Ins and outs of Interval. It is what it is.

[Lisa P]

Originally Posted by Justjean

Is there any way to get Westgate to assign a better week upon deposit? At the inception of our contract we were told what was "available" which was week 48. We were assured that not only was it a red week but that it was popular because some people love the idea of vacationing over Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving week is usually week 47. Sorry, but that's not a strong week in Branson, or nearly anywhere.

Originally Posted by Justjean

We were also told it was a floating week. So how does that work?? Does it mean we can ask to reserve a better week?

The question is, what weeks are within your allowable floating season? Normally, you may ask to reserve any week within your float season. However, Westgate has been known as one of the companies which will allow you to reserve what you want for your own use but then swap it for another week when you ask them to deposit it. Let us know the range of weeks in your float season and we may be able to make suggestions for the best to request for exchange or renting it out.

Originally Posted by Justjean

Does Interval really take into account the quality of one's resort? .... How does one find out how a resort is rated?

Yes. A significant part of it is the award rating. Look up your resort in II's online Resort Directory. If it has a gold or silver award, the emblem will appear next to the resort name. These award ratings matter with both II and RCI but much more with II.

[Justjean]

Thank you Lisa P. I found my resort and it has sort of gold palm symbol by it. Some resorts have more than one of these. What does that mean?

I also saw silver pineapples. Is that a lesser or more informal resort?

Are there other symbols as well? What does it mean if there is no award mark at all?

[Justjean]

I believe we were told all of Westgate Branson Woods is Red and that the whole thing is floating except for those who pay a premium for a specifc building for a specific week at the start. If this is the case, can I ask for or insist upon ANY week if I ask early enough?

If so, do I then ask to reserve a week that has high trading power? If I ask well in advance will they be truthful with me as to what is available? Will they honor a request to put that specific week up for exchange?

[dougp26364]

Originally Posted by Justjean

Thank you Lisa P. I found my resort and it has sort of gold palm symbol by it. Some resorts have more than one of these. What does that mean?

I also saw silver pineapples. Is that a lesser or more informal resort?

Are there other symbols as well? What does it mean if there is no award mark at all?

The gold palm is the symbol for premier, which is the top rating Interval gives to resorts. The silver pineapple is a preffered resort. For the most part, IMHO this has more to do with the number of amenities that a resort offers than quality of accomadations. Over the years we've seen a lot of variation in resorts with the same rating. The one constant has been the number and types of listed amenities. Amenities such as onsite pools, hot tubs, convenience store, 24 hour desk, restaurants, laundry facitilities and fitness centers.

There are basically three levels premier, silver and nothing. Most Westgate resorts have enough amenities to qualify as premier and, for the most part, Westgate resorts are quality resorts. The should trade reasonably well if you have a resort in a high demand area and you are given a decent week to reserve. As mentioned above, Westgate has been reported to have this nasty habit of giving owners lessor demand weeks when they deposit for exchange. While most timeshare's don't have a great reputation, Westgate is generally consider to be one of the worst for shafting it's owners. You have to watch what they do and demand what you have coming to you. If your float season includes summer weeks and you want to reserve and deposit a summer week, you may have to fight with Westgate to get them to deposit a summer week rather than a November week. Of course they'll give you the song and dance that any red week has the same exchange power, which is a lie. Anyone can look at Interval's travel demand index and see that's not true.

You probably should spend some time with your Interval International resort directory and read through the first 20 or so pages. It explains how Interval works, how they rate resorts, how to exchange and what things they look at when considering who gets what exchange. It will answer a lot of your questions.

[dougp26364]

Originally Posted by Justjean

I believe we were told all of Westgate Branson Woods is Red and that the whole thing is floating except for those who pay a premium for a specifc building for a specific week at the start. If this is the case, can I ask for or insist upon ANY week if I ask early enough?

If so, do I then ask to reserve a week that has high trading power? If I ask well in advance will they be truthful with me as to what is available? Will they honor a request to put that specific week up for exchange?

Branson is not all red time. The first 12 or 13 weeks are slow season and I believe are rated as either yellow or green weeks.

In a float week system you can reserve any week that has availabilty. When reserving a week in a float system for exchange, it's always best to reserve the highest demand week necessary to get the exchange you want. Since most of us don't know for sure how much trade power it will take to get specific exchanges, the general rule of thumb is to reserve the strongest week available. In Branson, that's week 22. I don't know why but that's how Interval has it rated.

Some resorts try to convince you that any red week is as stong as the next. You may have to be insistant to get the week you want deposited. If they argue with you, have them look up Interval's demand index and explain why one week would be rated stronger than the week they're trying to force you to take. You may not have any problems as all and they may reserve and deposit the week you request. Others were reporting a couple of years ago that Westgate was trying to change the rules and not allow owners to deposit the week the requested. I don't know if that remains true or not.

Will they be truthful or honor your request? It's impossible to say until you make the request and see what they do.