posted 10-01-2002 10:47            

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Originally posted by Racldad:
Craig
I own at two resorts that are dual affiliated. I have always been a RCI member but I think I'm going to join II. Both of my resorts are older and have been dual affiliated for years. In looking at both your website and your resort book I noticed that neither of my resorts have a photo. Neither resort is 5*, but both are rated RID by RCI. I would think most people would consider that a negative and thus have an impact on trading power for both resorts. A quick look at your website and I would guess that 20% of the resorts don't have a photo. Does II consider these resorts to be inferior? Can you explain the reason for so many resorts not having photos in the book or the website?

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posted 10-01-2002 10:49            

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Originally posted by MarTN:
Dear Craig,

I was wondering if there had been more discussion about implementing a "resort specific" search on the website. For instance, WBL is the closest II timeshare to Yosemite. I have clicked and clicked, trying to find any availability.

Could I call a counselor and have her check for the specific resort? Can she/he check availability for large blocks of dates? Could I say, "Is there anything in the next year?" Would that take up too much of their time? Do the counselors say, "There's nothing available" when they really mean, "You'll never have the power to pull this one"?

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posted 10-01-2002 10:51            

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Originally posted by jo-jo:
Craig -I had posed the following question on the Marriott board while you were on vacation. It was the consensus that we should ask you when you get back. Here is the question:

How much priority is given to Marriott owners trading to other Marriott locations? I ask because I am trying to trade a studio to a 2-bedroom unit. I know that Marriott 2 bdrm and 1 bdrm units get priority since I am only trading a Marriott studio. However, do I get priority over a non-Marriott two bedroom or one bedroom unit for the trade during the 21-day window?

Thanks for your time in anwsering this.

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posted 10-01-2002 10:59            

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Originally posted by Teresa:
Hi Craig,

As others have stated, we appreciate the time you give to us.

My question is regarding Flexchange on the internet site.

I have two units banked - different resorts - neither is 5 star. Both one bedrooms but different colors - but same general location (Cocoa Beach area). I thought I would see the same inventory for either resort I shop with but that's not the case. I thought Flexchange opened up ALL the inventory equally within the Flexchange dates. I love Flexchange and that's why I'm still with II.

It was a bit shocking to me to see that the one resort (red week but very poorly rated by TUG members (I think the ranking is wrong of course)) pulled more than the other week. Heck it even pulls better than the 5 star I own most of the time (outside of Flexchange).

But back to the Flexchange situation. With the yellow week (week 48) I don't see Cocoa Beach as an option. With the red week (week 30) it's an option with usually 2-3 units listed.

The week 30 was deposited under Flexchange rules, the week 48 was not.

Is this a red versus yellow situation? A resort versus resort situation? A Flexchange week versus a non-Flexchange week? A quirk in the 'system'? Should I 'never mind' this because I'm doing better than I should (grin)?

I LOVE Flexchange. It's just that I thought I could use my 'oldest' banked week to search/exchange without having to check every other deposit I have to see if something else comes up that fits my plans better.

Thanks!

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posted 10-01-2002 11:09            

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Originally posted by CraigU:
When you place a vacation request, we ask you to list specific resort choices. Following please find the resort codes for the properties in Texas. Feel free to list all choices if you'd like.

APS, CPC, FWY, INV, LSO, PEG, RVD, SAR, SLT, SNH & TWD.

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Dear Craig,

Thank you for responding to my question.

Sorry that I was not clear. I was referring to online "SHOPping" of spacebanked weeks. There is no way to input, "Texas".

One must pick one of a number of Texas regions, and check each in turn. With the low availability, the process can be quite frustrating. The number of Texas regions seems excessive to me as there are only 11 Interval resorts in Texas. (I know, that is more than there were).

Also, your suggestion to input resort codes would seem to be a good one. At that moment, that does not seem possible.

Am I missing something?

Thanks again for responding to all of our questions.

Sincerely yours,
Kurt Brown

posted 10-01-2002 12:23         

>> "... Sorry that I was not clear. I was referring to online "SHOPping" of spacebanked weeks. There is no way to input, "Texas". ....>>

Because we have to juggle schedules and other commitments, it is difficult to put in a request that binds us in advance to a set timeframe. There is real value in "shopping" for opportunities, when we can select a specific window of time that fits our family schedules. It would be very helpful to put in a region (such as "Texas" or even "USA - Southwest") and see what is available within a window of time (beyond the 30-day window). We could then pick a selection that fits within work/meeting/personal commitments.

Would really appreciate II's consideration of this type of feature...

J&A

posted 10-02-2002 15:51            

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Originally posted by Kurt Brown:
Dear Craig,

Thank you for responding to my question.

Sorry that I was not clear. I was referring to online "SHOPping" of spacebanked weeks. There is no way to input, "Texas".

One must pick one of a number of Texas regions, and check each in turn. With the low availability, the process can be quite frustrating. The number of Texas regions seems excessive to me as there are only 11 Interval resorts in Texas. (I know, that is more than there were).

Also, your suggestion to input resort codes would seem to be a good one. At that moment, that does not seem possible.

Am I missing something?

Thanks again for responding to all of our questions.

Sincerely yours,
Kurt Brown

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posted 10-02-2002 16:07            

Why is there a limit of 1 year in advance for exchanges made by Club Sunterra members?

TIA

posted 10-02-2002 16:54            

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My online resort listings still display no 5* logos despite the fact that I am an owner at a 5* resort. I remember you said you would have this fixed many many weeks ago. Any ETA?
And Craig responded:
I am waiting on an answer from our internet development team. I will post the answer as soon as possible.

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posted 10-02-2002 17:11            

Have the powers that be made any ruling on charging a fee to add newly purchased weeks to your II acount?

We're needing an incentive to renew!

posted 10-02-2002 18:04            

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Originally posted by Marina_K:
Hi Craig,

Why is there a limit of 1 year in advance for exchanges made by Club Sunterra members?

TIA

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posted 10-02-2002 18:06            

Hopefully, I'll have an answer soon.

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Originally posted by EdB:
I asked

Any word yet?

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posted 10-02-2002 18:08            

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Originally posted by JLB:
Hi Craig:

Have the powers that be made any ruling on charging a fee to add newly purchased weeks to your II acount?

We're needing an incentive to renew!

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posted 10-03-2002 21:30            

Because I was unwilling to trade my 2BR summer Newport Coast deposit for the smaller, possible unterraced, 1 BR (although I would have happily traded for the larger half), I was told by II that the only way I could be sure that I would not get the smaller unit would be to request the full 2BR because there was no way that they could limit the 1BR search only to the premium side. I'm sure that this contributed to the fact that my search, using a good trader and relatively flexible and broad check-in dates, went unfilled for many months. I know that Harborside is a difficult trade, and there's no guaranty that I would have been successful anyway, but I'm sure that the fact that I was looking for a 2BR at a resort that permits lock-offs further limited the possibilities. If II can distinguish between a 1 BR unit that sleeps 2 privately and one that sleeps 4 privately, which it does in the Directory, and, I assume, on its computer system, why can't a similar distinction be made between the two types of Harborside units?

Thanks.

posted 10-03-2002 23:51            

3rd Q: Does II inforce that If you own at a specific resort at orlando are you obligated to only trade into that resort? and lastly are you given preference at your home resort since you own there?

Thanks
Joe

posted 10-04-2002 13:58            

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Originally posted by SJU/AIFSS:
Greetings CraigU
Alright I'm new at this so please advise if these questions were answered somewhere else and where, if not here it goes.
1st Q: Why does my 2bd 2ba sleeps 8/private 6 only indicate sleeps 6 in your online site? Now, granted I was told by the VC at II "that is the way it is". Now when I request online to shop and I put number of adults traveling 8 I get a message indicating "Note: Travel party cannot exceed 6 (Capacity of home unit).

2nd.Q: Are all the Orlando resorts listed in your directory available for usage? Including the Marriotts? I inquiry about this one specifically due to your sister exchange company (the one that starts with the letter R) indicated to me that Marriotts cannot be utilized with them unless you own a Marriott.

3rd Q: Does II inforce that If you own at a specific resort at orlando are you obligated to only trade into that resort? and lastly are you given preference at your home resort since you own there?

Thanks
Joe

[This message has been edited by SJU/AIFSS (edited 10-04-2002).]

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posted 10-04-2002 14:00            

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Originally posted by SJU/AIFSS:
CraigU Here's one more question if I may.
Why when I shop for an exchange on line all I can pull out is one particlar resort(VVF) and no others? Is it because I need to deposit it first then I may be able to get other resorts selections? A couple of other Tug Members pulled out a multiple resorts for me with a question I posted in the exchange forum "How can I get back to back weeks at Vistana" am I missing something? I thought if you owned a GC/5* fxd wk 52 (VIO) resort you might at least pullout some other resorts?
Thanks again
Joe

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posted 10-05-2002 07:49            

This is my 1st question to you and it is more of a generic one. Does II hae some kind of a quota system or get rated based on exchanges made vs not made? The reason I ask is we have a unit that has been request first with II for about 9 months. Since it is request first if they don't get my trade they give it back. Well I am getting it back Oct 8. Now this is the 1st time this has happened so I did not know what to expect but the past 2 weeks I have been getting calls from II quite often trying to give me different weeks or resorts for what I have. Not this is NOT a complaint, I think it is nice that they want to give me some other options. Even though I picked several different resorts and dates already at least they are thinkng of me. I was just curious if you guys just hate to not make an exchange and if it is just policy that as the exchange is about to expire you work a bit harder on getting people something. The II callers have been real nice and almost apologetic about us not getting what we wanted.

Just as info - we attempted to trade our Studio (B side) of Marriott Grande Vista that was (is) booked for Dec 22-29 (X-mas) into HHI or New Jersey and then as the time came closer we added the Marriott Cypress harbor. We accepted the fact that we were probably going to see Mickey for X-mas so we were hoping for a larger unit that is why we added Cypress about a month ago. Apparently the II inventory has no Cypress left during Dec 22-29 but there are room there, I called. Hum I wonder if Marriott will let me upgrade my B side?

posted 10-06-2002 14:19            

First of all, I want you to know how much we appreciate your time and input on this board!

I'm not pleased with the way things seem to be going with RCI right now, so I decided to add all my resorts that are dual affiliated to my Interval account. I called on September 3 and asked to have all these resorts added to my existing Marriott Barony Beach account or to have a new account established. I extended my membership at that time for the resorts I wanted added. I own 2 weeks (22 & 23) at Equivest resorts in Myrtle Beach. So far, I have not been able to get these resorts added to my account although I have confirmed with Equivest and the resorts individually that they are showing that we are owners and that I have prepaid my 2003 maintenance fees for both weeks. I have called Interval an average of 6-8 times a week for the past three weeks and have received many different answers as to why the resorts have not been added - Equivest turned your weeks down, we've never received confirmation from your resorts, we're not showing that we have asked for confirmation from your resorts, we can't resubmit without charging you the add-on fees again, etc. The last time I called before today, last Monday, I gave the VC a direct phone line and name of the manager of my resort whom I had just spoken with and who assured me she would confirm both resorts as soon as Interval called. When I called today to see if the resorts had been added to my account, I was told there was no record of any of my calls nor of the name and number that I gave last Monday. The VC said today that Equivest had denied my ownership of these resorts on September 11. This seems odd since I got frustrated and deposited one of the weeks with RCI and made an overnight exchange on September 15. They had no problem confirming with Equivest. Although a few of the VC's I have talked with have been friendly and tried to help, most of them have taken the attitude that there's nothing they can do. When I've mentioned the fact that RCI had no problem with the one week, I have had a couple of them to tell me it might be best if I deposited the other week with RCI.

My question - is there anyone at Interval that I can call directly to get this taken care of? I can give a name and direct phone number again. I would like to use Interval. That's the reason I'm trying to get the resorts added to my account. I would like to have both resorts added to my account now, so that I will know about bonus weeks in the future which I'm told have been given in the past for both my weeks. I am also in the process of purchasing another resort that is dual affiliated, and I certainly don't want to go through this hassle again. I have been pleased with Interval in the past, but I'm getting very aggravated with this entire issue. I think I have been very patient especially with all the different answers I have received.

I REALLY don't like the attitude from some of the VC's that seems to say "if you don't like the way we do things then take your business elsewhere!" We paid a lot for our timeshares, and I would really like to feel that whatever exchange company I use appreciates my business.

posted 10-08-2002 19:45            

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originally posted by CraigU:

During the time which we hold available weeks, for the internal trading priority, the weeks are not made available to anyone outside of that group. However, we still apply our comparable exchange methodology to the internal transactions.

posted 10-09-2002 03:36            

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Originally posted by Betsy K:
Do you mean that a studio would NOT get a 2BR even if it were available in the Marriott-only window? I am VERY new to Interval and Marriott. I just became an II member with the Sunterra switch, and just purchased my first Marriott in July.

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posted 10-09-2002 03:42            

I don't think you should change your plans based on your cancellation week. However, July is difficult regardless of the trading power of your home week. I would suggest you be as flexible as possible with the dates/areas requested.

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Originally posted by Fayeoctober:
Craig, I want to thank you again for answering our questions. I had previously asked about the trading power of a confirmed exchange cancelled 61 or 62 days in advance or just prior to the 60 day window. I believe you indicated it was the same trading power as the original request banked well in advance. However, when I go on Interval's site and look at that week it reads "Cancellation Replacement" leading me to believe the trading power isn't the same. Can you tell me which is correct? I am still hoping to get the exchange I am interested in before my week expires in July 2003, but will consider settling for less if my trading power was diminished. Thanks again, Faye

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posted 10-09-2002 10:42            

You have said in the Past ILX resort owners could exchange online once a week was banked. I have talked to three different II reps and the online Dept and they said this was not a option for ILX owners.

ILX does a 100% bulk Bank now and when you request a week be deposited with II they send us a Certificate with a Number and expiration date on it. I have called II with this number but nothing is ever added to the II account. I must always call II and give them the Certificate number each and everytime I call.
The week never actually gets banked against the account. I have been told by II reps that II is working on improving this.

Currently when a ILX owner logs into II online you don't even get a exchange services option. II has said this is because the weeks are certificates and not actually deposited in the members account. This bothers me as I feel the weeks I request be deposited with II are being treated as bonus weeks and not actual deposits.

Can you please clarify what is actually going on with ILX and Interval deposits? I get different answers from dfferent II reps and have the feeling they are not really sure.