II - Exchange question

Eric95403 · Jul 20, 2007

I was having another discusion on another board, it got buried and probably wouldn't have been seen or answered.

How does II determine exchanges/trades for deposited TS weeks? I know nobody really knows, but maybe someone has an idea because I'm now real curious.

Someone on the board deposited their "gold" Marriott week, Orlando resort. It was a gold that bordered a platinum week. A day before they did this deposit, I deposited my Marriott Timber Lodge platinum week. Both units were 2br. We were both looking at the exact same resorts in Hilton Head. The only thing different, I believe, I also submitted other areas locations I'd be willing to accept a trade into. I don't think that mattered because I haven't received an exchange yet.

Trying to make a long story short, today I see this person get their exchange. I haven't gotten my exchange yet. Is a gold Orlando week really stronger than a plat. summer Tahoe week? I'm just trying to figure this out. This is my first attempt at a requested exchange/trade...all others have been direct exchanges. No, I'm really not bitter...just trying to figure this all out.

Understand? Thanks.

sfwilshire · Jul 21, 2007

If you do some searching, you can probably find a very old post explaining exactly the factors that go into the trade power calculation. Some of them are demand for the area, demand for the particular week, demand for the specific resort, size of the unit you deposited, and how early you deposit your week.

The exchange companies keep the particulars a big secret for a couple of reasons in my opinion. One is to protect the resorts. The ones that are in less demand don't want potential buyers to know that. The other is to avoid having to explain themselves in situations like this one. Maybe it wasn't right that you didn't get your exchange first. Maybe their software made a mistake. They'll never have to explain themselves since it's all a big secret.

How far in advance of checkin did you deposit your week? I have one II trader that usually does very well, but I deposited it fairly late last year and it isn't pulling nearly as much as it normally would. I can only assume that I lost a lot of power with the late deposit.

Sheila

Eric95403 · Jul 21, 2007

Thanks for the response.

I deposited a couple weeks late, as I couldn't decide what to do. I believe the Orlando week was deposited late as well, month+ or so. Who knows.

I'll keep waiting. It's not imperative I get the trade, as I'll have to try and make my schedule fit whatever week I get (if I even get a week :doh:

). I have other plans for '08 so there's always '09 if need be. I was just a little disheartened when I saw what happened.

thinze3 · Jul 21, 2007

I do not think that it matters so much whether you week is Marriott gold or platinum in the eyes of II. They have their own rating sytem for each week at each resort that goes along with the time of deposit and many other factors.

I belive II, like RCI, also has a "like kind" influence as well. Example: If two identical deposited weeks had all things equal (impossible), and one was trading fom the beach to the beach, and the other was trading from the mountains to the beach, the beach-to-beach would have preferrence.

This was quoted to me directly from a RCI associate. Take it for what it is worth, because the computer does the work and the associates do not know the program, they just say whatever is needed to get you off the line.

If you made your Timber Lodge deposit first and had the ability to pull the Hilton Head week, it would have gone through. The computer just won't let certain weeks exchange. Chances are your week just did not have the power to get that week.

If you week had sat and so did the Hilton Head, it would most likely eventually allow the exchange.

I have two Marriotts and have yet to use II as an exchange. One is Legends Edge and the other is Waiohai - both platinum. I suspect that LE would have the same problem you did. I have another resort and trade it with RCI. From what I have read, trust me, RCI is worse!

Good luck,

PS - If you actually call and SCREAM at them (II), they have the ability to overide your trading power and sign you to a week that you cannot even see online. These weeks can only be seen by higher value traders. RCI has done this before for me.

PerryM · Jul 21, 2007

Age your ongoing searches like fine wine...

One of the truly secret aspects of II exchanges is the simple fact that the age of the request is VERY important. What you put up and what you request are all a distant 2nd and 3rd place in importance to WHEN the ongoing exchange started.

I believe, and it’s just a reverse engineering guess, that as an exchange “ages” (gets older) it, all by itself, gains Trading Power. I know this is a kick in the head to many but I believe that it is in your best interests to start “dummy” exchanges (an engineering term) as far in advance as possible – forget what you are looking for and what you put up to exchange.

In the past few days I have added an ongoing exchange for July of 2009 – I don’t expect to make an exchange for at least 1-2 years – during that time it will accumulate Trading Power. WorldMark is a great vehicle to use here – you can add an on-going exchange and you will NOT be charged any WM credits until an exchange is made. You do have to pay the $135 exchange fee but get it back if this exchange expires worthless years later.

As time goes by I will add exchange requests that are real, to the ongoing search, and the result is that I will get exchanges before others who can only start an on-going exchange the day they actually make the reservation at their resort – I will be ahead of them by a year at least.

Another way to think of this is that the start date of the exchanges is a tie breaker for II if 2 or more exchanges qualify for a newly deposited unit. I believe that Trading Power is just a gross number to begin with (only a few actual numbers - 10 or less) and that the date of the exchanges qualifying is a VERY important tie breaker.

I currently have 12+ on-going searches going on – they have been aging, like fine wine, for years. This will explain later why my WM got an exchange that more powerful units failed – also I am putting up 3BR units which are head and shoulders more powerful than ANY 2BR unit out there.

The one thing I can’t do is to beat the 24-day Marriott window with this aging trick. I keep telling folks that WM is the MOST powerful II exchanger out there – this is just one of the reasons.

So, take this advice for what you paid for it… This may explain away all the crazy exchanges we keep seeing on II - they are NOT programming mistakes. II places a great premium on when you paid their fee - they appreciate it and reward you.

Good luck,

thinze3 · Jul 21, 2007

Perry

Everything you said sounds to be accurate. BUT

I recenty asked a RCI represenative this question, as I have an ongoing search for South Padre during spring break 2008. I asked what would happen if I added FL panhandle to my existing searc.

He told me specifically that that area would be dated when added. I asked how that would be possible if it is still on the original search. He again stated that FL would be dated when added while TX would remain the original date.

May or may not be true??

PerryM · Jul 21, 2007

thinze3 said:
Everything you said sounds to be accurate. BUT

I recenty asked a RCI represenative this question, as I have an ongoing search for South Padre during spring break 2008. I asked what would happen if I added FL panhandle to my existing searc.

He told me specifically that that area would be dated when added. I asked how that would be possible if it is still on the original search. He again stated that FL would be dated when added while TX would remain the original date.

May or may not be true??

I can't even guess with RCI - there is so much BS there that I gave up trying to figure out their squirrelly system. II doesn't seem to keep but the date the exchange was paid for - this, of course, could change but I hope they fix all their bugs rather than this.

If this is true with RCI then simply add hard to get units in the area where you want to eventually find a match. I'm assuming you can add 10+ resorts/areas to your ongoing search.

In II many fantastic exchanges happen more than 1 year out - beyond the time folks can make a reservation at their resort and then start searches. This is no problem with WM. These are bulk developer deposits and can be truly awesome prizes for WM owners.

P.S.
I get a lot of II exchanges - they seem to happen between 2 am - 3 am CST. My cell phone get's a text message from my Yahoo eMail account that an II exchange just arrived. I probably decline 50% of them and have exactly 24 hours from the receipt of the eMail to decline the exchange. Of course you can only do this while folks still are at II, so be careful. Also, make sure you get back the original II ongoing search and NOT a new one - check the numbers.

P.P.S.
Don't assume that an ongoing search uses the same logic as look up search (see what's available this second). I'm confident that the instant lookups don't fudge the rules like ongoing searches do - too easy for a reporter to find discrepancies. The ongoing searches are more secretive and thus allow II to be more lenient and this results in more exchanges and bigger bucks for II - and that's the only reason they exist - to make money for their stockholders.

gmarine · Jul 22, 2007

PerryM said:
One of the truly secret aspects of II exchanges is the simple fact that the age of the request is VERY important. What you put up and what you request are all a distant 2nd and 3rd place in importance to WHEN the ongoing exchange started.

This is likely true with RCI, but definitely not with II. II places a higher emphasis on resort quality than when the request was made. I have been with II for 13 years and have made 70 plus exchanges. I found that the date the request was made had much less to do with trading power than the quality of the resort used to make the request.

I believe trading power of a unit is fixed at the time of deposit and the date a request is made doesnt have as much to do with trading power as the quality and size of the unit.

Eric95403 · Jul 22, 2007

gmarine said:
PerryM said:

One of the truly secret aspects of II exchanges is the simple fact that the age of the request is VERY important. What you put up and what you request are all a distant 2nd and 3rd place in importance to WHEN the ongoing exchange started.

This is likely true with RCI, but definitely not with II. II places a higher emphasis on resort quality than when the request was made. I have been with II for 13 years and have made 70 plus exchanges. I found that the date the request was made had much less to do with trading power than the quality of the resort used to make the request.

I believe trading power of a unit is fixed at the time of deposit and the date a request is made doesnt have as much to do with trading power as the quality and size of the unit.

Click to expand...

I don't want to knock my Marriott Timber Lodge, but it isn't that poor of a resort. I've been to the resort of question in Orlando and of course I own the TL. Orlando, is a vacation mecca and timeshares are a dime a dozen. Tahoe, is Tahoe. Of course I don't think I'd have an issue if this were my Plat-Winter week at TL. Summer offers a different experience though...but just as nice if your into those activities. Still confused and obviously there are many differing opinions.

PerryM · Jul 22, 2007

gmarine said:
This is likely true with RCI, but definitely not with II. II places a higher emphasis on resort quality than when the request was made. I have been with II for 13 years and have made 70 plus exchanges. I found that the date the request was made had much less to do with trading power than the quality of the resort used to make the request.

I believe trading power of a unit is fixed at the time of deposit and the date a request is made doesnt have as much to do with trading power as the quality and size of the unit.

First let me say that everything I've deduced about II is a guess - I can't back up anything with links or written statements or confessions of II employees. I presented my findings and have no desire to defend them since I can't.

So I will defer to others in their experiences with II.

Lydlady · Jul 24, 2007

Maybe I should start a new post on this. But I'd like some opinions on what you think my chances are at this point of getting a trade on a deposit I've made with II since last November. Depositing Marriott Shadow Ridge Gold and wanting to trade into Aruba, third week in January. Shadow Ridge isn't the strongest trader but it also isn't a weak one. We've traded into the Maui Marriott a couple of times. Should I give up at this point?

PerryM · Jul 24, 2007

Magic 8-Ball has the answers...

Lydlady said:
Maybe I should start a new post on this. But I'd like some opinions on what you think my chances are at this point of getting a trade on a deposit I've made with II since last November. Depositing Marriott Shadow Ridge Gold and wanting to trade into Aruba, third week in January. Shadow Ridge isn't the strongest trader but it also isn't a weak one. We've traded into the Maui Marriott a couple of times. Should I give up at this point?

Timeshare exchanges in II and RCI are really like shaking one of those black Magic 8-Ball toys that gives a random answer that can be interpreted many different ways - Kind of like the weather forecasts on TV.

You've done your part and Marriott/II allow Gold to Platinum upgrades and Studio to 1BR and 1BR to 2BR - the rest is up to the timeshare gods.

You are at the mercy of the other Marriott owners or in this case Aruba owners. There is nothing more to do but wait.

I never do this myself. I use a "Layering scheme" where I will reserve a WorldMark unit near the place we want to vacation and then submit my II on-going searches and try for an upgrade. I get back all my WM credits up until 30 days before check-in.

If you don't own WM then you can make reservations at nearby hotels and you will have some kind of vacation - hope II comes thru.

Or, don't have your heart set on Aruba and pick 3 destinations and whichever lands the II reservation first that's where you vacation.

Or, rent your unit for cash and use that money on RedWeek or VRBO and vacation that way.

There are plenty of alternatives to explore.

II - Exchange question

Eric95403

sfwilshire

TUG Review Crew: Expert

Eric95403

thinze3

Tug Review Crew

PerryM

thinze3

Tug Review Crew

PerryM

gmarine

Tug Review Crew: Rookie

Eric95403

PerryM

Lydlady

PerryM