JudyS
TUG Member
I recently posted some VRI Home Group sightings on the Sightings Board. A poster replied and asked what "Home Group" means. Since not all BBS members have access to the sightings board, I am posting my answer here.
The "Home Group Booking Window" is part of RCI Points. In RCI Points, all inventory is made available to all members at 10 months prior to check-in. However, before inventory is made available to the general membership, there are three special booking windows, during which owners have "first crack" at reservations at their home resort or resort group.
The first special booking window is the "Home Week Booking Window." During this time period (which is about 13-12 months before check-in) owners have a chance to book their home week (the week that they converted to RCI Points) with no exchange fee.
Second, there is a "Home Resort Booking Window." During this time period (which is about 12-11 months before check-in) owners have a chance to book any available week at their home resort (the resort where they own RCI Points.) Often, the exchange fee is reduced during this time period. For example, I own points at Winners' Circle in Solana Beach, CA. If I book during the Home Resort Booking Window, I can book a week at Winners' Circle for just a $40 exchange fee. (I own at a couple of other VRI-managed resorts and I think they would also be $40 per reservation during the Home Resort period.)
Most other points systems (Wyndham, DVC, etc) have something similar to RCI Point's Home Resort Booking Window, where owners can book at their home resort before owners at other resorts can. This gives owners at a particular resort "first crack" at holidays and other desirable times at their home resort.
Third, there is a "Home Group Booking Window," which is about 11-10 months before check-in. If the resort where you own points is managed by a group (such as VRI or Daily Management) then you can book any available week at other resorts managed by the same company, before the general RCI Points membership can book them.
The Home Group Booking Window in RCI Points is similar to the Marriott Priority or Starwood Priority in II. The main difference is, deposits in II show up whenever owners get around to depositing their weeks, whereas deposits in RCI Points show up at a fixed time before check-in. (Occasionally, something will show up later due to a cancellation.)
All RCI Points contracts have a Home Week and Home Resort booking window, but only some RCI Points contracts have a Home Group booking window. If you own at a resort that isn't part of a larger group, then you won't have a Home Group booking window. Again, this is similar to II, where some Marriott or Starwood resorts have special booking priority, and (most?) other resorts have no special booking priority.
There is no extra fee for the Home Group Booking Window. If your RCI Points resort is part of a management group, then your RCI Points account automatically gives you access to the Home Group Booking Window.
Also, currently RCI Points lets members use *all* of their points in their Home Group Booking Window, no matter where those points come from. For example, I have some extra points from "Points-For-Deposit," and the resort I used for Points-For-Deposit isn't part of VRI, but I can still use those extra points to book during the VRI Home Group Booking Window.
RCI Points members can access their various "Home" booking windows by clicking where it says "Home Reservations" at the top of "Search for an Exchange Vacation" page. With the current RCI search system, searching for Home Group reservations is very easy to do.
In my experience, the VRI Home Group booking window provides access to some nice weeks. I am trying to make a point of posting VRI Home Group sightings. I hope owners in other Home Groups will also post sightings from their Home Groups, so TUG members can compare the value of the different Home Groups in RCI Points.
The "Home Group Booking Window" is part of RCI Points. In RCI Points, all inventory is made available to all members at 10 months prior to check-in. However, before inventory is made available to the general membership, there are three special booking windows, during which owners have "first crack" at reservations at their home resort or resort group.
The first special booking window is the "Home Week Booking Window." During this time period (which is about 13-12 months before check-in) owners have a chance to book their home week (the week that they converted to RCI Points) with no exchange fee.
Second, there is a "Home Resort Booking Window." During this time period (which is about 12-11 months before check-in) owners have a chance to book any available week at their home resort (the resort where they own RCI Points.) Often, the exchange fee is reduced during this time period. For example, I own points at Winners' Circle in Solana Beach, CA. If I book during the Home Resort Booking Window, I can book a week at Winners' Circle for just a $40 exchange fee. (I own at a couple of other VRI-managed resorts and I think they would also be $40 per reservation during the Home Resort period.)
Most other points systems (Wyndham, DVC, etc) have something similar to RCI Point's Home Resort Booking Window, where owners can book at their home resort before owners at other resorts can. This gives owners at a particular resort "first crack" at holidays and other desirable times at their home resort.
Third, there is a "Home Group Booking Window," which is about 11-10 months before check-in. If the resort where you own points is managed by a group (such as VRI or Daily Management) then you can book any available week at other resorts managed by the same company, before the general RCI Points membership can book them.
The Home Group Booking Window in RCI Points is similar to the Marriott Priority or Starwood Priority in II. The main difference is, deposits in II show up whenever owners get around to depositing their weeks, whereas deposits in RCI Points show up at a fixed time before check-in. (Occasionally, something will show up later due to a cancellation.)
All RCI Points contracts have a Home Week and Home Resort booking window, but only some RCI Points contracts have a Home Group booking window. If you own at a resort that isn't part of a larger group, then you won't have a Home Group booking window. Again, this is similar to II, where some Marriott or Starwood resorts have special booking priority, and (most?) other resorts have no special booking priority.
There is no extra fee for the Home Group Booking Window. If your RCI Points resort is part of a management group, then your RCI Points account automatically gives you access to the Home Group Booking Window.
Also, currently RCI Points lets members use *all* of their points in their Home Group Booking Window, no matter where those points come from. For example, I have some extra points from "Points-For-Deposit," and the resort I used for Points-For-Deposit isn't part of VRI, but I can still use those extra points to book during the VRI Home Group Booking Window.
RCI Points members can access their various "Home" booking windows by clicking where it says "Home Reservations" at the top of "Search for an Exchange Vacation" page. With the current RCI search system, searching for Home Group reservations is very easy to do.
In my experience, the VRI Home Group booking window provides access to some nice weeks. I am trying to make a point of posting VRI Home Group sightings. I hope owners in other Home Groups will also post sightings from their Home Groups, so TUG members can compare the value of the different Home Groups in RCI Points.