Exchangong into the Westin St. John

I own at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas. I'd like to go to St. John sometime in June 2007. It is very difficult to exchange there due to the limited number of units available. What is the best way to find another owner for a private exchange? I have no faith in Interval International to do something like this.

Edit: I meant June 2007, not 2008.

There is an owners group, but I have forgotten the person who runs it. Denise will probably chime in.

Edye

There is an exchange group, but you need to own elsewhere than WKORV (grammar?). I believe the reason for this is the plethoria of WKORV owners. Personally, I think this should be reconsidered (MHO).
David

Does owning at WKORV-N get me access?

Is this group specifically for WSJ or for any SVO property other than WKORV?

Not sure why they wouldn't accept WKORV owners. The people with units at WSJ would choose exchanges wherever they want to go. If there's too many WKORV owners, then the value of those units would be less - WSJ owners could ask for even exchanges - 2BR for 2BR - even if the number of Staroptions is different. I'd might consider something like that if the units are of similar size.

Denise chiming in here! The board referred to above is a private exchange board, owned by Tugger, Jerry, "TheUnitRep." He is not accepting any more requests for exchanges from WKORV owners because they far exceeded the requests for WKORV exchanges. Jerry has done a great job with his board, but I don't think it has generated as many private exchanges as he hoped it would. There are very few WSJ and Harborside weeks available there. To ask Jerry about his board, email him directly -
http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/sendmessage.php?do=mailmember&u=425

emuyshondt said:

I own at the Westin Ka'anapali Ocean Resort Villas. I'd like to go to St. John sometime in June 2007. It is very difficult to exchange there due to the limited number of units available. What is the best way to find another owner for a private exchange? I have no faith in Interval International to do something like this.

Edit: I meant June 2007, not 2008.

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I think your best bet is placing a request at exactly 8 mos. out through the SVN. Although Starwood owners have a short priority period with II for other SVN properties, so it is certainly worth checking II online. But, I don't know if Starwood deposits any June WSJ weeks with II.

Would trying for ST John at 8 month mean that you could not reserve at KORV at 12 mths out? If we couldn't get St John I would not want to lose out on Maui

pharmgirl said:

Would trying for ST John at 8 month mean that you could not reserve at KORV at 12 mths out? If we couldn't get St John I would not want to lose out on Maui

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No, book your Maui unit at 12 mos. out. Then at 8 mos. out, call back to see if you can get St. John. If you do, then you cancel the Maui reservation. If not, then you still have to Maui to fall back on. Unfortunately, what you can't do is get on a St. John wait list while holding the Maui reservation (unless you're 4 or 5 Star Elite, I believe). So chances are that you will have to repeatedly call SVN to keep checking on St. John availability.

Good luck!

Glorian

Does WSJ only trade with II? Is there any chance of getting them with SFX?

Pronkster said:

Does WSJ only trade with II? Is there any chance of getting them with SFX?

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When I asked Mark at SFX about getting an exchange into WSJ through SFX he told me it was the hardest exchange in the Caribbean...

Thaks for the pointers. I'll inquire with Jerry.

My understanding is that WSJ has so few units and is in such high demand that it is very difficult to get into the property through any kind of exchange, even through SVN. I doubt that SVN would deposit any weeks into II.

And with the upset that some have over not having our high-demand weeks turned over to II, I would be outraged if the ever did transfer a WSJ week over!

In terms of the thread - remember, you never know. I got a 3 BR for Presidents' Week my first year when I truly did not know any better! Most magnificent week ever but the lack of golf (and the price) made wanting to go every year not desirable. That said, can't wait to go back!

DeniseM said:

...He is not accepting any more requests for exchanges from WKORV owners because they far exceeded the requests for WKORV exchanges. Jerry has done a great job with his board, but I don't think it has generated as many private exchanges as he hoped it would. There are very few WSJ and Harborside weeks available there.

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Denise --

Thanks for the compliment regarding my efforts with the Direct Trade Board! I am very disappointed that it hasn't resulted in any private exchanges, but I keep plugging along with it, hoping beyond all hope that it will catch on with owners.

Everyone should understand there is much effort that goes into maintaining the data base and keeping postings on the board current. Thus, until the board begins to result in direct trades, I find it pointless to further dilute membership with additional WKORV units.

Here's the most recent stats regarding the board. To date, there are 85 owners who have a total of 126 weeks in the database. The breakdown is as follows:

Resort-----------# of weeks--------% of Total

Harborside----------11----------------8.73%
Lakeside Terrace-----1----------------0.79%
Broadway Plantation--5----------------3.97%
Desert Oasis---------5----------------3.97%
Mountain Vista-------3----------------2.38%
Vistana-------------11----------------8.73%
Vistana Villages------11---------------8.73%
Kierland-------------13---------------10.32%
Ka`anapali-----------34--------------26.98%
Ka`anapali North------3----------------2.38%
Lagunamar------------1----------------0.79%
Mission Hills----------17---------------13.49%
St. John-------------11--------------- 8.73%

As I stated previously, I am still accepting WKORV units from people who also have units at other resorts within the Starwood Vacation Network. While I'm still adding owners at WKORV-North, I will soon have to stop accepting these also.

...To ask Jerry about his board, email him directly -

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Inquiries about the board should be directed to starwoodexchange@cox.net. The link Denise listed is for non-direct trade board messages.

Jerry

TheUnitrep said:

Denise --

Thanks for the compliment regarding my efforts with the Direct Trade Board! I am very disappointed that it hasn't resulted in any private exchanges, but I keep plugging along with it, hoping beyond all hope that it will catch on with owners.

Everyone should understand there is much effort that goes into maintaining the data base and keeping postings on the board current. Thus, until the board begins to result in direct trades, I find it pointless to further dilute membership with additional WKORV units.

Here's the most recent stats regarding the board. To date, there are 85 owners who have a total of 126 weeks in the database. The breakdown is as follows:

Resort-----------# of weeks--------% of Total

Vistana-------------11----------------8.73%
Vistana Villages------11---------------8.73%
Kierland-------------13---------------10.32%
Ka`anapali-----------34--------------26.98%
Ka`anapali North------3----------------2.38%
Lagunamar------------1----------------0.79%
Mission Hills----------17---------------13.49%
St. John-------------11--------------- 8.73%

As I stated previously, I am still accepting WKORV units from people who also have units at other resorts within the Starwood Vacation Network. While I'm still adding owners at WKORV-North, I will soon have to stop accepting these also.

Inquiries about the board should be directed to starwoodexchange@cox.net. The link Denise listed is for non-direct trade board messages.

Jerry

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Jerry-

I have e-mailed you twice to get info on your exchange board with no response. Perhaps it would be more successful if SVO owners actually know how to access it...

Can't you just post the link here so that all SVO owners can check it out? It sounds like it could be a very useful service.

Thanks

saluki said:

Can't you just post the link here so that all SVO owners can check it out? It sounds like it could be a very useful service.

Thanks

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Hi Saluki - It's a private board. Only members can access it.

DeniseM said:

Hi Saluki - It's a private board. Only members can access it.

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I'm just trying to figure out what is involved in joining. I'm a new Kierland owner & it sounds like a good concept. Given that there have been no exchanges yet, it seems like it would be a good idea for Jerry to post details here on how SVO owners can become involved.

I wrote to Jerry too but got no response. Maybe he is out.

saluki said:

I'm just trying to figure out what is involved in joining. I'm a new Kierland owner & it sounds like a good concept. Given that there have been no exchanges yet, it seems like it would be a good idea for Jerry to post details here on how SVO owners can become involved.

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There have been threads about it in the past, so most of the members are already familiar with his board, but those threads have probably been "pruned". I don't mean to speak for Jerry, but it is a very easy sign-up process and I think the only reason for being turned down is if he already has too many requests from a particular resort, like the WKORV. I'm sure Jerry will be getting back to you soon.

Since you own at Kierland, I think your best bet is to make an exchange through the SVN, because you have exactly the same chance to exchange as someone who owns at a high-demand resort like WSJ, WKORV, or Harborside. Based on the requests on Jerry's board, I don't think you will have as much luck trying to do a direct trade with an owner from one of the "Big 3" because the owners from those resorts are all requesting one of the other high-demand resorts as well. If I wanted to exchange for Kierland, I would just go through the SVN, because it is a relatively easy exchange.

Denise-

I understand the process but the benefit of exchanging direct with another SVO owner would be the ability to have a reservation in-hand 12 months out for a location other than your home resort. This would be very helpful, for example, by allowing one to reserve frequent flyer tickets when they first become available at 11 months out. And, of course, the ability to get the reservation you want for a specific resort & week ("Big 3" or not) without having to wait until the 8 month mark.

saluki said:

the benefit of exchanging direct with another SVO owner would be the ability to have a reservation in-hand 12 months out for a location other than your home resort. This would be very helpful, for example, by allowing one to reserve frequent flyer tickets when they first become available at 11 months out.

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I agree completely, in fact we have already done a direct exchange with another Tugger for 2007, and I'll be getting our FF tix as soon as they are available. I just didn't want to give the impression that it will be easy to arrange a direct exchange for WSJ, WKORV, or Harborside.

Happy exchanging and please let us know how it works out for you!

Is there a way for TUGgers to eschange with each other? It would be nice if there were fora for various resorts or programs to post either available units or the desire for a unit in it.

emuyshondt said:

Is there a way for TUGgers to eschange with each other? It would be nice if there were fora for various resorts or programs to post either available units or the desire for a unit in it.

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TUG has a private exchange board here - http://www.tug2.net/ads/directdb.html

Tonight, I caught up with all the requests to participate in the Direct Trade Board.

If you haven't received a reply from me, please send another email to starwoodexchange@cox.net

Please be patient! Running the Direct Trade Board is something I do in my spare time.

Jerry