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Aloha, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Syed Sarmad and I’m the Principal Broker for Advantage Vacation. Advantage Vacation is a licensed real estate company located in Lahaina, Maui. Our company specializes in Westin timeshare resales, in particular Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas and Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North timeshare resales.
Today I would like to talk about Starwood’s right of first refusal option. This is a very important topic in the industry and it is very important for a buyer and a seller to understand this process.
Starwood has a right of first refusal option on every Westin Kaanapali timeshare resale. So what that means is after a buyer and a seller come to an agreement on a sale of a Westin timeshare and a purchase of a Westin Kaanapali resale, the agreement is supposed to be sent to Starwood’s office in Orlando. Starwood then has 10 business days to make a determination of what they will do on their right of first refusal option. If Starwood elects to exercise their Starwood right of first refusal option and re-purchase the Westin timeshare then Starwood replaces the buyer and they (Starwood) becomes the buyer and the terms of the agreement the Seller have reached either through their broker or directly with the buyer is met and Starwood matches the pricing terms of the sale. And the buyer looses out!
Now, it is very important for a buyer and seller to know what these terms are and what Starwood’s buy back price is because it is not really a buyer and seller that really determine the market value of the Westin timeshare, it is Starwood. Starwood is the market maker of these Westin timeshare resales. So if a buyer is interested in buying this unit, it is very important for that buyer to know what that timeshare resale price is so that he can make that purchase.
Westin Kaanapali Ocean Resort Villas North
Starwood has been buying back or exercising their right of first refusal option on Westin Kaanapali resales since February 2011 and these numbers have been steadily going up – except for June 2014 through January 2015 their numbers declined. But, coincidentally in February 2015 when they announced the groundbreaking of their third property on Maui, the Westin Nanea Ocean Resort Villas and the introduction of the Sheraton Kauai, the Westin in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Cancun and also the Sheraton Steamboat Springs to be added into their portfolio and also with the company spinning off their vacation ownership portfolio and going public later this year – coincidentally at this time Starwood significantly increased the buyback numbers or the numbers at which they were buying back Westin Kaanapali resales.
It is very important, whether you are a buyer or a seller, to know these numbers. If you are a seller it is best to not just only check on the internet, but really do your due diligence to find out what the true market value is, because Starwood is really the Westin timeshare resale market maker. So, if you are not willing to do the due diligence, then work with a broker who understands these numbers or has considerable experience in handling these Westin timeshare resales so they can advise you on those numbers.
If you are a buyer of a Westin timeshare, again it is not just what’s out there on the internet, it is what it will take to pass Starwood’s right of first refusal option. It’s important to know and really do your research before you can make a determination of whether this timeshare purchase will be in your best interest at the prices it will take to purchase that timeshare and pass Starwood’s right of first refusal option.
I hope this information has been useful to you, thank you, mahalo and have a great day!
Syed Sarmad, Principal Broker for Advantage Vacation
