Floating high terminology

On the website, it states for a particular timeshare for resale, that it is " floating " high My question is- what does that mean ?

charlese109 wrote:

...it states for a particular timeshare for resale, that it is " floating " high My question is- what does that mean ?

A "floating" week is one which is not in the same "fixed" unit / week each use year. A "floating" week ownership is one with a limited, specific "range" of weeks in which you can reserve occupancy. You should contact the resort directly to verify the range of weeks in their definition of "high" season, as those are literally the only weeks in which you could reserve a week to occupy. There is no “one size fits all" definition of "high"; that is something which is determined and defined by each individual resort or resort system.

Hope this helps.

Rather than contact the resort directly, I would contact the owner to get the specific weeks that the timeshare floats. I would also ask about the earliest the week could be reserved and if there were restrictions about booking any of the weeks in the season. You will also want to know if you need to pre pay the following years MF in order to be able to reserve a week. Even after getting the info from the owner you will want to have the closing agent verify the information through the estoppel with the resort.

tracey75 wrote:

Rather than contact the resort directly, I would contact the owner to get the specific weeks that the timeshare floats.

I respectfully disagree. The first timeshare I bought (many years ago now) was a "floating" week ownership. The owner either did not understand (or deliberately misrepresented, I'll never know which) the weeks available for reservation under that "floating" ownership.

Those "floating" details were not reflected in the deed (I had retrieved and reviewed the deed from public records). Inexperienced, I did not verify with the resort the weeks that could be reserved. Since I had a copy of the current deed with owner identity and details, the resort would surely have told me the range of "floating" weeks in that ownership --- if I had known enough to ask. As it turned out, the limited weeks in that "floating" ownership were of NO use or interest to me. I promptly resold the week, at a loss (fortunately, I hadn't paid much for it in the first place). Unlike the person who sold me that week, I provided full and accurate disclosure of the "floating range" reservation limitations to my buyer.

Lesson learned --- the hard way. Don't repeat my mistake.

I own a floating week in Las Vegas and it works great for me . I just made a reservation for November and it only took minutes and I had a confirmation via email . It's not for everyone and I believe I also own at a resort that has the best management team in the industry . They treat every owner as a valued customer . I know people who swear by points . Whatever works for you .

The problem with contacting the resort is they won't tell you anything about someone else's contract. Sure they can tell you what they consider a platinum or red or diamond or whatever they happen to call various seasons but if the owner doesn't know what they own then they could be naming a season they don't have. Also some resorts have both floating owners and fixed week owners. Or they could be fixed but then float only during the last 60 days if still available or perhaps if you pay a fee to upgrade. It is very complicated. And as you said many owners don't know or understand what they own. Problem is I can't call the resort and say what does John Smith own because I am thinking about buying from him. You might be able to get the owner to do a conference call. You can also put in a tenative offer based on what the owner says they have (but I would ask them to confirm it with the resort if you get the impression, they don't know what they are talking about) and contract for that and then have the closing agent verify the information through the resort provided estoppel. Some resorts will send it to the owner upon request (some charge a fee, some do not) but all resorts will provide the estoppel resale information to the closing agent. If it turns out the owner doesn't own what they said or thought you are not obligated to go through with the sale because that isn't what you agreed upon.

donp196 wrote:

I own a floating week in Las Vegas and it works great for me . I just made a reservation for November and it only took minutes and I had a confirmation via email . It's not for everyone...

I'm glad it worked out for you for this reservation. Unfortunately, the complaint that many floating week owners lament about is that they can never (or rarely) get a week that they want. Even if they call in at midnight on the day the booking window opens, they are put on hold and, when they finally get through, the best weeks to which they are entitled in that floating period are gone.

But, as you said, it's not for everyone.

Like I stated my resort has the best management in the country . It's the only one I still own and I wouldn't part with it for anything .

@lance which company?

carinar8 wrote:

@lance which company?

You're responding to a post that's over five and a half years old. Nonetheless, I'm not too sure which companies. I didn't really pay attention to that. I just remember many owners of floating weeks complaining that it's hard to book the desirable weeks that they want.

Maybe you can get a better answer on Timeshare Users Group (aka "TUG"; tugbbs.com) and go to the individual companies forums such as Hilton, Vistana, etc. There you will see many veteran owners of those timeshares with experience in owning floating and fixed weeks.