Resort converting to points

My home resort has converted to the points system. I was really excited until he told me it would cost $5900 to convert unless I bought another week at $10,000 and then the conversion to points would be free. Is this common? Why should I have to pay such a ridiculous fee for a system conversion? They are now using both points and weeks. Any suggestions of how I can get switched to points without laying out more cash? I own a 4th of July week on a beach! I was a happy time share owner up until that weekend!

Is your home resort Orange Lake? You do not have to change to points, but many people feel that there is an advantage.

tracyf38 wrote:

My home resort has converted to the points system. I was really excited until he told me it would cost $5900 to convert unless I bought another week at $10,000 and then the conversion to points would be free. Is this common? Why should I have to pay such a ridiculous fee for a system conversion? They are now using both points and weeks. Any suggestions of how I can get switched to points without laying out more cash? I own a 4th of July week on a beach! I was a happy time share owner up until that weekend!

My resort is Falls of Ogunquit, in Maine. He didn't specify if it was RCI or II. He referenced II in his presentation but seemed able to use both systems.

tracyf38 wrote:

My resort is Falls of Ogunquit, in Maine. He didn't specify if it was RCI or II. He referenced II in his presentation but seemed able to use both systems.

There is no II points system, so it must be presumed to be a conversion to RCI Points. The resort could still, however, be (and remain) affiliated with BOTH companies merely for exchange purposes.

Are you quite certain and VERY clear on whether or not you MUST convert your fixed week to points? My advice is to acquire a very clear and specific understanding on that critically important detail. If you don't HAVE to convert --- then don't!. Why on earth would you want to buy all over again that which you ALREADY own???? And lose your guarantted fixed week in the process! That's nuts, at least in my view.

The conversion may not be MANDATORY --- you need to find that out for certain! The sales weasel may simply be failing to disclose to you that you do NOT actually have to convert if you don't CHOOSE to do so. Find out for certain!

ken1193 wrote:

tracyf38 wrote:

My resort is Falls of Ogunquit, in Maine. He didn't specify if it was RCI or II. He referenced II in his presentation but seemed able to use both systems.

There is no II points system, so it must be presumed to be a conversion to RCI Points. The resort could still, however, be (and remain) affiliated with BOTH companies merely for exchange purposes.

Are you quite certain and VERY clear on whether or not you MUST convert your fixed week to points? My advice is to acquire a very clear and specific understanding on that critically important detail. If you don't HAVE to convert --- then don't!. Why on earth would you want to buy all over again that which you ALREADY own???? And lose your guarantted fixed week in the process! That's nuts, at least in my view.

The conversion may not be MANDATORY --- you need to find that out for certain! The sales weasel may simply be failing to disclose to you that you do NOT actually have to convert if you don't CHOOSE to do so. Find out for certain!

I own a TS, in New Hampshire, which is affiliated with II. However, they just recently aligned itself with RCI as well and are slowly converting to points. New owners are not being given the option of choosing II or RCI; they have to go with RCI. Current owners can remain with II.

If you usually stay at your unit every year or are happy with II for exchanges, then stick with what you have for now. Good Luck

mike1536 wrote:

ken1193 wrote:

tracyf38 wrote:

My resort is Falls of Ogunquit, in Maine. He didn't specify if it was RCI or II. He referenced II in his presentation but seemed able to use both systems.

There is no II points system, so it must be presumed to be a conversion to RCI Points. The resort could still, however, be (and remain) affiliated with BOTH companies merely for exchange purposes.

Are you quite certain and VERY clear on whether or not you MUST convert your fixed week to points? My advice is to acquire a very clear and specific understanding on that critically important detail. If you don't HAVE to convert --- then don't!. Why on earth would you want to buy all over again that which you ALREADY own???? And lose your guarantted fixed week in the process! That's nuts, at least in my view.

The conversion may not be MANDATORY --- you need to find that out for certain! The sales weasel may simply be failing to disclose to you that you do NOT actually have to convert if you don't CHOOSE to do so. Find out for certain!

=========== Currently The Falls of Ogunquit is not listed in the RCI online directory. Maybe the resort has just started to be affiliated with RCI will be a points resort in the future. I agree with Ken, the conversion should not be mandatory. However, if the resort drops its affiliation with Interval International and you might need to convert if you wish to exchange with RCI.

I own a TS, in New Hampshire, which is affiliated with II. However, they just recently aligned itself with RCI as well and are slowly converting to points. New owners are not being given the option of choosing II or RCI; they have to go with RCI. Current owners can remain with II.

If you usually stay at your unit every year or are happy with II for exchanges, then stick with what you have for now. Good Luck

The Falls at Ogunquit is part of InnSeasons Resorts, which is the largest timeshare group in New England. The points are internal points which convert within the InnSeasons network. There are, I believe, 9 resorts in New England that you can exchange through. And yes, I believe this conversion is mandatory. Hope this info helps!

ilonar2 wrote:

mike1536 wrote:

ken1193 wrote:

tracyf38 wrote:

My resort is Falls of Ogunquit, in Maine. He didn't specify if it was RCI or II. He referenced II in his presentation but seemed able to use both systems.

There is no II points system, so it must be presumed to be a conversion to RCI Points. The resort could still, however, be (and remain) affiliated with BOTH companies merely for exchange purposes.

Are you quite certain and VERY clear on whether or not you MUST convert your fixed week to points? My advice is to acquire a very clear and specific understanding on that critically important detail. If you don't HAVE to convert --- then don't!. Why on earth would you want to buy all over again that which you ALREADY own???? And lose your guarantted fixed week in the process! That's nuts, at least in my view.

The conversion may not be MANDATORY --- you need to find that out for certain! The sales weasel may simply be failing to disclose to you that you do NOT actually have to convert if you don't CHOOSE to do so. Find out for certain!

=========== Currently The Falls of Ogunquit is not listed in the RCI online directory. Maybe the resort has just started to be affiliated with RCI will be a points resort in the future. I agree with Ken, the conversion should not be mandatory. However, if the resort drops its affiliation with Interval International and you might need to convert if you wish to exchange with RCI.

I own a TS, in New Hampshire, which is affiliated with II. However, they just recently aligned itself with RCI as well and are slowly converting to points. New owners are not being given the option of choosing II or RCI; they have to go with RCI. Current owners can remain with II.

If you usually stay at your unit every year or are happy with II for exchanges, then stick with what you have for now. Good Luck

------------------------------------------------

The Falls at Ogunquit is part of InnSeasons Resorts, which is the largest timeshare group in New England. The points are internal points which convert within the InnSeasons network. There are, I believe, 9 resorts in New England that you can exchange through. And yes, I believe this conversion is mandatory. Hope this info helps!

You may well be correct, but I'm puzzled by a few things: 1. Original poster iondicated that the resort is "using both weeks and points" (or words to that effect). Doesn't this inherently imply that conversion is not necessarily mandatory? How can both weeks and points co-exist simultaneously if conversion is mandatory?

2. If conversion is mandatory, how can the resort charge money for a forced, involuntary conversion to an internal system? If the person already owns the week already, and the conversion to an internal point system is mandatory, I just can't fathom how the resort (or Inn Seasons) can force the owner to re-buy what she already owns to begin with.

I'm not saying you observations are wong (I certainly have no personal knowledge whatsoever on which to possibly say so), but it all sounds truly bizarre to me --- an "in house" points system where the points use is evidently limited (if I understand correctly) to just a handful of Inn Seasons resorts, loss of a week already owned, and paying thousnads of dollars for the privilege of being taken advantage of... Say it ain't so!

I have obtained the phone number of Inn Seasons "Falls at Ogunquit" facility from the II directory and I am going to try to get more info. What you are describing (the "you must now pay us again for what you already own" part, anyhow) actually sounds bordeline illegal to me and I'd like to try to personally investigate it further. I might be mistaken, but I simply cannot believe that you could actually be forced to "re-buy" that which you ALREADY OWN because of their (not your) decision to unilaterally adopt an obscure, "in house" points system, in effect forcing you to buy your timeshare TWICE. It sounds like nothing more than a contrived "revenue raising" scheme to me. It certainly doesn't seem right --- it may not even be legal.

Update: I called there at 10:15 a.m. EST today. Sales office is reportedly closed until Thursday (always closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, supposedly). I've got lots of clear, specific and pointed questions for their "sales team". We'll see if they have any equally clear and specific answers (or if they will even talk to me at all).

An update:

On review of the InnSeasons website, it appears to me that what Inn Seasons is actually doing is adopting a "vacation club" or "right to use" membership program. In essence, owners ("members" might be a more appropriate term) will apparently have "right to use" privileges at ANY the various InnSeasons facilities --- as opposed to having deeded ownership of a specific week at any one specific resort. This involves a "deeded trust" program for participants. Maintenance fees are likely tied to the amount of "points" purchased. Different weeks in different places will "cost" different amounts of points. The points are likely of no use or value whatsoever outside of the internal Inn Seasons network, although weeks which get reserved with those points MIGHT still be exchangeable with II (that's not at all clear to me at this juncture). I still have questions about Inn Seasons charging people like Tracy thousands of dollars to retain their (already exisitng) access rights. It would seem, on its face at least, that a prime week already owned by deed (*IF*, in fact, a deeded fixed week is indeed what Tracy has now) would have an inherent (and VERY high) "conversion to points value" already. You don't get much more "valuable" than a July 4, beachfront week in coastal New England. So how/why does Inn Seasons want another $5,900 from Tracy? I don't know, but I will attempt to find out. They may or not talk to me, since I'm certainly not a prospective buyer of this severely limited and overpriced program --- and I have no intentions of attending any sales-weasel presentations.

ken1193 wrote:

An update:

On review of the InnSeasons website, it appears to me that what Inn Seasons is actually doing is adopting a "vacation club" or "right to use" membership program. In essence, owners will apparently have "right to use" privileges at ANY the various InnSeasons facilities --- as opposed to having deeded ownership of a specific week at any one specific resort. This involves a "deeded trust" program for participants. I still have questions about charging people like Tracy thousands of dollars to retain their (already exisitng) access rights. It would seeem, on its face at least, that a prime week already owned by deed (*IF*, in fact, that is indeed what Tracy has now) would have an inherent (and VERY high) "point value" already. You don't get much more "valuable" than a summer, beachfront week in coastal New England. So how/why do they want another $5,900? I don't know, but will attempt to find out. It seems outright larcenous to me, although it might well be legal.

HI, this is Tracy again, the conversion is not mandatory, I can and did keep my week. The "right to use" was on the list of perks that was included in the conversion. They are using both weeks and points. The points system seems more flexible, but I didn't see the need to pay to move from the week system to the points system.

tracyf38 stated in part: >> the conversion is not mandatory, I can and did keep my week. << ===============================================

There is no longer any mystery to solve here then. Your initial post did not make it particulalry clear (to me, anyhow) that the conversion was NOT mandatory.

As long as the resort is not trying to extract more money from owners for deeded fixed weeks which they already own, then it's certainly the resorts' right and prerogative to adopt a new RTU program for NEW "members" (although, from the prices mentioned, that option sounds too expensive to be very attractive, for a system which is apparently limited to a handful of facilities, ALL of them apparently located within just a very few New England states).

ken1193 wrote:

tracyf38 stated in part: >> the conversion is not mandatory, I can and did keep my week. << ===============================================

There is no longer any mystery to solve here then. Your initial post did not make it particulalry clear (to me, anyhow) that the conversion was NOT mandatory.

As long as the resort is not trying to extract more money from owners for deeded fixed weeks which they already own, then it's certainly the resorts' right and prerogative to adopt a new RTU program for NEW "members" (although, from the prices mentioned, that option sounds too expensive to be very attractive, for a system which is apparently limited to a handful of facilities, ALL of them apparently located within just a very few New England states).

tracyf38 wrote:

HI, this is Tracy again, the conversion is not mandatory, I can and did keep my week. The "right to use" was on the list of perks that was included in the conversion. They are using both weeks and points. The points system seems more flexible, but I didn't see the need to pay to move from the week system to the points system.

I usually favor points systems but, in your case, you probably made the right choice, if you really use the 4th of July week and like the place. You might find it hard to book into that same week and place with points unless you are guaranteed the opportunity to book early in your own resort so that you are not competing for it against all the other owners in that point system. MD

I personally would keep what I had, and purchase a point system resale for much cheaper than either price. You can get points (wyndam (fairfield), sunterra, worldmark etc for 1/8th of the cost from the developer)

I like lanitap's suggestion above. The system Tracy is in is mainly concentrated in New England so points will not give a lot of new opportunities. Points make more sense in a resort group with a wide spread of locations in different areas and offering a variety of vacation experiences. MD

Only slightly relevant here, but I've seen another sales weasel technique used to try to push me into converting to points. They will tell you that everybody is converting to points and the inventory of weeks kept as weeks weeks rather than points weeks will be less and less as time goes by. All I know is they will do or say almost anything to get your money for buying or converting and they continually come up with schemes to help you to "modernize" including trading in your week along with a bunch of cash. When I asked about the traded in week, it turned out I would still pay the week maintenance fee and it would be permanently banked. I've heard it costs more to sell a timeshare than to build it.

garym262 wrote:

Only slightly relevant here, but I've seen another sales weasel technique used to try to push me into converting to points. They will tell you that everybody is converting to points and the inventory of weeks kept as weeks weeks rather than points weeks will be less and less as time goes by. All I know is they will do or say almost anything to get your money for buying or converting and they continually come up with schemes to help you to "modernize" including trading in your week along with a bunch of cash. When I asked about the traded in week, it turned out I would still pay the week maintenance fee and it would be permanently banked. I've heard it costs more to sell a timeshare than to build it.

I think maybe garym is thinking in terms of the RCI Points system. This topic started out discussing the conversion of a small resort group to an internal points system as I understood it. However, in either case (any case?) one pays the MF for what one owns whether an exchange is made or not. Would anyone expect to pay maintenance for the resort received in an exchange? MD

tracyf38 wrote:

My home resort has converted to the points system. I was really excited until he told me it would cost $5900 to convert unless I bought another week at $10,000 and then the conversion to points would be free. Is this common? Why should I have to pay such a ridiculous fee for a system conversion? They are now using both points and weeks. Any suggestions of how I can get switched to points without laying out more cash? I own a 4th of July week on a beach! I was a happy time share owner up until that weekend!

Yes, it is very common that RCI wants to charge you to convert. I would not recommend converting such a high trading power week to points. If you convert to points you may not be able to get into a comparable unit and season as what you already own. Also RCI has the option of raising point values to get into other resorts. The other thing to be aware is that RCI keeps raising the fees for stays of less than a week and if you stay at a resort less than a week there is a good chance you will be charged a housekeeping fee by the resort which may be rather high. I would recommend looking for a cheap RCI points resale so you can try it out -- also that way RCI gives you the option each year with no obligation of converting your fixed week to RCI points if you wish.