Does II has VEP filter like RCI

I am surprised that my 5 star marriott (Platinum week) pull less resort than my WM float. Is there a filter that may prevent high quality resort to see all other resort like RCI VEP or is it just my marriott week doesn't trade well?

Yes, there is very definitely a quality filter in II.

Yes, There is a filter and it doesn't matter whether your week is Platinum or Silver. I have several timeshare intervals of varying quality, and they all pull differently. It is most evident during the Flexchange period when the only factor is supposed to be quality in determining what resorts you can pull.

The other day, I had a conversation with an II rep regarding the quality filter for my Equivest Vacation and Travel Club points. With one of my other resorts, I was able to pull Bluebeard's Beach Club. I could not pull it with EVTC. I found that interesting, given that it was an EVTC resort by special arrangement up until this year. The II Rep told me it was a lesser quality resort, and that is why I couldn't pull with EVTC. Go figure.

Will any 5-star II resort have the highest filter, or are there different quality 5-star resorts?

There are differences

There are differences in the internal quality rating of various five star resorts with II. All resorts are given a letter grade and a numerical (1 - 100) score by II. Both of these grades are more important than the five star award in determining trade power.

An example: I own a week at Hurricane House on Sanibel Island and I used to own two weeks at Marriott's Sunset Pointe on Hilton Head Island. Both of these resorts are five star with II, but the internal quality grade of Sunset Pointe was a B. In contrast, my Hurricane House resort has an internal quality grade of an A. This makes a difference in trade power.

Hurricane House would see a lot of exchanges for the Four Seasons and Franz Klammer Lodge that Sunset Pointe would not see. Even more surprising, Hurricane House would see some high end Marriott weeks that Sunset Pointe didn't see...even though Sunset Pointe is a Marriott resort and Hurricane House is managed by Hilton.

On the other hand, Sunset Pointe would pull more resorts in total number than Hurricane House. That's because Sunset Pointe will pull a lot more standard and lower quality resorts. II doesn't want you to trade too far down in quality...just like they limit how far up you can trade in quality.

Steve

Steve, thanks for that great explanation (and example). After reading your post, I called II to ask about the quality of a resale week I am thinking of buying. I was told that the resort has an "A" rating. So far so good.

Then, I was told that during the flexchange period, quality does not matter, only availability. That conflicts with the message posted earlier by somerville, but I am more inclined to believe an experienced tugger.

Quality does matter during Flexchange. I can attest to that. I have 4 units in my regular II account and 1 in my Equivest Vacation Club account. Of the ones in my regular account three are 5 Star and one is not. All three of the 5 Star resorts pull a different number of resorts, and the non-5 Star resort usually pulls the most. In addition, the II rep that I spoke with earlier this week told me it was quality that was preventing me from seeing certain resorts with my EVTC points.

can you trade down?

If it has a quality filter, can you trade down? There are lot of nice resort in Europe has less quality than my marriott. Can I ask II not to have the filter running for my search?

I don't think that they will remove the quality filter like some people say RCI will do. However, you can trade down. In order to do so, you would have to speak to an II rep in order to find out what is available. I have been told by II reps that they require you to sign a letter acknowledging that you are taking a lesser quality unit. That said, I did trade down a few years ago and didn't sign a letter. BTW, I had no problems with the quality of the resort.

An "A" rating is only a good thing if your goal is to exchange into other highly rated resorts. But it will prevent you from exchanging into the large number of resorts that don't come up to or close to that standard.
In II, my lowest quality resort always pulls a greater quantity of resorts and areas than my highest. The highest will see the "better" resorts, but there aren't so many of those.
II will not remove the quality filter from an ongoing search. Neither will RCI. The only way to "trade down" is to convince the rep and/or their supervisor that you will not complain about the qualility of your exchange resort.
If you own several II affiliated resorts, you can search online with all of them to get a better view of what's really available, then call and ask to exchange into the resort you want with the deposit you want to use. When I did that, I had to sign a letter promising not to complain