Best advice for getting SW Florida in March? Besides a miracle?

I am calling every few days but I think HGVC is getting sick of me.

Thank you!

Kristin

4whits said:

I am calling every few days but I think HGVC is getting sick of me.

Thank you!

Kristin

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Hi

Which resorts are you looking for

Regards

4whits said:

I am calling every few days but I think HGVC is getting sick of me.

Thank you!

Kristin

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That's pretty much what you have to do. The inventory to book is based on the SW FL owners giving up their week in turn for HGVC points and they can do so at any time prior to 30 days without losing any points. Majority use or rent their weeks if not using.

4whits said:

I am calling every few days but I think HGVC is getting sick of me.

Thank you!

Kristin

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I think you'd have better luck with an RCI ongoing search. I usually see the Marco Island HGVC TS's pop-up. That's how I got my Eagles Nest, with very little RCI points, I think at the time I only used around 30,000 RCI Points.

Currently Eagles Nest is available for August, 2015, for 58000 RCI Points. Eagles Nest is also available for September, 2015, for 41,500 RCI Points. Granted, if your looking for Marco Island over spring break that may make it harder, but you still have a chance using a RCI ongoing search.

In/on Marco Island, Eagles Nest and Charter Club are my favorite.

Ron98GT said:

I think you'd have better luck with an RCI ongoing search. I usually see the Marco Island HGVC TS's pop-up. That's how I got my Eagles Nest, with very little RCI points, I think at the time I only used around 30,000 RCI Points.

Currently Eagles Nest is available for August, 2015, for 58000 RCI Points. Eagles Nest is also available for September, 2015, for 41,500 RCI Points. Granted, if your looking for Marco Island over spring break that may make it harder, but you still have a chance using a RCI ongoing search.

In/on Marco Island, Eagles Nest and Charter Club are my favorite.

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I have an ongoing search for any week from Jan to March 2016 for Eagle's Nest since April 2014 and no matches to date. You can definitely get it outside of winter months via RCI but you have more availability booking within HGVC from end of April to December

We were unable to find anything in the Southwest Florida area for the first week of March (our Spring Break week). Through RCI I was able to secure a 2 bedroom in Panama City Beach. There is nothing available in all of March on RCI on the beach in Florida, would have loved something on the northeast coast of Florida through RCI but there were no options there either.

There is always Miami

I think they have availability there.

Jason245 said:

There is always Miami

I think they have availability there.

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Yes but the vibe is very different from SW florida. SW FL is more laid back, natural environment while South Beach is "city". Not to mention South Beach is across the street from the ocean and parking is ridiculously expensive.

I firmly believe that you need to start calling at 9 months out for those types of special requests. . I got eagles nest booked at about 8.5 months out for labor day..

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Maybe you should open the OGS to include non HGVC there are some nice places right on the beach that are not 5 star, but still very decent places to stay. Good Luck!
Silentg

Just booked Charter Club of Marco Island for the week of May 21st. Initially was wanting Sanibel Island, but nothing there or Captiva Island. There were three options in Marco Island, two of which were at the Charter Club. I booked the initial first three 3 day early, and now have gotten all 7 days confirmed, by adding one each day.

This is a silver week. All the snow birds are gone. Its not Hawaii for God's sake! Plan ahead, book early, and be flexible in your dates and desired location. A little bit of southern sweet talking can get you some insight on what's available prior to your reservation window.

i had an easier time getting Hawaii than southwest Florida

We booked Marco in Sept for three nights recently. We are looking forward very much to being there!

I would agree with previous OPs - these South FL affiliate bookings take a lot of work. I reserved Sunset Cove years ago about 8 months out (we needed a 3br) and it took weeks worth of calls but we were very flexible on the dates and it was low season (May). I booked some time for our son's honeymoon at SeaWatch earlier this year after about a week of calls and needed a specific date - I felt very fortunate to get it but we would have taken almost ANY location. We also just booked this recent reservation after a few weeks of calls - a specific date but we were very flexible on the location. HGVC may or may not get sick of the calls - but this is the only way to book them so it is what it is.

It is nice that HGVC has these options, but I have not tried them often for long term planning. We also understand what they are - well maintained older units in beautiful locations but they do not tend to have a lot of amenities (unless you hit on South Seas Resort). For longer trips, we prefer onsite food and drinks and resort type pools and beautiful grounds - so we usually book non-HGVC FL beach properties. We also love the Orlando Tuscany village for short trips (we drive) and have been there at least 25 times over the years. For this upcoming getaway, we just decided to try for a beach location and drive a little further than normal - but we would have been very happy at Tuscany.

This has also been referenced - but you have to remember that the only availability at these affiliates is from someone who decided to be part of HGVC (certainly not required) and also turn in their week. If you are flexibile with your location and call often, you will likely get somewhere if it is not peak peak time.

Happy hunting!

I don't know if this helps or is perhaps just already-known, redundant information but there is a HGVC property on Estero Blvd. in Fort Myers Beach called SeaWatch.
I have no idea whether that facility would be any easier to get into within the HGVC system than other SW FL HGVC places (likely not), but it's a nice property and is situated right on the beach. Personally, I'd much rather be in Fort Myers Beach than in Marco Island any day, but YMMV.

SW FL in March is an extremely difficult reservation in every system and /or at any independent facility except for deeded fixed week / fixed unit ownerships.
It's consistently the quintessential "demand always exceeds supply there" situation. Unfortunately, the OP Plan B of a "miracle" might be just as likely.

Seaport104 said:

I have an ongoing search for any week from Jan to March 2016 for Eagle's Nest since April 2014 and no matches to date. You can definitely get it outside of winter months via RCI but you have more availability booking within HGVC from end of April to December

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WOW! I actually received a match via RCI for Eagle's Nest in the winter so there is hope.

Good for you! Is it a week that you wanted?

silentg said:

Good for you! Is it a week that you wanted?

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Still trying to figure it out with my work schedule. If not, the next person in line for the search will be very happy!

South Beach is different

Seaport104 said:

Yes but the vibe is very different from SW florida. SW FL is more laid back, natural environment while South Beach is "city". Not to mention South Beach is across the street from the ocean and parking is ridiculously expensive.

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I agree that South Beach is a different vibe than SW Florida. We love South Beach since it is a city and very walkable. As far as the parking being expensive it is free for us since we don't get a car. We experience a walking vacation which is less expensive than renting a car, better exercise than renting a car, no worries about drinking and driving or parking. You actually get to see and experience the city like you can't with a car. Like in golf you need to play the ball the way it is laying, and South Beach lays without a car.