Resort Refuses To Let Us Deposit Our Week - Unless It's W/ RCI....

I'm ticked. Just called my resort to pay for our maintenance fees so we can give Redweek a try. This resort is saying the only exchange company they deal with is RCI. They are refusing to let us deposit our week with an alternate exchange company.

Can they do this? If not, where do I need to go? Who do I need to speak with? I have already called and left a message with the manager, who I'm sure will immediately return my call. NOT.

Btw, we are no longer RCI members, nor do we want to be.

Did you make the reservations?

Did they give you a confirmation code or #?

If they did, just deposit it with who ever you want to use.

They can't stop you, they are only trying to steer you towards RCI.

Maybe they just don't understand that YOU own this week not them!!

fwiw, Greg

Nope. I didn't receive a confirmation number. They have never given one during all the times I've paid. I guess because they usually deposit the week automatically for me at RCI.

Now that I'm no longer an RCI member, I guess they're going to put up a major fuss. And believe me, they are doing that.

Is your resort deeded or RTU or float. If it is deeded and fixed, they can't do that! If RTU or float or points, they may be able to.

I would first try to talk to the HOA board. Send a letter to each of them directly and try to call the president. If they don't want to help, tell them you are going to take it higher, including the annual HOA meeting. Often management companies are the problem in these situations.

As to outside contacts, try the state Real Estate Commission where the timeshare is located, and the office within the state AG's office that handles monopolies and restraint of trade. Some states may be more vigorous than others in dealing with such situations. Some exchange companies have also been good at addressing the problem. When Marc was around, DAE would help out, and I suppose the same is true with Fermin.

It's a deeded week.

I have called the resort again and they are more or less changing their tune. I have basically told them what Carolinian said and now they said,

"Whichever exchange company you choose, have them call or fax us a letter for verification".

If they give me anymore problems, I will proceed to the next step and contact the HOA board and go from there.

I just can't believe they think they can tell us what we can do with our week. That just boggles my mind.

Thanks for the super quick responses.

bigeyes1 said:

Nope. I didn't receive a confirmation number. They have never given one during all the times I've paid. I guess because they usually deposit the week automatically for me at RCI.

Now that I'm no longer an RCI member, I guess they're going to put up a major fuss. And believe me, they are doing that.

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Trish, I would search Mark's posts in SFX as he has posted about this. I believe that there has been a lawsuit about it but I am not sure.

I know that the resort or HOA can't tell you what to do with your timeshare week. One of our timeshares told us the same thing and Mark told me that they accept deposits all the time from the Buganvilias too. The resort tells you a lie or the guides do not know the real scoop.

Don't get him on our backs!

bigeyes1 said:

It's a deeded week.

I have called the resort again and they are more or less changing their tune. I have basically told them what Carolinian said and now they said,

"Whichever exchange company you choose, have them call or fax us a letter for verification".

If they give me anymore problems, I will proceed to the next step and contact the HOA board and go from there.

I just can't believe they think they can tell us what we can do with our week. That just boggles my mind.

Thanks for the super quick responses.

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They sure as heck don't want to be on Carolinians bad side!

The response you have now is more like it and should have been what you heard from the start. It's your week to do with as you please.

I remember reading one of the independent exchange companies' website where they said they would help an owner who wanted to deposit when the resort balked. I think they would tell you to inform the resort that this year your friends, Mr. & Mrs. Y will be staying there, where the exchange company would give you the Y's name.

I'm glad your resort thought better. Perhaps they actually called RCI, who told them what they need to say. RCI wouldn't want to get involved in an owner's rights dispute.

When I paid the MF for 2008 and to reserve a week (mine is float), the girl at my home resort said they only deal with RCI. I told her I own the week and she asked me to send the resort a letter to instruct them to deposit with anyone other than RCI.

I chose to ignore them, and deposited the week with Redweek. No problem at all.

I only hope the resort won't give me any further problems. I have a feeling they said what they did just to pacify me. I guess we'll see when the time comes.

I thought I had read "somewhere" where someone else was having the same kind of problems. Hopefully, their issue has been resolved. I tried to do a search, but didn't come up with anything.

I'm sure this is a common occurrence with independent exchange companies and they know how to handle such situations. I might email this exchange company and forewarn them. Can't hurt to be prepared.

You know. It just irks me this resort was trying to tell me where I can and can't deposit my week. Do they get an incentive or something for having their weeks deposited into the company of their preference? The way she was acting, it sure seems like it.

PeelBoy said:

When I paid the MF for 2008 and to reserve a week (mine is float), the girl at my home resort said they only deal with RCI. I told her I own the week and she asked me to send the resort a letter to instruct them to deposit with anyone other than RCI.

I chose to ignore them, and deposited the week with Redweek. No problem at all.

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That's encouraging. I plan to deposit my week with Redweek. Obviously, they know how to handle difficult resorts. Good deal. Thanks for sharing.

Trish, I asked both our little independent timeshare HOAs some time ago. Laguna Surf is already affiliated with RCI, II and SFX but you still can exchange to other independent exchange companies too. I asked the same question to Maui Sunset and they are only affiliated with RCI but told me the same thing too.

The resorts have a contract with the exchange companies but the owners do not so can use any exchange company.

Write Mark a PM and ask him. It may even be on their web site as someone mentioned here.

Thanks, Emmy. I'll see if I can find it on SFX' website. I may even PM Mark since I have another question to ask him.

I experienced a similar problem with my resort. When I first tried to exchange with SFX the owner svcs rep. at my resort told me they thought I had to deposit with RCI. When I explained to them that membership to RCI was not a condition of my ownership and that I had the right to choose who I did business with they decided to look into the situation further. Once they checked with their superiors they called me back to let me know that I was correct and free to do as I chose. They just had to receive verification from SFX on the exchange along with my signature.

I got the feeling that it was simply misinformation with owner services and that they were just used to dealing with RCI (1 year free RCI membership was part of the ownership deal from the developer).

I guess I just wondered how a resort can force you to pay for membership and exchange fees with ANY company. I checked my docs to make sure and there was never any mention of RCI being exclusive for exchanges.

Man, that's a dumb policy.

The fact of the matter is that by working with more than one exchange company, this gives you alternatives, and creates competition.

In other words, it adds value to every TS week at the resort, which means it adds value to the resort as a whole.

For instance, were it not for DAE, I would have sold or just quit paying the MF's on my Sudwala week, as RCI places no value whatsoever on a Prime Red week at this Silver Crown resort. With DAE, I got a good exchange with it, which is good for everyone all around, especially the resort itself.

It sounds like you have a management too lazy to figure out how to handle a different, but similar proceedure.

Glad it worked out for you.

Aldo said:

...It sounds like you have a management too lazy to figure out how to handle a different, but similar proceedure...

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That's what I was thinking, too. It sounds like they just can't figure out how to handle another exchange company.

My feathers got ruffled BIG TIME when they TOLD me they only dealt with RCI and that I could not deposit my week elsewhere. I kept telling them I was no longer an RCI member. Why would I want to deposit my week with them?

"Oh, I'm sorry, but we only deal with RCI."

My words were going in one ear and out through the other.

Like others have stated, I really think it was a different request and they simply didn't know how to handle it. Whatever the case was, I'm hoping this will be the start of a new trend. Not everyone wants to be a part of RCI.

Anyway, I'll see if this all works out when I deposit my week.

Here's for hoping it will all go smoothly.

Good news to report. My resort has finally come around. Just received an email from them a few minutes ago.

Hello,



I apologize for the confusion but as long as the exchange company you are using is taking your week in deposit that is fine with us. You are the owner of that week so you can use any other company to deposit your week.

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Now why couldn't they have said that in the beginning? Hopefully, the person who I spoke with in the beginning (who said "they only deal with RCI") knows about this.

I have just deposited my week this morning, so we'll see how well that goes.

Thanks again, everyone!! Your help is sincerely appreciated.

I got the same response from Manhattan Club when I owned there and Pueblo Bonito Rose one year when I was trading a week at each resort for two weeks in London through Dial an Exchange. The problem was solved when DAE gave me the names of the people who would be occupying MC and the Rose during my weeks. I then informed MC and PB Rose that so-and-so would be occupying the units on the specific dates and it all worked out great.

This is very interesting to me, as I have had this issue with my home resort for last few years. I own two float weeks at the Plaza Resort in Reno, NV, they only affiilated with RCI. I would like to join II and give them one of the weeks. I have to request my weeks and when I receive the confirmation in the mail I then give the weeks to RCI. Can I join II and when I request my weeks in November thats the earliest I can request them, just give the confirmation number to II? Since the resort is RCI affilated will II accept them?

I have contacted the resort and asked about dual affilation but they have not got the board to approve it yet according to the Resort TS rep I spoke with.

Suzanne

Trish, that might have been me.

Our resort, Twin Rivers, has an exclusive agreement with II and our weeks are deeded. This is ending in June, when we will dual-affiliate with RCI. We already sent a letter to II as a board, telling them we don't want exclusivity with them anymore. This was keeping us from using independent companies, because our management company would not allow us to deposit anywhere else. I think we can do what we want, but they just said absolutely we couldn't. I was ranting and raving for a good long time about it.

RCI values ski resorts and summer Colorado weeks more than II does. I am very disappointed that we went this long with II. I wanted options, but now we have them starting in June.

suzanne said:

This is very interesting to me, as I have had this issue with my home resort for last few years. I own two float weeks at the Plaza Resort in Reno, NV, they only affiilated with RCI. I would like to join II and give them one of the weeks. I have to request my weeks and when I receive the confirmation in the mail I then give the weeks to RCI. Can I join II and when I request my weeks in November thats the earliest I can request them, just give the confirmation number to II? Since the resort is RCI affilated will II accept them?

I have contacted the resort and asked about dual affilation but they have not got the board to approve it yet according to the Resort TS rep I spoke with.

Suzanne

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The problem with these goofy contracts with RCI and II is they are TEN YEARS LONG. That leaves a very small window of time to change things. One resort, Lionsgate Pines in Winter Park, missed their chance to dual-affiliate with RCI, when the board neglected to read their contract and discovered that if they didn't notify II within a certain period of time before the expiration of the contract, which I believe is 9 months, they would automatically RENEW. That made the HOA angry at the management company, because the board felt they should have known. That happened to be the same management company that I was dealing with throughout my ordeal with the "exclusive with II, so cannot use any independents." They may have some responsibility in the problems, so when the opportunity came up to select a different management company, they took it.

rickandcindy23 said:

Trish, that might have been me.

Our resort, Twin Rivers, has an exclusive agreement with II and our weeks are deeded. This is ending in June, when we will dual-affiliate with RCI. We already sent a letter to II as a board, telling them we don't want exclusivity with them anymore. This was keeping us from using independent companies, because our management company would not allow us to deposit anywhere else. I think we can do what we want, but they just said absolutely we couldn't. I was ranting and raving for a good long time about it.

RCI values ski resorts and summer Colorado weeks more than II does. I am very disappointed that we went this long with II. I wanted options, but now we have them starting in June.

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Hopefully, it will be worth the wait. I'm sure you'll find out once June comes around. Congrats on the success!!

I just can't believe resorts think they have the right to tell you where to deposit your week at. Obviously, this is happening more frequently than I had thought.

I've always known if the resort wasn't dual-affiliated, you couldn't deposit it into the "other" one, which is a crock. But independent exchange companies?? Why not? Why should the resorts care where the weeks are deposited at as long as their owners are paying their maintenance fees, assessment fees, and gosh, knows what other kind of fees involved.

Don't get me wrong. I love timeshares. But these "honchos" make it so complicated and expensive, when it can be so easy and affordable.

suzanne said:

This is very interesting to me, as I have had this issue with my home resort for last few years. I own two float weeks at the Plaza Resort in Reno, NV, they only affiilated with RCI. I would like to join II and give them one of the weeks. I have to request my weeks and when I receive the confirmation in the mail I then give the weeks to RCI. Can I join II and when I request my weeks in November thats the earliest I can request them, just give the confirmation number to II? Since the resort is RCI affilated will II accept them?

I have contacted the resort and asked about dual affilation but they have not got the board to approve it yet according to the Resort TS rep I spoke with.

Suzanne

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I don't think that would work. RCI and II will only take as deposits weeks from resorts with which they have an affiliation. Since your resort is not affiliated at this time with II then they won't take your week.

The independent exchange companies do not necessarily have any formal affiliation with the resorts. They take weeks from many resorts (some pick and choose which resorts and which seasons they are willing to take). If you have a deeded fixed week or make a week's reservation from a floating week or point system, then some of the independent exchange companies may be willing to take your week. However, you can forget about II unless your resort decides to formally affiliate with II.