Realistic requests

[timetraveler Member Find all posts View Profile Close timetraveler]

This is a follow-up to the other thread that's about to be deleted. Let me see if I can ask this question in a way that doesn't break the forum rules, or sound confrontational. It's hard for me to express myself without giving examples
Where/how can your customers get the information they need to make educated guesses about what requests might be realistic? We already know about being flexible, requesting well in advance, etc. I'm asking about more specific information.

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

Where/how can your customers get the information they need to make educated guesses about what requests might be realistic? We already know about being flexible, requesting well in advance, etc. I'm asking about more specific information.

Timetraveler - thank you for your post, an excellent question. This is going to sound obvious, but it is the best advice I can give.

It really comes down to critical mass of properties, time of year you want to travel, and what is the propensity of the Owners in that area for the time you want to travel, meaning is there a high Owner-occupancy of the space? or is there a general trend for trading out, which is what creates the space for others to trade in.

Here are some examples, and these are generally the same parameters with all exchange companies.

Picking an area that is high demand, with very few resorts in prime time, will always be very difficult, eg. Key West, Charleston, New York, London, San Francisco, Southern CA Coastal during the Summer and there are others. One of the most difficult areas to trade into is the SW Florida Coast (Sanibel, Captiva, Marco Is. etc.). There are very few quality properties, and there is about a 97% Owner-occupancy for that region, with most of the Owners living in the North Eastern parts of the US.

For areas where Demand is far greater than Supply, the more Flexible you need to be.

Areas such as Orlando, Mexico and Spain have the largest supplies of inventory in the world, so of course it is much easier to match for an exchange in those locations, than anywhere else. So it really comes down to are there few or many resorts in the area where you want to travel. The more resorts there are, the greater the possibilities.

I like the chart in Interval International's directory, where it clearly shows that high demand seasons have the least availability for exchange, while the lesser demanded times of the year, essentially when kids are back in school tend to have much greater availability. With any exchange company, these parameters are the same. Unfortunately the demand for high season travel always exceeds the availability of space, and this is why flexibility is always "pushed" by exchange companies, because that is what the whole system is built around.

Sorry if I have been a little redundant with some of this. But I hope I have to a degree answered your question. If not, please let me know....

Thanks,

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Mark, thanks for that excellent and helpful response with specific examples of high demand areas. I know it can seem obvious but it really isn't to people like me who are not familiar with the areas; maybe even to others who are familiar but wonder whether SFX have extra access to locations that other exchange companies may not have.

Furthermore, most of us realise that different companies specialise and have availability in certain areas and it's difficult to know which areas a company usually have reliable inventory as that would be dependent upon the membership base and their ownership. That's why members ask hoping for assistance in how to maximise and realistically use their membership. Any help you provide to assist is always much appreciated by all who read this forum, for current members and those contemplating joining.

Thanks!

[barndweller Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close barndweller]

Thank you to OP & Mark. Informative, helpful, and polite. Love the "for example" approach. Much appreciated.

[timetraveler Member Find all posts View Profile Close timetraveler]

Thank you, Mark. Glad I asked because I never considered Spain. Any part of Spain in particular?

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

Thank you, Mark. Glad I asked because I never considered Spain. Any part of Spain in particular?

Spain tends to get broken down into 3 areas.

1. Mainland Spain where the resorts are predominantly in and around the Costa del Sol, the southernmost part of Spain with a Mediterranean shoreline. This is a mainly summer resort area with the season running from April/May to October. Resorts will be open all year round, but the weather is less predictable, and cooler and wetter, at other times.
2. Balearic Islands (Mallorca, Ibiza etc) in the Mediterranean with a season broadly similar to (1) but definitely more summer oriented. Far less to do 'out of season'.
3. Canary Islands. About 90 miles off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. Year round resort area very popular with Brits and other northern europeans at all times, but particularly as a convenient location to escape the worst of the winter weather.

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

I visited Costa del Sol, last year, and had a fabulous time. There is much to see, and do, in the area. We took lots of day trips to the various towns, and really enjoyed the people, restaurants, shops, sights, etc. One week wasn't nearly enough time to do it all. We'd go back in a heart beat.