TS Today - Creating a Vision for the Future of Vacation Ownership Issue #96 Nov/Dec, 2007 | Page 34

TimeSharing Today Page 36 most of the timeshares have already been used for exchanges. He said the selection is better in December and January because that is when people pay their maintenance fees and deposit their weeks. I told him that I had been told that this had nothing to do with timeshares. In fact, that was one of the salesman’s selling points. He had told me that people have difficulty getting into the resorts that they want and that I didn’t have to worry about that. The person I talked to said that they rely on the deposited weeks to fill the land vacations. I told him we wanted to cancel our package, because we already had three timeshares that we can never get an exchange we want. I told him I was not relying on another person to deposit a week so I could exchange. He had me make out a letter saying we wanted to cancel and fax it to him. I also had to send back the certificates, too. We were glad to get rid of it. But I still think it is very wrong to use people’s deposited timeshares to fill a land package for a totally separate program. No wonder there aren’t timeshares available to exchange! Terri Grunzke, Freeborn MN Nov/Dec, 2007 **** I have owned at Kona Coast, a 5-star resort, since 1993, and have used my units for both exchanges and home resort stays, with a good deal of success, until this recent exchange request with II in early May, 2006, for a Maui location in early February, 2007, with my initial request for a total of five 5-star resorts. When I heard nothing regarding fulfillment of my request, I called in early August, 2006, to check on the status of the request. At that time, I was told my selection of 5 resorts was too small, and I should expand it further; I increased my request to nine resorts, some of which were not 5-star. Again, having heard nothing on my request, I called again in early October, and was told nothing had been turned in for my specific arrival date, and I should expand my dates to cover more dates within my arrival weekend. If this meant I had to pay for additional dates before or after the scheduled week, I felt that was an acceptable risk to take. In late October, I received a call from II to tell me that they still had no luck, and wanted me to expand my choices further! Also, during this conversation, I was told by a person identifying herself as a “supervisor” that the number of exchanges available during “peak” season have dropped dramatically, as many people have apparently been renting them directly, and using the proceeds to cover their maintenance fees. At that time, I asked to be told where my ranking was with regard to my pending exchange locations, and was told that information is not available. When I was advised of this lack of information, I felt I couldn’t wait any longer, and began looking for facilities I could rent directly; I found a place for approximately $1,200 for the requested week. I feel two concerns must be addressed by II on their inability to fulfill my request: 1) The lack of advice by their representatives to properly advise how to place a request to maximize my choices. Once they knew my arrival date, which was known when I placed my request in May, 2006, they could have given me suggestions – the person I spoke with on both calls in May and August 2006 were ordertakers. relax . . . . . .unwind Experience travel the Carefree way. Carefree Journeys is a unique and exciting vacation concierge, delivering premium accommodations to consumers of travel. We strive to provide you with a hassle free experience for all your travel needs. Membership allows you to experience the benefits of luxury resort accommodations and concierge services, free of the bonds of resort ownership. For more information on membership benefits, *please contact one of our representatives at: Toll Free 866866-859859-JRNY (5769) via email: [email protected] or simply visit our website at: www.carefreejourneys.com Call now for your*FREE your*FREE Vacation! *Business Hours are Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm EST. Please leave a message if you are calling after business hours and an associate will promptly return your call. Carefree Journeys LLC is registered with the state of Florida as a seller of travel. Registration No.ST36581 www.tstoday.com for back issues, message boards, Resale Value Tracker and much more