HGVC a Trading tiger, well....

Hello all,

I now have two RCI accounts, one through HGVC and one of my own with a Sheraton unit (lock-off).

A quick comparison makes it clear that I am not pulling as much with my HGVC account as with the other. Several DVC and Europe units are not visible with HGVC. A call into HGVC's RCI desk can not see or pull them either.

So either the new RCI changeover has lowered HGVC "tiger trading" value or it was very good, not ultimate, to begin with.

thanks,
Paul

SDO isn't going to do as well now, after Starwood and RCI got together and decided that a "blended" trading power value is all we can get. I assume your deposit is an older one, where you got to pick a week for deposit.

My point is that I can see MORE with sdo (even with the lower value you mentioned) than HGVC.... not the low value of sfo.

With Hilton you should not see lower quality resorts. That could be the difference, but SDO has a high quality rating in RCI, too. A lot of European resorts fall into the category of low quality. I don't own Hilton but watch the sightings board for what Hilton can see, and it's got very high trading power.

I do know the interface of some points' systems with the new RCI transparency have not been upgraded, so maybe that is why. Wyndham doesn't work yet with RCI weeks, and maybe Hilton upgrades are in process.

I was hoping someone with HGVC would comment, so let's keep this thread going until someone jumps in who knows.

The few times that I've tried RCI, I've noticed that "weeks" search seems well, weak, particilarly in high-demand areas. OTOH, the "nights" (points) search engine seems stronger, with a lot of stuff that doesn't show up on "weeks."

Hilton uses a quality-control filter. I mostly see high-quality resorts. Some HGVC'ers report that HGVC will book an "unlisted" resort, if you call and simply must have it.

Aside from what you can pull, the principal HGVC benefit has been no deposit in advance with points being drawn only after a reservation is confirmed.

Yes, I see more weeks with the WorldMark web portal vs HGVC. However the additional resorts I see in WorldMark either have a very low rating or no rating at all. So there is definitely a quality filter with HGVC.

I've never felt that RCI was a good option for exchanges and, I've never felt that HGVC had great trading power within RCI's system.

My basis is two exchanges I've pulled over the years with RCI and HGVC vs exchanges to the same region (Branson, MO) with I.I. Even with my weakest I.I. affiliated week, I can see far more quality resorts, including Marriott than I can with RCI and HGVC. In fact, the two times we wanted to exchange we were offered a choice of ONE resort. My thought was, "This is the power of HGVC and RCI for exchange into an over developed area, in shoulder season?"

Needless to say I've never been impressed with RCI or HGVC's trading power. It's part of the reason we decided not to expand our HGVC ownership past the 7,000 points we own. For use, 7,000 points is enough to exchange within HGVC's limited choices in locations and leave RCI out of the picture.

Anecdotally - I've had good expreiences with HGVC/RCI exchanges WHEN I use ongoing searches. I've never use the HGVC/RCI portal and never use the RCI online search on my regular RCI account.

Most recently, I obtained a three bedroom St. James Place (Beaver Creek slopeside) in prime 2011 ski season for 5800 HGVC points. This trade would be hard to get with any RCI tiger trader.

travelguy said:

Anecdotally - I've had good expreiences with HGVC/RCI exchanges WHEN I use ongoing searches. I've never use the HGVC/RCI portal and never use the RCI online search on my regular RCI account.

Most recently, I obtained a three bedroom St. James Place (Beaver Creek slopeside) in prime 2011 ski season for 5800 HGVC points. This trade would be hard to get with any RCI tiger trader.

Click to expand...

On a side note, just discovered today that calling in also gives you more stuff than online access for open season. The HGVC/RCI agent was able to find me stuff on Sanibel that wasn't online so it always pays to check by phone too.

travelguy said:

Anecdotally - I've had good expreiences with HGVC/RCI exchanges WHEN I use ongoing searches. I've never use the HGVC/RCI portal and never use the RCI online search on my regular RCI account.

Most recently, I obtained a three bedroom St. James Place (Beaver Creek slopeside) in prime 2011 ski season for 5800 HGVC points. This trade would be hard to get with any RCI tiger trader.

Click to expand...

I agree with travelguy on the good experience with ongoing searches. However, the ongoing search requires a little bit of patience. The St. James Place exchange is outstanding. Congratulations, travelguy.

I have also had some luck with the RCI online search.

dougp26364 said:

I've never felt that RCI was a good option for exchanges and, I've never felt that HGVC had great trading power within RCI's system.

My basis is two exchanges I've pulled over the years with RCI and HGVC vs exchanges to the same region (Branson, MO) with I.I. Even with my weakest I.I. affiliated week, I can see far more quality resorts, including Marriott than I can with RCI and HGVC. In fact, the two times we wanted to exchange we were offered a choice of ONE resort. My thought was, "This is the power of HGVC and RCI for exchange into an over developed area, in shoulder season?"

Click to expand...

JMHO....This sounds like a possible combination of a quality filter issue and an availability issue (not an RCI Trading Power issue).
The quality filter will limit the number of resorts returned. Availability will vary through out the year. If the week(s) aren't available for exchanges, then trading power doesn't come into play.

I've never searched for Branson, MO but I currently see 8 resorts in RCI Weeks via HGVC's web portal and 17 resorts in RCI Weeks via WorldMark's web portal. See this sighting link for which resorts, unit sizes and date ranges - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1031096

JMHO based on what I've seen for myself and/or learned from TUG ......

(1) Exchanging in general
Exchanges are different than booking an internal HGVC reservation.

It is important to understand that exchangers only have access to what is deposited and not all weeks are deposited. As someone said on a recent TUG thread, if you assumed that you will simply be able to "exchange" into where you want to go, when you want to go there then you might be very disappointed".

Some destinations will be harder to exchange into than others. It depends on supply and demand.
For example, if you want to go to Orlando during the summer, you won't have any problems getting an exchange since there's an oversupply of timeshare resorts in Orlando.

With any exchange company you have to be a planner so you can be first on line with your request. From TUG's Timeshare 101 article, "Many TUGgers conduct their vacation scheduling two years in advance of the actual vacation days."

When you're looking to trade into a particular resort, you may be more successful if you try to learn which weeks are typical available (i.e offseason weeks only) based on previous deposits and when do they become available for exchange (for example six months, one year or two years in advance ).

(2) Interval International vs RCI
With HGVC developed resorts we only have access to RCI. Some of the other club resorts have access to Interval International.

RCI has more resorts in more destinations
Interval International (II) has more name brand hotel based timeshares such as Marriott, Starwood, Hyatt and Four Seasons.
Availability will vary based on destination. For example RCI Weeks has more exchange availability in NYC than Interval International.
Interval International seems to place a higher value on the quality of resort and unit size. RCI Weeks seems to place a higher value on earlier deposits and high demand weeks.
Based on what I've seen, exchangers will have better luck booking in peak season at high demand areas with RCI than with Interval International (due to the II's preference period and the developer controlled deposits of mostly offseason weeks in II).

Each exchange company has their PROs and CONs. There is no right or wrong. Everyone's priority is different. Some folks just want a clean place to stay. Others prefer accommodations with upscale amenities (granite countertops, upgraded appliances, etc). While other it's all about location, location, location. Only you can decide if it meets your needs.
There are constant TUG debates on II vs RCI. Here's one - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=94306

(3) RCI Weeks vs RCI Points
With HGVC we have access to RCI Weeks and RCI Points. Some RCI resorts participate in one or the other or both.

With RCI Weeks, it's best to place an ongoing search. What is normally seen online are the leftovers. In RCI Weeks, exchanges can be made up to two years in advance (however it varies by resort).

With RCI Points, you can't place an ongoing search. For peak weeks it's best to book as soon as the reservation window opens. In RCI Points, exchanges can be made up to 10 months in advance.

Based on what I've seen, it seems that exchangers have a better chance at getting a resort with RCI during peak travel times (as long as it is booked in advance as soon as deposits can begin).

I've been playing around with with RCI Weeks and RCI Points ever since we got access via the HGVC web portal. Sometime there are more weeks in RCI Points vs RCI weeks and vice versa depending on the resort.

For example, take a look at the sighting board using the following search criteria listed below (also pay attention to the availability during peak travel season)
(1) Keyword: head; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(2) Keyword: myrtle; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(3) Keyword: england; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(4) Keyword: spain; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(5) Keyword: portugal; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(6) Keyword: greece; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(7) Keyword: cayman; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(8) Keyword: utah; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(9) Keyword: montana; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(10) Keyword: orleans; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(11) Keyword: disney; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed
(12) Keyword: pacific; Username: alwysonvac; Search in Forum: Sightings/Distressed