Starting to get worried about trades...

Should I be?

We placed our requests back in Dec for June 2009 and we are trying for 3 back to back weeks.

June 4-11 at Kona Coast resorts
June 11-18 at Marriott Maui, Westin Kaanapali, and Hanalei Bay
June 18-25 at Marriott Waiohai

Am I being too restrictive? Should I be concerned that we are not going to get our requests?

We plan on getting a Marriott Rewards travel package just in case one of the trades doesn't come through, but we have had these requests in for a while and I haven't seen them come through. We are looking for 2bds in each location.

At what point should I start modifying our requests? We were thinking of adding Waiohai and KoOlina to the middle week request to increase our chances.

Or should I just chill out and wait? At what point should I really worry?

Appreciate the help.

I just got a Kona Coast trade Fri for week 28 1 bedroom. I think a lot of things will start popping up as people start to deposit for next year over the next 6 months.

Early June is still low season and availability should pop up soon. The latter part of June may be more difficult as it approaches the July 4th holiday.

The good thing you've got going for you is that a lot of folks will be depositing their weeks instead of using them because the airfare is so high. Flying a family out has gone from doable to painful.

The hardest week most likely will be June 11-18. Maui seems harder to trade into than the other islands. Hanalei Bay used to be a harder trade, but I think it is much easier than it was.

Many people don't deposit until they have completed this years vacation, and then even more don't deposit until near the first of the year.

Last November we put in a request for Waiohai in November for May of 09, we were confirmed the last week in December. II made the reservation for the wrong year (08 instead of 09,) but my point is the trade came through at the first part of the year. It might have to do with people being asked to schedule vacations for the next year or it might just be a budgeting issue. Either way, I wouldn't worry too much yet. We still have our (revised) request in for May of 2009 and we aren't even beginning to panic. (Yet!)

potchak said:

June 4-11 at Kona Coast resorts
June 11-18 at Marriott Maui, Westin Kaanapali, and Hanalei Bay
June 18-25 at Marriott Waiohai

........We were thinking of adding Waiohai and KoOlina to the middle week request to increase our chances.....

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Wht not add the Maui resorts to week three and add Waiohai and Ko'Olina to week two. This would increase your chances of getting something. After one trade comes in for either of those weeks you can then make another adjustment.

The Maui trade may be very difficult, especially if you are not offering your Waiohai in return.

Kona coast will probably not be a problem at all, provided your are offering a decent week.

Good Luck

I think adding a couple of options could be helpful, but also keep in mind that in the case of the Marriotts, unless people are multiple-week owners, they can't even book those last two weeks yet.

We had a trade in for Ko Olina since February - we just got it last week, for the third week in May and then we booked our Waiohai week right behind it (for the last week in May).

I'd give it another month or so before you get panicky.

The reason I do not want to change the first or last weeks is because I want to ensure I can get the flights I need and if I know the starting and ending destinations I can at least come close. I am going to be using Frequent flyer miles to get there, and need to book those as soon as I can as we are trying for 1st class tix.

We were thinking if the middle week didn't come through by Sept or so, maybe we would add Waiohai or Ko Olina to the middle week to increase our chances. Ko Olina would be brand new to us, but we do love the Waiohai so can definitely see ourselves there as well. We were just hoping to try 3 islands. Oh well.

At what point should I add additional resorts to that middle week? Is Sept too soon?

Appreciate the help.

I think I'd wait until September, at least. I think anyone who's planning on depositing their Hawaii weeks because they know they can't swing the airfare is probably going to book a summer week as soon as they can, figuring that would get them the best exchange. Of course, this is pure speculation on my part, but it's what I'd do if I knew I couldn't use my week next year - book a good summer week, then immediately request an exchange with II for something closer to home.

We had been worrying about our exchange, too, and then all of a sudden, there it was. Our dates were a little more flexible, but then again, you put your request in well before we did, so you're ahead of a lot of people in line. I think the only reason we got ours was because we had included the mid-May timeframe in there. Ours came up literally within the first couple of days that someone could have booked it at Ko Olina (assuming they weren't a multiple-week owner who could have booked at 13 months out).

Good luck! Sounds like a wonderful trip if you can work it all out.

Aloha, Michele,

I sympathize with you, as I was starting to get worried myself....until I was told DO NOT WORRY....YOU'LL GET YOUR TRADE! I have a similiar situation...I deposited my Maui Ocean Club 4th of July 2008 week, trying to exchange back to my home resort in June 2009, or I would also accept Waiohai or Kauai Beach Club...I made my deposit back in the beginning of December, and still no confirmation....I thought for sure there would be some "fixed" Marriott Hawaii weeks already deposited with II, especially with the airline fiascos. But hold tight; as previous poster stated, alot of the June 2009 weeks have not even been reserved yet......I think your trades will come thru....and mine too! Keep the faith and let the system work!

...."DO NOT WORRY....YOU'LL GET YOUR TRADE!"....

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I think you are asking for a couple of VERY tough trades in MOC and the Westin, although the current air fair prices are working in your favor.

While I believe it is possible, and that you should hold out a few more months, I would not bank on getting a 2BR unit at Maui Ocean Club during the summer. Too many MOC owners split or rent their weeks, as they don't feel they get even exchanges with a 2BR.

Starwood owners have a preference period with II just like Marriott and will most likely take any Westin Ka'anapali summer weeks that become available before they "go public."

Ok, so I switched my requests to the following:
June 4-11, 2008- Ko Olina, Maui Ocean Club, Westin Kaanapali, Hanalei Bay resort, Kona Coast, and Waiohai
June 11-18- same as above
June 18-25- Waiohai, Maui Ocean Club, or KoOlina.

I changed this a month or so ago, and still no hits. Should I be getting worried? We still have to book our 1st class airfare via FF miles and I cannot wait too long.

I hate waiting.

Is it possible to reduce to a 1 bedroom?

I know as Westin Kanapali owner that I would deposit/use my one bedroom and rent out the studio. I'm sure a lot of people do that to cover their MF fees.

No, need the 2bd. We have a lot of family members that are going to mooch.

potchak said:

Ok, so I switched my requests to the following:
June 4-11, 2008- Ko Olina, Maui Ocean Club, Westin Kaanapali, Hanalei Bay resort, Kona Coast, and Waiohai
June 11-18- same as above
June 18-25- Waiohai, Maui Ocean Club, or KoOlina.

I changed this a month or so ago, and still no hits. Should I be getting worried? We still have to book our 1st class airfare via FF miles and I cannot wait too long.

I hate waiting.

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You could always book you FF flight to HNL now and then take care of making connecting flights to the other islands once you determine the order in which you will visit them. That way you can at least have your 1st class airfare booked now. Most, but not all flights are booked through HNL anyway.

Not sure I want to book flights until we have a place. Kona coast could be a Thurs checkin which would throw everything off, including flights. We are also trying to avoid paying for too many interisland flights with the cost of airfare these days. I just wish I had a crystal ball so I could tell when I should expect my trades to come through.

Anyone know if my request goes back to the end of the line every time I change it? I put them in back in Dec 07 originally trying to get priority, but I have changed them several times.

Did you make sure to put in all the resort codes, like KAN for Westin Kaanapali, North?

What about adding Marriott Kauai Beach Club? or Poipu Point or Westin Princeville ? All are great properties on Kauai.

Good luck!!

Yes, I added all the codes for Westin Kaanapali, I think there are 3 of them.

As for Kauai Beach club, we would rather stay at the Waiohai on Kauai, we really love that resort, which is why we purchased it. And the Westin Princeville is too new for any reviews, with looks like no access to the beach, not to mention still under heavy construction. DH wasn't interested.

potchak said:

Yes, I added all the codes for Westin Kaanapali, I think there are 3 of them...

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I don't think it matters, but I am not 100% sure. Whenever I do a search for a specific resort like MGV, the other codes show up as well automatically.




Terry

Ok, so today I updated the first two weeks to include Westin Princeville to attempt to increase my chances. Should I now update them to include Worldmark Kona?

potchak said:

Not sure I want to book flights until we have a place. Kona coast could be a Thurs checkin which would throw everything off, including flights.

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If you feel you can't wait and need to book the airline now you can book your flight to Honolulu. As far as checkin dates not matching your plan you have two options:

1) Contact II and request a specific day of the week for an exchange and book your tickets based on this request (You need to call to request a specific day of the week check in.)

2) Book your tickets now and if you receive an earlier check in than your arrival advise the resort you will be checking in late and then pickup a few nights in a hotel where there is a gap.

Other than that the only options are to keep adding resorts or just wait for the exchanges to be confirmed (Although I think a 2 bedroom on Maui is going to be very hard at the resorts you are requesting in the summer.)

Right now we are open as to which islands we want. The only one we definitely want is a Waiohai week and since that one is only 2bds, I think we have a good chance at that one. I know that Maui is gonna be tough, but we will see what happens. I would be perfectly satisfied with 3 weeks in Kauai if it came down to it. I just want to know where we will be going. I can't quite book the flights yet since 330 days from the return flight isn't until Aug 1. I also need to get my points traded in for a hotel/flight package so we have the miles. Hubby doesn't want to do this until we have at least one of the weeks under our belt and guaranteed. We can always supplement with a hotel week.

Rental??

If you are interested in a rental as opposed to a trade, I could set you up at the Westin in Maui. I have an island view on the north property...

Appreciate the offer, but not looking for a rental. We have too many timeshare weeks and rewards points to use first.

Starting to really worry now. I need to get these flights booked, but can't do that until we have the places booked. Should I call interval and see where we stand in the request pool? Do they give that information out? I would have thought I would have started to see my requests come through by now, but still nothing.

potchak said:

Starting to really worry now. I need to get these flights booked, but can't do that until we have the places booked. Should I call interval and see where we stand in the request pool? Do they give that information out? I would have thought I would have started to see my requests come through by now, but still nothing.

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Michelle,
II will not tell you where you are in line but will tell you how many exchanges have been made for specific weeks at specific resorts. I was really surprised at the low number of exchanges at Waiohai. I think most owners use their weeks at Waiohai.

Ko'Olina is opening up a two new sections of the new building before next summer. I believe this is why I got my trade there so early. You will probably get your trades soon enough.

Call II and bug them a bit. Good Luck.


Terry


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