Original Message:
Re: TIMESHARE OWNERS GETTING HOSED ON EXCHANGES! (by R P.):
I believe phil thinks the front desk decides where to put an exchanger and therefore the exchanger has no control. However, I don't actually believe it's the front desk ... I think it's their computer that decides where to place people. The front desk merely assigns what the computer tells them to via housekeeping, depending if a unit has been cleaned and is ready for occupancy. You can always request a certain area/building/unit at a resort, but whether or not your request is granted is another matter. At some resorts a request will try to be granted but others will not budge as they firmly assign what the computer tells them is ready. It just depends on the resort.
Also, some resorts preassign units and they're part of the confirmation from II and/or RCI. Exchanging is always a crapshoot and most people want the best views (ocean view, pool view, mountain view, garden view or whatever the popular view is at a resort). I honestly don't envy the front desk staff that have to constantly strive to please every exchanger as far as views go. This is why I always advise people that if they want a certain unit, a certain building, a certain floor or a certain view that it's best to buy instead of counting on getting that criteria in an exchange.
When we were into timesharing, that's exactly what we did .... we bought units that had views we preferred (ocean, gulf, mountain, lake etc.) but on exchanges we took whatever we were given. Even if a change of view was requested by us but was denied or unavailable we didn't get miffed. That's just part of the territory of exchanging.