Original Message:
Purchasing thru Redweek or other resale companies (by R P.):
kathi32 wrote:One other point. I think buying a timeshare is only a good idea if you want to exchange and go to other locations.
Does Marriott have an internal exchange network or do you have to belong to II to exchange? If you have to belong to II and you bought merely to exchange, then you'd better be flexible in where you wish to exchange and the dates, as it seems the better exchanges are getting fewer and farther between (from reading timeshare forums). I would never buy a week of timeshare merely to use it for exchanges. Exchanging is merely a perk of timeshare ownership if you are YOU ARE FLEXIBLE in your exchange choices.
Concerning a fixed vs a floating week .... we owned one floating week (FLorida panhandle) and we had to make our reservations a year in advance at the resort to get what we wanted and our choice wasn't even during red season (summer). We always chose shoulder season (May) as we don't care to travel in the hot summer months, so be aware that if you own a floating week and you want a bright red week (summer, holiday weeks, ski weeks etc), then you'd have to make your reservations far in advance. I, myself, don't care for floating weeks.