Exchange that week!

Near Hilo, HI February, 2009
Maui, February, 2009


We begin planning each year's timeshare stay about a year in advance. That gives us plenty of time to go where we want. Last February's trip planning for Hawaii started in February, 2008. If you are more flexible on your timing and destination, then short term exchanges can work well. We're not as flexible because of our work schedules.

This time we are trying to exchange to a resort we don't own - just one more way to maximize your timeshare enjoyment. Our target destination is Marriott Surf Watch resort at Hilton Head. It is fairly new, and has a beautiful setting along the beach with a lake and lots of amenities. Our daughter and her family are staying at Marriott Harbour Club, also in Hilton Head. They own a platinum week (summer prime time). Their reservation is in mid-June, 2010. Our mission is to exchange our gold week (spring/fall)at Harbour Point for a platinum week before or after their Harbour Club week. That way we can stay for up to 2 weeks and enjoy a week at a resort we've not visited before.

The challenge here is to exchange a lesser value gold timeshare week for a platinum week. Can it be done? The answer is an unequivocal maybe. We have done it several times before with other resorts. It should work if we are patient. Where to start? We are members of Interval International (II) exchange firm. Dave goes to their web site and log in. Hit the exchange tab. Key in the desired destination, dates, and the week that we are offering in trade. The result of the search is that nothing is available now. Not surprising. That is a prime week in a prime destination (Hilton Head). Also, we have been very restrictive in our selection - only 1 resort and for just two particular weeks. The greater the flexibility the greater the chance of finding a match.

Now what. We will enter a request. That way, II continues to search for available weeks as owners offer their weeks in exchange. So, I key in the information. But...a glitch occurs. After going through process at least 6 times and burning up 20 minutes, the request is not accepted. The "continue" button is grayed out. Dang. Not sure why. Such things happen; patience is a requirement. Today for some reason my patience quotient is unusually high. So, I called II, placed the request by phone, and found out why the web process did not work.

We'll wait and watch for several weeks. If the request does not fill, we can broaden our search by adding other resorts and/or travel times. For example, the II system says the week we want is available at Harbour Club - the same resort where my daughter's reservation is. If we ultimately have stay somewhere else, we could try to trade in to Surf Watch at a different time when demand is lower - like May or October. Hilton Head is great at those times, except our family could not joint us because their kids are in school. There are always trade-offs.

It's all part of the great timeshare adventure. Invest your time wisely and creatively and you'll continue to build wonderful memories as you maximize use of your timeshare week(s).

Planning to Maximize Your Timeshare Weeks Each Year

Our timeshare weeks are a source of great enjoyment for us and our family. But maximizing that enjoyment takes some planning. This post will discuss how we, Dave and Suz, plan our weeks each year. Don’t procrastinate on this; as the saying goes – if you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never get there.

You’ll need to schedule some of this as long as a year in advance. Seem too far in the future? Well, not every timeshare aspect needs to be planned this far ahead. But some do. That’s OK for us; it forces us to make the necessary arrangements. It also allows to schedule other events around those future timeshare dates to eliminate potential conflicts.

We own four weeks; three are gold weeks (spring and fall) at resorts on Hilton Head Island. One of those is a fixed week at Harbour Point purchased through a timeshare reseller. Here is how we plan our weeks:

• We automatically deposit the Harbour Point week with Interval International for later exchanges to other resorts. I recently suggested to Suz that we consider occupying Harbour Point once because we have never stayed there. But she likes the other resorts better. So far it’s worked because that fixed gold week trades very well.



• That leaves two other weeks on Hilton Head, at Harbour Club and Barony Beach Club to be planned out. Each year, we turn one of those weeks in for reward points which can be redeemed for airfare miles and hotel lodging at Marriott. Generally, two years worth of reward points from our deposited timeshare weeks allow us to take a major trip – at no cost for airfare and lodging. It is a fabulous benefit – more in a future message on that. This past February, for example, we spent a week on the Big island at Marriott’s Waikaloa resort and a week on Maui (see picture below). Wow.



• We generally occupy the third week at either Harbour Club or Barony Beach Club on Hilton Head, whichever is not deposited for Reward points. Our season in the Marriott system is gold. So, we can pick weeks in the spring and fall. Our preference is May – with pleasant weather and slower pace than the busy summer months. This year we stayed at Harbour Club in early June so our daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids could join us.



• That leaves our platinum week at Ocean Pointe in Palm Beach area. We often deposit that with Interval International because of its strong trading power for exchanges to prime destinations. It also has the lock -off feature, meaning that the second bedroom referred to as a guest suite since it has a limited kitchen) can be separated, or “locked off” from the master suite. Use the lock off feature and voila’ - you get two units for the price of one. This year we decided to occupy the master suite for a week next February and deposit the guest suite with Interval International. Palm Beach in mid-February... I can't wait.
  

Everyone will have different interest, approaches, and priorities. The main thing is to “Just Do It” – It being whatever is necessary to make sure you maximize your use and enjoyment of your timeshare units – whether you own one week or ten. Share your ideas with us!

Gotta go. Talk later. Dave and Suz