For many people, timeshares are a convenient way to vacation. With more amenities and space than a typical hotel room, timeshares are like a home away from home. However, though you love your home resort and location, maybe you’d like to try something else this year: a different resort brand or an exotic destination. Maybe there’s a way to set up a timeshare trade.
This is where timeshare exchange companies, like SFX Preferred Resorts, come into play. Owners like yourself can trade your timeshare week for a unit at a different destination or week of the year. Though this seems simple on the surface, sometimes finding the right exchange for the value of your timeshare can be tricky. This guide will help you navigate the process of timeshare trade so you can get the best vacation for your timeshare.
Key Timeshare Trade Terms
Before we get started, here are some key terms to remember when beginning your timeshare trade. The first is your Home Resort – the resort where you own your timeshare week. Now there are a few different types of weeks, depending on what your home resort allows. Fixed Weeks allow you to reserve the same week with the same unit size every year. Fixed weeks are great for those who like consistency. It’s always the same time of year, and you know exactly what activities and amenities are available to you around the resort and destination. On the other hand, Floating Weeks offer a little more flexibility. If you don’t feel comfortable committing to a certain week, you can instead have the choice to book any week during a certain season. Finally, instead of the week system, some timeshares may offer a Points system instead. With a points system, owners may purchase points and then use these points to reserve weeks at their timeshare resort each year. Reservations may cost more or less points depending on the room size and seasonality you wish to travel.
When it’s time to start your timeshare trade, keep in mind your week’s Trading Power, the total value of your week. The more trading power your deposited week has, the more options you may have when you request your vacation. Several factors determine the amount of trading power your deposit may have. Seasonality is the season in which you book and is typically split into three seasons: high season, low season, and mid or shoulder season. High season is the popular time of year. For beach resorts, high season can be the summer months, while mountain ski resorts tend to be popular in the winter. Low season would be the opposite months, and shoulder season would be somewhere in between. Unit size refers to how many bedrooms are in your unit. Typically, they come in studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedrooms. Some resorts may offer three-bedrooms as well, but that’s not as common. Resort and location popularity are also important. Deposited weeks in higher-demand locations, like Hawaii, for example, and higher-starred properties will generally have more trading power. Finally, the time between check-in and when you deposit. The more time there is, the more trading power your week may have.
Timeshare Trade Part 1: Depositing Your Week
First things first, you need to reserve your week with your home resort before you can trade your timeshare with SFX. That means you need to know what type of week you own and what your home resort’s reservation rules are: like how far out in advance you can book, what sort of unit sizes, and so on. Whether you use points or own a fixed or floating week, you would need to reserve a specific week with a check-in date at least 90 days out from when you plan to deposit your week.
Then once your week is reserved and you’ve paid your maintenance fee, you are welcome to deposit it into the SFX network. You can either call your Vacation Concierge to make a deposit, or you can fill out the online form in your membership dashboard. All you need to provide are the name of your owned resort, the unit size, the type of week, and your reservation number. After the deposit is reviewed and verified, you’ll now have a deposit credit you can use towards a vacation exchange.
Important: It should be noted that you cannot deposit your timeshare week with multiple exchange companies or rent it out. It may be possible to create a “double-booking”. If that happens, you may be liable for any expenses incurred in relocating guests. Once deposited, it can only be redeemed by using an exchange booking.
Tips for Depositing: Maximize Your Trading Power
The value of your deposit plays a big part in determining what sort of vacations you may qualify for. Typically, you can trade your timeshare for a unit of equal or lower value. If your timeshare week is in a mid or shoulder season, you can trade for a week in mid or shoulder season but not during high season. If your unit is a one-bedroom, you can trade for a one-bedroom or studio but not a two-bedroom. Therefore, we recommend reserving a week during high season and with a larger unit, if possible, to maximize your trading power and pool of possible matches.
Another tip to increase trading power is to maximize the time between check-in and when you deposit. Ideally, the check-in date should also be 9-12 months out from when you deposit. This allows our Vacation Concierge more time to find a match for your unit, and in return, we give your request higher priority.
Timeshare Trade Part 2: Requesting Your Vacation
Now that you have your exchange credit, you can request your Vacation Exchange. If you don’t have any destinations in mind just yet, don’t worry. Gold members have up to 2 years to use their exchange, and Diamond members have up to 3 years.
When you’re ready to make a request, you may wonder why you’re unable to see what timeshares are available for trade. Because we at SFX Preferred Resorts pride ourselves on being a boutique concierge service, we try to take care of the hard work for you while making sure every member gets the best match for their request and deposit value. So all you need to do when you make a request is to provide just three pieces of information: when, where, and for how many people. Once your request is sent, our Vacation Concierge will work diligently on finding your desired vacation and get back to you when a match is found.
Tips for Requesting: Be Flexible
Unlike online travel agencies that may have some number of availabilities of inventory straight from the resorts or hotels, our network is made up of units from people just like you: timeshare owners looking to switch up next year’s vacation. Hence, our inventory can vary from day to day and year over year. Maybe you’ll be lucky and get matched immediately, but sometimes it can take time to find a match. That’s why we encourage our members to be as flexible as possible with their requests.
When putting in your request, put in a range of dates. Especially if you’re looking to travel in high season, we suggest requesting a broad range of dates and at least 9-12 months in advance of when you want to travel. Just as you are looking for a high-demand location or date, so are many other timeshare owners. Submitting your request as far in advance as possible increases your chances of a successful exchange. Also, please remember holiday week availability can be limited. Some resorts may limit availability to their own members due to high demand.
Another way you can be flexible is in your request for resorts or locations. You can request several resorts or different towns or cities within a region if you’re open to it.
Or if you’re feeling very open-minded, you can always talk to your Vacation Concierge about your vacation needs and our exchange availability. Who knows, maybe you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what we have to offer!
Ready to begin your timeshare trade? Click here to deposit your week and start planning your next vacation.
