Starwood Option Exchanges

Lulubelle · Oct 3, 2006

You know, we went to St John in July 2002...not too long after 9/11 and people were not traveling or flying much. That is probably why we got so lucky. Also, we only rented a studio, I would think the larger the unit, the more difficult. Harborside we went to in June 2004. But it seems St John is more difficult to secure. As for Maui, I don't know where they rank on the popularity poll, but we got the large one bedroom for Memorial Day 2007 - we did sit on hold for 15 minutes (from 5 am to 5:15 am), it seems most of the callers ahead of us were trying for St John :shrug:

DeniseM · Oct 3, 2006

Lulubelle said:
You know, we went to St John in July 2002...not too long after 9/11 and people were not traveling or flying much. That is probably why we got so lucky. Also, we only rented a studio

Did you rent or exchange? Rentals come from an entirely different pool and are probably more available.

DeniseM · Oct 3, 2006

blujahz said:
Hi Denise (hope all is well) -

How do you call in for WSJ units for July (as a non-WSJ owner) since July is more than 8 months away?

I put that wrong - I meant to say I was calling for most of the month of July for an exchange, but of course the exchange would be for 8 mos. out. Sorry for the confusion!

DavidnRobin · Oct 4, 2006

DeniseM said:
I put that wrong - I meant to say I was calling for most of the month of July for an exchange, but of course the exchange would be for 8 mos. out. Sorry for the confusion!

Thanks for the clarification - I am hoping to get a week adjacent to our existing week at WSJ via a SVN exchange.

I wish there were a better way to direct exchange our WKORV OF Deluxe studio (67.1K SOs) for a 1Bd loft at WSJ (44K SOs in June) - all we need for the 2nd week at WSJ - I guess I could try and post on the direct exchange board.

Using the SVN system - we can trade into a 2Bd TH (67.1K SOs) of which there are not as many and less available - and probably a long-shot - but I am going to try anyway.

Which may lead me to asking this question on a seperate thread if I take this route - what to do with extra SOs (as a resale owner) that do not add-up to a week at a resort?

djp · Oct 4, 2006

you can book a day at a time at less than 90 days out, most of the mainland resorts will have availabilty at that time especially if it is not peak season

Henry M. · Oct 4, 2006

blujahz said:
Using the SVN system - we can trade into a 2Bd TH (67.1K SOs) of which there are not as many and less available - and probably a long-shot - but I am going to try anyway.

I called to try to exchange into St. John for June 2 next year (I actually can go any time during the summer but wanted something early before hurricane season gets into full swing), and the only unit I could waitlist for was the 2 bedroom standard unit. I guess I'll be calling every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to try to get in next year.

I'm not familiar with the property, but these 2 BR units seem nice in the web site. I'm looking for any two or three bedroom I can get. Is there anything I need to watch out for.

DavidnRobin · Oct 4, 2006

emuyshondt said:
I called to try to exchange into St. John for June 2 next year (I actually can go any time during the summer but wanted something early before hurricane season gets into full swing), and the only unit I could waitlist for was the 2 bedroom standard unit. I guess I'll be calling every Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to try to get in next year.

I'm not familiar with the property, but these 2 BR units seem nice in the web site. I'm looking for any two or three bedroom I can get. Is there anything I need to watch out for.

The problem is that there are not a lot of 2Bd and 3Bd villas - at least until the BayView villas are available.

We own a 2Bd TH in B34 - we love it, and can't wait to go back in 2007.

Transit · Nov 10, 2006

I recently booked Haborside for 06/02-06/9 .Has anyone used staroptions for for partial stays lately?I kicked around this old thread a little becouse some of the most requested weeks should be being booked now.

DeniseM · Nov 10, 2006

Transit said:
I recently booked Haborside for 06/02-06/9 .Has anyone used staroptions for for partial stays lately?I kicked around this old thread a little becouse some of the most requested weeks should be being booked now.

The problem with partial week stays is that you can't make the reservation until 3 mos. out. This makes it difficult to make airline reservations in advance, unless you have back-up accomodations.

Transit · Nov 10, 2006

I can see flying being difficult to schedual but what about going to a resort in diving distace and using staroptions for 3 or 4 days? It's tough to do in prime weeks but has any been using this option at all?

smsavage · Nov 10, 2006

My thinking (obvious as it is) is that it depends on where you're going and at what time. I've booked the large 1br for WKORV in April and a large 1br for SMV in June. That still leaves me enough staroptions for 5 nights in the large 1br at WMH in August. Hopefully that won't be that hard to reserve at 90 days out.

I hope they have fans.......

grgs · Nov 10, 2006

Transit said:
I can see flying being difficult to schedual but what about going to a resort in diving distace and using staroptions for 3 or 4 days? It's tough to do in prime weeks but has any been using this option at all?

I've done it twice this past year. We were able to add one night to an existing June WKORV reservation. Also, I booked 2 nights in July at WMH. So I would concur with others who said that short stays are doable if you're not trying for peak season.

Glorian

Pedro · Nov 10, 2006

Transit said:
I can see flying being difficult to schedual but what about going to a resort in diving distace and using staroptions for 3 or 4 days? It's tough to do in prime weeks but has any been using this option at all?

Quite often we use the staroptions for long-weekend stays at the Vistana Villages. More often than not it is easy to get a room even when calling as early as the same week. For peak seasons in Orlando (summer for instance) we reserve close to the 3-month mark and haven't had a problem in each of the last four years where we wanted a 5-night stay in July and got it at the first try. On the other hand, my wife called today to see if there was any availability the week before Christmas and she was told it was all booked, but they put us in the waiting list anyway.

armlem2 · Nov 10, 2006

back to OP question I justed used options to book a 2 bdrm at Harborside for july 4th week. Was really shocked I got it 6/29-7/6, first use of starwood VV, maybe just beginners luck. Was glad since it was the reason I bought into the program, figuring I could never use my Marriott,think one would never reach II. Next MSJ or Maui I hope lol

MLC · Nov 10, 2006

armlem2 said:
back to OP question I justed used options to book a 2 bdrm at Harborside for july 4th week. Was really shocked I got it 6/29-7/6, first use of starwood VV, maybe just beginners luck. Was glad since it was the reason I bought into the program, figuring I could never use my Marriott,think one would never reach II. Next MSJ or Maui I hope lol

Armlem2(Larry)

When did you call to get this week at harborside June 29-July6 2007? Thanks for your response.

Marty

armlem2 · Nov 11, 2006

I called on the morning of October 29th (Sunday) at exactly 9 AM when the phones opened. Had 2 phones one in each line started one got thru. I got lucky from what I gather and actually thought I was just taking a shot in the dark.

RLOGO · Nov 15, 2006

Westin St. John trade

I was very fortunate to trade (staroptions) my VV 2 BR lockoff prime season for 1BR premium, Westin St. John, President's Week 2007 .

PS- David (blujahz) thanks for your advise on my purchase of VV.
We spoke over the summer.

All the best

DavidnRobin · Nov 15, 2006

RLOGO said:
PS- David (blujahz) thanks for your advise on my purchase of VV.
We spoke over the summer.

All the best

I remember - Glad to hear - TUG and tuggers helped me a lot when I first started geting into the TS madness, and I try to return the favor where I can.
David

Starwood Option Exchanges

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