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Re: Floating Weeks (by Mary D.):
ken1193 wrote:======= If their float week owners can't use certain weeks in Florida, I'd assume they are already owned by fixed week owners. In Mexico, there are usually certain weeks that only Mexican citizens can "float" into: Christmas/New Years, Easter/Holy Week.andrewg61 wrote:Could someone please explain to me the difference between floating weeks and a fixed week. I'm looking to purchase a Marriott resale timeshare in Florida for my first purchase. My holiday weeks leave moves every year, so i don't have a fixed date when i'm always off, therefore would the floating week option be better? Marriott tried to sell me the Grande Vista & the Horizons resorts, both double the price of resale. What would your advice be to a first timer looking to purchase, ideally I would need a lock off villa aswell.Thanks for any replies
Andrew: A "fixed" week is the same week number each and every calendar year (although the actual dates will vary by a few days from one year to the next -- see example in a preceding post by jayjay).
A "floating" week (sometimes called a "flex" week) is variable from year to year. You make a reservation based upon your chosen week for any given year. HOWEVER ---- one VERY IMPORTANT thing to watch out for in the fine print is that some resorts "black out" (restrict) certain weeks from being reserved by "float" week owners. For example, at many resorts in coastal Florida, a "float" week owner cannot EVER make a reservation between weeks 5-15. That time period covers most of the winter! Just make sure that if you buy a "float" week, you know CLEARLY AND BEFORE PURCHASE what reservation restrictions exist for "float" week owners at the resort in question.
However, float time is generally divided into three seasons. They go by many names but are basically High Time, Medium Time, and Low Time. (RCI calls them Red, White, and Blue time.) If you own a High float week, you may choose to vacation any week of the year, if you reserve far enough ahead. If you own Medium (white) time, you can go in medium or low seasons. If you own Low time (blue), you can only reserve low time. Quite a few resorts have NO blue time which can be a problem if you want to exchange through RCI. Some resort locations such a Sedona have nothing except High/Red time. Branson, for example, has no Low/blue time; Medium/white time is January to early March. The rest is High/Red. You need to understand the resort you are considering buying into BECAUSE NO GENERALITY IS UNIVERSALLY TRUE.
Personally, I much prefer resorts like Fairfield/Wyndham or Bluegreen that use a points system rather than a week system, but if you do buy a floating week, try to get it in a resort GROUP that will let you exchange among its members for little or no fee. MD