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Who has exchanged a week with Redweek?

ricoba

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I too would be curious about this.

I just did the RW valuation and found out that my HGVC is worth 1450 points, which sounded pretty correct to me if RW is using a "rental" estimate for the week.

I then went and looked for possible resorts/locations etc for a trade and really didn't find anything that I thought would compare at this time to my Hilton unit.

I guess the "secret" must be to use those 1450 points and get 3 or 4 weeks for the one week I am trading. But when I looked at times and locations, nothing came up that I would be interested in trading in to.

I also looked for Hawaii resorts and there were no listings for HI.

So my assumption is that this is all a new system and that it will take awhile for RW to build a broader inventory, is that correct?

So, I too am asking like Boca, has anyone actually traded yet?

I do like the model, and costs, but before I give up my week, I just want to make sure that I will be satisfied with the trade.

Rick
 

ttt

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Someone took the 2 BR SW Florida week 6/2008 week I deposited, but I have not looked for an exchange yet.
 

JMAESD84

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I like the REDWEEK model and rates so....

I deposited a spring break 08' week in southern Florida that has been taken by another depositer but I have yet to make a selection for myself. I may make another deposit within the next year so that I have enough accumulated points to grab anything they might have that catches my eye one day.

I wish them much success with the new exchange system.
 

ricoba

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I sent an email to RW about the same time I posted here and got back this nice note within an hour or two.

"Thanks for your interest in RedWeek Exchange - that is an excellent
question.

Right now, unfortunately, we don't have any weeks available in
Hawaii. Being a new service, we are working hard to encourage owners
to deposit their weeks. We should start seeing better weeks flowing
within the next few weeks.

That being said, we have an automated system that assigns points
values to weeks based on a set of criteria, and then a human being
manually reviews them before they go out. Everything has been
designed so that you can receive "like for like" trades when the weeks
do come in. Your 1450 points may even be used to reserve multiple
lesser quality (or last minute) weeks elsewhere in the world.

I hope this helps. Thanks for trying our new system - we won't let
you down :)
"

I thought it was an appropriate response and I appreciated the quick customer service. Not sure about the "we won't let you down" but other than that I don't have a complaint about their customer service.

But I still am leery to deposit my week, since I really don't see the higher end resorts that I know I could get if I go through RCI via HGVC.
 

OnMedic

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I sent an email to RW about the same time I posted here and got back this nice note within an hour or two.

"Thanks for your interest in RedWeek Exchange - that is an excellent
question.

Right now, unfortunately, we don't have any weeks available in
Hawaii. Being a new service, we are working hard to encourage owners
to deposit their weeks. We should start seeing better weeks flowing
within the next few weeks.

That being said, we have an automated system that assigns points
values to weeks based on a set of criteria, and then a human being
manually reviews them before they go out. Everything has been
designed so that you can receive "like for like" trades when the weeks
do come in. Your 1450 points may even be used to reserve multiple
lesser quality (or last minute) weeks elsewhere in the world.

I hope this helps. Thanks for trying our new system - we won't let
you down :)
"

I thought it was an appropriate response and I appreciated the quick customer service. Not sure about the "we won't let you down" but other than that I don't have a complaint about their customer service.

But I still am leery to deposit my week, since I really don't see the higher end resorts that I know I could get if I go through RCI via HGVC.


I looked at depositing Memorial week at HGVc HHV 2008, and it was gonna give me 2,000 pts. Not bad and maybe I will consider if I see something of interest come up.
 

OnMedic

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P.S. - If anyone wants to deposit a Marriott Hilton Head Island it could be considered a done deal!
 

tomandrobin

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Just an FYI, I got an value of 2553 points for my Westin Kierland week. I didn't deposit the week since there was not any inventory that met our needs.
 

JMAESD84

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I understand the caution

that people are expressing about not wanting to deposit YET because they don't see the comparable inventory as being available for exchange. I guess if it's the only week you have, it's a bigger risk.

If you believe as I do that REDWEEK exists for the benefit of timeshare owners and that they have implemented an open and workable model for this new exchange program, then have some faith in them and help prime the pump with your quality deposits.
 

BocaBum99

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that people are expressing about not wanting to deposit YET because they don't see the comparable inventory as being available for exchange. I guess if it's the only week you have, it's a bigger risk.

If you believe as I do that REDWEEK exists for the benefit of timeshare owners and that they have implemented an open and workable model for this new exchange program, then have some faith in them and help prime the pump with your quality deposits.


What you are not factoring into the equation is the risk that a deposit incurs when dealing with a new exchange venture.

Since the depositer bears a lot of risk in depositing, they should receive MORE than a FAIR one for one exchange. Redweek doesn't appear to understand this issue.

It would be like a bank saying to you, deposit your money into my high risk venture. I'll give you exactly the same money you put in after 3 years.

The bottom line is that depositers must be compensated for the risk they are bearing and it appears that most depositers don't see the risk as worth it for a like kind exchange especially since they have so many alternatives where they get a trade up with a lot less risk.

Redweek needs to get a lot of free deposits in the US market or they will fail by the end of the year.
 

ricoba

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Since the depositer bears a lot of risk in depositing, they should receive MORE than a FAIR one for one exchange. Redweek doesn't appear to understand this issue.

I agree and think that is the issue for me at this point.

My week is New Years in Vegas. I am not willing to give that up, until I see some higher quality resorts and weeks come available on the RW site.

OnMedic, I would never turn over a HHV week, at least not yet. There is nothing in comparison that I have seen on Redweeks list that would match that in my opinion.

I tend to agree that when they partnered with DAE, they got a lot of lower tiered resorts.

No offense to folks that own these resorts. :)
 

thinze3

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Redweek Exchange

Well, I bit the bullet and deposited my week with Redweek.

I have a 3BR Christie Lodge spring break ski week, March 15-22, 2008. They gave me 1800 points. I had it listed for rent on Redweek at $1799 - interesting.

I did not see anything I liked but decided to jump in and help get the ball rolling, since RCI has been a joke the last two years. I have three years to use my points and can pay the difference if something better comes along. I am hoping a coastal texas comes available for March 2008.

In the mean time, I still have Marriott Waiohai for using and Marriott Legends Egde for the 100K Rewards Points.

Redweek gave me a quote of $3000 for my Waiohai, which is also about what it rents for.

I hope a few more of YOU JUMP IN and matbe we'll have something better going forward.

Good Luck
 

Phill12

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that people are expressing about not wanting to deposit YET because they don't see the comparable inventory as being available for exchange. I guess if it's the only week you have, it's a bigger risk.

If you believe as I do that REDWEEK exists for the benefit of timeshare owners and that they have implemented an open and workable model for this new exchange program, then have some faith in them and help prime the pump with your quality deposits.


First I do hope Redweek exchange makes it but have my doubts! :shrug:

I also had my points (1934) but see nothing I would trade for! The problem I see here are many owners of lower resorts and weeks are going to jump on with their deposits. They can now pay extra money and stay in five star condo that is impossible with their trading company.:bawl:

Next you have owners like myself that spent the money to own great resort and top seasons with high trade value. Most of these owners didn't buy to trade down to cheap resort.

The way I see it is most owners want to exchange and get top trade. You can not get owners at top traders if you can not give them top traders!

Everyone wanting to get top resort exchange can not work and this system will become top heavy very quickly!

Next that will happen is RW will get stuck with the dogs and trying to dump them and probably try renting cheap. Now this is in conflect with the owners paying RW to list their units for rent too! :eek:

How many post have we seen already that owners are dumping units they bought for very little money just to trade!

This exchange could become dumping grounds for the dog traders and just fade away !
 

thinze3

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Softballdad3

Don't forget that the system allows owners of good weeks to get multiple bad weeks in exchange. It also allows bad week owners to turn in two or three years and accumulate the points to get a good week.

I think that portion of the system is huge. For instance, I could turn in my Waiohai and possibly go to coastal Texas, central Texas and Orlando - three weeks for one!

The system should work if people start depositing. Just like all other systems, including rental, the longer you wait the less value you will have in your unit. The asking price in points for untaken weeks will be lowered as the deadline approaches, but so will the offering price on your week.
 

BocaBum99

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Don't forget that the system allows owners of good weeks to get multiple bad weeks in exchange. It also allows bad week owners to turn in two or three years and accumulate the points to get a good week.

I think that portion of the system is huge. For instance, I could turn in my Waiohai and possibly go to coastal Texas, central Texas and Orlando - three weeks for one!

The system should work if people start depositing. Just like all other systems, including rental, the longer you wait the less value you will have in your unit. The asking price in points for untaken weeks will be lowered as the deadline approaches, but so will the offering price on your week.

Sure, that's the theory, but the following scenario is more likely. Your Marriott Waiahai will become shark bait and snapped up immediately by DAE.

And, you will either get nothing after 3 years or 4 or 5 dog weeks you can't use in Ko Samui.
 

thinze3

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BocaBum

Do you work for RCI??

You are all over the TugBB slamming Redweeks exchange program. Why?

Truth is, RCI has turned to the dogs in recent years, and Redweek is offering people a real option here. You cannot assume everything they are doing will fail and that everyweek deposited will be a "trash" week.

I have seen a handful of decent rooms traded already, and chances are they will continue to get better not worse.

I see where a person was offered 2000 points for a 3BR Kingsgate. I traded my 3BR Chrisite Lodge (not so great week) for a 3BR Kingsgate three years ago. Redweek gave me 1800 points for my unit. All-in-all that was a pretty even exchange offer.

Somebody else was offered 2800 for a 2BR Marriott Kauai. They offered me about the same for Waiohai. They ARE making fair offers.

The deposits WILL start coming in after a few more people continue to read here and on other boards about it. It is just a trust issue at this point.

GIVE IT TIME. Good Luck
 

PeelBoy

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If you are looking for a prime week in Hawaii, you should not deposit yours with Redweek. Every independent specialize in a small market. If they meet your needs, deal with them; otherwise, continue your payment to RCI.

I should have used my RW points for a few dog weeks in Scotland or Bali. I am still waiting because of the 4 x 2 weeks vacation booked within the next 12 months.
 

Art

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Thinze3

It is a lot more that a trust issue. When I can deposit any of my Marriott weeks with II on a request first basis, or worst case, a deposit first basis, I have first crack (24 day priority) for any other Marriott weeks that are deposited with II.

That includes some significant up-grades as long as the II comparable exchange criteria is met. It has been my experience that most Marriott Resorts are of sufficiently high quality that they can be exchanged for any other Marriott resort, subject to unit size and season comparability effects on trading power.

Giving up what is close to a sure thing in terms of getting a good trade really isn't a very smart maneuver. Now, if there were a worthwhile incentive . . .

How about giving me 2 trades with the points that I get for depositing a week that is worth 1500 points, and add on another free trade for each 500 point increase in the value of a deposited week? Do this for 2 or 3 years and then slowly reduce the incentives. Sure, it would be a significant start-up cost, but that's the price of getting into a new business.

Art
 

BocaBum99

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Do you work for RCI??

You are all over the TugBB slamming Redweeks exchange program. Why?

Truth is, RCI has turned to the dogs in recent years, and Redweek is offering people a real option here. You cannot assume everything they are doing will fail and that everyweek deposited will be a "trash" week.

I have seen a handful of decent rooms traded already, and chances are they will continue to get better not worse.

I see where a person was offered 2000 points for a 3BR Kingsgate. I traded my 3BR Chrisite Lodge (not so great week) for a 3BR Kingsgate three years ago. Redweek gave me 1800 points for my unit. All-in-all that was a pretty even exchange offer.

Somebody else was offered 2800 for a 2BR Marriott Kauai. They offered me about the same for Waiohai. They ARE making fair offers.

The deposits WILL start coming in after a few more people continue to read here and on other boards about it. It is just a trust issue at this point.

GIVE IT TIME. Good Luck


No, I don't work for RCI. In fact, I don't like them much either. But, given the current Redweek exchange company and RCI, I'd have to take RCI today.

As I said, I hope that Redweek is successful. The timesharing industry needs more competition. I am just calling it like I see it. Sorry if it doesn't seem polyanna to you.

Do you dispute any of the facts and logic that I present? If so, add to the conversation.

I am trying to understand the underlying success factors in creating an exchange company. I have learned a lot from the Redweek experiment.

I used to think that even exchanges was the central aspect of creating a viable exchange company. That's because it would more efficiently map supply and demand. After seeing a very enterprising company try it, I have changed my opinion. I now believe that the central and key aspect of a successful exchange company is the free weeks it gets from its affiliations. Mapping supply and demand only matters if you have supply to map demand to.

This insight was not really on my radar screen until I saw the behavior of the Redweek system and the actions of the posters on this message board. No matter how much I learned, I believe Redweek has learned more since they are putting their own money into it.

I believe that Redweek can be successful if it gets a source of free weeks at US locations that starts the exchange system going.

They can do that in many ways. One of which is to form some type of affliation agreement with resort developers or HOAs. It could have HOAs that are no longer in development provide them last minute inventory to eliminate the conflict of interest in resort developer sales. The HOA could then have a rental program or a resale program for its members offered through Redweek. That would be a source of free inventory. That could really work well for them.

My conclusion is that if Redweek doesn't do something like what I am saying that they will not be able to survive. If you have logic that suggests otherwise, I really would be interested in hearing it.

I also do not believe that Redweek is standing still. I am sure they will come up with better ideas than I have in creating this entrepreneurial effort.

What I am doing is shining light on the real issues that they face which does provide insights that depositers will need to make a judicious decision on whether or not to deposit. Some of us on this message board who jumped too soon may pay the price for not acting judiciously and fully informed.

So, if I come across negatively, I apologize to you for that. I am actually trying to call it like I see it without passion or prejudice.
 

BocaBum99

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So, the question that someone could ask me is who do I like?

My three favorite exchange companies are II, SFX and TPI.

II has most of the branded hotel chains and they appear to have a favorable exchange balance for depositers today. It isn't hard to get a prime week exchange or find availability in many locations.

SFX has access to a lot of prime weeks. They specialize in it. In addition, they do have affiliation agreements that help them reduce the exchange gap problem that faces all exchange companies.

TPI. Originally, I thought they would end up like DAE since they have any anything in gets anything out trading power formula. But, since they manage resorts, they get a lot of free inventory that stokes the exchange game.

What each of these exchange companies have in common are the free weeks they get to plug the exchange gap created by expiring weeks and bonus weeks.

As soon as Redweek plugs that gap, then can eventually become as good as one of these three exchange companies.

DAE does have what appears to be excellent inventory overseas. And, they have EXCELLENT customer service. Without knowing the facts for how they got it, my guess is they are getting free weeks from key affiliations. That keeps those sources very high all the time. So, those who want to exchange overseas are able to do so. When people ask me how to exchange overseas I always have them look at DAE first.
 

thinze3

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Kudos BocaBum.
I have only experience with RCI. I have never traded elsewhere.

ART
Do have any experience with Marriott's Florida Club? I am new to Legends Edge and would like more info. I have read the OLD posts, but information seems to be speculative by those who are not experienced in it.
 

ricoba

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Thinze3...

Good luck on your trade. Let us know how it works out for you.

I think I am like Boca and others here, we are just concerned that when we look at the current inventory available, we don't see "like-for-like" or better quality resorts.

I know there are lots and lots of people here on TUG that own a stand alone timeshare and they are very happy with it and there are many of them that I am sure are super resorts. But I guess, I like the idea of trading into a hotel like system or a larger resort with a lot more amenities than some of the smaller properties can offer.

I instantly liked the ease and cost and good service of the RW plan, it's just that I want to see it become successful, before I take the risk of depositing with them.
 

thinze3

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Ricoba

I totally understand the wait and see attitude. I have used, rented and traded my 3BR Christie Lodge. I decided to turn it in because we don't ski often enough, I'm tired of renting it, and RCI trades have become worse in the last two years.

I own a Marriott Waiohai, which I love, and just purchased Marriott Legends Edge because of the cost & fees vs. the rewards points and the fact that it is the closest Marriott to my home.

I guess I just had a timeshare to spare, if you will. I decided to bite the bullet after several very friendly emails with Kylie at Redweek. They seemed determined and genuine.
 

Art

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Thinze3

I've never tried a Florida Club exchange

The big catch is that you can only reserve on the order of six months prior to check-in data at another resort which means that your chances of doing this in prime season are somewhere between slim and none. I assume that you have read all those posts about owners calling at 9 AM exactly 12 months in advance to reserve their weeks.

However, I don't recall any TUG posts from people singing the praises on the Florida Club. The consensus seems to be to pay the $89 "internal" exchange fee and take advantage of the 24 day priority period for trades to another MVCI. More $, but much better chance of getting what you want.

Art
 

rcnet

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Just deposited my Myrtle Beach July 2008 with Redweek

I got 2017 points for it. We've been going for several years and wanted a break. So we're going to try Orlando/Disney next year. Hope they have better inventory soon. I'm willing to give them a shot, considering I've got 3 years before they expire. Anything but RCI.
 
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