To Float or Fix?

My husband is usually assured a vacation in March but may be able to take time during the rest of the year. I don't want to be away from home at Easter time and I am not fond of pulling the kids out of school on the same week every year. BUT, I love the idea of having my vacation week planned out for me each year and I don't have to think about it too much. Is it hard to get a week booked when you float? How far in advance should you book?

A year or more will usally sufice. But last Nov 1, 2005 I was able to book our week at our 3 bedroom ownership Florida Bay Club for Easter in 2007. One reason there are only 5 three bedroom units at the resort.

On this April 7 I will book our "The Resort at Cocoa Beach" for Easter 2007.

On both these reverations I have and will have booked on the earilest dates I could for the weeks we wanted.

Prime Spring weeks in Florida are IMHO some of the highest demand weeks so book them asap.

Bruce

hopetotimeshare said:

... Is it hard to get a week booked when you float? How far in advance should you book?

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It really depends on where you buy, and where you want to go. Can you tell us more about where you want to vacation?

Central Florida, close to Disney and attractions.

OK, I think I just responded on another thread. There are a ton of good timeshares in Orlando. I don't know which one makes it easiest to reserve floating time. I do know that you can trade into Orlando easily most of the year if you own a good resort elsewhere.

If you are dead-set on buying in Orlando, you might consider the Sheraton Vistana. It is part of the Starwood (Sheraton/Westin) system, and I believe all the units there participate in the Starwood Vacation Network (but don't quote me on that.) You can find out more about the Starwood Vacation Network on the Hotel-based Timeshare forum here; it includes some of the top timeshares in the world.

Thanks again

Yes, the Vistana looks nice. It's on my list to research. I guess I am not 100% set on Orlando, I just haven't looked anywhere else yet, don't want to overwhelm myself any more! I didn't know it was hard to trade out of, maybe looking elsewhere might be a good idea. Perhaps coastal Florida. It's just that realistically, with the kids, Disney is the best for us, although they won't be into it forever I guess. The Orlando area holds lots of memories for me, as a child we drove down every year and my hubby and I went on our honeymoon and last year we took the kids for the first time and stayed in Disney's Port Orleans, we loved it. So, I guess I'm addicted to Disney, but willing to try other places.

Starwpod

Yes, according to their website, they are a Starwood Vacation Club. And this is a good thing?

Yes, Vistana Resort is part of the network, but resale purchases are not eligible to participate. Vistana Villages is a mandatory resort (resale purchase qualifies for internal trading). Read this article for a full explanation:

http://www.tug2.net/advice/Starwood_Vacation_Network.htm

There are a lot of good timeshares in Orlando. Remember 2 bedroom, gold crown and red week. Westgate-people dont like because of the sales staff, I agree. But I can be a buthead. ok enough. I have traded my Westgate, 2 bedroom with a loft, sleeps 10 (lots of friends and family) for other weeks at Westgate Vacation Villas in Orlando Thanksgiving week and a summer week (internal trading) and for Westgate Las Vegas (good resort) Westgate Canyons (skiing) in Park City, and for the Royal Mayan (top ten world wide) in Cancun, Lawrence Welk in California and Marriott Ocean in Hilton Head. The point being if you get a gold crown, red week, 2 bedroom, and plan a head. You have a good chance of getting what you want. If not there is next year.

If you are truly ad "disney addict" as you say, you might want to seriously consider DVC. Their points-based system, combined with banking & borrowing gives you the most flexible options I've ever seen.

Lots of people on this board don't like it because it's RTU, but if you're set on going to WDW and staying on-site, you may save $ long term.

I suggest you look at www.disboards.com for more info.

jerseygirl said:

Yes, Vistana Resort is part of the network, but resale purchases are not eligible to participate. Vistana Villages is a mandatory resort (resale purchase qualifies for internal trading). Read this article for a full explanation:

http://www.tug2.net/advice/Starwood_Vacation_Network.htm

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Thanks. It looks like only a few units at the Vistana can participate in SVN -- so, Hopetotimeshare, forget what I said about Vistana!

hopetotimeshare said:

Is it hard to get a week booked when you float? How far in advance should you book?

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It depends on your definition of hard, I guess. All four of my resorts are floating weeks. My husband's job doesn't easily allow for fixed weeks. The resorts I have allow reserving your week one year in advance. So, I (hubby just wants to know when and where ) decide what week I want to go to which resort and call that resort 1 year in advance and it is all set. One very quick phone call.

The only time it didn't work out as planned was when my daughter and son-in-law changed their wedding date and I had to bank and exchange for a different date. Can't blame the floating system for that!

TinaS

hopetotimeshare said:

My husband is usually assured a vacation in March but may be able to take time during the rest of the year. I don't want to be away from home at Easter time and I am not fond of pulling the kids out of school on the same week every year. BUT, I love the idea of having my vacation week planned out for me each year and I don't have to think about it too much. Is it hard to get a week booked when you float? How far in advance should you book?

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I'm a big believer in floating weeks. They give you the versatility to pick the week you want versus being 'forced' to use the 'same' week from year to year. Remember, anything you buy you own 'forever' and your needs (and the school calendar) will probably change.

As much as you love the idea of having your vacation week planned out for you with a fixed week, you are really not CONTROLLING when you take vacation - the timeshare calendar controls when you take your vacation. It's usually just a phone call to reserve your week. Or ... better yet, reserve your next year vacation while you're at the resort using your week this year.

You mention Easter so let's use that as an example (I know you don't want to travel around Easter - but let's say you do). This year Easter is April 16th. In other years it is end of March or in that span between. So there are at least 3 weeks that Easter could fall in. No matter which fixed week you pick, you're only going to hit Easter every few years - either on the tail end or at the beginning. BUT if you are in a floating system, you can 'chase' Easter (or choose to stay away from it!). I own at several 'float' resorts. There are usually a few weeks that are fixed and the others are in the float system. If you pay attention and reserve your week as soon as allowed (most resorts are a year in advance) you can nearly always get the week you want (if it's in the float system). Most float systems allow you to change your reservation (cancel the old one and place a new one) without any penalty (but you should check). The bigger the resort, the 'easier' it is to get what you want because there are more units available.

Now look at the way your family schedule can change. School districts have been changing their school calendars around a lot lately. Some start so early in the year that back-to-school sales are starting in July. Some have 2-3 week breaks for Christmas/New Year. Some are going to year-round school with 2-4 week breaks throughout the year. A fixed week 11 (mid-March) might work for you right now - but what happens if your school district changes things? And maybe, even without the school calendar changes, you just can't get away in March. In a decent float system, if you've picked your March week the year before you were planning on using it and your plans change, you can cancel and rebook a week that fits better for that year.

The only real downside with a float system (other than the paying attention part) is that you are often required to pay 'projected m/fs' when you are trying to book a year (or whenever) in advance. That might squeeze you a bit the first year you own but if you consistently reserve a year out, it's only one m/f a year after that.

Only buy fixed weeks when you are 'forced to' because that's all the resort sells or for special events that are happening in the area you buy. Daytona (where I own most of my timeshares) has several special events that could be impossible to get - Race Weeks, Bike Weeks, etc. - because of demand. New Orleans has Mardi Gras. NASCAR towns have their special races. Many cities have Bike Weeks for motorcycle enthusiasts. People who attend special events like this do make their plans quite a bit in advance so they'd be on the phone making sure they were taken care of in a floating system. If you want to be in these areas for these special events - get a fixed week (that moves with the event if possible).

JMHO as always.

hopetotimeshare said:

... I didn't know it was hard to trade out of...

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Not true; it's easy to deposit.

The keys to trading are to be flexible, have realistic expectations and plan ahead. Orlando isn't known for getting the tough trades but if you aren't looking for tough trades, you deposit early, put in an ongoing-search and generally do everything right, you may get exactly what you want every time you trade.

Another (Potential) Down Side

Teresa said:

The only real downside with a float system (other than the paying attention part) is that you are often required to pay 'projected m/fs' when you are trying to book a year (or whenever) in advance.

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While enjoying the flexibility of our floating timeshare week, we also have to take care not to keep it floating so long till so late in the year that by the time we get round to making vacation plans there's nothing left.

That almost happened to us last year. We like keeping our options open & we waited till really late in the year before deciding we'd like an after-Christmas reservation. All that was left when we call the reservation desk was a partial week extending into January that we could take in lieu of our full 2005 week. We said OK, but called back every day to see if any cancellations had come in so we could get our full week. Eventually there was a cancellation & we got a full-week reservation for December 31 check-in.

Whew!

From 1 perspective, floating timeshare weeks are like a game of musical chairs. If I wait too long to claim mine, there could be none left for me when I finally try to get 1.

To illustrate, imagine that for some reason nobody at 1 particular floating-week timeshare resort with 2,000 paid-up owners makes a reservation for any week from January 1 through June 30. Nobody even calls the reservation desk till July 1. By then, the year is half over, half the available paid for weeks have gone unused, & the situation facing those 2,000 paid-up owners is a scramble to get 1 of the remaining 1,000 weeks, because that's all that are available. Half of those paid-up owners will be shut out, & you know they wouldn't be happy about it. I would be really steamed to lose out on my paid-for timeshare week because of my own dithering & shilly-shallying.

In the real world of floating timeshares, I can't imagine that the situation would ever be that extreme. Yet even if it's never that bad, it is still possible to get shut out of a paid-for floating week by waiting too long to make a reservation.

As it happened, we weren't able to use our under-the-wire reservation for December 31 check-in because of a change in plans involving the Arlington Cemetery military funeral of a retired general we had known since the 1970s. So we advertised our reserved week on Craig's List & rented it out pronto.

All's well that ends well.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.

AwayWeGo said:

From 1 perspective, floating timeshare weeks are like a game of musical chairs. If I wait too long to claim mine, there could be none left for me when I finally try to get 1.

To illustrate, imagine that for some reason nobody at 1 particular floating-week timeshare resort with 2,000 paid-up owners makes a reservation for any week from January 1 through June 30. Nobody even calls the reservation desk till July 1. By then, the year is half over, half the available paid for weeks have gone unused, & the situation facing those 2,000 paid-up owners is a scramble to get 1 of the remaining 1,000 weeks, because that's all that are available. Half of those paid-up owners will be shut out, & you know they wouldn't be happy about it. I would be really steamed to lose out on my paid-for timeshare week because of my own dithering & shilly-shallying.

In the real world of floating timeshares, I can't imagine that the situation would ever be that extreme. Yet even if it's never that bad, it is still possible to get shut out of a paid-for floating week by waiting too long to make a reservation. .....

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That's another aspect of why bulk banking isn't the evil that many people paint it to be.

Your example isn't that far fetched - it just doesn't happen in the extreme numbers you cite. But for any resort that is sold out, if ever there are fewer owners reserving weeks than there are weeks available, someone will come up up short somewhere.

The bulk banking resort deals with that by depositing weeks during anticipated lull periods. Then, when the crunch comes later in the year and there are more owners trying to reserve time than there is avalable time, the resort can offer ownsers a banked week.

In fact, I have a difficult time imagining how a floating reservation system would work efficiently without doing bulk banking. Lacking bulk banking, it seems to me that almost every year some owners would be entirely shot out of usage or would be forced to accept only distressed weeks for deposit with an exchange company.

We have 5 weeks, one of which is a fixed week. Since purchasing the fixed week, things have changed to the point that this particular fixed week isn't really a viable alternative. As a result, it's become the one unit we always deposit and exchange.

Our floating weeks have provided us the most flexablity and have been used for stays at those resorts a lot more frequently. A good system for members is important. Of the four floaters we own, I like Hiltons point based reservation system the best. It has provided us the most flexiblity since we own 7,000 points or a two bedroom platinum season unit. It allows us to exchange easily into any of the Hilton resorts and even break our weeks up for partial week stays.

Keep in mind I'm not saying I like Hilton the best. I just like their reservation system the best. Hilton does have high quality resorts but they don't have the locations available that many other systems (like Marriott) have.

If we ever purchase another timeshare, it will be a floating week. To much changes over time to be locked into the exact same week year after year for the rest of your life if you want to return the that resort on a regular basis.

Now if you're planning on using that resort only for exchanging, then I don't really think it matters so long as you have a good week for exchange power.

We have one fixed week that we have only used for exchaning. I previously owned a fixed ski week in Whistler. In ski areas, a lot of people like fixed weeks because they plan ski trips around one particular time when they want to ski.

After that. we own two floating weeks - Embassy Poipu and Raintree Vacation Club. We get the most direct use out of those.

And if you want to direct exchange, having a floating week at a high demand location will give the most options.