strategic Alliances" among st certain resorts with preferred access to space... We do not operate on the same business model as other exchange companies, it's apples and oranges. Can't say any more on that subject.

By all means you can request a specific week for your exchange, but again as with all exchange companies, the model is built for Flexibility, and we do our best to educate our valued customers the best results are obtained with Flexibility. One specific date requests statistically have lesser results industry wide.

For those looking for the perfect exchange company, it really doesn't exist. The ultimate customer satisfaction, is being confirmed for the exchanges they have requested. The reality is, sometimes the space you request will be available, and others it won't. Much of the success depends on you the Timeshare Owner. The most important things you can do to help create a successful exchange is:

1. Deposit your weeks early and far in advance. The earlier you deposit, the more space that is created in the pool, and you are rewarded with higher "trading power".

2. Place your requests in a timely manner. I know it's common sense... but, the further ahead you place the request, the more time there is for positive results. The later you wait, the opportunity is less.

3. Be Flexible with alternative travel weeks and/or locations if you can. The more flexible, the greater the odds.

For the longest time, you didn't have the Freedom of Choice for doing your vacation exchange shopping, you only had one store or the other... we have added a layer of innovative opportunity allowing you the ability to have more than one store to do your vacation shopping, without being restricted to just one service.

Our colleagues at the two major exchange companies have many satisfied customers, and in the big picture do a great job, as do we. Just like your bank, your cell phone company or your exchange company, it really comes down to who you are comfortable doing business with.

Hope this helps... and looking forward to sending you on great vacations !!!

Many thanks...