Can anyone advise me on the potential for obtaining a trade at Canyon Villas during the two weeks of Easter 2016? II states that it is a high demand period which I expected but I was hoping it wouldn't be as tough as those summer HHI/NCV beach weeks.
I would put in an ongoing search a.s.a.p. for all Marriotts/Westin/Club Intrawest for both Palm Desert and Phoenix (CanyonVillas+Scottsdale resorts). I think you would most likely match to Palm Desert because there the number of Marriott timeshares alone is mind boggling and certainly tops Hilton Head for sheer volume. There is only the 1 smallish Marriott resort in Phoenix, and probably 1/10th the number of Marriott units as in Palm Desert. Still, doesn't mean it's an impossible trade. Especially, not impossible when you have the advantage of Marriott preference to pull another Marriott.
We own at Marriott Shadow Ridge, and I ALWAYS deposit a prime March week into I.I. because I want to get the best possible trades for my deposit. There are MANY Southern California Marriott owners like me, who already have great weather in March and buy the Palm Desert Marriotts for the Marriott trading preference in Interval. Besides, if you find that by Oct/Nov, you have only matched to 1 Palm Desert week, you can extend your search to include some other non-Marriott resorts or add on areas such as Newport Coast Villas or San Diego for your 2nd week. Both are less than 2 hours away, good weather (70's F), but low season because the Pacific ocean is too cold in March. So, that is a 3rd possible option.
I am a teacher and restricted to traveling only during traditional family vacation times -- Spring Break, summer, or Christmas break. I can tell you that putting in an ongoing search a year ahead of the crowd, definitely makes all the difference. We have exchanged to Hilton Head Marriotts in July, 2 week Spring Break weeks to Cancun, and even Rome/Florence for a 2-week Easter Break, 2 weeks Manhattan Club (4th of July week, twice), 2 summer weeks in Hawaii, and just last year we just returned from 2 back-to-back weeks in Paris in JUNE! But you must put your requests in early, use strong traders (not lock-off studios), and determine if you COULD be okay with a 1-bedroom unit, instead of a full 2-bedroom. I find that 1-bedroom trades are much easier to pull than 2 bedrooms, because most Marriott owners depositing into Interval to trade will lock-off their units so that they can get 2 weeks out of it, instead of just 1. Especially since there are so many EOY (every-other-year) owners, like us.
Also, when it is time to purchase your airline tickets in the Fall, if you only have 1 of the 2 weeks confirmed, you can make a Marriott Rewards points reservation for the second week, as your fall-back plan. That way, if the 2nd trade you want doesn't come through, you could just do a hotel stay for the 2nd week. What I like about the Rewards points reservations is that you can cancel them up to 24 hours in advance with no penalty. Between last minute cancellation and late Marriott deposits, there is a good chance that if you hadn't already gotten the 2nd week, you would pick it up in either January, February or March. If not, you could book the 2nd week via Redweek, AirBnB, or just use your reserved Rewards points reservation.
We just returned from Phoenix for Easter week using a Marriott Rewards points reservation. Because of some work issues, we made plans for our trip only a couple of weeks ahead, and couldn't get a decent timeshare exchange into Phoenix that late in the game. Even though it was Spring Training, Spring Break, and Easter week -- there were still plenty of great options using the Marriott Rewards points. We ended up using one of the Marriott packages where you pay points for 4 nights, and get the 5th night free. The weather was great, but Phoenix was
packed with all the baseball hoopla. If you are not a baseball fan, I would definitely choose Palm Desert over Phoenix for Spring Break. We purchase a lot of I.I. Getaway weeks into Palm Desert, and we have stayed at every Marriott in the Coachella Valley. Those Palm Desert Marriott Mega-Resorts are so much nicer than the limited timeshare offerings you will find in Phoenix. You can view lots of resort pictures online at TripAdvisor.com by just typing in the name of the timeshare resort.
So, that's my opinion, at least. All of my trades are hard trades because I can only travel when school's out. But if I'd have listened to all the naysayers, I'd never have gone anywhere good, because I thought it would be
impossible. The option to see your glass as half-empty or half-full is always a personal choice. Thanks to TUG, we are faithfully working the program the way the timeshare salesman sold us the dream. Our glass is
way more than half-full!
-- Rene
