December 26,2006

RCI...a Little Bit of Work For A Lot of Fun!

I first bought at Jackson Gore in December of 2003. I met Gene and Nancy when they were working at Okemo before they started their own enterprise in town and I've often skied with Gene (mostly behind him) when exercising my space/available option at the Inn. It seems that they would like me to summarize my experiences at RCI as a Jackson Gore owner. Since I have had good success with that program, I am more than happy to do so.

I was, initially, somewhat skeptical about how well the exchanges would occur so I set about testing it immediately. My first question was, "Can I trade a summer week at Jackson Gore for a winter week at Vail?" They were both red weeks so it at least seemed plausible. I managed to pull that off in the first two months of ownership without a problem. Jackson Gore has a tendency to spoil you because many of the traded properties are not necessarily ski-in, ski-out. I know that a good number are but I have not executed a trade in that capacity as of yet (my next adventure with RCI!).

Then I wanted to see if I could trade two separate weeks for two consecutive weeks in Europe. I did that as well in Switzerland, finding one gorgeous unit at the Anfi Muerren and another huge place on the French side in Villars.

I also wanted to see how the short term trading power worked so I put a search in for a place for my daughter who was living in Australia at the time. I found a place quickly on an island in the Great Barrier Reef that she and six of her friends went to for a semester break vacation. By this time I had already proven to myself the viability of the system.

I can honestly say at this point I have not tried to trade into another resort without being at least 80% successful. There are some compromises that have to be made but I have not found any of them to be deal breakers.

I just traded into a place in Italy, which is a horse ranch in Tuscany. I have one week and I'm trying to get the second consecutive week in the same facility. This is something that I have not done yet but if I can't, I'll find another unit nearby, I'm sure.

Just recently, I and a few of my friends decided they wanted to go out west for a skiing vacation so I put another short term search in and I've had a number of hits that I've so far rejected (not close enough to the mountain) or it was the wrong week (I found one for New Years week at Jackson Hole and no one could go on that short of notice). I have a good feeling about that one as well and I think we'll get a hit.

I should mention that I also joined a group called TUG (Timeshare Users Group; annual fee $10.00) which is an internet based independent organization that objectively reviews timeshares around the world (either RCI, II, Marriott, or Disney) and that has been very helpful as well. I even emailed back and forth multiple times to a native Swiss-American that helped me plan my entire Swiss trip without whose help I would have been lost.

In conclusion, I feel compelled to say that there are a number of nuances you need to learn as you use the system. And at times, it does seem a little like work. But it's fun work, not boring work. At least that's the way it feels to me. I've been to great resorts with much better accommodations than I would have had, had I just booked a hotel room. It's difficult to go back to that after you've been timesharing. So I would have to say that I'm a very satisfied Jackson Gore owner in terms of the use I get from my own unit, in particular, the space available program, and the trading power I've experienced with RCI.

Dan H., Cheshire, CT