My first SVO on going search/Depositing/Requesting w/II [merged]

jerseygirl said:

Mystarcentral used to have similar language for Broadway Plantation buy Starwood has conveniently removed it.

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Guess they haven't gotten to LT yet, as it's still showing. Plus I really need to read up on the Bonus Time, as most of the people on the phones at SVO know about it but aren't sure how it really works.

Keep screen prints on your computer!

Twinkstarr said:

Here's section 7 from Lakeside Terrace's Rules and Regulations, which any LT owner can get on StarCentral

"If an owner wishes to exchange the use of his Unit pursuant to the procedures established by a reciprocal exchange program affiliated with the LAKESIDE TERRACE RESORT, such owner will be required to obtain a confirmed reservation for a VACATION WEEK within the time period established by the exchange company for the making of such reservations. The Managing Agent and Association are not responsible for the exchange value of any vacation week reserved by and confirmed to an Owner."

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Looks like LT has much more set-in-stone language than SDO in the Rules and Regulations. The problem with the Rules and Regs (at least for SDO), however, is that one of the powers granted to the association is the power to modify the Rules and Regs. So for SDO, they can change them to suit their fancy as long as the language is consistent with the CC&Rs. I think to have a good legal argument against Starwood, you would need to find specific language around exchanges in the CC&Rs that is at odds with what Starwood is doing.

jerseygirl said:

Keep screen prints on your computer!

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Better yet, you can download the PDF files from mystarcental so you've got the whole document. It seems like they're going to need to modify the Rules & Regs for every resort to be consistent with their new exchange policies.

EOY VOL SW/II Exchange

If you deposit during your EOY use yr into II before the 60 days:

1. - Does it work the the same as an annual use in that you would have 2 yrs from your deposited check-in date to look for an exchange?

2. - Can you borrow from your next EOY usage for 2 weeks during your current use yr?

nalismom said:

If you deposit during your EOY use yr into II before the 60 days:

1. - Does it work the the same as an annual use in that you would have 2 yrs from your deposited check-in date to look for an exchange?

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There is no longer a deposited check-in date (see below) but yes, you have 2 years to use your deposit.

2. - Can you borrow from your next EOY usage for 2 weeks during your current use yr?

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You can't make a deposit in II, until 12 mos. before the first day of your use year. So right now, you can deposit 2010 weeks, but not 2011 weeks. Jan. 1, you will be able to deposit a 2011 week, and use it in 2010.

If you own a fixed week, you may be able to deposit a 2011 week now.

The depositing rules with Starwood and II have changed dramatically - be sure you understand them before you deposit.

In a nutshell:

1) You can no longer do "request first" and hold a reservation at your home resort.

2) You can no longer select and deposit the week of your choice. Now, Starwood/II assign your week a "trade value," based on the season you own, and you use that generic value for exchanges. Trade tests have shown that this value is less than it was under the old system.

Thanks Denise .....so let me see if I got this: For EOY use Even yrs: I can deposit a 2010 in II thats good for a 2 year window, expiring 2012. On Jan. 1 2011 I can deposit the EOY even yr use for 2012 - also good for a 2 yr exchange window - expiring in 2013...correct? Does this mean theoretically that I could use both of those weeks together during 2011 and 2012 provided of course that kind of exchange was found?

With respect to the new rules: If I have a non-SVN week reserved at my home resort and decide not to use it and want to deposit it into II...SW will deposit not necessarily that week but another into II for me to exchange with - correct? For my clarity then - if I have no intention of using my home resort and have not reserved any week there yet...I would need to call SW first to ask them to deposit a week for me into II - correct? or is there 'some ' benefit to reserving a week and then later asking them to deposit a week? It seems it doesn't matter if you reserve ayour time first.

For a non-SVN week, Starwood will deposit a "generic" week with trading power that has been averaged for the entire season you own. It does no good to make a reservation first.

You can still book a "good week" and deposit it with another exchange company (e.g.,RCI, SFX).

Thanks JerseyGirl - this leads me to another question since I am still in the transfer process - do I want to go II or RCI....it seems RCI has its own issues as well

To clarify what jerseygirl said, you cannot reserve a week before you deposit it - if you do, you will have to cancel the reservation, before you can make a deposit.

Under the new rules, Starwood does not deposit a week at all - they will just assign a "trade value" to your ownership, you will use that to search with, and then when you actually make an exchange, Starwood will deposit "something" for you.

nalismom said:

Thanks JerseyGirl - this leads me to another question since I am still in the transfer process - do I want to go II or RCI....it seems RCI has its own issues as well

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That's the one million dollar question!

1. -So if I know I want to use it for exchange - do I have to ask them to assign a 'trade value' or is that done automatically once I'm in their system? (it's in the closing process)

2. - With Non-SVN I set up an II account once recognized by SW..then I search based on my 'trade value'...now if I find something that I want can I make the exchange online at that time or do I have to wait until SW actually deposits'something' for me? Is this the same process if I call to see if there is something specific available in inventory not online?

DeniseM said:

That's the one million dollar question!

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The one million dollar question indeed. It's like choosing between a root canal and a coloscopy.

If you decide to go with II, call Starwood and they'll activate your "request first" (which is really just a "request" but, heck, we can pretend that we believe them when they say it's still a "request first."

If you decide to go with RCI or an independent exchange company, you'll need to book a week first. No need to tell Starwood of your intention to deposit it. Just get a confirmation number and then deal directly with Nurse Ratchett, I mean the exchange company.

For the records, I have never had anything but the hghest praise for II until now. The fact that they are permitting Starwood to control non-SVN weeks and bastardize the request first process has landed them on my hit list.

nalismom said:

1. -So if I know I want to use it for exchange - do I have to ask them to assign a 'trade value' or is that done automatically once I'm in their system? (it's in the closing process)

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Since this is a voluntary week, you have to open a II Acct. and register your ownership with them. In Starwood Owner Resources (top of the forum) under the "Exchanging" heading, there is a 2-years-for-1 code you can use. Once II verifies your ownership with Starwood, you will see it in your online Acct. and it will have been assigned the standard trade value for the week you own. Then you can deposit it, do a request first, do an ongoing request, or do an instant online exchange.

2. - With Non-SVN I set up an II account once recognized by SW..then I search based on my 'trade value'...now if I find something that I want can I make the exchange online at that time or do I have to wait until SW actually deposits'something' for me? Is this the same process if I call to see if there is something specific available in inventory not online?

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Starwood is not going to deposit anything until you actually make an exchange - so you will use the exchange value assigned to your week to make your exchange, and what Starwood actually deposits will all be behind the scenes. As soon as you can see your week online - it's ready to use.

I moved your posts to an on-going thread on this topic that has a lot of info. that will be useful to you.

jerseygirl said:

The one million dollar question indeed. It's like choosing between a root canal and a coloscopy.

If you decide to go with II, call Starwood and they'll activate your "request first" (which is really just a "request" but, heck, we can pretend that we believe them when they say it's still a "request first."

If you decide to go with RCI or an independent exchange company, you'll need to book a week first. No need to tell Starwood of your intention to deposit it. Just get a confirmation number and then deal directly with Nurse Ratchett, I mean the exchange company.

For the records, I have never had anything but the hghest praise for II until now. The fact that they are permitting Starwood to control non-SVN weeks and bastardize the request first process has landed them on my hit list.

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Hey Jerseygirl,

In Starwood's defense, they have modified what we always called 'request first' to now be a true 'request first'. We no longer need to worry our little heads about our legal ownership rights, real estate laws and other technical mumbo-jumbo. There are no more obligations for us to have to 'book first' for the time we would really like to stay at our home resort. We used to have to bother with that before we requested II (a 3rd party) to see if they could do any better for us. So, in reality, it used to be 'request 2nd'. When II shows us how much worse they can now do us for, there are simply no worries at all. We get the luxury to just give up. Or, we can even crawl back to Starwood and see if they have any crappy last minute reservations for us that they haven't double dipped on to sell to non-timeshare owning hotel renters.

For slightly higher MF, Starwood is now giving us the opportunity to lose our prime weeks altogether. Now those vacation weeks can be better spent on quality home time, getting angry, getting organized and finding a good attorney.

btw - i assume you meant colonoscopy. if i must choose, i'll take that one, since it means i get the opportunity to stay up all day & night drinking a strange brew during the 24 hours before. never done that, but the way i've heard it described, it sounds like a blast.

Very true L2Trade! Starwood bends over backwards to give us more and more all time .... more and more headaches, that is!

Re colonoscopy -- sorry about my misspelling. I'm quickly approaching the magic age of 50 when the old baseline is recommended. You know, it's funny, I've never heard it quite described your way. You make it sound so much more attractive than others! :hysterical:

Sorry - incorrectly responded to an old post.

jerseygirl said:

The one million dollar question indeed. It's like choosing between a root canal and a coloscopy.

If you decide to go with II, call Starwood and they'll activate your "request first" (which is really just a "request" but, heck, we can pretend that we believe them when they say it's still a "request first."

If you decide to go with RCI or an independent exchange company, you'll need to book a week first. No need to tell Starwood of your intention to deposit it. Just get a confirmation number and then deal directly with Nurse Ratchett, I mean the exchange company.

For the records, I have never had anything but the hghest praise for II until now. The fact that they are permitting Starwood to control non-SVN weeks and bastardize the request first process has landed them on my hit list.

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I always had praise for II as well. I defended II more times than I can count. Now here they go joining Starwood in screwing owners. They are on my hit list and on my *hit list.

gmarine said:

I always had praise for II as well. I defended II more times than I can count. Now here they go joining Starwood in screwing owners. They are on my hit list and on my *hit list.

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No need to worry .If Marriott goes internal and II doesn't get the plethora of units from Marriott as they did before, II is finished.

I am not in SVN and have been trying to deposit my 2010 SDO week with RCI. I am being told I need to cancel my reservation before depositing. Still undergoing discussion with them on exactly what they intend to deposit once the reservation would be cancelled.

jerseygirl said:

For a non-SVN week, Starwood will deposit a "generic" week with trading power that has been averaged for the entire season you own. It does no good to make a reservation first.

You can still book a "good week" and deposit it with another exchange company (e.g.,RCI, SFX).

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krj9999 said:

I am not in SVN and have been trying to deposit my 2010 SDO week with RCI. I am being told I need to cancel my reservation before depositing. Still undergoing discussion with them on exactly what they intend to deposit once the reservation would be cancelled.

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It is possible that they are trying to put the same system in place with RCI, but other Tuggers have deposited their reserved week since the new II rules were implemented. Here's a walk-through - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=704154&postcount=32

Transit said:

No need to worry .If Marriott goes internal and II doesn't get the plethora of units from Marriott as they did before, II is finished.

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They will be finished in my book.

I just looked at my years of II usage history. For ~50% of my travel, I ended up choosing a Marriott resort. I've picked a Starwood property as often as I've lucked into the Four Seasons Club Aviara, which means not often or less than 10% of the time. I actually visit the Welk more often than I stay at a Starwood and Four Seasons combined.

So, if Marriott goes internal, I can confidently say I will cancel my II membership. I may even dump my Starwood contracts too. Given that Marriott is no longer actively marketing and exercising ROFR, I expect to to be able to pick up a bargain there (NCV), if and when that news breaks.

To think, just 3 short months ago I was singing the praises of II and Starwood to anyone and everyone that would listen. Now, I feel like a fool for defending them against the social stigma of timeshare industry practices.

Thanks II for the memories. We had some great times together.

krj9999 said:

I am not in SVN and have been trying to deposit my 2010 SDO week with RCI. I am being told I need to cancel my reservation before depositing. Still undergoing discussion with them on exactly what they intend to deposit once the reservation would be canceled.

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This was my experience with a similar situation.Please let us know how you made out.

This is what info I received as part of an email from owner services today:

"In order to deposit your 2010 week with the exchange company, whether it is Interval International or RCI, you must have your ownership fully available. In order to process your banking request you must contact us to cancel your existing reservation xxxxxx at The Sheraton Desert Oasis from March 27, 2010 through April 3, 2010. Once this reservation has been cancelled you may contact us to deposit your week for exchange."

Didn't have time to call today, but hope to Tuesday.

DeniseM said:

It is possible that they are trying to put the same system in place with RCI, but other Tuggers have deposited their reserved week since the new II rules were implemented. Here's a walk-through - http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showpost.php?p=704154&postcount=32

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Ohhhh....not good....sounds like the are trying to screw things up with RCI as well....