My Crystal Shores Failed Exchange Request

For 2 years I tried to trade my Orlando week for a week at Crystal Shores on Marco Island Florida.  I made the mistake of only requesting one property (Crystal Shores).

I never received a confirmation, and ended up having to eventually stay at the Marriott Beach Resort on Marco Island instead.  Now this wasn't necessarily a bad thing, because the Marriott Resort was beautiful and we were very happy with our stay.  However, we really wanted to use our week and stay at a timeshare property, and could not. 

I think part of this was because I only requested one property.  However, I have heard many things about why Crystal Shores is so hard to exchange into. These are the two biggest reasons, I believe:

1. Some of the people who own at Crystal Shores only want to stay at their home resort, and thus do not a need to belong to Interval International. Therefore, their weeks don't often get added to Interval International inventory.

2. The introduction of the Destinations points program through Marriott Vacation Club has taken away much of the Crystal Shores inventory.  Basically people in the Destinations program are not depositing their Crystal Shores week with Interval International, but instead using their week for points in the Destinations program.

So, in summary, it is not a good idea to try to exchange your week for just one resort.  Being flexible and open minded will help your success rate. 

Backup Plans

Another strategy if you really want to go someplace in particular, and nowhere else, is to have a backup plan.  For example... reserve a hotel near the timeshare resort you have requested.  If you get a confirmation on the timeshare resort, cancel the hotel reservation.  Even better, use rewards points for the hotel.  I have done this two Spring Breaks (Easter Breaks) in a row. This is high season, mind you.

I have a Marriott credit card, and have points that I have been able to use as part of my back up plan.  The first year I was unsuccessful getting into Crystal Shores, I used points to stay on the beach for a whole week.  The second year I used points to stay at the Marriott Resort on Marco Island for 5 nights.  I still had my week that I had deposited with Interval International to use at a different time.

The back up plan of using points and reserving (or even not using points) works because there is no penalty to cancel.  Please be careful here and read the cancellation policy before you reserve. Some resorts/hotels require a deposit up front, and there are rules on when you must cancel to receive a refund on their deposit. There are also certain times of the year that a hotel will require an up front deposit (for example: Christmas week).